WAFL Round 14 WrapMonday, July 17, 2023 - 10:10 AM - by Chris Pike

BOTTOM five teams West Perth, South Fremantle and Swan Districts all scored Round 14 WAFL victories while East Fremantle rose to third with a fourth straight win and East Perth made it seven in-a-row to shoot to top spot by beating Claremont.

Following the five matches in Round 14 of the WAFL season across the weekend, things remain fascinating inside the top five with East Perth jumping to top spot ahead of Claremont.

East Fremantle and Peel Thunder are only a game back just separated by percentage while another loss for Subiaco and win for West Perth keeps the fight over fifth interesting.

The round got underway on Saturday night at Mineral Resources Park with West Perth keeping its finals hopes alive by beating a stronger West Coast Eagles outfit 10.16 (76) to 7.6 (48).

The other four matches took place on Sunday also beginning at Mineral Resources Park with South Fremantle holding out Perth for a fifth win of the season to snap a three-game losing run to score the 10.9 (69) to 9.8 (62) win.

WAFL football came back to Geraldton on Sunday afternoon as well and it was East Fremantle who was able to keep their winning form going making it four straight victories with the 13.6 (84) to 10.5 (65) triumph against Peel Thunder.

It was then a thrilling contest at Steel Blue Oval for the second time between the two teams this season. Swan Districts earned a measure of revenge on Subiaco with the 11.5 (71) to 10.9 (69) win with Tom Edwards delivering a four-goal final quarter.

Then it was the battle over top spot at Leederville Oval between East Perth and Claremont and it was the Royals who made it seven straight wins for the first time since 2014 with a terrific performance to beat the Tigers 12.10 (82) to 8.10 (58).

Meanwhile, Round 14 of the Reserves had all four matches take place on Sunday beginning with South Fremantle defeating Perth 9.11 (65) to 7.9 (51) at Mineral Resources Park.

Peel and East Fremantle played their Reserves clash at Revo Fitness Stadium and it was the Thunder who beat the Sharks 10.5 (65) to 7.13 (55).

Corey Tregenza continued to close in on a league debut with Peel by kicking four goals with Lachlan Cullen adding two. Guy Barnes had 19 touches, Jacob Hewitt 16, Ty Anderson 15, Jonathon Ietto 15 and Taj Wyburd 15.

Dante Wiseman kicked two goals for East Fremantle with Josh Schoenfeld collecting 23 possessions, Jack Walsh 22, Enrique Aiken-Featherstone 20, Koen Sanchez 20, Eddie Simpson 19, Josh Ritchie 19 and Phoenix Knight 19.

Swan Districts and Subiaco played out a thriller at Steel Blue Oval with Swans ending up prevailing 8.6 (54) to 6.13 (49) against the Lions.

Swans came from 13 points down at three quarter-time to kick four goals to one to score the win with Henrick Alforque kicking three goals and Ayden Cartwright two. Mitch Bain collected 34 possessions, Tarir Bayok 21, Cartwright 21, Luke Kelly 21 (14 tackles) and Jacob Sideris 20.

Corey Hitchcock and Fillimone Muavou kicked two goals each for Subiaco with Corey Robinson gathering 27 touches, Hitchcock 23, Jake Stergiou 21, Connor Patterson 21, Jordan Snadden 19, Connor Faraone 19 and Lachlan Vanirsen 19.

Claremont scored the 8.13 (61) to 7.9 (51) win against East Perth at Leederville Oval. Nick Bonomelli continued to press for a league recall with the Royals kicking four goals while Sandon Page added two.

Nathan Eaton picked up 27 touches, Adam Boules 23, Patrick Reilly 22, Darcy Miller 20, Taylor North 19 and Spider Lockitt 19.

Steven Miller kicked three goals for Claremont and Dylan Mulligan two while Bailey Bennett amassed 22 disposals, Finn Moloney 21, Menno Inverarity 21 and Max Mumme 18.

