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Round 20 WAFL PreviewFriday, September 2, 2022 - 11:41 AM - by Chris Pike
IT is only fitting that the very last game of the 2022 WAFL season will determine the last finals position on Sunday but before that the finishing positions of the other top four teams will all be sorted out on Saturday.
It looms as a fascinating final round of the 2022 WAFL season with the results on Saturday to determine what order West Perth, East Fremantle, Claremont and South Fremantle finish ahead of the finals beginning next weekend.
That all leads to everything going on the line between Peel Thunder and Swan Districts on Sunday with the winner to advance to the finals and finish fifth while the loser will miss out altogether.
Four of the five matches in Round 20 of the 2022 WAFL season will all take place at 2.10pm on Saturday afternoon where the positions of the top four teams will all be determined.
East Perth will close its tough 2022 season by trying to farewell retiring captain Jackson Ramsay on a winning note at Leederville Oval against East Fremantle.
However, the Sharks have too much at stake to take it lightly with the chance to guarantee a top two finish with the win and potentially even the minor premiership depending on what happens with West Perth.
Speaking of West Perth, the Falcons will be hosting reigning premiers Subiaco at Pentanet Stadium. The Lions had a day of celebration last Saturday in Leigh Kitchin's 150th game and the farewell of Lachlan Delahunty so it will be intriguing to see what they have left in the tank to close out the season.
Meanwhile, a win for West Perth will guarantee them a first minor premiership since 1993.
Claremont will then be playing host to the bottom place West Coast Eagles at Revo Fitness Stadium.
The Tigers can at least guarantee third position and a finals double chance with a victory while there is a chance for them to finish higher should one or both of West Perth and East Fremantle lose.
The last game on Saturday afternoon features Perth taking on South Fremantle at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.
Perth will be looking to get its fourth win of the season to close out 2022 while South Fremantle can only move from fourth position with a win should any of West Perth, East Fremantle and Claremont lose their matches.
That all sets the stage for the main event on Sunday when Peel Thunder plays host to Swan Districts at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium.
The match will bounce down at 12.10pm and the equation is simple, the winner will finish in fifth position and play finals while the loser's season will be over.
WAFL TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 19
WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON 2022 – ROUND 20
EAST PERTH v EAST FREMANTLE
East Fremantle is guaranteed of a first finals appearance since 2014 going into Saturday's clash with East Perth at Leederville Oval, but they can guarantee a top two finish with a victory.
It's been a rough ride for the Sharks since losing that preliminary final on the back of horrible kicking on goal to Subiaco back in 2014, but despite having plenty thrown against them in 2022, they are guaranteed of finals action once again.
Last week's impressive 45-point win against Claremont saw East Fremantle remain in second spot on the ladder as well and a win on Saturday against the Royals will guarantee them at least a top two finish.
The Sharks could still even grab top spot should they win and West Perth loses to Subiaco, but a surprise loss and East Fremantle could still finish as low as fourth should the Falcons, Claremont and South Fremantle all win.
East Perth might be out of finals contention but will be looking to end their season on a high under caretaker coach Ross McQueen and in the last game of retiring captain Jackson Ramsay.
The last time the two teams met was back in Round 3 this year when it was a 10-point win for East Fremantle on the back of a flying start.
The Sharks blew the Royals away early with 10 goals to one in the first quarter. It was a stunning opening that the Sharks couldn’t maintain with the Royals outscoring them the rest of the way 11 goals to three, but East Fremantle held on for the 10-point win.
Jonathon Marsh finished up kicking six goals for East Fremantle from 12 kicks and five marks. Cam Eardley racked up 40 possessions with Kyle Baskerville amassing 29 disposals, Milan Murdock 27, Blaine Boekhorst 24, Jarrad Jansen 23 and Luke English 19.
Tom Edwards-Baldwin kicked three goals for East Perth while Jackson Ramsay finished with 32 possessions and eight tackles for the Royals with Angus Schumacher collecting 31 disposals, Angus Scott 26, Hamish Brayshaw 25 and Stan Wright 22 while Scott Jones had 40 hit outs in the ruck.
