WAFL Round 8 WrapTuesday, June 6, 2023 - 9:06 AM - by Chris Pike

WA Day round is always the biggest occasion of any WAFL home and away season, and the 2023 edition didn’t disappoint capped off with a remarkably dramatic Monday afternoon with big wins for the underdog South Fremantle and East Perth.

It was unfortunate at least from a crowd perspective that the weather closed in across the WA Day long weekend, but it only ended up adding to the drama on Monday when both traditional derbies had to be stopped for half an hour due to the lightning.

However, once the games resumed it was South Fremantle who took charge against East Fremantle to keep its remarkable winning streak going, and then East Perth kept on the charge for a big win against West Perth.

And that came after Claremont, Swan Districts and Subiaco had big wins all earlier in the weekend in Round 8 of the WAFL.

The round began on Saturday afternoon at Lathlain’s Mineral Resources Park with Claremont’s 19.17 (131) to 6.11 (47) victory ultimately shooting the Tigers back to the top of the WAFL by the end of the round.

Next up on Sunday and it was Swan Districts regaining some confidence and winning form with the 16.18 (114) to 5.3 (33) victory at home to the West Coast Eagles at Steel Blue Oval.

The other game on Sunday was a much tighter affair and it was Subiaco knocking off the league-leading Peel Thunder 8.14 (62) to 8.8 (56) in rough conditions at Mandurah’s Lane Group Stadium.

That all led into the two traditional WA Day derby match ups with South Fremantle extending its record winning run against East Fremantle to 15 by prevailing 5.7 (37) to 2.11 (23) at the WACA Ground.

East Perth then shot out of the blocks with a flying start against West Perth at Leederville Oval, and the Royals went on with the job to win 14.10 (94) to 8.10 (58) to replace the Falcons in the top five as a result.

Round 8 of the Reserves also got underway on Saturday with Claremont defeating Perth 10.13 (73) to 9.8 (62) at Mineral Resources Park.

Dylan Mulligan kicked two goals for Claremont with Felix Rogers picking up 23 touches, Mitch Barron 23, Menno Inverarity 23 and Morgan Davies 21.

Kristian Cary and Baxter Philip kicked two goals each for Perth while Conor McPartland gathered 17 disposals, Ty Sears 17 and Jack Poole 16. Ajang Ajang had 34 hit outs in the ruck.

Then on Sunday in Mandurah, Subiaco defeated Peel Thunder 7.6 (48) to 5.10 (40).

James Faraone kicked two goals for Subiaco with captain Leigh Kitchin returning from a hamstring injury with 27 possessions while Noah Ash picked up 24 disposals, Connor Faraone 23 and Jake Stergiou 20.

Aidan Hare gathered 25 possessions for Peel, James Sturrock 23, Haydn Matthews 23, Guy Barnes 23 and Jonathon Ietto 20.

The other two Round 8 games took place on WA Day beginning with a draw between East Fremantle and South Fremantle, with both teams finishing on 6.9 (45).

Jack Walsh kicked the game tying goal for East Fremantle before Aiden Hall’s winning attempt for South Fremantle saw his shot go out on the full.

Jackson McDonald racked up 27 disposals for the Sharks, Matthew Burton 25, Josh Ritchie 25, Matt Williamson 24, Enrique Aiken-Featherstone 19 and Lachlan Blakiston 18 to go with 38 hit outs.

Jack Blechynden kicked two goals for the Bulldogs to go with 15 possessions and 17 hit outs. Jacob Sax also had 23 touches, Kyle Russell 21 and Hall 20.

The last game of the round saw West Perth beat East Perth 9.8 (62) to 5.7 (37) at Leederville Oval.

Keegan Knott and Zarne Robis kicked three goals each for West Perth and Jasper Scaife two while Mark Hutchings finished with 26 touches, Zac Langdon 25, Griffith Julian 21, Kane Bevan 20, Luke Reilly 19 and Michael Mallard 17 with 29 hit outs.

Adam Boules picked up 27 possessions for East Perth, Nathan Eaton 23, Sandon Page 20, Jordan Hayden 19 and Spider Lockitt 19.

Then in the Colts action for Round 8, Perth defeated Claremont 9.6 (60) to 7.10 (52) on Saturday.

Robert Warrell kicked two goals for the Demons with Kalib Dempster-Park picking up 29 disposals, Jake Watson 26, Noah Cachard 21, Tomas Waite 18 and Connor McDonald 18.

Cody Angove kicked two goals for Claremont while Ryley Valli gathered 27 touches, Riley Disisto 20 and Sam Gilbey 18.