Then in Round 14 of the Colts, all four matches also took place on Sunday beginning at Revo Fitness Stadium with East Fremantle beating Peel Thunder 15.8 (98) to 6.6 (42).

Jack Cocking kicked four goals for East Fremantle in the win with Sam Otto also kicking three, Tyler Messina two and Taj Forrest two. Mitch Zadow picked up 23 touches, Jack Eastaugh 20, Declan Pauline 18, Ashton Warner 17, Harry Pickett 17 and Bailey Morgan 17.

Kyelan Sanders kicked two goals for Peel as did Jack Ilott while Ethan Logan finished with 20 possessions, Jackson Klepzig 18 and Toby Jenkins 17.

Subiaco was able to start its day with a 15.5 (95) to 10.5 (65) win against Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval. 

Lance Collard ended up kicking five goals for Subiaco, Luke Kentfield three and Riley Mayfield two. Riley Wills racked up 30 touches, Lachlan O'Keefe 26, Lachlan MacRae 19 and Oscar Dees 18.

Otis Harvey finished up kicking three goals for Swan Districts, Harrison Creighton two and Blake Kelly two. Riley Hardeman gathered 26 possessions, Tom Cathcart 20, Kelly 19, Harvey 18, James Sullivan 18 and Chayse Martinson 16 to go with 13 tackles.

Claremont also had an impressive Colts victory against East Perth 16.12 (108) to 7.3 (45) at Leederville Oval.

Hamish Davis had a day out up forward for the Tigers kicking five goals with Kody Katauskas, Jasper Peace, Sam van Rooyen and Cody Angove kicking two apiece. Ryley Valli picked up 30 touches, Daniel Curtin 27, Ashton Bryant 24, Louis Tangney 24 and Kai Dehavilland 23.

Bailey Harbour collected 26 possessions for the Royals, Adam De Masi 25, Darcy Craven 23, Jude Mazzucchelli 22 and Tyler Lindberg 19.

Then on Sunday afternoon following the League clash, Perth defeated South Fremantle 19.17 (131) to 6.4 (40) at Mineral Resources Park.

Noah Cachard kicked four goals in the win for the Demons, Robert Warrell three, Ali Al-Shuweli three and Noah Murray three while Cooper Moore gathered 30 touches, Jake Watson 23, Cachard 20, Kalib Dempster-Park 19 and Coen Livingstone 16 with 20 hit outs and a goal.

Toby Whan and Tarkyn Etherington kicked two goals each for South Fremantle with Callum Copeland finishing with 24 disposals, Whan 23, Ashton Ferreira 16 and Kyle Brestovac 16.

 

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 14

WEST COAST EAGLES 7.6 (48) lost to WEST PERTH 10.16 (76)

West Perth did enough to set up their eventual 28-point win on Saturday night against the West Coast Eagles by kicking the first eight goals but they were outscored the rest of the evening.

West Perth just had no choice but to win to maintain any hope of reaching the finals and the Falcons did kick the opening eight goals which brought back memories of the 169-point win over the Eagles back in Round 2.

However, from that point on West Coast kicked the last two goals of the first half before then outscoring the Falcons five goals to two after half-time at Mineral Resources Park.

West Perth got the win they needed on the back of opening up a 51-point lead before West Coast kicked seven of the last nine goals with the Falcons ending up prevailing 10.16 (76) to 7.6 (48). 

Tyler Keitel certainly gave himself plenty of attempts on goal after kicking 10 last time out against West Coast. This time he ended up with three goals and five behinds from 12 kicks and 10 marks.

Noah Pegoraro also went forward for the Falcons to kick three goals in the first quarter having only kicked four goals in total in his previous 59 matches.

Luke Meadows had a standout performance for West Perth with the reigning Simpson Medallist delivering 29 possessions, three tackles and two inside-50 entries.

