WAFL Round 18 WrapTuesday, August 23, 2022 - 1:08 PM - by Chris Pike

STATEMENTS aplenty were made in Round 18 of the WAFL with wins for Claremont, East Fremantle, West Perth, South Fremantle and Perth, but not much was decided in the race for finals.

It was a full round of WAFL fixtures once again on Saturday for the third last round of the 2022 season and with six teams still fighting for the five finals positions, there was plenty that went on the line.

By the end of the action on Saturday night, West Perth, Claremont, East Fremantle and South Fremantle had all won big to consolidate their top four positions, but losses for Peel Thunder and Swan Districts meant they are still locked in a battle over that fifth and final spot with two rounds remaining.

Perth also returned to the winner's list to guarantee that they won't be stuck with the wooden spoon in 2022.

The Round 18 Saturday afternoon action got underway with Claremont keeping its winning form going with a fifth consecutive victory to beat Peel Thunder 13.11 (89) to 11.8 (74).

Ben Edwards, Timm House and Tyron Smallwood all kicked two goals for Claremont while Bailey Rogers and Lachlan Martinis racked up 29 possessions each.

Neil Erasmus kicked three goals for Peel while Liam Henry finished with 26 possessions and 14 marks.

East Fremantle then consolidated third position with a dominant second half performance to end up beating Swan Districts 20.15 (135) to 8.9 (57) at the WACA Ground.

It was a terrific performance from the Sharks with Jonathon Marsh and Reuben McGuire kicking four goals apiece while Kyle Baskerville racked up 36 possessions. 

It was a rough afternoon for Swans despite two goals each from Jesse Palmer, Brayden Noble and Chris Jones.

It might have been a strange Perth Derby venue at East Fremantle's New Choice Homes Park on Saturday, but it didn’t stop West Perth maintaining its hold on top spot by defeating East Perth 17.12 (114) to 6.8 (44).

Keegan Knott and Mitch Dobson kicked four goals each for West Perth and Tyler Keitel three to go with 31 possessions.

Sandon Page kicked two goals for East Perth with Angus Scott racking up another 32 possessions.

South Fremantle then bounced back from last week's loss with a commanding performance to beat Subiaco 19.18 (132) to 6.8 (44) at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

Mason Shaw had his best outing of the season for South Fremantle kicking five goals with Haiden Schloithe amassing another 33 touches.

Ben Sokol kicked three goals for Subiaco and Liam Hickmott gathered another 31 touches to go with 13 tackles.

Perth then all but consigned the West Coast Eagles to another wooden spoon finish in 2022 with the 13.11 (89) to 6.6 (42) victory on Saturday night at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

Simon Hayward and Harry Quartermaine kicked three goals apiece for Perth with Regan Clarke amassing 32 possessions. 

Jed Kemp kicked three goals for West Coast and Patrick Naish collected 37 possessions.

That all means that West Perth maintains its hold on top positions with two rounds of the 2022 WAFL season remaining with 12 losses, three losses and a draw.

They are half a game ahead of the 12-4 Claremont now with East Fremantle a game further back in third position with an 11-5 record.

South Fremantle sits fourth with 10 wins, five losses and a draw while Peel Thunder stays fifth at 9-7 percentage ahead of the also 9-7 Swan Districts who are in sixth place.

The ladder is then made up by East Perth (6-10), Subiaco (6-10), Perth (3-13) and West Coast (1-15).

The penultimate round of the 2022 season will see four matches take place this Saturday afternoon with Claremont hosting East Fremantle, Subiaco taking on Perth, Peel Thunder at home to West Coast, and Swan Districts hosting West Perth.

The round wraps up on Sunday afternoon between South Fremantle and East Perth at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.
 

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 18

CLAREMONT 13.11 (89) defeated PEEL THUNDER 11.8 (74)

Claremont continued its hot run of form as they make a run for the minor premiership with a hard earned 15-point win against Peel Thunder on Saturday.

It was the battle of two in-form teams when the Tigers and Thunder locked horns at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday with Claremont coming into the game having won four straight as had Peel to maintain their hold on fifth position.

With Claremont out to maintain their top two spot and Peel trying to stay in the top five, it loomed as a fascinating contest but it was the Tigers on top virtually all afternoon on the way to the eventual 13.11 (89) to 11.8 (74) victory.

Last week's WAFL Player of the Round started strongly again for Claremont with Tyron Smallwood kicking the first goal of the contest in less than a minute.

He then added a second at the five-minute mark and he was on track for quite the day out and Claremont had the perfect start.

Ben Edwards then ensured the Tigers kicked the first three goals of the contest but then the Thunder warmed to the task starting with a goal to Mitch Crowden.

