Week 1 Finals WAFL PreviewFriday, September 1, 2023 - 2:12 PM - by Chris Pike

ONE of Subiaco or Peel Thunder will move to within one win from the WAFL Grand Final of 2023 when they clash in a qualifying final on Saturday before the seasons of East Perth and Claremont go on the line on Sunday with both match ups taking place at Leederville Oval.

The WAFL finals series for 2023 gets underway this weekend and with both Subiaco and East Perth earning the rights to host their respective finals match ups, it's a full Saturday and Sunday of action at the venue of last year's Grand Final, Leederville Oval.

While the other four teams who qualified for the finals will be in action across Saturday and Sunday afternoons this weekend, the reigning premiers East Fremantle will sit back to await its opponent in the second semi-final next weekend having finished in top spot for the first time since 1998.

The finals get underway on Saturday afternoon with the WAFL qualifying final between Subiaco and Peel Thunder at Leederville Oval.

Both teams finished the season on 12-6 records with Subiaco only claiming second position ahead of Peel thanks to a percentage advantage of 1.41 showing just how little separated the two teams coming into Saturday's contest.

It's the fourth time that the two teams have played a final against one another with Subiaco attempting to beat Peel for the first occasion with the Thunder prevailing previously in the Grand Finals of 2016 and 2017, and the second semi-final of 2017.

That leads into the elimination final between East Perth and Claremont on Saturday afternoons at Leederville Oval.

Both teams have laid claims to being premiership threats this season and would have been hoping to finish higher than fourth and fifth by the end of the home and away campaign, and it was only percentage that stopped that happening.

Both the Royals and Tigers finished at 12-6 to be equal on wins with the second placed Subiaco and third placed Peel, but thanks to percentage it was East Perth in fourth place and Claremont fifth by the end of Round 20.

That means that after Sunday's match up, the season will be over for one of the Royals and Tigers, while the winner will advance to a first semi-final against the loser of the Subiaco-Peel qualifying final battle on Saturday. 

WAFL TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 20

ROUND 20 WAFL WRAP

The finals action gets underway on Saturday morning in the Colts with Subiaco taking on West Perth at Leederville Oval from 9am in the elimination final.

The qualifying final will take place on Sunday also at 9am at Leederville Oval with Claremont playing East Fremantle. 

The winner of the Tigers clash with the Sharks will advance to a second semi-final next week against Perth while the loser will play the winner of the elimination final between the Lions and Falcons in a first semi-final.

Meanwhile, the Reserves finals gets underway on Saturday at 11.35am at Leederville Oval with the second placed Swan Districts playing the third ranked Subiaco in a qualifying final.

The elimination final will then also be at Leederville Oval at 11.35am but on Sunday with Claremont playing East Fremantle with the season of both going on the line.

The winner of the qualifying final on Saturday will advance to a second semi-final against West Perth while the loser will take on the winner of the elimination final next week in a first semi-final.

 

QUALIFYING FINAL
SUBIACO v PEEL THUNDER – SATURDAY 2.10PM

Subiaco and Peel have the chance to move to within one win of a Grand Final spot this WAFL season when they clash at Leederville Oval in the qualifying final on Saturday.

Only 1.41 of a per cent separated the Lions and Thunder by the end of the home and away season with both finishing on 12-6 records with that superior percentage meaning Subiaco ended up second and Peel in third for the Lions to earn home ground advantage.

FINALS PREVIEW - SUBIACO'S LEIGH KITCHIN

FINALS PREVIEW - PEEL'S TRAYE BENNELL

Saturday's qualifying final will be the fourth time that Subiaco and Peel have met in a WAFL finals game, and the first since the 2017 Grand Final.

Peel has won all three of those previous meetings in finals starting with the 2016 Grand Final before than also winning the 2017 second semi-final and the premiership decider two weeks later.

It's a different story in home and away action since Peel joined the competition in 1997 with Subiaco having won 53 of the 63 meetings between the two clubs, including eight of 11 since the Thunder won that 2017 Grand Final.

Straight after that, Subiaco won seven straight against Peel but the Thunder have now won three of the past four meetings between the two teams including both clashes in 2022 as they returned to finals, and then the last meeting at Leederville Oval in Round 13 this season.

In that game, Ethan Stanley and Sebit Kuek both kicked two goals for Peel with captain Ben Hancock picking up 27 touches, Corey Wagner 24, Nathan Wilson 21 and Blair Bell 20.