Zac Guadagnin also ended up with 23 touches and nine marks for West Perth with Shane Nelson collecting another 23 disposals, Ben Johnson 21, Dean Munns 20, Aaron Black 19 and second-gamer Griffith Julian 18.

West Coast's lone multiple goal scorer for the evening was Shannon Lucassen who kicked two to go with six kicks and five marks.

Xavier O'Neill made a strong return in the midfield for West Coast to compile 32 possessions to go with 10 inside-50 entries, seven tackles and six marks.

Zane Trew was also back to continue his strong form with 28 possessions while Isiah Winder collected 27 disposals, Jackson Nelson 26, Luke Foley 24, Greg Clark 23, Rhett Bazzo 21 and Luke Edwards 20.

Harry Barnett also continued his development in the ruck with another 13 touches, 23 hit outs, six marks and a goal.

West Perth beat West Coast by 169 points when they met at Joondalup earlier in the season and the signs were there of something similar early in the game on Saturday night when the Falcons already had five goals on the board inside the opening 14 minutes.

Nathan Murray, Tyler Keitel, Shane Nelson, Keitel again and Noah Pegoraro all kicked goals in a blistering start from the reigning premiers. Then four minutes later, Pegoraro kicked a second and West Perth had six in 17 minutes.

Usual centre half-back Pegoraro then added a third before quarter-time and West Perth were leading by 42 points and that mammoth win was on the cards again.

However, it didn’t eventuate and West Coast outscored West Perth the rest of the way even though the Falcons still had the first goal of the second term thanks to Keitel.

What this Eagles group was able to do was stop the run against them and work their way back into the game thanks to the quality and depth of AFL-listed players they had out there for the first time in 2023.

As a result, the Eagles kicked the last two goals of the first half thanks to Shannon Lucassen and Josh Burke.

West Perth did start the second half with another goal to Joe Hinder to stretch the lead to 47 points and it got out to 51 midway through the third term when Conal Lynch kicked truly, but the Falcons wouldn’t kick another goal.

West Coast finished the third quarter with goals to Harry Barnett and Tyrell Dewar before kicking the only two goals of the final term thanks to Callum Jamieson and Cooper Nitschke to cut the final margin to 28 points.

PERTH 9.8 (62) lost to SOUTH FREMANTLE 10.9 (69)

South Fremantle was able to finally turn a three quarter-time lead into a victory by holding out Perth for the seven-point victory on Sunday at Mineral Resources Park.

Both the Demons and Bulldogs were desperate for a win currently occupying two of the last three positions on the WAFL ladder coming into Sunday's match up at Lathlain in Round 14 of the WAFL.

South Fremantle kicked the first three goals of the game to open up a handy lead but Perth responded with five goals to three in the second term to go into half-time leading by three points.

The Bulldogs worked back on top with the only three goals of the third term and then from there held on for the eventual 10.9 (69) to 9.8 (62) win despite losing important defenders Chad Pearson (knee) and Toby McQuilkin (concussion) throughout the game.

South Fremantle captain Dylan Main came back into the team and kicked three goals for the Bulldogs from 16 touches, six tackles and five marks. Jimmy Miller also chipped in with another two goals on the back of his four from last week.

Glenn Byron was the leading ball winner in the game for South Fremantle with 22 possessions and five marks while Tom Blechynden collected another 21 touches, Roan O'Hehir 21, Jake Florenca 19, Caleb Stephens 19 and Aiden Hall 18.

Noah Strom produced another strong defensive performance to keep Perth's Harry Quartermaine scoreless and he will be called on for his leadership even more so should Toby McQuilkin and Chad Pearson miss significant time after their respective injuries.

Charlie Thompson had another standout performance in the midfield for Perth and was dangerous going forward to finish with 30 possessions and two goals. Jye Clark was the Demons' other multiple goal kicker with two.

Corey Byrne was another prime Perth on-baller who had a first-rate showing with 30 possessions and a goal with Jack Cooley picking up 24 disposals, Austin Davis 20, Jacob Coniglio 18 and Trent Manzone 18.