When Peel kicked a couple more goals just before quarter-time thanks to Blair Bell and Jye Amiss and it was a just a three-point ball game by the end of the opening quarter.

A couple of goals to start the second term for Claremont from Declan Mountford and Talon Delacey saw the home team back out to an 18-point advantage, which became 24 soon after with a goal to Timm House, and then 30 with a goal to Ryan Lim.

After Bell and Alex Manuel traded goals just before half-time it was the Tigers still on top by 30 points at the major break.

While Claremont's lead did get out to 44 points midway through the third quarter, Peel then made a charge starting with a couple of quick goals to Luke Polson. 

Neil Erasmus then kicked two of his own in the space of three minutes, and then Joel Western added another just before three quarter-time, Claremont's lead had been cut to 13 points and the Thunder had all the momentum.

Peel couldn’t quite go on with it in the fourth quarter, though, and a long-range goal from Jye Bolton proved the sealer and Claremont went on to claim the 13.11 (89) to 11.8 (74) victory.

Ben Edwards, Timm House and Tyron Smallwood all kicked two goals apiece for Claremont with Edwards also gathering 23 possessions and laying four tackles.

Reigning Sandover Medallist Bailey Rogers racked up another 29 possessions for Claremont with Lachlan Martinis impressive once more setting up play off half-back with 29 disposals and 10 marks.

Ryan Lim continued his tremendous season with 28 touches and 10 marks with Declan Mountford also finishing with 26 possessions, Jye Bolton 26, Callan England 22, Ronin O'Connor 19 and ruckman Oliver Eastland 18 to go with 42 hit outs.

Neil Erasmus kicked three goals for Peel to go with 23 possessions while Blair Bell and Luke Polson kicked two goals apiece as well.

Karl Worner ended up racking up 26 touches for the Thunder while Liam Henry finished with 26 disposals and 14 marks.

Reigning fairest and best winner Tyrone Thorne gathered 23 possessions as well for Peel, Mitch Crowden 21, Nathan Wilson 19 and captain Ben Hancock 18.

 

EAST FREMANTLE 20.15 (135) defeated SWAN DISTRICTS 8.9 (57)

East Fremantle guaranteed itself a return to the WAFL finals and made the job all that harder for Swan Districts with Saturday's 78-point victory at the WACA Ground.

With East Fremantle coming into the game in third position and Swan Districts sixth, there was nothing to indicate what was to come in terms of the Sharks blowing the Swans away in the second half.

It was still a tight game at half-time too with East Fremantle only leading by four points, but the Sharks kicked 14 goals to two in the second half to romp to the 20.15 (135) to 8.9 (57) victory.

The win improves the Sharks to an 11-5 record on the season to lock away a finals spot and to stay in third spot while Swans are now 9-7 and face a battle to play finals for consecutive seasons.

East Fremantle kicked the first goal of the game after just two minutes thanks to Reuben McGuire, but Swan Districts soon warmed to the task with a goal to Jesse Palmer.

Swans were then able to close the first term strongly with late goals to Elijah Hewett and Chris Jones to see the visitors take a seven-point lead into the quarter-time break.

It took almost 10 minutes for the first goal of the second quarter and that went the way of East Fremantle through Corey Holmes, Ryan Lester-Smith soon added another and the Sharks took the lead before Cam Eardley extended that advantage to 13 points.

However, Swans responded with goals to Noble and Jones just before half-time and that meant it was just a four-point ball game with it all on the line at half-time.

It was all East Fremantle in the second half, though, with the Sharks piling on five goals to one in the third quarter to lead by 28 points at three quarter-time. 

The Sharks then kicked another nine goals to one in a remarkable last quarter to end up winning 20.15 (135) to 8.9 (57) to maintain third position and to keep Swans outside the finals in sixth with two rounds remaining.

There was a lot to like in the big win from East Fremantle and their forward-line loomed large with Jonathon Marsh staying right in the Bernie Naylor Medal race by kicking four goals from 17 possessions and 10 marks.

Reuben McGuire also kicked four goals for the Sharks with Luke English adding three to go with 24 possessions. Jed Hagan kicked three goals as well with Corey Holmes adding two.

Kyle Baskerville was right back to his prolific best form in the midfield for East Fremantle racking up 36 possessions to go with seven tackles and five marks.

Cam Eardley compiled another 28 touches for the Sharks, Ryan Lester-Smith 28, Milan Murdock 27, Josh Schoenfeld 25, Tom Bennett 24, Matthew Jupp 23 and Jack Cleaver 18 in the second game of his career.

Swan Districts' key forward trio of Jesse Palmer, Brayden Noble and Chris Jones all kicked two goals apiece to combine for six of their team's eight goals in the game.

