Round 16 WAFLW PreviewFriday, June 3, 2022 - 10:25 AM - by Chris Pike

IT is the penultimate round in the 2022 WAFLW season and while the top two spots are locked up, three teams are locked in a battle over third and fourth making this weekend’s match ups critical in the race for finals positions.

East Fremantle has locked up the minor premiership while remaining undefeated coming into the last two rounds of the 2022 WAFLW season while Claremont has also secured second position with their two lone losses coming against the Sharks.

That means those two teams can already begin preparing to lock horns to open the finals in a second semi-final match up at New Choice Homes Park in three weeks’ time, but the other finals spots are anything but secured.

Peel Thunder currently sits in third position at 6-6 with a percentage of 131.6. That has the reigning premier’s percentage ahead of Swan Districts who are 6-7 at 101.7. Then there is Subiaco with a 5-7 record and percentage of 85.7.

That means the three teams are locked in a fascinating fight for third and fourth position to make up those last two finals places. Peel is in the box seat with the best percentage and two games to go while Swans have the bye in the final round with those two teams playing one another this weekend.

Then there’s the Lions who do have two games to go but they have the worst percentage and those two games are against Claremont and Peel.

That all leads into what is going to be a defining Round 16 in the WAFLW competition starting on Saturday afternoon with a Grand Final rematch between Swan Districts and Peel Thunder at Bassendean’s Steel Blue Oval.

The game bounces down at 12.15pm and the winner will guarantee themselves a place in the finals. Meanwhile the loser will face a nervous wait. 

If it’s Swans, they will need Peel to beat Subiaco next week while if it’s the Thunder, they will need to beat the Lions next week to close the season in order to make finals and keep their quest for a premiership hat-trick alive.

The other two Round 16 matches take place on Sunday afternoon beginning at 12.30pm with West Perth hosting East Fremantle at Joondalup’s Pentanet Stadium.

That contest pits the winless Falcons in their inaugural WAFLW season with an average losing margin of 68.1 points up against the undefeated Sharks with an average winning margin of 37.3 points. 

However, neither team can be moved from bottom or top spot no matter what happens on Sunday or in the final round of the 2022 season.

The last game of the round then takes place at Leederville Oval and it’s a must-win affair for Subiaco up against Claremont with bounce down set for 2pm.

The Lions must win their remaining two matches against the Tigers and Thunder if they want to play finals in 2022 but the Tigers are locked into second spot and will want to ensure they maintain their good form heading into that second semi-final battle with East Fremantle.

WAFLW TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 15

ROUND 15 WAFL WRAP

Meanwhile the two matches for Round 16 in the WAFLW Reserves competition pits Swan Districts up against Peel Thunder on Saturday and Subiaco against Claremont on Sunday.

SWAN DISTRICTS v PEEL THUNDER

It's a tantalising Grand Final rematch between Swan Districts and Peel Thunder to open the second last round of the WAFLW season on Saturday.

The Swans and Thunder do battle at Steel Blue Oval and while they might not be occupying first and second spot on the ladder like they were this time in 2021, they are battling with plenty at stake all the same.

Peel is in third position and Swan Districts fourth coming into the clash with the winner to guarantee themselves a spot in the finals again for 2022 while the loser will be guaranteed nothing.

Swans have the bye to come in the final round while the Thunder will play Subiaco who will need to win themselves on Sunday against Claremont to keep their own finals prospects alive.

Since Peel beat Swan Districts to win last year's premiership where they were the only team to beat the black-and-whites all season, the two teams have met two times already in 2022.

The first clash took place back in Round 5 also at Steel Blue Oval and on that occasion it was Swan Districts winning 7.8 (50) to 5.3 (33). 

Ashley Sharp kicked three goals for Swans while Abbygail Bushby racked up 27 possessions. Kate Bartlett and Kira Phillips kicked two goals each for the Thunder, and Ebony Dowson gathered 24 touches.

The second clash was only two weeks ago and that was in Mandurah with Peel Thunder winning big 7.12 (54) to 1.3 (9) against Swan Districts.

In that win, Kate Bartlett kicked three goals for Peel and Krystal Carter two with Sabreena Duffy and Ebony Dowson racking up 18 touches apiece. Abbygail Bushby had 21 disposals for Swans in the loss and Isabella Edgley 18.

