WAFL Round 17 WrapMonday, August 15, 2022 - 11:15 AM - by Chris Pike

PEEL Thunder continued their charge towards the WAFL finals in 2022 with another strong win on Saturday over South Fremantle while Swan Districts kept pace with them and Claremont moved up into second position.

There were four Round 17 WAFL matches on Saturday in the last of the split rounds before the run into the 2022 finals series and there were wins for Subiaco, Claremont, Peel Thunder and Swan Districts while West Perth and East Fremantle sat out with the bye.

All four Round 17 WAFL matches took place on Saturday afternoon including a battle of the Leederville Oval co-tenants with Subiaco ending up prevailing 10.9 (69) to 8.8 (56).

Angus Dewar and Ryan Borchet kicked three goals each for Subiaco while Liam Hickmott amassed 33 possessions and 14 tackles. Nick Robertson kicked two goals for East Perth with Angus Scott picking up 33 touches.

Claremont then kept its winning form going to improve to second position on the ladder with a huge 18.14 (122) to 6.5 (41) victory against Perth at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

Tyron Smallwood kicked five goals for Claremont and Jack Buller three while Jye Bolton collated another 33 possessions, Ronin O'Connor 31 and Ryan Lim 30. Sam Stubbs kicked two goals for Perth and Matt Taylor had 24 touches.

Peel Thunder made it four consecutive wins by beating South Fremantle 10.12 (72) to 8.10 (58) at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium.

Riley Smith, Jye Amiss and Travis Colyer all kicked two goals each for Peel with Connor Blakely compiling 31 possessions. Mason Shaw and Jimmy Miller kicked two goals for South Fremantle with Haiden Schloithe collecting another 20 touches.

Swan Districts then kept themselves right in the finals hunt by holding the West Coast Eagles to their lowest ever score in the 13.18 (96) to 1.5 (11) win at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval.

Josh Cipro, Chris Jones, Ryan Kemp and Darcy Jones all kicked two goals for Swans while Jesse Turner racked up another 40 possessions. Logan Young was West Coast's lone goalkicker with Isiah Winder picking up 30 touches.

Now with three rounds of the season remaining, it's West Perth still on top of the ladder with 11 wins, three losses and a draw but they are only half a game ahead of Claremont who improve to 11-4 following the four consecutive victories.

East Fremantle is third at 10-5 ahead of South Fremantle (9-5, with a draw) and Peel Thunder (9-6) while Swan Districts is just percentage behind in sixth position also at 9-6.

Rounding out the ladder is East Perth (6-9), Subiaco (6-9), Perth (2-13) and West Coast (1-14).

It's back to a full fixture of matches in Round 18 this coming Saturday with Claremont to play Peel Thunder in the battle of teams on four-game winning streaks.

East Fremantle and Swan Districts also do battle in another match with finals implications while East Perth takes on West Perth, South Fremantle is at home to Subiaco, and Perth takes on the West Coast Eagles which could determine the wooden spooner for 2022.

 

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 17

SUBIACO 10.9 (69) defeated EAST PERTH 8.8 (56)

Subiaco and East Perth would have been relieved to get to play each other on their respective home grounds at Leederville Oval, and they played out a tight battle on Saturday.

The Leederville Oval co-tenants got to play on home turf on Saturday and were playing for pride with a month to go in the home and away season, and little separated them for the majority of the afternoon.

In the end, Subiaco proved too strong to defeat East Perth 10.9 (69) to 8.8 (56) which improves the Lions to a 6-9 record on the season which is now the same of the Royals who only remain ahead of their co-tenants courtesy of percentage.

The continued use of usual gun defender Angus Dewar to continue to provide some bite in the Subiaco forward-line and he kicked the game's first goal on Saturday.

East Perth spearhead Tom Medhat then responded up the other end before Kate Dittmar kicked the Royals out to a nine-point lead before that became 15-point by quarter-time thanks to a goal from 101-game half-forward Shayne Hille.

It took 16 minutes into the second quarter for a goal to come and then Subiaco kicked two in two minutes thanks to Jordan Snadden and Brandon Matera to tie scores up.

Ryan Borchet then added another to put the Lions in front and that lead was out to 12 points at half-time with a second goal of the half to Dewar.

The Royals were then right back into the game with an early goal in the third quarter from wingman Angus Scott but Subiaco responded with a third goal to Dewar.

East Perth was making a charge, though, and further goals to Nathan Eaton and Mitch Schofield to grab the lead briefly. However, Subiaco responded with a goal from Jordan Faraone to be four points in front by three quarter-time.

The lead then continued to shift to start the fourth term with an East Perth goal to Nick Robertson and then one to Subiaco from Bernie Naylor Medal leader Ben Sokol. 

The returning Borchet then stepped up for the Lions with two goals in three minutes to put the game beyond doubt and Subiaco went on to win 10.9 (69) to 8.8 (56).

For the first time ever in his 96-game career with Subiaco, Angus Dewar kicked multiple goals and ended the afternoon with three to go with 12 touches and four inside-50 entries.

