WAFL Round 13 WrapMonday, July 18, 2022 - 11:26 AM - by Chris Pike

EAST Fremantle and South Fremantle had crucial Round 13 WAFL wins to set up a blockbuster clash this coming Saturday while Claremont hit back and Peel Thunder and East Perth both won to keep themselves in the finals hunt.

Saturday's Round 13 action began at Mineral Resources Park and East Fremantle had a big win over the West Coast Eagles to return to top spot in the WAFL, winning 14.14 (98) to 5.6 (36).

Luke English, Max Murphy, Reuben McGuire, Cody Smith and Jarrad Jansen all kicked two goals for East Fremantle with Jansen also compiling 33 touches as did Blaine Boekhorst. Hugh Dixon kicked two goals for West Coast and Patrick Naish had 30 disposals.

Peel Thunder was able to keep its finals prospects alive overpowering Subiaco after quarter-time on the way to an eventual 10.15 (75) to 7.7 (49) win at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium.

Mitch Crowden had 30 touches for Peel, Darcy Tucker 27 and Lloyd Meek 22 to go with 38 hit outs. Ryan Borchet and Ben Sokol kicked two goals each for Subiaco with Stefan Giro gathering 34 possessions.

East Perth made it three wins in-a-row to stay in the finals mix too scoring their second big win over Perth for the season, winning 14.17 (101) to 9.9 (63) at Leederville Oval.

Tom Medhat kicked five goals for the first time in his career with Nick Bonomelli also booting four goals and Nick Robertson two for East Perth. Angus Schumacher picked up 32 touches, Jack Cooley 25 and Hamish Brayshaw 25.

Kristian Cary, Sam Stubbs and Harry Quartermaine kicked two goals each for Perth. Austin Davis finished with 21 disposals and Regan Clarke 27.

Claremont hit back from two disappointing losses to snap the three-game winning run of West Perth with Saturday's 17.7 (109) to 11.14 (80) victory at Revo Fitness Stadium.

Jack Buller kicked four goals for the Tigers and Alex Manuel three with Lachlan Martinis racking up 37 disposals, Ryan Lim 35 and Ben Edwards 33. Tyler Keitel kicked four goals for West Perth and Mitch Antonio three while Shane Nelson racked up 28 touches in his 200th game.

Two teams locked on identical records coming into the round then played out a heartstopper at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with South Fremantle prevailing by a point over Swan Districts, 7.14 (56) to 8.7 (55).

Brendon Ah Chee kicked two goals for South Fremantle to go with 30 possessions with Tom Blechynden racking up 39 disposals and Haiden Schloithe 31. Sam Fisher had 29 touches and two goals for Swan Districts while Jesse Turner gathered 33 possessions.

Following Round 13 of the WAFL season, it's East Fremantle back on top of the ladder percentage ahead of West Perth with both teams holding 9-3 records.

South Fremantle is in third position with an 8-4 record percentage ahead of Claremont while Swan Districts remains in fifth spot at 7-5.

Peel Thunder kept its finals chances alive in sixth position with a 6-6 record to be ahead of East Perth (6-6), Subiaco (4-8), Perth (2-10) and the West Coast Eagles (1-11).

That sets the stage for Round 14 this Saturday which is highlighted by the biggest Fremantle Derby match up in years with a top two spot on the line at the WACA Ground with East Fremantle taking on South Fremantle with the Sharks trying to snap a 13-game losing run against the Bulldogs.

Also on Saturday there will be a double-header at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park starting with Perth taking on Peel Thunder before the West Coast Eagles take on West Perth.

Subiaco will also be at home to Claremont while Swan Districts hosts East Perth.

 

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 13

WEST COAST EAGLES 5.6 (36) lost to EAST FREMANTLE 14.14 (98)

The margin might have been half what they won by last time, but East Fremantle delivered another emphatic performance to beat the West Coast Eagles by 62 points on Saturday.