South Fremantle started well with the game getting underway still in the morning on Sunday with captain Dylan Main marking his return with the first two goals of the contest for the Bulldogs.

Brandon Donaldson then kicked an impressive goal on the run to give South Fremantle the perfect start with the opening three goals before Perth got on the board thanks to a clever effort off the deck from Jye Clark.

Simon Hayward also kicked a goal for the Demons after the quarter-time siren to cut the Bulldogs lead to eight points.

Perth then started the second term well with a goal to Sam Stubbs with the Demons having kicked the last three goals after South Fremantle kicked the game's first three.

The Bulldogs responded thanks to big man Jimmy Miller before Demons midfielders hit back with goals to Corey Byrne and Charlie Thompson to put the home team in front for the first time in the contest.

Clark kicked a second to stretch the Demons advantage to 10 points before South Fremantle fired back with a couple to regain the lead through Main and Jordan Gallucci.

However, Perth had the last say of the half with a goal to Kristian Cary which saw the Demons on top by three points.

The Bulldogs opened up the second half with a goal to Kyle Russell to take the lead back and then Irish youngster Roan O'Hehir stretched the advantage to nine with the second goal of his seven-game career.

Miller closed the third term with South Fremantle's third goal while holding Perth goalless to grab a 15-point lead.

Perth was going to the scoring end in the last quarter and opened up with a goal from debutant Deklyn Grocott. Thompson then kicked his second of the day to put Perth back within three points at the five-minute mark and there wouldn’t be another goal for 17 minutes.

The last goal of the afternoon went the way of South Fremantle three-game forward Jack Blechynden and from there the Bulldogs held on to win by seven points.

EAST FREMANTLE 13.6 (84) defeated PEEL THUNDER 10.5 (65)

East Fremantle and Peel Thunder took their show to Geraldton on Sunday and produced an entertaining affair in some fine and sunny conditions before the Sharks ended up prevailing by 19 points.

Both teams arrived in Geraldton on three-game winning streaks as well with third position on the WAFL ladder going on the line between the two teams.

Peel started strongly with five goals to three in the first quarter but the Thunder only managed five more for the rest of the game with the Sharks ending up prevailing 13.6 (84) to 10.5 (65).

The victory means East Fremantle have won four games in-a-row to improve to 9-4 and sit in third position while Peel slips to fourth just percentage behind the Sharks.

Jonathon Marsh kicked another two goals for East Fremantle to go with his 11 kicks and six marks while Ben McGuire kicked two goals for the Sharks from three kicks.

Harry Marsh was also tremendous again in the midfield for East Fremantle finishing with 32 possessions, 10 marks, four tackles, three inside 50s and a goal.

Kyle Baskerville collected another 27 disposals for the Sharks, Cam Eardley 26, Fraser Turner 26, Tom Bennett 21, Jack Cleaver 21, Jackson McDonald 21 (11 tackles) and Matthew Jupp 17 down back to go with nine marks and five tackles along with holding Sebit Kuek to two kicks and one goal.

Brody Wemm made the most of his chances in attack for Peel to kick three goals from five kicks and three marks. Ben Middleton and Josh Corbett also kicked two goals for the Thunder.

Dual premiership player Blair Bell fought valiantly in the midfield for Peel with 24 possessions and eight tackles while teenager Clay Hall was impressive with 23 touches, six marks and three tackles.

Jacob Blight had another solid performance down back matched up with Jonathon Marsh for a lot of the day and finished with 22 possessions and seven marks.

Ben Hancock ended up with another 20 touches for the Thunder, James Sturrock 18, Brady Grey 17 and Haydn Matthews 17.

Tom Emmett opened the game in Geraldton with the first goal for Peel with Harry Marsh soon responding for East Fremantle. His brother Jonathon then added one too and so did Alex Montauban to help the Sharks to a 12-point lead.