Jesse Turner was still the leading possession getter on the day for Swan Districts with 21 touches while Jehb O'Donohue gathered 20 disposals, Tobe Watson 20, Jarvis Pina 18 and Elijah Hewett 18.

 

EAST PERTH 6.8 (44) lost to WEST PERTH 17.12 (114)

West Perth maintained top spot on the WAFL ladder and continued its recent Perth Derby dominant with a 70-point thumping of East Perth on Saturday.

The game was played on neutral turf at East Fremantle Oval with the unavailability once more of Leederville Oval but it mattered little to West Perth who dominated the contest virtually from the outset.

West Perth went on to score the 17.12 (114) to 6.8 (44) victory to improve to a 12-3 record on the season with a draw to remain clear on top of the ladder with two games remaining.

East Perth is well out of finals contention now at 6-10 following the loss with West Perth having now won six consecutive derbies between the Falcons and Royals wherever they have been played.

West Perth got the game's first goal on the board through Keegan Knott but East Perth quickly responded thanks to second-gamer Sandon Page.

It took almost 20 minutes for another goal to be kicked and that went the way of the Falcons thanks to Anton Hamp. Aidan Lynch then added another just before quarter-time against his former team to put West Perth up by 11 points at the first change.

After the Falcons kicked four behinds to open the second term, East Perth kicked the first goal of the quarter thanks to Kyle Hamersley. The Royals were then back within just four points shortly after with a goal to Kade Dittmar.

However, the Falcons hit back to close the first half strongly with goals to Mitch Dobson, Sasha Kernutt and then Dobson again against his former side to ensure West Perth remained in control to the tune of 21 points heading into half-time.

After both teams traded goals to start the second half, West Perth pulled away further closing the third quarter with goals to Keitel, Knott and then Keitel again to head into three quarter-time on top by 40 points.

That lead then quickly ballooned to 71 points by the 20-minute mark of the fourth term thanks to six goals in that time for West Perth and the Falcons went on to win 17.12 (114) to 6.8 (44) to retain top position on the WAFL ladder.

The West Perth firepower in attack was fully on show with Keegan Knott kicking four goals as did Mitch Dobson up against his former team. Tyler Keitel then kicked three goals as well to go with his 31 possessions and five marks.

Co-captain Aaron Black kicked two goals to go with his 26 possessions with Anton Hamp kicking two goals as well.

Aidan Lynch had a mid-season reserves stint in his first season back with West Perth but he's locking away his spot now and he delivered 31 possessions, 11 marks, four tackles and a goal on Saturday.

Mitch Peirce also gathered 30 disposals to go with eight tackles for the Falcons while Luke Meadows had 28 touches, Shane Nelson 23, Conal Lynch 22, Tristan Hobley 21 and the returning Zac Guadagnin 20 to go with nine marks.

Ben Delaporte also returned to hold down the ruck and had 20 disposals, six marks and 14 hit outs.

East Perth's only multiple goalkicker for the day was second-gamer Sandon Page to go with his 3 possessions and four tackles.

Angus Scott battled hard once more on the wing for East Perth to finish with 32 possessions and 10 marks with Hamish Brayshaw collecting 26 touches, Stan Wright 23, Angus Schumacher 22, Kye Willcocks 22, Christian Ameduri 22 and Nathan Eaton 21.

 

SOUTH FREMANTLE 19.18 (132) defeated SUBIACO 6.8 (44)

South Fremantle put together its best and most complete performance of the season to beat Subiaco by 88 points on Saturday at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

The Bulldogs were looking to bounce back from a loss to Peel Thunder the previous week in Mandurah to consolidate their finals position when hosting the struggling Subiaco at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Saturday.

South Fremantle dominated the contest virtually from the outset and despite having struggled to kick big scores for the majority of the season, they fired on Saturday kicking 19 goals from 37 scoring shots with a mammoth 72 entries inside the forward 50.

The Bulldogs went on to win 19.18 (132) to 6.8 (44) to improve to a 10-5 record on the season with a draw with two matches of the season remaining.

It was another tough loss for the out of contention reigning premiers with Subiaco now floundering at 6-10 and crying out for the season to end.

Ben Sokol was back on his old home ground and gave Subiaco the perfect start with a goal a minute into the contest and it took almost 10 minutes for South Fremantle to respond thanks to his old colts premiership teammate Mason Shaw.

The Bulldogs then got on a roll from there to close the first quarter with goals to Zac Strom, Brandon Donaldson, Nick Suban and Jimmy Miller to already hold a commanding 30-point advantage by quarter-time.

While the Lions again kicked an early goal to start the second term thanks to another ex-Bulldogs Brandon Matera, they couldn’t build on it and South Fremantle didn’t take long to answer thanks to Tyson Headland.

Brendon Ah Chee and Headland then added goals before half-time and South Fremantle was well on top by 44 points at the major break.