The Sharks beat the Eagles back in Round 4 by 123 points and while it wasn't quite the same sort of margin on Saturday at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park, it was still another dominant showing from East Fremantle.

East Fremantle dominated early holding West Coast scoreless in the first term while kicking four goals and that set the tone for the eventual 14.14 (98) to 5.6 (36) victory.

The win improves the Sharks to a 9-3 record on the season to move back to top spot setting up quite the derby battle this coming Saturday at the WACA Ground as they attempt to snap a 13-game losing run against South Fremantle.

West Coast slips to 1-11 to remain in bottom spot with another defeat.

West Coast was trying to be significantly more competitive than the last time they took on East Fremantle, but the first quarter didn’t show great signs as the only scoring shots went the way of the Sharks.

Four of those turned into goals through Reuben McGuire with the opening two and then one each to Max Murphy and Matthew Burton for East Fremantle to already lead by 28 points at quarter-time.

West Coast finally got on the board with a goal to Jack Williams and then Hugh Dixon added another soon after against the team he thought he'd be playing for in 2022.

However, the Sharks responded with the last two goals of the half to Jarrad Jansen and Cody Smith to remain in control at the long break leading by 29 points.

Dixon then booted his second goal of the day for West Coast to open the second half but Eat Fremantle managed the only other goal of the third quarter courtesy of Smith who added his second.

The Sharks then produced some scintillating football during the last quarter piling on seven goals to two and when Jeremy Goddard kicking truly late in the piece for a 63-point lead, East Fremantle ended up winning 14.14 (98) to 5.6 (36).

It was another commanding performance from East Fremantle to see them return to top spot on the WAFL ladder with two goals each to Luke English, Max Murphy, Reuben McGuire, Cody Smith and Jarrad Jansen.

Jansen backed up his two goals with a best on ground performance made up of 33 possessions, seven inside-50 entries, six marks and three tackles.

Blaine Boekhorst continued his remarkable form in his 96th WAFL appearance with another 33 touches and a goal for the Sharks with English gathering 23 disposals, Michael Tassone 22, Cam Eardley 21, Ryan Lester-Smith 20 and Josh Schoenfeld 20.

Hugh Dixon kicked two goals for West Coast from four kicks and two marks as his team's only multiple goal scorer for the game.

Patrick Naish continued to put his hand up for an AFL call up for the Eagles by amassing 30 possessions while Josh Rotham fought hard in the ruck for 27 touches, 11 marks and 14 hit outs.

Isiah Winder also gathered 26 disposals for West Coast, Greg Clark 23, Mitch Henderson 21, Ethan Hansen 21 and Joey Deegan 19.
 

PEEL THUNDER 10.15 (75) defeated SUBIACO 7.7 (49)

Peel Thunder finished strongly to beat Subiaco at home by 26 points on Saturday to stay in touch for a finals position in 2022.

The Thunder played host to the Lions at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium with both teams attempting to keep their finals hopes alive.

It was a tight battle most of the way up until a strong last quarter from Peel with four goals to Subiaco's one which saw them prevail 10.15 (75) to 7.7 (49).

As a result, Peel improves to a 6-6 record on the season to be within striking distance of the fifth placed Swan Districts who are 7-5 while Subiaco's premiership defence continues to fade with them slipping to 4-8.

Both teams needed a win to keep their finals hopes alive so the stakes were significant and it took less than a minute for Peel to get the game's first goal courtesy of Joel Western.

Subiaco then answered a minute later thanks to Aaron Breman in a frantic opening.

It would take 10 minutes for another goal and that went the way of Subiaco through Ben Sokol and then his goalkicking partner Ryan Borchet added another.

Peel pulled one back just before quarter-time thanks to Matthew Johnson and that cut Subiaco's lead to eight points by the end of one.

Lloyd Meek then kicked truly early in the second term to level scores up before again the Lions kicked away with a goal each to Sokol and Borchet.