Swan Districts are fresh off an important win against South Fremantle last week to consolidate their finals spot, but they are in another must-win situation now this Saturday at home to Peel with the bye to come in the last round.

Melisha Hardy, Natalie House and Lauren Osborne are the players to come back into the Swan Districts team this week to take on Peel at Steel Blue Oval.

Going out from the team that beat South Fremantle last week are Kaitlyn Beaton, Tyla Fitzgerald and Jaime Henry.

Peel is coming off a tough loss to Claremont last week which means their finals spot is still not secured with games to finish the season off against Swan Districts and Subiaco.

There are mass changes in the Thunder team for Saturday's clash with Swans at Steel Blue Oval.

Holly Britton, Sabreena Duffy, Jorja Haines, Bella Mann, Cierra O'Donnell, Lauren Quaife, Lara Thomas and Jordain Thompson are the players all coming into the Thunder line-up.

Going out are Kate Bartlett, Whitney Benson, Krystal Carter, Cassie Davidson, Anke Grove, Emily Gunton, Ebonee Hardie and Kaitlyn Srhoj.
 

WEST PERTH v EAST FREMANTLE

It's bottom against top when West Perth hosts East Fremantle at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium on Sunday.

Both the Falcons and Sharks are locked into finishing where they currently sit as well with two rounds of the WAFLW season remaining with a big job ahead of West Perth to take it up to West Perth.

The Falcons are in their first WAFLW season and it's been tough going for the competition's newest team losing all 12 of their matches so far at an average of 68.1 points a game.

The opposite is the case for the Sharks. Coming off a disappointing 2021 season where they missed the finals, they have hit back with a bang in 2022 and remain undefeated after 12 matches with an average winning margin of 37.3 points.

That all means that West Perth is guaranteed of claiming the wooden spoon this season while East Fremantle is locked into top spot and winning the minor premiership ahead of hosting Claremont in the second semi-final in three weeks' time.

The two teams first met this season back in Round 5 at Shark Park with East Fremantle winning 12.16 (88) to 1.0 (6).

The second clash was also at New Choice Homes Park with the Sharks beating the Falcons 14.9 (93) to 0.2 (2).

So the previous two meetings have seen East Fremantle score a combined 26.25 (181) and West Perth just the 1.2 (8) coming into Sunday's clash at Joondalup.

West Perth comes into the game having had the bye last weekend and prior to that losing to Subiaco by 35 points. East Fremantle had another impressive win last Sunday at home beating the Lions by 50 points.
 

SUBIACO v CLAREMONT

Subiaco hosts Claremont in Round 16 of the WAFLW competition on Sunday in a must-win situation to keep their finals hopes alive.

The Lions take on the Tigers at Leederville Oval and it's a big task ahead of Subiaco to try and become the only team aside from East Fremantle this season to beat Claremont.

The Tigers come into the contest guaranteed of finishing the season in second position having won all their matches of the 2022 WAFLW season aside from against East Fremantle.

Subiaco is now just clinging to their finals hopes and must win their final two matches first against Claremont and then opposed to Peel Thunder if they want to take part in the finals action again for 2022.

The two teams first met this season back in Round 2 at Leederville Oval with Claremont scoring a thumping 7.11 (53) to 1.2 (8) win against Subiaco.

On that occasion, Katherine Bennett and Brooke Whyte kicked two goals each for Claremont with Madeleine Scanlon collecting 17 touches. Jayme Harken finished with 22 touches for Subiaco.

The more recent clash took place in Round 10 with the Tigers winning a closer encounter over the Lions 5.2 (32) to 2.7 (19).

In that match up, Ella Slocombe kicked three goals from three kicks for Claremont with Jasmin Stewart racking up 22 touches. Abbey Dowrick picked up 22 possessions for Subiaco and Jayme Harken 20.

Subiaco comes into Sunday's clash on the back of a 50-point loss to East Fremantle that stopped their recent momentum leaving them needing to win their last two games against Claremont and Peel to be any chance of still reaching finals.

Claremont, meanwhile, beat Peel Thunder impressively by 25 points last Saturday to be guaranteed of second position and a second semi-final appearance with two rounds of the season remaining.