Sunday’s lone game saw Subiaco score the 13.13 (91) to 9.8 (62) victory against Peel Thunder in Mandurah.

Hayden Windsor kicked three goals for Subiaco, Riley Wills two and Malakai Champion two while Wills finished with 30 possessions, Ethan Barbieri 28 and Tyler Senge 24.

Toby Jenkins kicked three goals for Peel to go with 18 possessions as Jackson Klepzig ended up with 16 touches, Taj Parker 14, Austin Polmear 14 and Jack Ilott 14.

The other two matches were on Monday beginning with East Fremantle beating South Fremantle 12.10 (82) to 5.9 (39).

Jack Cocking had a day out in the win for the Sharks kicking six goals with Griffin Vladich also kicking two. Mitchell Zadow had 24 touches, Harry Pickett 19 and Chadd Dunscombe 16 to go with 11 tackles and a goal.

Josh Taylor-Thorpe picked up 17 possessions for the Bulldogs, Callum Copeland 17, Rhyder James 17 and Ed Graham 12 along with 10 hit outs in the ruck.

West Perth were then able to prevail against East Perth 9.11 (65) to 4.4 (28) at Leederville Oval.

Jye Skender kicked two goals for the Falcons with Matt Galjaardt compiling 30 possessions, Callum Smith 20, Kyle Wilcox 19 and Bailey Long 18.

Darcy Craven gathered 25 touches for East Perth, Mitch Miller 22, Brody Delaney 22, Alexio Yiannakis 19 and Xavier Milner 19.

 

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 8

PERTH 6.11 (47) lost to CLAREMONT 19.17 (131)

Claremont kicked seven goals in the first quarter, and then 11 to two in the second half to blow Perth away by 84 points on Saturday with the win rocketing them to the top of the WAFL.

The Tigers were looking to bounce back from their loss in Broome last Saturday to East Fremantle and made a flying start with seven goals to two in the opening quarter.

Claremont then made sure of the win by dominating the second half as well at Lathlain’s Mineral Resources Park with 11 goals to two to claim the 19.17 (131) to 6.11 (47) victory.

Alex Manuel might have been playing his first game of the season for Claremont after coming off an injury and then building form and fitness in the reserves, but he made up quickly for lost time on Saturday.

In the 89th game of his career, Manuel showed that he could lessen the blow for the Tigers of losing Jack Buller to the Sydney Swans by kicking five goals from his 10 kicks.

Max Minear also kicked three goals for the Tigers with Declan Mountford, Talon Delacey, Tyson Smallwood and Zac Mainwaring all adding two apiece.

Callan England is thriving in his role this season as a permanent midfielder for Claremont and he was superb on Saturday finishing with 33 possessions, six marks, six inside 50s and three tackles.

Jye Bolton also racked up 27 touches for the Tigers, Lachlan Martinis 26, Teia Miles 25, Mountford 24, Jack Lewsey 23, Oliver Sheldrick 23, Joel Western 23, Ronin O’Connor 22 and Anthony Davis 20.

Oliver Eastland finished with another 18 touches and 20 hit outs in the ruck for Claremont.

Sam Stubbs and Harry Quartermaine kicked two goals each for Perth with the forward-line dearly missing the presence of Jaiden Hunter who was drafted mid-week to Essendon.

Jack Avery continued his tremendous form for Perth out of the back-line with another 27 possessions to go with eight marks and four tackles.

Charlie Thompson gathered another 25 touches through the middle with Jack Cooley also picking up 25 disposals, Corey Byrne 23, Regan Clarke 23 and Matt Taylor 22.

Harry Quartermaine has big shoes to fill now as the main Perth spearhead following the departure to Essendon of Jaiden Hunter, but he made the perfect start on Saturday with the first goal of the game.

Claremont took charge from there starting with a goal after six minutes to Declan Mountford. That started a stunning first term for the Tigers with Zac Mainwaring, Max Minear, Talon Delacey, Tyron Smallwood and the returning Alex Manuel all adding goals.

Sam Stubbs did kick a steadier for the Demons after he was standing the mark and Teia Miles kicked it straight to him. 

But Delacey added another before quarter-time with Claremont kicking seven to two for the quarter to end up leading by 34 points after one.

Claremont couldn’t quite keep that momentum going in the second term and Perth did outscore them two goals to one, but the Tigers were still leading by 31 points by the main break.

Claremont then opened up the second half with an early goal to Oliver Sheldrick and the Tigers soon added another through captain Mountford for his second of the day.