Peel hit back, though, with goals from forward trio Sebit Kuek, Ben Middleton and Josh Corbett. When Corbett added a second, the Thunder was able to head into the quarter-time break leading by 11 points.

The Sharks turned things back around in their favour with the first three goals of the second quarter from Ben McGuire, Austin Ball and Fraser Turner. The seesaw contest continued when Brody Wemm put Peel back in front.

East Fremantle then were back on top by 10 points after goals to Hugh Dixon and Milan Murdock before the Thunder closed the half with a second goal to Wemm.

Peel was back in front just a minute into the second half thanks to a second goal from Middleton but it only took another six minutes for East Fremantle to be back in front when Jack Cleaver kicked truly.

Ethan Stanley put Peel back on top just minutes later and then Jonathon Marsh returned the Sharks to the lead at the 15-minute mark, and this time they would stay there for the rest of the afternoon.

Chris Walker added another before three quarter-time to give East Fremantle a 12-point advantage.

A second to Ben McGuire stretched the East Fremantle lead to 19 points to start the final term and that's where the final margin remained at the siren.

SWAN DISTRICTS 11.5 (71) defeated SUBIACO 10.9 (69)

Swan Districts turned the tide for a heartbreaking loss to Subiaco back in Round 7 with Tom Edwards putting on a spectacular final quarter to lead his team to the two-point win.

It's remarkable how things turn out and back in Round 7 at Leederville Oval, Subiaco held out Swan Districts for the four-point victory when Edwards was unable to convert a late shot on goal for Swans.

However, Swans and Edwards got the ultimate revenge on Sunday at Steel Blue Oval. It was a fascinating contest all afternoon but in the end it was the four goals that Edwards kicked all in the final quarter that proved the difference.

Swan Districts would end up holding on for the 11.5 (71) to 10.9 (69) victory at home to improve to a 5-8 record on the season to be three games behind the now 8-5 Subiaco in fifth spot with the Lions having now lost their past three.

Tom Edwards actually spent a lot of the game up the ground for Swan Districts and even behind the ball for a period, but he went back to his usual role inside-50 in the last quarter and proved to be the match winner.

He ended up kicking all four of his team's goals in the final term to also end the game with 24 possessions and seven marks.

Captain Chris Jones also kicked three goals for Swans with Jesse Palmer adding two.

Aidan Clarke finished with 28 possessions in the win for Swan Districts with another powerful performance in the midfield while Tobe Watson was terrific down back ending up with 26 touches and six marks.

Jarvis Pina gave great run out of the back-line as well with 24 disposals with Jackson McLachlan collecting 22 touches, Lachlan Riley 20, Josh Cipro 20, Anthony Stephens 19 and Jesse Turner 19 as he tried to shake off the tag from Subiaco's Rylie Morgan.

Taj Schofield continued his impressive emergence this season with Subiaco with the 20-year-old kicking another two goals to go with 23 possessions, five marks, five inside 50s and four tackles.

Koltyn Tholstrup was another rising star who kicked two goals for the Lions.

Liam Hickmott had another significant performance in the midfield for Subiaco with 30 possessions with Galen Savigni finishing with 20 touches, Stefan Giro 19, Drew Rohde 18 and Jaxon McGowan 18.

Ruckman Zac Clarke finished with 16 possessions, 65 hit outs and five marks for the Lions.

It took almost 10 minutes for the first goal of the game and that came courtesy of Swan Districts captain Chris Jones. It took another seven minutes for the next goal and that also went to a Swans forward, this time Jesse Palmer.

Subiaco did manage to get on the board just before quarter-time through Ben Sokol despite the close checking of Jehb O'Donohue to cut the Swan Districts lead to five points.

Opportunist Ben Golding snapped quickly in congestion to give Subiaco the first goal of the second quarter to put the Lions up by a point before Jackson McLachlan responded for Swans following a 50m penalty.