Ryan Borchet also came back into the line-up for the Lions and kicked three goals from 13 touches, six marks and four tackles.

Liam Hickmott continued his breakout season with Subiaco to emerge as a genuine top quality midfielder in the competition. He finished with 33 possessions and 14 tackles.

Stefan Giro also gathered 26 touches for the Lions, Wil Hickmott 24, Leigh Kitchin 23, Harry Marsh 22, Drew Rohde 20 and Chad Harris 18.

Nick Robertson was East Perth's only multiple goal scorer with two from his 12 touches, four marks and three tackles.

Angus Scott put in another strong performance on the wing for East Perth racking up 33 possessions and seven marks with Angus Schumacher gathering 26 touches, Hamish Brayshaw 26, Stan Wright 21, Kye Willcocks 20 and Jack Cooley 19.

Scott Jones dominated the ruck with 62 hit outs to go with 15 touches and five entries inside the forward 50.
 

PERTH 6.5 (41) lost to CLAREMONT 18.14 (122)

Claremont sent another message about its intentions in 2022 with a thumping 81-point road win against Perth at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park on Saturday.

Despite the Demons showing some admirable fight in the third quarter, they were no match for a Tigers team who kicked seven goals to nil in the fourth quarter to end up winning 18.14 (122) to 6.5 (41).

It was a remarkably dominant showing from Claremont as displayed in the eventual 81-point margin as the Tigers collected 144 more disposals than the Demons along with the 65 inside-50 entries to 33 and 32 scoring shots to 11.

The win is a fourth in-a-row for Claremont to improve them to second position on the WAFL ladder with an 11-4 record.

It's another tough blow for Perth who have now lost 11 straight with just two wins for the season they can't wait to come to an end.

Claremont wasn’t really able to assert its dominance over Perth in the first quarter with the Tigers' two goals from Alex Manuel and Tyron Smallwood responded to by Sam Stubbs to keep Perth within eight points at quarter-time.

It wouldn’t stay that close for long starting with a goal to Jack Buller a minute into the second term. Jye Bolton then added another minutes later and then so did fellow Sandover Medallist Bailey Rogers.

Manuel kicked a second and while Perth did manage a couple through Stubbs and Sam Perkusich, the Tigers ended the half with goals to Buller, Timm House and Smallwood to be in control leading by 42 points.

Perth did make a good start to the second half with an early goal to Christian Wilson and the Demons did have a good quarter from there and outscored Claremont three goals to two to cut the margin back to 37 points by three quarter-time.

The Tigers were back to assert their dominance once more with a seven-goal to nil fourth quarter to get a confidence boost which could end up being important in securing a top two finish as they won 18.14 (122) to 6.5 (41).

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest that Tyron Smallwood is having the best season of his 43-game WAFL career in 2022 even though he's only played 11 of the 15 games for Claremont. 

And on Saturday, the small forward kicked five goals for the first time having earlier kicked four for the first time back in Round 9. His five goals came from 12 kicks, five inside 50s and four tackles.

Jack Buller continued his impressive form as a tall target for the Tigers kicking three goals with Bailey Rogers and Alex Manuel kicking two apiece.

Jye Bolton racked up another 33 disposals for Claremont while Ronin O'Connor picked up 31 touches, Ryan Lim 30, Bailey Rogers 28, Lachlan Martinis 27, Callan England 25, Declan Mountford 23, Jared Hardisty 20, Jack Lewsey 18 and ruckman Oliver Eastland 18 to go with 31 hit outs.

Sam Stubbs kicked two of the six goals for the game for Perth.

Matt Taylor battled valiantly across half-back for the Demons with 24 touches and six marks while Andrew Fisher had 17 disposals, Austin Davis 17, Corey Byrne 16 and Chris Mayne 16.
 

PEEL THUNDER 10.12 (72) defeated SOUTH FREMANTLE 8.10 (58)

Peel Thunder continued their impressive recent form to maintain a hold on a position in the top five by beating South Fremantle at home by 14 points on Saturday.

It was fourth against fifth on the WAFL ladder at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium and by the end of the afternoon the Thunder had further consolidated their spot but also closed the gap on the Bulldogs.

Peel delivered the 10.12 (72) to 8.10 (58) to make it four successive wins to improve to a 9-6 record on the season to remain in fifth position ahead of Swan Districts, but also now just half a game behind South Fremantle.

It was a tough loss for South Fremantle to take who are now nine wins, five losses and a draw with three games to remaining to be in fourth spot just two points ahead of Peel and half a game as well behind the third placed East Fremantle.

South Fremantle started the game well with a spectacular kick from the outside of his right boot from ruckman Hamish Free for the first goal of the contest at the 11-minute mark.

Riley Smith and Ethan Hughes then answered with the next couple for the Thunder before the Bulldogs ended the first term the better with goals to Haiden Schloithe and the returning Mason Shaw to see the visitors leading by a goal at quarter-time.

Peel was back level to start the second quarter when big man Smith took another mark inside-50 and converted after just over a minute.