Claremont added three more goals to close the quarter to head into the final break leading by 58 points.

Despite an early last quarter goal for Perth to Stubbs, Claremont kept on rolling and added another six goals in the last quarter to romp to the 84-point victory which ultimately shot them to the top of the WAFL with Peel’s loss to Subiaco on Sunday.

 

SWAN DISTRICTS 16.18 (114) defeated WEST COAST EAGLES 5.3 (33)

Swan Districts shook off their string of tight losses so far this season to produce a dazzling second half with 11 goals to one to beat the West Coast Eagles by 81 points.

Swans were back home on Sunday afternoon to play host to the Eagles at Steel Blue Oval desperate to notch a second win of the WAFL season having lost five games already by seven points or fewer in 2023.

That included a devastating four-point loss to Subiaco last Saturday but for the first half on Saturday, Swans couldn’t quite shake the winless Eagles to only be leading by 14 points at half-time.

However, Swan Districts dominated from there with two goals to nil in the third term, and then nine goals to one in the fourth stanza to claim the 16.18 (114) to 5.3 (33) victory.

Tom Edwards shook off the disappointment of missing a late shot in the narrow loss to Subiaco last week by producing the best performance of his 36-game career on Sunday.

Edwards ended up kicking six goals for the day from 22 possessions and nine marks.

Lachlan Riley also kicked two goals for Swans to go with his 27 disposals and five tackles with Jiah Reidy also booting two goals.

Jesse Turner bounced back from an uncharacteristically quiet 11-possession game last week against Subiaco. He embraced the captaincy too in the absence of Chris Jones and Brandon Erceg to rack up 37 possessions, five inside 50s and a goal.

Aidan Clarke continued his superb form on return from injury with another 36 touches for Swans while Jackson McLachlan racked up 32 disposals, Jarvis Pina 24 and ruckman Nathan Blakely 23 to go with 21 hit outs, six tackles and a goal.

Harry Barnett kicked two goals for West Coast to go with 10 touches, 27 hit outs and four tackles.

Josh Browne finished with another 30 possessions for the Eagles with Jackson Nelson collecting 23 touches, Darby McCarthy 20, Ethan Hansen 20, Campbell Chesser 19 and Harry Creasey 19.

Tom Edwards opened the best afternoon of his career on Sunday with the first goal of the game after just four minutes.

It took another eight minutes for Swans to add a second which came from Lachlan Riley before Brayden Noble added another and for the second straight week, the black-and-whites had the first three goals of the game.

West Coast did get on the board shortly after thanks to Tyrell Dewar and then another soon after to debutant Ryan Maric.

In between, Edwards kicked his second and Swans went on to lead by 15 points at the first change.

West Coast did start the second quarter with a burst with two quick goals to Jarrod Garlett and Harry Barnett, and suddenly it was just a four-point game.

Swans would kick three behinds before eventually getting a first goal of the term thanks to captain for the day Jesse Turner. That helped the black-and-whites to lead by 14 points at half-time.

West Coast was still close enough going into the second half for a drought breaking victory, but those hopes wouldn’t last long.

Swans would hold the Eagles scoreless the entire third quarter and had eight scoring shots themselves. Only two of those were goals with Edwards adding a third, and Ayden Cartwright adding the other.

Swans were leading by 32 points at three quarter-time as a result but then the black-and-whites turned it on in stunning fashion in the final term with a massive nine goals to one.

That included three more goals for Edwards to give him six for the day and Swans ended up winning by 81 points for the morale boosting second victory of the season.

 

PEEL THUNDER 8.8 (56) lost to SUBIACO 8.14 (62)

Peel Thunder and Subiaco played out a fascinating contest in challenging conditions in Mandurah on Sunday, but ultimately the Lions prevailed by six points to set things up fascinatingly at the top of the ladder.

Peel came into Round 8 of the WAFL with a lead of a game and percentage in top spot, but the Thunder were playing catch up most of the day on Sunday at Lane Group Stadium with the rain and wind making it mighty difficult to play attractive football.

In the end, it was Subiaco who got the job done with the 8.14 (62) to 8.8 (56) victory.

As a result of the win, the Lions improve to a 6-2 record on the season to be in third position on the WAFL ladder while Peel slips to second spot at 6-2 as well.

Ben Sokol kicked the first two goals of the game for Subiaco before having a fascinating battle at full-forward with Peel defender Josh Draper for the rest of the afternoon.