Ben Golding kicked two goals for Subiaco with Leigh Kitchin racking up 26 disposals, Taj Schofield 25, Stefan Giro 20, Liam Hickmott 19 and Drew Rohde 19.

Just five weeks earlier and Subiaco beat Peel by six points with a thrilling finish in Mandurah where Ben Sokol kicked two goals for the Lions with Liam Hickmott finishing with 30 touches, Giro 25, Rylie Morgan 22 and Galen Savigni 19.

Sam Sturt kicked two goals for the Thunder while Will Brodie gathered 30 disposals, Neil Erasmus 25, Hancock 24, Liam Henry 22 and Jacob Blight 20.

By the end of the home and away season, Subiaco was ranked third both in attack and defence, scoring 85.3 points a game and giving up 64.9. The Lions also scored wins at the fourth highest winning margin of 41.3 points and also had the fourth best losing margins at 21.3 points.

Peel, meanwhile, was the second best team defensively conceding just 62.9 points while being placed sixth for scoring with 81.9 points. The Thunder's wins came at a margin on average of 37.3 points to be ranked eighth in the league while their losses were by the smallest margin of just 17.7 points.

Over the course of the season, Subiaco was the best performing third quarter team outscoring its opponents by 153 points. The Lions were then ranked fifth in first terms, third in the second and fifth in the last.

Peel, on the other hand, is by far the best performing last quarter team having outscored its opponents by 174 points over the 18 games. The Thunder are then placed eighth in first quarters, fourth in the second and third in the third.

Both teams have made changes to more than a quarter of their teams who took part in Round 20 action last weekend starting with Subiaco making seven of them from the team that lost to East Fremantle to the one that will take on Peel on Saturday.

The Lions have made one forced change with the injury to young gun Taj Schofield but the other six changes are where they will be hoping to receive the necessary boost to turnaround that 50-point loss against the Sharks last Saturday.

Subiaco's back-line has been one of its great strengths all season but there is plenty of changes in the back half for Saturday's qualifying final highlighted by the return from a knee reconstruction of four-time premiership defender Jordan Lockyer.

Galen Savigni and Jaxon McGowan will also come in to strengthen the back half with Ben Golding, Max Walters and Koltyn Tholstrup all returning to the team, and all capable of spending time in the forward-line and midfield just like the outgoing Schofield was doing.

Luker Kentfield will also return to the side with the 17-year-old to play the role as another forward target alongside Ben Sokol and Ryan Borchet, and giving Zac Clarke a bit of a chop out in the ruck.

The other players going out of the Subiaco team that played against East Fremantle last week are Jake South, Corey Hitchcock, Connor Faraone, Jordan Faraone, Henry Berenger and Rylie Morgan.

The only positive for each of those players is that they will have a reserves qualifying final against Swan Districts to play in to try and force their way back into the Subiaco league side.

Meanwhile, Peel has made six changes to its team that defeated Swan Districts last Saturday to secure third position on the ladder and the finals double chance.

Tom Emmett, Corey Wagner, Karl Worner and Joel Hamling all played for Fremantle at AFL level last week and come straight back into the Peel team for the finals having qualified throughout the home and away season.

Peel will also welcome back dual premiership winning 119-game hard man Blair Bell after he missed the last three games of the home and away season with youngster Michael Sellwood also back into the Thunder line-up.

Matt Taberner is one Fremantle-listed player who didn’t qualify to play finals and goes out of the team but he might not have been fit enough anyway after hurting a back early in last week's game against Swan Districts for Peel.

Then there is Haydn Matthews, Max Knobel, Reece Torrent, James Sturrock and Ethan Stanley who go out of the Thunder team that beat Swans last week.

ELIMINATION FINAL
EAST PERTH v CLAREMONT – SUNDAY 2.10PM

East Perth and Claremont have both appeared capable of winning a premiership at their best in 2023 and spent time at the pointy end of the ladder, but only one of them will still be alive after Sunday's elimination final.

The Royals earned the right to play host to the Tigers in the elimination final at Leederville Oval courtesy of percentage with both teams ending the regular season with 12-6 records.

FINALS PREVIEW - EAST PERTH'S STAN WRIGHT

FINALS PREVIEW - CLAREMONT'S BAILEY ROGERS

East Perth did start its season on fire winning the first three matches and then hit back after losing three in-a-row to go on an eight-game winning run. However, the Royals now enter the finals having lost three of the last four to have slipped to fourth position and missed the finals double chance.