It was South Fremantle's turn to kick an early goal to start the third quarter thanks to Brendon Ah Chee after just 40 seconds to push the lead out to 44 points.

It became a goal feast in the third quarter but the by the time it all settled South Fremantle had added another seven goals for the term to just three from Subiaco.

That saw South Fremantle open up a 69-point advantage by three quarter-time after a goal to Shaw just prior to the siren.

Shaw then added another to start the fourth term to stretch the lead to 76 points and a triple-figure win wasn’t even totally out of the question when Haiden Schloithe kicked a goal at the 26-minute mark, but the Bulldogs cruised to the 19.18 (132) to 6.8 (44) victory.

Mason Shaw played his best game of the season after what has been a challenging 2022 for the premiership winning vice-captain and Bernie Naylor Medallist. He kicked five goals to go with 13 possessions, five marks and three tackles.

Jimmy Miller also struck some imposing form for the Bulldogs kicking three goals to go with 16 touches, eight marks and 15 hit outs with Brendon Ah Chee and Tyson Headland also kicking two goals apiece.

Haiden Schloithe continued his brilliant late season form for South Fremantle with another 33 possessions, six marks, five tackles, four inside 50s and a goal.

Tom Blechynden also gathered another 25 touches for the Bulldogs, Ah Chee 24, Toby McQuilkin 21, Blake Schlensog 19 (10 marks), Zac Strom 18, Chad Pearson 17, Glenn Byron 17 and Jordan Boullineau 17.

Bernie Naylor Medal leader Ben Sokol kicked another three goals for Subiaco from eight kicks while Brandon Matera kicked two goals from 15 touches and eight marks.

Liam Hickmott continued his breakout season in the midfield for Subiaco with another 31 possessions and 13 tackles while Stefan Giro gathered 27 touches, Leigh Kitchin 23, Galen Savigni 21 and the soon-to-be-retired Lachlan Delahunty 21 to go with 14 hit outs.

 

PERTH 13.11 (89) defeated WEST COAST EAGLES 6.6 (42)

Perth broke its losing streak on Saturday night and consigned the West Coast Eagles to the wooden spoon in the process.

The league's bottom two teams locked horns to close the round on Saturday night at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park and it was Perth who didn’t take long to take control of the contest.

The Demons kicked the only four goals of the first quarter and continued to build on that the rest of the evening to end up winning 13.11 (89) to 6.6 (42).

The win snaps an 11-game losing run for Perth to give them three wins for the season to now be two games and a significant percentage ahead of the last placed West Coast with two rounds of the 2022 season remaining.

Perth got off to a good start with the game's first goal through Simon Hayward and that set the tone for the rest of the evening at Lathlain.

Debutant Baxter Philip kicked another goal soon after for the Demons, Hayward added his second and then Sam Perkusich gave them four in the opening term while holding West Coast scoreless to lead by 27 points at quarter-time.

West Coast might have got on the board with a goal to Jed Kemp to start the second quarter, but it made little difference with Hayward soon answering with his third in a brilliant opening to his evening.

Matt Taylor then got forward to add another for Perth and so did Kieran Hug against the team he was a fairest and best award with last year to ensure the Demons went into the half-time break leading by 32 points as they attempted to snap an 11-game losing slide.

Both teams then kicked two goals each in the third quarter with Perth extending its lead to 35 points by three quarter-time.

Perth then kicked four goals to two in the last term to snap the losing run in emphatic fashion and to guarantee they can avoid the wooden spoon with the 13.11 (89) to 6.6 (42) win against the hapless Eagles.

There was a lot to like in the drought breaking victory for Perth and their forward-line had some lively options with Simon Hayward and Harry Quartermaine kicking three goals apiece. Quartermaine could have really had a night out had it not been for five behinds as well.

Kieran Hug kicked two goals as well for Perth to go with 14 possessions and five marks.

In the absence of the suspended Corey Byrne in the Perth midfield, Regan Clarke stepped up for the best performance of his career with 32 possessions, 10 inside-50 entries, five marks and five tackles.

Matt Taylor also racked up 27 possessions and seven marks for the Demons while Haydn Busher played his best game of the season for 24 touches and 14 marks.

Andrew Fisher also racked up 20 disposals, Kasey Nicholas 20, Chris Mayne 17, Sam Stubbs 16, Austin Davis 16 and Fraser McInnes 16 to go with 11 hit outs and seven marks.

Jed Kemp kicked three goals for West Coast from nine kicks, four marks and three tackles.

Patrick Naish amassed 37 possessions to go with eight marks and seven tackles for West Coast while Ethan Hansen collected 29 touches, Ambrose Ryan 19, Andries Mercer 19 and Mitch Henderson 18.