Liam Hickmott continued his tremendous form on the ball for Subiaco with another 30 possessions while Stefan Giro collected 25 disposals, Rylie Morgan 22, Galen Savigni 19 and Zac Clarke 18 in the ruck to go with 35 hit outs in another dominant display.

Sam Sturt came back into the Peel side and kicked two goals in the tough conditions from 17 possessions.

Will Brodie battled hard on the ball for Peel to try and earn his way back into Fremantle’s midfield and finished the afternoon with 30 possessions.

Neil Erasmus also collected 25 disposals for the Thunder, Ben Hancock 24, Liam Henry 22, Jacob Blight 20, Karl Worner 19 and Brady Grey 18.

After a string of five behinds between the two teams to start the game, the first goal went the way of Subiaco through a reliable source, Ben Sokol.

Peel got the immediate reply courtesy of Travis Colyer but the Lions finished the term with a second goal to Sokol and that saw the visitors leading by nine points at the first change.

Peel opened the second quarter with a goal Josh Corbett and when Liam Henry added another, the home team was in front as they attempted to win to maintain their hold on top position.

However, Subiaco kicked the last goal of the half courtesy of Jaimon Alone which helped them to the one-point lead at the long break.

The weather cleared up a little in the third quarter and both teams were able to get some more attacking flair into their game as a result.

In the end, Subiaco would kick four goals to three from Peel with three of those Lions all coming in the final six minutes through Stefan Giro, Wil Hickmott and Ben Golding to see them lead by 12 points at the last break.

Peel did close to within five points with a Sam Sturt goal at the nine-minute mark of the final term. 

Ultimately though, a goal to Ryan Borchet was the sealer for the Lions at the 21-minute mark despite a late scare from Peel with a goal to Sturt to cut the margin to six points.

 

EAST FREMANTLE 2.11 (23) lost to SOUTH FREMANTLE 5.7 (37)

South Fremantle’s remarkable hold over East Fremantle in Fremantle Derby match ups continued on WA Day at the WACA Ground with the Bulldogs responding better to the lightning delay to end up winning by 14 points.

South Fremantle came into Monday’s game at the WACA Ground having won 14 straight against East Fremantle, but it was the Sharks who came into the first ever WA Day clash at the venue with a chance to go top with a victory.

With the conditions making it quite the slog of a contest, it took until midway through the second quarter for a goal to be kicked, and both teams had just one to their name in the first half.

Both teams then kicked a goal each early in the third quarter before a half-hour delay due to lightning.

From that, South Fremantle came out and kicked the last three goals of the game to secure the 5.7 (37) to 2.11 (23) victory.

What it means is that the Bulldogs extend their winning streak to 15 over the Sharks which is the longest run of wins in the long and rich history between the arch-rivals.

It improves South Fremantle to a 4-4 record on the season but they do only have eight premiership points still. East Fremantle slips to fourth spot with the loss at 5-3.

Kaden Harbour was playing in his first derby for South Fremantle and played his best game for the Bulldogs kicking three goals from 10 disposals and seven tackles.

Matthew Parker has now worked his way back into being an important part of the South Fremantle midfield and he was tremendous in the derby win finishing with 27 possessions, five marks and five inside-50 entries.

Jake Florenca has come back in to pick up where he left off when he went down injured last year too and had another 22 disposals, six tackles and four inside 50s.

Jordan Gallucci was another Bulldogs player in his first derby and had 21 touches while Dylan Main ended up with 19 disposals, eight tackles and seven inside-50 entries.

Jacob Dragovich also had 17 possessions, Zac Strom 17 (eight marks), Glenn Byron 15, Toby McQuilkin 15 and Tom Blechynden 13 to go with laying 16 tackles.

East Fremantle’s two goals for the day were kicked by Brayden Lawler in the second quarter and then Dillon O’Reilly at the start of the third.

Hugh Dixon produced the performance of his career in the ruck for East Fremantle finishing with some remarkable numbers made up of 28 possessions, 35 hit outs, eight marks, and seven inside-50 entries.

Fraser Turner continued his tremendous first season with the Sharks with another 25 touches while Milan Murdock ended up with 24 touches and 11 tackles.

Cam Eardley also had 21 disposals, Josh Schoenfeld 18, Tom Joyce 17 and Kyle Baskerville 16 to go with 15 tackles.

While South Fremantle had won the past 14 derbies, coming into Monday’s clash it did appear to be East Fremantle’s best chance to break the longest drought in history between the arch-rivals.

However, the Bulldogs just have such belief when they play the Sharks no matter the form they are in, and that saw them control much of the first quarter with a ferocious approach to the ball, and with their tackling pressure.