With that win, East Fremantle has won three in-a-row against East Perth with the Royals' last win over the Sharks was back in Round 3, 2020 when they won by 43 points at Leederville Oval.
East Perth is looking to end a tough season with an upset win and to also honour retiring captain Jackson Ramsay on a winning note.
To help that cause, the Royals have made two changes from the team that lost to South Fremantle last Sunday in a competitive showing. Nick Bonomelli returns to bolster East Perth's forward-line against this former team as will Nick Robertson.
It's Sandon Page and Harley Sparks going out of the East Perth team.
East Fremantle has made just the one change for the last game before they make their finals return with lively forward Alex Montauban returning while gun half-back Cam Eardley goes out.
WEST PERTH v SUBIACO
It's an unusual circumstance for the last game of the home and away season for Subiaco to be the team crying out for the season to end, but that's the case as they take on West Perth at Pentanet Stadium.
The Falcons will play host to the Lions with West Perth needing to rebound from last Saturday's loss to Swan Districts to guarantee they finish on top of the ladder and still claim a first minor premiership since 1993.
West Perth will be guaranteed of top spot with a win, however, a heavy loss and big win for South Fremantle and victories by East Fremantle and Claremont could remarkably see them still fall to as low as fourth position on the ladder.
Subiaco, meanwhile, will be playing its last game of the season and as reigning premiers as they look for the same motivation that saw them beat Perth last week by 63 points in the 150th game for Leigh Kitchin and last appearance of Lachlan Delahunty.
After Subiaco had dominated proceedings against West Perth with a 10-game winning streak, the Falcons have now won two of the last four meetings between the two teams.
That included a win earlier this season by 31 points when they battled at Leederville Oval in Round 3.
On that day, West Perth was impressive in the 16.4 (100) to 10.9 (69) victory with Keegan Knott continued his strong start to the season kicking four goals from eight kicks and four tackles.
Conal Lynch finished the afternoon with 23 possessions for the Falcons while Aaron Black racked up 22 disposals, Luke Meadows 22, Trent Manzone 22, Shane Nelson 19 and Blake Wilhelm 18.
Subiaco captain Leigh Kitchin kicked two goals to go with 26 possessions, eight tackles, seven inside 50s and four marks. Lachlan Delahunty did all he could to try and inspire Subiaco to their first win of the season with 31 possessions, 10 marks and 25 hit outs.
That meant that the Falcons had won two of the past four matches over the Lions including their win back in Round 9, 2020. However, Subiaco has still won 15 of the past 19 games against West Perth dating back to since the Falcons won the 2013 premiership.
West Perth has made three changes from the team that lost to Swan Districts last week as they look up to secure the minor premiership against Subiaco on Saturday.
Ruckman Troy Yukich returns for the Falcons along with Sasha Kernutt while Corey Rundle will make his debut with Ben Delaporte, Mark Hamilton and Rudy Riddoch all going out of the side.
It will be Subiaco's last game of the season and final match as the reigning premiers with the Lions just making the one change with Oskar Matthews coming into the side to replace the new retired five-time premiership winning legend Lachlan Delahunty.
CLAREMONT v WEST COAST EAGLES
Claremont needs to bounce back from a rough outing last week to head into the finals with some confidence and also from a top three position when they take on West Coast on Saturday.
The Tigers play host to the Eagles at Revo Fitness Stadium needing to win to guarantee a top three finish this season as they look to bounce back from last Saturday's 45-point loss to East Fremantle after going goalless for a half.
However, the Eagles went goalless for three quarters in their 73-point loss to Peel Thunder but they are crying out for the season to end while Claremont need to regain some form and confidence from the game heading into the finals.
Last time the teams met was back in Round 8 of this year at Revo Fitness Stadium when it was Claremont scoring the comfortable 38-point victory.
It took until the last quarter for Claremont to shake off the Eagles with Bailey Bennett having his moments as a small forward kicking two clever goals with Tyron Smallwood also kicking two majors as did Zac Mainwaring and debutant Coen Jackman.