The Thunder were able to respond, though, and finished the first half strongly with goals to Sebit Kuek and Ryan Bennell which means scores were all level by the half-time break.

Subiaco grabbed the lead again to start the second half with a goal to Lachlan Vanirsen. Peel responded thanks to Josh Treacy and the game was still up for grabs by three quarter-time with the Thunder only up by two points.

Peel then kicked the first couple of goals of the last term through Guy Barnes and Brodie Carroll but Subiaco stayed in touch when Michael Braut kicked his first goal of 2022 in his second game of the year.

However, the Thunder had the answers with goals to Darcy Tucker and Luke Polson before Haydn Matthews sealed the deal and they prevailed over the Lions 10.15 (75) to 7.7 (49).

There were a host of impressive performers in the win for Peel and none more so than ruckman Lloyd Meek. He took full advantage of Subiaco missing Lachlan Delahunty to deliver 22 touches, 38 hit outs, five marks and a goal.

Mitch Crowden also racked up 30 possessions for Peel, Darcy Tucker 27, Liam Henry 21, Joel Western 21, Haydn Matthews 18 and Nathan Wilson 18.

Ryan Borchet and Ben Sokol kicked two goals each for Subiaco to be the only multiple goalkickers in the match.

Stefan Giro continued to battle valiantly for the Lions despite another loss with 34 touches while Drew Rohde collected 26 disposals, Leigh Kitchin 24, Harry Marsh 22, Jordan Snadden 17 and Liam Hickmott 17.
 

EAST PERTH 14.17 (101) defeated PERTH 9.9 (63)

It took until the fourth quarter for East Perth to really shake off Perth on Saturday at Leederville Oval, but the eventual 38-point win keeps the Royals in the finals race.

The Royals had beaten the Demons by 81 points back in Round 2 ahead of playing host to them on Saturday at Leederville Oval in their best patch of form of 2022.

East Perth had won its last two matches against Claremont and the West Coast Eagles to stay in touch with the top four, but the Royals had to fight hard to overcome a dogged Demons on Saturday.

Eventually a six-goal to two final term saw East Perth prevail 14.17 (101) to 9.9 (63) which means they have won three straight now to improve to a 5-6 record while the Demons have now lost eight in-a-row at 2-10.

East Perth kicked five behinds to start the game but eventually found the major opening with a goal to Sam Van Diemen at the 20-minute mark. Perth then kicked one through Sam Stubbs and the Royals were only up by four points at quarter-time.

Perth's hopes of a drought breaking win then lifted to start the second quarter with goals to Dakota Baldwin-Wright and Kristian Cary, but the Royals hit back leading into half-time.

East Perth closed the second quarter with two quick goals to Tom Medhat and then goals to Christian Ameduri and Nick Bonomelli which saw them take a 16-point edge into the main break.

Perth was able to kick the first goal of the third term thanks to Kieran Hug and the Demons built momentum again on the back of that with goals also to Harry Quartermaine and Stubbs which saw them back within a point and the game was on.

However, once more East Perth responded strongly with three late third quarter goals to Bonomelli, Medhat and then Bonomelli again to grab a three-goal edge by three quarter-time.

The Royals then put the result beyond doubt to start the last term with two goals to Nick Robertson, two to Medhat and another to Bonomelli all in the space of 13 minutes to see the lead grow to 50 points.

From there, East Perth went on to win 14.17 (101) to 9.9 (63) to keep their finals hopes alive.

Tom Medhat kicked five goals for the first time in his 22-game WAFL career and put himself right in the Bernie Naylor Medal race in his first season with East Perth. His five goals came from nine kicks and nine marks.

Nick Bonomelli also had the best performance of his nine-game career making the most of his move from East Fremantle which saw Eddie Simpson leave the Royals for the Sharks. Bonomelli kicked four goals from nine kicks and eight scoring shots in his first game with East Perth.