Travis Colyer then added another for the Thunder in his first WAFL appearance of the season before South Fremantle regained the lead head into time-on courtesy of Steve Verrier.

However, Jye Amiss ensured the Thunder went into the half-time break with a narrow lead after he kicked truly and put Peel on top by five points.

It took more than 18 minutes into the third quarter for a goal to be kicked and that went the way of Peel's dual premiership veteran Blair Bell. However, South Fremantle stayed in touch thanks to Caleb Datson and it was just a four-point ball game by three quarter-time.

Peel was then able to answer every challenge from South Fremantle in the last quarter as the teams traded goals with three apiece up until Jimmy Miller goaling for the Bulldogs at the 26-minute mark to make it a six-point game.

However, the Thunder had the last say with a late goal to Matthew Johnson and the home team went on to win 10.12 (72) to 8.10 (58).

Riley Smith provided a good forward target for Peel along with solid ruck backup with two goals to go with 11 touches and 20 hit outs while Jye Amiss returned to kick two goals and Travis Colyer also booted two majors.

Lloyd Meek had the better of his ruck battle with Hamish Free to finish with 22 touches, 40 hit outs, five marks and four tackles.

Connor Blakely also amassed another 31 possessions for the Thunder, Mitch Crowden 28, Tyrone Thorne 20, Neil Erasmus 20, Karl Worner 19 and Liam Henry 18.

Mason Shaw returned for his first league game since Round 7 and kicked two goals from 15 touches and three tackles in an encouraging performance. Fellow key forward Jimmy Miller also kicked two goals.

Haiden Schloithe continued his strong form for the Bulldogs approaching game 200 with another hard working performance made up of 20 possessions, four tackles, four inside 50s, three marks and a goal.

Toby McQuilkin also gathered another 20 touches to go with six marks while Tom Blechynden collected 18 possessions, Brendon Ah Chee 16 (seven tackles), Chad Pearson 16, Blake Schlensog 16 (eight marks) and Steve Verrier 15 (six tackles).
 

SWAN DISTRICTS 13.18 (96) defeated WEST COAST EAGLES 1.5 (11)

After West Coast kicked the first goal of the game on Saturday, Swan Districts managed the only other 13 of the day to end up recording a thumping 85-point win against the Eagles.

Swans kicked the last 13 goals of the clash at Steel Blue Oval to end up beating the Eagles 13.18 (96) to 1.5 (11) to deliver quite the emphatic performance to keep their finals hopes alive.

The massive win for the black-and-whites improves them to a 9-6 win on the season to be just percentage behind the fifth placed Peel Thunder and then just two points behind the fourth placed South Fremantle, and one game back from the third placed East Fremantle.

West Coast actually got off to a good start with a goal to Logan Young inside the game's first three minutes. There would have been no way of knowing they wouldn’t kick another goal the entire rest of the afternoon.

Josh Cipro then set the tone for Swan Districts by kicking two goals in a minute. While Swans kicked a string of behinds on the back of that, eventually just before quarter-time Elijah Hewett and Lachlan Riley kicked a goal each and the home team was on top by 23 points.

Swan Districts did struggle to kick accurately with another run of four behinds to start the second quarter and it took until the 18-minute mark for a goal to come, and it eventually was courtesy of second-gamer Darcy Jones.

Ryan Kemp and Tom Edwards then also added goals just before half-time and Swans went into the break on top by 46 points.

It only took four minutes for Swans to kick their eighth goal of the afternoon thanks to spearhead Chris Jones before Aidan Clarke got on the board. 

The lead got out to 11 goals when Chris Jones kicked his second of the quarter, Darcy Jones then added his second of game and Swans had again held the Eagles to two points for the third term to lead by 72 points at three quarter-time.

There were just the two goals kicked in the last quarter and they came courtesy of Kemp and the returning Jesse Palmer to secure the 13.18 (96) to 1.5 (11) win for Swan Districts.

Swan Districts had four players all kicking two goals in the win and they were Josh Cipro, Chris Jones, Ryan Kemp and second-game excitement machine Darcy Jones while another five players all kicked a goal apiece.

Jesse Turner continued his remarkable form this season with another 40 possessions to go with five marks, four tackles and four entries inside the forward 50 on the wing.

Aidan Clarke was superb once more as well racking up 31 touches while Jarvis Pina compiling 29 disposals, Tobe Watson 27 (10 tackles), Jehb O'Donohue 25 (eight tackles), Sam Fisher 25, Cipro 23, Mitch Bain 21, Darcy Jones 19 and ruckman Brodie Morris 17 to go with 26 hit outs and four tackles.

West Coast's lone goal came courtesy of Logan Young who had a strong game with 20 possessions and six marks.

Isiah Winder continued his impressive form for the Eagles too with 30 possessions while Josh Browne finished with 27 touches, Alex Witherden 26, Jed Kemp 25 and Ethan Hansen 20.

Bailey Williams fought hard in the ruck for 22 disposals and 26 hit outs.