WAFLW Round 13 WrapTuesday, June 6, 2023 - 8:53 AM - by Chris Pike

WEST Perth and East Fremantle were the big winners in WA Day round of the 2023 WAFLW season with the Sharks up to third position as a result and the Falcons staying just in touch of the finals.

There were just the two games across the long weekend in Round 13 of the WAFLW competition with a Perth Derby on Sunday at Joondalup and then the Fremantle Derby at the WACA Ground on Monday evening.

It was a fascinating second ever Perth Derby at Pentanet Stadium on Sunday with West Perth having to fight hard to overcome East Perth and score the eventual 4.6 (30) to 2.2 (14) victory.

The win improves the Falcons to a 5-7 record on the WAFLW season to be two games now outside of a top four position.

It was then time for the Fremantle Derby at the WACA Ground on Monday evening in the first ever WAFLW clash between the two old rivals on the WA Day public holiday.

In the end, it was East Fremantle who prevailed and held South Fremantle goalless with the Sharks winning 3.1 (19) to 0.1 (1).

It was a significant result for both teams with East Fremantle improving to third position as a result to now be within a game of the second placed South Fremantle who suffered its first loss of the season against a team other than Claremont.

Claremont, Peel Thunder, Subiaco and Swan Districts all had the Round 13 bye.

There were three matches in Round 13 of the Rogers Cup Youth Girls competition across the WA Day weekend as well beginning on Friday night with South Fremantle beating East Fremantle 8.6 (54) to 4.6 (30) at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

Rosie Anderson kicked another three goals for South Fremantle with Charlotte Bell adding two. Lexi Laffrey kicked two of the four goals for East Fremantle.

The lone game on Saturday took place at Lathlain’s Mineral Resources Park and it saw Peel Thunder defeat Perth 4.5 (29) to 1.4 (10). Billie-Jae Thompson kicked two goals in the win for the Thunder.

Last up for Round 13 in the Rogers Cup saw West Perth win a thriller 3.5 (23) to 3.4 (22) at Joondalup’s Pentanet Stadium. The only multiple goalkicker in the game was Jorja Schell for East Perth who kicked two.

WAFLW PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 13

WEST PERTH 4.6 (30) defeated EAST PERTH 2.2 (14)

East Perth scored the first two goals of the second ever Perth Derby in the WAFLW but West Perth kicked the last four to secure the 16-point victory at Pentanet Stadium.

The Falcons and Royals were clashing for the second ever time in the WAFLW and with East Perth still chasing that elusive first victory, that became a distinct possibility on Sunday when they managed to kick the game’s first two goals.

However, West Perth hit back to kick the last four goals of the afternoon to end up winning 4.6 (30) to 2.2 (14) at the Joondalup venue.

West Perth’s goals for the game were kicked by Grace Betti, Tia Bergin, Emily Bennett and Georgia Cowman.

Taylor Ferguson produced a best on ground performance for West Perth consisting of 27 possessions, eight tackles, four marks and five entries inside the forward 50.

Bennett also finished with 19 disposals and 10 tackles for the Falcons with Betti collecting 16 possessions, Bianca Webb 16, Jeevna Heer 12 and Nadia Parora 11.

East Perth kicked the first two goals of the game and they came from Makayla Pugliese-Thompson and captain Jess Valvasori.

Melisha Hardy ended up with 19 touches for the Royals, Chloe Sauzier 19, Jorja Elisseou 14 and Mahli Turland 12 while Matilda Bennett had eight possessions and 17 hit outs in the ruck along with five tackles.

East Perth made the perfect start in the hunt of that first ever WAFLW victory with the first goal of the game thanks to Jess Valvasori at the nine-minute mark.

That would prove the only goal of the opening quarter as well with the Royals leading by four points at quarter-time which was their first ever time leading in the WAFLW.

The Royals then also kicked the first goal of the second term thanks to Makayla Pugliese-Thompson and suddenly history was possible that they could open their account with a memorable win.

However, the Falcons responded with the last two goals of the half through Grace Betti and Georgia Cowman to hold the narrow two-point lead heading into the main break.

West Perth was then able to dominate the third quarter by kicking the only two goals from Tia Bergin and Emily Bennett to assume the 16-point edge by three quarter-time.

There then wasn’t a goal to either team in the last term and that meant West Perth won by 16 points in East Perth’s most competitive showing yet.

EAST FREMANTLE 3.1 (19) defeated SOUTH FREMANTLE 0.1 (1)

East Fremantle heated up the race for second place in the WAFLW now for the last three weeks of the home and away season with a 16-point win in the WA Day Derby at the WACA Ground.

The Sharks and Bulldogs did battle on Monday evening following the WAFL fixture at the WACA Ground to celebrate WA Day, and the conditions were always going to make for a fascinating contest.

The rain, the wind and a muddy centre square allowed for plenty of intrigue and it was East Fremantle who kicked the only three goals of the game to end up winning 3.1 (19) to 0.1 (1).

What it does is set up a fascinating finish to the season with South Fremantle remaining in second position with eight wins, three losses and a draw. East Fremantle stayed in touch, though, to now have seven wins, four losses and a draw.

The Bulldogs finish their season against Subiaco and Swan Districts after this weekend’s bye while the Sharks finish with matches with Swan Districts and Peel Thunder. 

East Fremantle’s goals were kicked by Georgie Cleaver, Larissa Versaci and Georgia Bett.

Zipporah Fish racked up 23 possessions for the Sharks, Ashleigh Gomes 17, Versaci 15, Caylen Crook 14, Beth Beckett 12, Natasha Entwistle 12 and Nadya Browne 12 to go with 10 tackles.

The ruck-forward combination provided by Laura Catherine and Cleaver worked tremendously too. Catherine finished with 16 possessions and 16 hit outs, and Cleaver 13 touches, 14 hit outs and 12 tackles.

While South Fremantle didn’t kick a goal in the game, there were plenty of impressive individual performances including Ariana Hetherington delivering another 17 possessions, 29 hit outs and nine tackles.

Kloe Bassett racked up 24 possessions for the Bulldogs, Renee Morgan 17, Lauren Vecchio 17, Luci Gilchrist 16, Molly O’Hehir 16 and Kahra Sprlyan 15 along with five tackles.

The tough conditions both overhead and at ground level were always going to make it a challenge for both teams to get much going on Monday evening at the WACA Ground.

But from the outset it was East Fremantle who adjusted to the conditions the better and the Sharks kicked the first goal of the game through Larissa Versaci at the 12-minute mark of the opening term.

East Fremantle had another just two minutes later thanks to Georgie Cleaver and ultimately that would prove enough to set up the win with that two minutes of play from the Sharks.

East Fremantle would go on to still lead by 13 points at quarter-time and by the same margin at half-time with neither team able to score in the second term at the WACA Ground.

The only score of the third quarter was a goal for East Fremantle to Georgia Bett.

That would prove the last goal of the contest too and the only score of the final term was a behind to South Fremantle from Jasmine Bazeley. That would be the Bulldogs’ only score of the night with the Sharks going on to score the 18-point victory.