Nick Robertson also kicked two goals for the Royals.

Angus Schumacher continued his outstanding form this season for East Perth in the midfield with another 32 possessions while Jack Cooley gathered 25 touches, Hamish Brayshaw 25, Angus Scott 24, Stan Wright 21 and Kye Willcocks 19.

Scott Jones had a strong showing in the ruck too with 12 possessions and 41 hit outs.

Kristian Cary, Sam Stubbs and Harry Quartermaine all kicked two goals apiece for the Demons.

Austin Davis picked up 28 possessions for Perth, Regan Clarke 27, Corey Byrne 23, Kieran Hug 23, Matt Taylor 20 and Andrew Fisher 17.
 

CLAREMONT 17.7 (109) defeated WEST PERTH 11.14 (80)

 

The dramatic recent rivalry between Claremont and West Perth took another surprising twist on Saturday with the Tigers beating the Falcons by 29 points at Revo Fitness Stadium.

It's not so much a surprise Claremont beating West Perth, but the fact they were able to open up a 60-point advantage during the third quarter certainly was before they ended up winning 17.7 (109) to 11.14 (80).

Claremont came into the game after their two most disappointing performances of the season in losses to East Perth and South Fremantle while West Perth had won three straight to be a game clear on top of the WAFL ladder coming into Round 13.

Add in the fact that it was West Perth coach Darren Harris and former Claremont stalwart Anton Hamp's first return to Tigerland with the Falcons in 2022, and the stage was set for a fascinating contest.

But in the end Claremont produced what was likely their best performance of the season to consolidate fourth spot with an 8-4 record as a result while the Falcons slip to second at 9-3 after not quite being able to lift for the 200-game milestone of one of their all-time greats, Shane Nelson.

Claremont needed to respond after two disappointing losses to East Perth and South Fremantle, but it was going to be anything but easy against the league-leading Falcons.

West Perth kicked the first goal of the game thanks to spearhead Tyler Keitel before a string of behinds before Claremont got on the board through Kieran Gowdie.

Keitel and Jack Buller then traded goals before quarter-time with West Perth on top by five points after one.

Claremont then dominated to open the second term with quick goals to Alex Manuel, Lawrence Evans and then a second to Gowdie. Timm House then added another and the lead was out to 18 points for the Tigers.

Claremont kicked another two goals before half-time from Buller and Patrick Kitchener to see the home team in control at the major break leading by 32 points.

It was then a goal feast in the third quarter with the two teams combining to kick 11 goals, but that didn’t help West Perth's cause of fighting back.

Claremont's lead was out to 60 points when Kitchener kicked truly at the 26-minute mark of the third quarter and it was only a couple of late goals for the Falcons from former Tigers small forward Keegan Knott that had the margin back to 48 points at three quarter-time.

West Perth did have the better of the final quarter by kicking five goals to two but Claremont still cruised to the 17.7 (109) to 11.14 (80) victory.

Claremont had been struggling to find avenues to goal in the losses to the Royals and Bulldogs, but they had no such concerns against West Perth on Saturday with Jack Buller stepping up to kick four goals and Alex Manuel found some form to kick three.

Bailey Rogers, Kieran Gowdie and Patrick Kitchener all kicked two apiece as well.

Lachlan Martinis gave the Tigers great drive off the half-back line as well racking up 37 possessions for the game with Ryan Lim also finishing with 35 disposals, Ben Edwards 33, Rogers 29, Callan England 24 and Jye Bolton 22.

West Perth spearhead Tyler Keitel strung together his third straight strong showing in his best patch of form of the season with another four goals from 14 kicks and eight marks.

Mitch Antonio also kicked three goals for the Falcons and Keegan Knott two which both came late in the third quarter.

Shane Nelson was playing his 200th game for West Perth as part of his remarkable WAFL career and he collected another 28 disposals to go with six tackles and a goal.