Reigning Sandover Medallist Bailey Rogers had another standout performance in the middle for Claremont racking up 35 possessions with six inside 50s and a long range goal.
Ryan Lim continued his terrific form with another 34 touches while Jye Bolton racked up 29 disposals, Lachlan Martinis 28, Ben Elliott 25, Declan Mountford 22, Max Spyvee 20 and Jack Lewsey 19.
Liam Ryan made his return from injury for West Coast and geared up for an AFL return with two goals while Ambrose Ryan also kicked two goals from 22 possessions and nine marks.
Dom Sheed racked up 34 possessions while Luke Foley gathered 22 touches, Rhett Bazzo 21, Zane Sumich 20, Harry Creasey 20, Josh Rotham 18, Patrick Naish 18 and Ethan Hansen 18.
That meant that Claremont has now won the last five matches against West Coast after the Eagles won the first ever meeting between the two teams back in 2019.
The Tigers went on to beat the Eagles later that year at Optus Stadium and have won all four matches since at Revo Fitness Stadium which is where they will again do battle on Saturday afternoon.
Claremont put in a horror showing last Saturday to lose to East Fremantle but they have another chance to secure their top three finish against West Coast on Saturday.
The Tigers have made six changes from the team that lost to the Sharks last week with Lachlan Martinis returning from suspension with Jason Carter, Ben Elliott, Lawrence Evans, Max Minear and Max Spyvee all coming back into the Claremont line-up as well.
Going out for Claremont are Talon Delacey, Kieran Gowdie, Timm House, Zac Mainwaring, Declan Mountford and Alex Pearce.
West Coast is just looking to end its season on a high note despite being guaranteed a second straight wooden spoon.
The Eagles have made three changes from the team that lost to Peel last week with Josh Browne, Jed Kemp and Ambrose Ryan coming into the team.
Going out are Jack Eastough, Jayden Johnstone and Jalen McGhee.
PERTH v SOUTH FREMANTLE
Perth and South Fremantle have had a fascinating recent history against one another and another intriguing day shapes at Lathlain on Saturday.
The Demons will be looking to end their season on a high under caretaker coach Steve Armstrong while the Bulldogs need to win to be any chance of finishing higher than fourth position, but even then they will need some considerable luck.
While South Fremantle is locked away in a finals position and Perth is out of the running, there will still be plenty to play for on both sides at Mineral Resources Park to close the 2022 WAFL season.
The Bulldogs currently sit in fourth position with 11 wins, five losses and a draw for the season. That means they are guaranteed of at least finishing in fourth position no matter what happens on Saturday.
However, a win for the Bulldogs and they could still finish in a top three position depending on what happens with West Perth, East Fremantle and Claremont in their matches against Subiaco, East Perth and West Coast respectively also on Saturday afternoon.
Perth might be crying out for the end of the season, but with Steve Armstrong in charge following the departure as coach of Garry Moss, he will be looking to show what he can get out of the Demons and they would love nothing more than to finish their season with the upset victory.
Even though South Fremantle has played in the last six WAFL preliminary finals and three Grand Finals, and Perth has struggled for the most part during that run, recent matches between the two teams have been fascinating.
While the Bulldogs have won the last two meetings including by 39 points earlier this season in Round 9 at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, fascinatingly it was the Demons who had won the previous four clashes.
Three of those wins came by six points or less including the memorable last round victory in 2020 that locked away a return to the finals for Perth even though South Fremantle went on to win the premiership weeks later.
South Fremantle comes into Saturday's game on the back of a hard earned nine-point win against East Perth in their last home game of the season last Saturday.
That gave the Bulldogs consecutive wins after beating Subiaco the week before to improve them to 11 wins, five losses and a draw on the season and to sit in fourth position.
South Fremantle will finish fourth on Saturday no matter the result against Perth provided West Perth, East Fremantle and Claremont win their matches.