South Fremantle did create more opportunities dominating the inside-50 count, but with the mud through the centre square, and then the wind and rain, kicking a goal was proving mighty difficult.

The Bulldogs kicked the first four behinds of the game and then the Sharks had a golden chance to close the first quarter when Toby McQuilkin kicked it straight to him, but he shanked the attempt.

South Fremantle was three points up by quarter-time and then after a point each in the second term, the first goal of the contest eventually came courtesy of Brayden Lawler for East Fremantle at the 17-minute mark.

Eventually South Fremantle got its first goal of the first half jjust before the half-time siren thanks to Kaden Harbour to see the Bulldogs lead by two points at the main break.

Dillon O’Reilly kicked an early goal in the third quarter for East Fremantle before Caleb Datson responded for the Bulldogs.

South Fremantle was leading by those two points when play was halted for 30 minutes due to the lightning in the surrounding area.

When play resumed, it was South Fremantle who came out on fire and kicked two goals thanks to Harbour and Brandon Donaldson to be leading by 13 points at three quarter-time.

It was a grind of a last quarter from there in the challenging conditions with the lights taking control at the WACA.

South Fremantle would kick the only goal of the last term thanks to Harbour to give him three for the game and secure the 15th consecutive derby wins for the Bulldogs.

 

EAST PERTH 14.10 (94) defeated WEST PERTH 8.10 (58)

East Perth snapped its losing run against West Perth in Perth Derbies with a dominant display as their big-bodied midfielders and powerful ruckman inspired the Royals to the 36-point win.

West Perth had won the past six derbies against East Perth coming into Monday’s clash at Leederville Oval, but right from the outset on WA Day the Royals were on a mission.

East Perth made a flying start but that has been a trend throughout the season so far. This time, the Royals were able to maintain their control of the contest right through the afternoon both before and after the lightning delay in the second term.

The Royals ended up winning 14.10 (94) to 8.10 (58) which sees them replace the Falcons in the top four. East Perth is now fifth at 5-3 and West Perth is in sixth spot at 4-4.

Crafty half-forward Shayne Hille was playing his first game of the season, 105th of his career, for East Perth and made a significant impact kicking three goals from 13 disposals.

Liam Tedesco also kicked three goals for the Royals against his former team while Sam van Diemen chimed in with two as did Hamish Brayshaw along with 22 touches, seven tackles, seven inside 50s and six marks.

Scott Jones dominated in the ruck for East Perth with 23 touches and 51 hit outs while Mitch Crowden thrived in the conditions which made contested football more prevalent to end up with 35 disposals, eight marks, seven inside 50s, five tackles and a goal.

Angus Schumacher racked up another 34 possessions for the Royals, Nick Robertson 31, Stan Wright 28, Angus Scott 28, Kye Willcocks 19, Harrison Macreadie 19 and Christian Ameduri 17 to go with 10 tackles.

Luke Meadows had a monster game for West Perth despite the loss ending up with 26 possessions 14 tackles and three goals.

Tyler Keitel had a fascinating tussle with Corey Watts and kicked two goals for West Perth as did Darcy Dixon.

Aaron Black finished the derby with 27 possessions as well for the Falcons, Koopah Todd 21, Shane Nelson 20, Nathan Murray 18, Tristan Hobley 17 and Noah Pegoraro 17 at centre half-back while holding Mitch Schofield to one goal.

East Perth has been the best starting team this whole WAFL season so far and that trend continued on Monday with Hamish Brayshaw kicking a snap on his left foot from a set shot.

Angus Scott soon kicked a running goal from 50 that just cleared the line and when Liam Tedesco added another, it was the Royals off to yet another hot start leaving the Falcons needing to respond.

West Perth did get a couple of goals back through Tyler Keitel and Darcy Dixon but the Royals did finish with a second of the term to former Falcon Tedesco and that saw East Perth up by 21 points after one.

Dixon did kick his second to keep West Perth close to start the second quarter before the Royals added two more thanks to Sam van Diemen and Shayne Hille.

That had East Perth leading by 29 points when play was halted at the 19-minute mark thanks to the lightning.

East Perth then closed the first half with a late goal to Hille to see the Royals in control by 35 points at half-time.

The Falcons couldn’t make any inroads in the third quarter with two goals apiece before the Royals were back on top by 39 points a minute into the final term with a goal to van Diemen.

It was goal for goal the rest of the way with East Perth securing the 36-point win to snap the losing run against West Perth and to also replace the Falcons in the top five as a result.