Aaron Black also finished with 28 touches for the Falcons, Mark Hutchings 25, Luke Meadows 20, Mitch Dobson 18, Tristan Hobley 18 and Mitch Peirce 18.
 

SOUTH FREMANTLE 7.14 (56) defeated SWAN DISTRICTS 8.7 (55)

South Fremantle kicked the last two goals to keep its home winning run against Swan Districts going with a heart stopping one-point win at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

Swan Districts were 13 points in front early in the last quarter in the battle between two teams on identical 7-4 records coming into the Round 13 contest on Saturday afternoon.

However, South Fremantle kicked the last two goals through captain Dylan Main and fifth-gamer Tyson Headland to snatch the 7.14 (56) to 8.7 (55) victory.

The win improves the Bulldogs to an 8-4 record in third position on the ladder while Swans remain fifth at 7-5 while it's a ninth consecutive win at home for South Fremantle against Swan Districts dating back to 2014.

South Fremantle got off to a flying start with a goal to Nick Suban inside two minutes, but it would be more than a quarter before the home team managed another goal.

In the meantime, Swan Districts got on the board courtesy of Brayden Noble before he added a second at the 10-minute mark after taking a strong contested grab on the goal line.

Jarvis Pina then managed to convert the first goal of his 26-game WAFL career and Swan Districts went into quarter-time at a venue they hadn’t won at in eight years with the 10-point advantage.

It was Brendon Ah Chee that kicked South Fremantle's second goal of the game at the six-minute mark of the second term before Caleb Datson added another and that put the Bulldogs back in front.

It wouldn’t last long with Swans getting one back through Sam Fisher but then after the half-time siren, Jimmy Miller kicked truly and the Bulldogs took a four-point lead into the major break.

Fisher opened up the second half with his second goal of the day to put Swans back in front and then Lachlan Riley added another for the black-and-whites, and Tom Edwards did the same.

That put Swans 13 points in front and the possibility of the first win at nine attempts at the port was a distinct possibility. However, Ah Chee's second goal for South Fremantle just before three quarter-time had the home team back within six points at the last change.

Then six minutes into the last term and Greg Ottaviano kicked a goal that put Swans back out to a 14-point lead again, and then Tony Stephens produced the most inspirational of chase down tackles to deny Datson a second goal for South Fremantle.

Swans had all the momentum but the Bulldogs were able to stem the tide and captain Dylan Main kicked a goal that made it a six-point game once more.

It was then small forward Tyson Headland who proved the hero in his fifth game for the Bulldogs as he kicked his third goal to prove the match-winner at the 20-minute mark and South Fremantle went on to win 7.14 (56) 8.7 (55).

Brendon Ah Chee continues to thrive on getting to spend more time as a permanent midfielder this season with South Fremantle. He produced a standout showing on Saturday with 30 possessions, seven marks and two goals.

Tom Blechynden also gathered a career-best 39 possessions for South Fremantle while Haiden Schloithe continued his terrific form with another 31 disposals, seven marks and seven tackles.

The South Fremantle back-line was again superb led by Noah Strom who held Chris Jones to three kicks and one behind while Toby McQuilkin racked up 28 touches (11 marks), Chad Pearson 22 (12 tackles), Josh Cuneo 17 and Aiden Hall 15.

Hamish Free amassed 46 hit outs in the ruck while Nick Suban had 17 touches and five tackles, and Steve Verrier 17 touches and five marks.

Sandover Medallist Sam Fisher made a standout return for Swan Districts kicking two goals from 29 possessions with Brayden Noble also booting two goals.

Jesse Turner was back to his best on the wing for Swan Districts racking up 33 possessions while Aidan Clarke picked up another 29 touches, Jehb O'Donohue 19, Tony Notte 18, Jarvis Pina 17 and Tony Notte 18 to go with six marks.

Nathan Ireland stepped up impressively in the ruck in the absence of Matthew Germs for 17 touches, 22 hit outs, 10 marks and six tackles.