However, if any of those top three teams lose then the Bulldogs will finish ahead of them especially in the case of the Sharks and Tigers. If West Perth loses to Subiaco, it would come down to percentage between the Bulldogs and Falcons as to who would finish higher on the ladder.
Perth, meanwhile, might be destined to finish in second last position no matter the result on Saturday having won three games for the season, the Demons have done well recently against the Bulldogs and it would be an uplifting end to the season if they scored the upset win.
The Demons have made four changes for their last game of the season with Jack Avery, Mitch Browne, Corey Byrne and Daniel Hill all coming back into the side.
Going out for the Demons are Haydn Busher, Christian Martin, Baxter Philip and Josh Smith.
Coming off last Sunday's tight win against East Perth, South Fremantle has made three changes to its team to take on Perth with Steely Green, Manfred Kelly and Noah Strom back into the side.
Going out for the Bulldogs are Josh Cuneo, Aiden Hall and Jacob Sax.
PEEL THUNDER v SWAN DISTRICTS
The scene couldn’t possibly be set up better for the season to end on Sunday afternoon in Mandurah with Peel Thunder and Swan Districts fighting over the fifth and final position in the top five.
Both Peel and Swan Districts won their games last Saturday which sets the stage for everything to go on the line at Lane Group Stadium this Sunday to close the home and away season.
The equation is quite simple for both teams going into the contest. Coming into the final round of the 2022 season, both Peel and Swan Districts sit on 10-7 records with the Thunder only fifth ahead of the Swans because of percentage.
But that won't come into calculations in determining who claims that fifth and last finals position for 2022. Quite simply, the winner of Sunday's game will finish fifth and the loser will end up sixth and their season will be over.
The game bounces down at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium on Sunday at 12.10pm and will be shown live on Channel 7.
Swan Districts comes into Sunday's do-or-die clash on the back of one of their best performances of the season last week to beat West Perth at Steel Blue Oval by 12 points.
It was a win Swans needed to set up their crack at booking in a finals spot this Sunday after Peel scored a 73-point victory also at home last Saturday against the bottom placed West Coast Eagles.
Last time the two teams met was in Round 8 this year at Steel Blue Oval and if that's anything to go by for what's in store on Sunday, then it's going to be quite the thrilling way to decide who makes the finals and who doesn’t.
It was Swans who ended up winning that game on their home turf by four points in what was a thrilling contest that could have gone either.
Peel was on top most of the afternoon at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval on Saturday and led by as much as 22 points, and still by 14 midway through the fourth term.
However, Swan Districts refused to be denied in front of their vocal home fans and with Chris Jones kicking the last two games of the contest to give him five for day, they snatched the 12.6 (78) to 11.8 (74).
Not only did Jones kick the last two goals of the game to win it for Swans, but had five for the afternoon from 10 kicks and seven marks.
Jesse Turner continued his brilliant form this season by having 40 possessions for the first time in his 109-game career to go with eight tackles, four marks and four entries inside the forward 50.
Sam Fisher also finished with 27 disposals and two goals while Aidan Clarke gathered 27 touches, Josh Cipro 22, Tobe Watson 20, Ryan Kemp 19 and Lachlan Riley 17.
Ben Middleton stood tall for Peel to kick three goals while small forward Guy Barnes made the most of his chances to kick three as well.
Thunder with Haydn Matthews picking up another 27 touches, Mitch Crowden 26, Karl Worner 22, Neil Erasmus 21, Liam Henry 21 and Lloyd Meek 21 to go with 44 hit outs.
Going back further and Swans have now won five in-a-row against Peel Thunder and another win on Sunday would make it six straight and guarantee a finals appearance.
Peel's last win against Swan Districts came in Round 12, 2019 and was in Mandurah with a 79-point victory.
If Swans are able to win on Sunday it will be the first time they've been able to win six straight against the Thunder since winning the first 11 meetings between the two clubs after Peel's entry into the WAFL in 1997.
Peel didn't beat Swans until Round 1, 2001 but since then things have been a bit more even with the Thunder winning 15 and Swan Districts 34 of the 49 meetings the last 21 years.