It's been a rollercoaster ride this season for Claremont on the back of losing a second Grand Final in three years in 2022 at the hands of West Perth, also at Sunday's venue Leederville Oval.

Claremont did win 10 of the opening 12 matches of the season but then slumped to a four-game losing streak before hitting back to win the last two matches against Swan Districts and Perth to secure a sixth consecutive finals appearance.

Last time East Perth played finals was in 2018 and that was also an elimination final against Claremont, albeit that was at Revo Fitness Stadium.

That elimination final back in 2018 was won by Claremont by 28 points but both teams have dramatically changed since that encounter. 

The only players left who are a chance to play on Sunday from that winning Claremont team are Jye Bolton, Bailey Rogers, Lachlan Martinis, Oliver Eastland, Alex Manuel, Declan Hardisty, Tyron Smallwood and Jack Lewsey.

On the complete opposite side of that, there is not a single East Perth player remaining from that last finals team who will be out there representing the Royals this Sunday.

Since that, Claremont has made finals every season including getting to the Grand Finals of 2020 and 2022 only to lose to South Fremantle and West Perth in those respectively to be still chasing a first premiership triumph since 2012.

However, it's a first finals appearance for East Perth since splitting from its alignment with the West Coast Eagles with the Royals having not won a final since beating Peel Thunder in the first semi-final of 2015 which came a week after also beating Claremont in the elimination final.

Sunday's game will make it that the last three finals that Claremont and East Perth have played against one another have been elimination finals with one win apiece coming into the 2023 match up.

Not only did the two teams split their two meetings this season, but in each of the last three years they have won a game each against one another, with the Royals winning the last three at Leederville Oval and the Tigers the past three at Revo Fitness Stadium.

Last time they met was back in Round 14 and that was also at Leederville Oval with East Perth scoring the 24-point win against Claremont.

In that victory, Liam Tedesco and San van Diemen kicked three goals each for East Perth, and Hamish Brayshaw two to go with 32 possessions. 

Mitch Crowden also gathered 32 disposals for the Royals, Angus Schumacher 27, Angus Scott 24, Stan Wright 23 and van Diemen 20.

Tyron Smallwood and Alex Manuel kicked three goals apiece for Claremont with Jye Bolton racking up 30 touches, Ben Edwards 23, Declan Mountford 22, Teia Miles 17 and Joel Western 17.

By the end of the home and away season, East Perth remained the highest scoring team in the competition going at 92.0 points a game. The Royals were just seventh defensively conceding 70.8 points.

East Perth's 12 wins came at the second highest winning margin of 43.3 points as well with the six losses at an average of 23.2 points to be ranked just sixth in the competition.

Claremont, meanwhile, was ranked fifth in attack with 83.8 points a game and fourth in defence giving up 68.1 points. The Tigers' 12 wins came at an averaging margin of 37.6 points to be ranked seventh in the league while their six losses had them only ranked ahead of Perth and West Coast at 27.8 points a game.

The two teams are the highest ball winning sides in the competition as well with East Perth averaging 354 possessions a game and 48 more than its opponents, and Claremont 345 a game for 30 more than the teams they play against.

Across the season, East Perth remained the best performing first quarter team outscoring its opponents by 186 points. The Royals were also the third ranked fourth quarter team but in between, they placed just sixth in second stanzas and seventh in the third.

Claremont ended up being ranked sixth in first quarters, fifth in the second, fourth in the third and fourth in the last.

Claremont is yet to name any outs for Sunday's elimination final from the team that beat Perth last week to secure a finals spot.

While Declan Mountford and Ronin O'Connor remain sidelined through injury, the Tigers have added Ben Clarke, George Graham, Anthony Treacy and Joel Western to the extended squad for Sunday's game.

Clarke and Graham would add another tall forward and backup ruck option if they make it into the final 22 while Treacy and Western would provide some run and bite into the forward-line if they end up being selected.

East Perth has named prolific midfielder Mitch Crowden to make his return and he will be a crucial addition for the Royals while the loss of Corey Watts and Jacob Msando from the back-line has created some interesting decisions at selection for the Royals.

Brad Fullgrabe has been included into the squad and could well be play his first league game of the season and the 32nd of his career to replace Watts as a key defender for Sunday's elimination final having made it back for six reserves appearance in the second half of the season.

Tom Graham has played five games in the reserves this season for nine goals for East Perth and he could also be a surprise inclusion for his first appearance at league level of 2023 in the elimination to try and add a marking target to the forward-line.