Ryan Kemp then extended the lead for the black-and-whites and it was still a 10-point advantage for the home team when Jones added his second of the day just before the major break.

Jones then kicked a third to start the second half to stretch Swan Districts' lead to 15 points. It then got out to a game high 22 with Palmer adding his second shortly after and Subiaco needed to respond.

The Lions did hit back with the last three goals of the quarter including the first two from Koltyn Tholstrup before another to captain Leigh Kitchin to make it a three-point ball game at the last change.

The story of the last quarter then became emerging Swan Districts forward Tom Edwards. He kicked two quick goals inside the first five minutes but Subiaco was able to respond with goals to Kyle Stainsby, Jordan Faraone and Taj Schofield.

That put the Lions four points in front heading into time-on, but Edwards was far from done. He kicked two more goals for Swan Districts in the space of three minutes and that proved enough to secure the win.

Subiaco did get one more goal late which was a terrific kick from the boundary on the run from Schofield, but Swans held on for the memorable two-point victory.

EAST PERTH 12.10 (82) defeated CLAREMONT 8.10 (58)

East Perth produced another supremely impressive performance to be in charge much of the afternoon to end up beating Claremont by 24 points to end up replacing the Tigers in top spot.

Top spot in the WAFL went on the line with the Royals hosting the Tigers at Leederville Oval on Saturday, and East Perth started well with four goals to two in the opening term.

The Tigers would remain within striking distance including trailing by just seven points at three quarter-time, but it was all East Perth in the last quarter with four goals to one.

That saw the Royals end up claiming the 12.10 (82) to 8.10 (58) victory that sees them win a seventh straight match to move ahead of Claremont on top of the ladder at the end of Round 14.

Sam van Diemen and Liam Tedesco were the forwards this week to step up and impress for East Perth by kicking three goals apiece. Van Diemen also had 20 possessions and five tackles, and Tedesco 15 touches and six marks. 

Hamish Brayshaw continued his stunning form both through the middle for East Perth along with then resting forward. He kicked another two goals along with finishing with 32 possessions, seven marks and five inside-50 entries.

Mitch Crowden racked up another 32 touches for the Royals along with seven marks, six inside 50s and five tackles with Angus Schumacher finishing with 27 disposals, Angus Scott 24, Stan Wright 23 and Nick Robertson 18.

Harrison Macreadie was impressive defensively once more limiting Max Minear to four kicks and one behind while Jacob Msando did well to hold the dangerous Bailey Rogers to 10 kicks and one behind.

Alex Manuel and Tyron Smallwood kicked three goals each for Claremont to combine for six of their eight goals for the afternoon.

Jye Bolton again spent a lot of the afternoon off half-back for the Tigers and racked up 30 possessions with Ben Edwards picking up 23 disposals, Declan Mountford 22, Teia Miles 17 and Joel Western 17 with Oliver Eastland adding 15 disposals and 35 hit outs.

Claremont kicked the first goal of the game five minutes in from Tyron Smallwood before Sam van Diemen responded for East Perth. Tom Medhat and Christian Ameduri then added goals for the Royals and still by quarter-time the home team was up by 14 points.

Again Claremont kicked the opening goal of the second quarter this time thanks to Alex Manuel but the Royals continued to have the answers starting with Hamish Brayshaw adding another goal as part of his outstanding attacking season.

East Perth's lead got to as much as 26 points when Riley Saunders kicked another just before half-time but Claremont did get one back before the siren from Smallwood to stay in touch.

Manuel kicked his second of the day for Claremont to start the second half to bring the Tigers back within 14 points, and the game was still a tight affair by three quarter-time with that same seven-point margin after a couple of late goals from Claremont to Manuel and Smallwood.

It was Brayshaw once more who kept East Perth two goals clear with his second goal of the game and the Royals would go on to kick four goals to one in the last term to secure the 24-point win to make it seven straight and to replace Claremont in top spot.