Round 4 WAFL Wrap UpTuesday, April 14, 2015 - 2:36 PM - by Chris Pike

PERTH and Claremont missed golden opportunities to record their first wins of the 2015 WAFL season on Saturday afternoon while Swan Districts and Subiaco were both impressive in stopping the respective winning runs of South Fremantle and West Perth.

All four Round 4 matches took place on Saturday and there were two thrillers that came down to the dying minutes and they saw East Fremantle pip Claremont 10.14 (74) to 10.11 (71) at ATOM Stadium and Peel Thunder storm home to beat Perth 11.7 (73) to 9.14 (68) at Lathlain Park.

South Fremantle suffered its first loss of the season with Swan Districts winning 12.16 (88) to 9.13 (67) at Steel Blue Oval and in the twilight fixture at Medibank Stadium, Subiaco responded from a scoreless opening quarter to beat West Perth 9.11 (65) to 6.12 (48).

The results mean that after four rounds, South Fremantle (3-1) and Subiaco (3-1) sit atop the WAFL ladder with Swan Districts (2-1), Peel Thunder (2-1) and West Perth (2-2) rounding out the top five.

East Perth (2-1) is just outside along with East Fremantle (2-2) with Claremont (0-3) and Perth (0-4) remaining winless.

Click here for the summary of Round 4 of the WAFL 

TEAM OF THE WEEK
BACK: Kirk Ugle (SD), Tallan Ames (SD), David Johnston (P)
HALF-BACK: Justin Simpson (SD), Blayne Wilson (SF), Ed Langdon (PT)
CENTRE: Connor Blakely (PT), Tom Ledger (C), Jake Schleicher (EF)
HALF-FORWARD: Keifer Yu (C), Lachlan Delahunty (S), Daniel O'Sullivan (P) 
FORWARD: James Garcia (S), Brad Stevenson (S), Jack Bradshaw (C)
RUCK: Chris Keunen (WP), Jarrad Blight (SD), Shane Nelson (WP)
INTERCHANGE: Liam McKenna (P), Aidan Tropiano (P), Rory O'Brien (EF), Chris Phelan (S)

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jake Schleicher has only played four league matches with East Fremantle following a two-year apprenticeship in the reserves after graduating from the colts, but the Willetton product can already lay claim to being a match-winner for the Sharks.

Claremont had the breeze in the last quarter at East Fremantle's ATOM Stadium and when the Tigers had the lead late in the game it appeared they were going to win their first game of the season, and hand the Sharks a third successive defeat.

However, up stepped the 21-year-old Schleicher who kicked the match-winning goal with one of the last kicks of the afternoon to give East Fremantle the three-point victory, and to top off an afternoon where he finished with 28 possessions.

THE SHINING LIGHTS
Jarrad Blight put together a terrific performance on the ball for Swan Districts in the win over South Fremantle finishing with 30 possessions, eight marks, eight clearances and seven tackles.

Swans' back-line was also outstanding led by captain Tallan Ames at full-back while Kirk Ugle not only shut down Cory Dell'Olio but also had 19 disposals and a terrific running goal from 50.

Justin Simpson was also outstanding with 30 possessions and 11 marks across half-back for Swans while up forward, Tim Geappen kicked three goals in the second half and Joel Houghton booted the first two majors of the game.

Aaron Elari also racked up 28 disposals and six clearances for Swans while Adam Faulkner had 24 touches, Rudy Riddoch 21, Matt Riggio 21, Jason Daniels 19 and debutant Warrick Wilson 18.

Matt Rogers also worked hard across half-forward for 17 disposals and 10 marks while Tony Notte did well roaming the back-line with 14 possessions and seven marks.

Blayne Wilson continued the outstanding start to his career with South Fremantle to open the 2015 season with another commanding performance across half-back finishing with 25 possessions, 14 marks and six rebounds from the defensive 50.

Anthony Collica came back into the South Fremantle team for the first time since the Round 1 win over West Perth and picked up a team-high 27 possessions.

Ashton Hams again worked hard for 26 disposals while Ryan Cook racked up 23, Tim Kelly 23, Kyle Hams 20 and Brendan Verrier 20, Shaun Bewick 19 and Jarrod Parry 18.

Dylan Ross continued his strong season in defence as well keeping Swan Districts' full-forward Ricky Cary to one goal and having 17 possessions himself while Adam Guglielmana also had a good game defensively and picked up 17 touches as well.

Josh Pullman booted two second quarter goals for South Fremantle and took six strong marks for the game to be the most dangerous looking target in attack. Cory Dell'Olio also booted two final quarter goals to try to keep the Bulldogs alive.

East Fremantle had to dig deep into the breeze in the final quarter to avoid losing a third straight match to beat Claremont by three points with captain Rory O'Brien again outstanding with 34 possessions, five inside 50s, five marks, four tackles and a goal.

Then there was Jake Schleicher who added 28 disposals and the match-winning goal but it was all of the Sharks' prime movers who had strong afternoons with Liam Anthony finishing with 26 touches, Jamie McNamara 26, Sean Henson 24, Jayden Schofield 23 and Bradd Dalziell 21 to go with two goals.

Ryan Lester-Smith also kicked two goals for East Fremantle while Rob Young had a good battle in the ruck against Mitch Andrews and finished with 14 possessions, seven marks, six tackles, 21 hit outs and a goal.

Andrew Stephen held the back-line together well for the Sharks and had 20 possessions and nine marks while Tom Hooker and Boston Williamson providing good options across half-forward with 19 disposals apiece.

Jack Bradshaw was outstanding for Claremont finishing the game with 26 possessions, nine marks and four goals while Keifer Yu wasn’t far behind continuing his career best run of form to start the new season with 26 disposals and three goals.

Tom Ledger worked hard in the midfield for the Tigers as well racking up 36 possessions and eight marks while Ryan Neates collected 22 touches, Oliver Tate 21 and Maximilian Bentley 20.

There were also some better signs with Claremont's experienced big men brigade with Mitch Andrews terrific in the ruck with 15 touches and 37 hit outs while Kepler Bradley had his best game of the season with 17 disposals, eight marks and a goal.

Beau Maister also played his first game for the Tigers since he won the Simpson Medal in the 2011 grand final and showed some good signs with 12 possessions, six marks and a goal. Anton Hamp also played his first game of the year with 18 touches, 10 marks and a goal.

It was an improving showing from Claremont and the group was closer to the best 22 it can field, but the Tigers will be hopeful that Corey Yeo, Jake Murphy and Mark Seaby are all up and running again before too long before the season slips further away from them.

Perth looked on target for its first win since Round 7 last year right up until time-on of the final quarter on Saturday when Peel came storming home to then take the lead by 11 points, and end up winning by five.

Michael Apeness and Jack Hannath kicked two goals apiece for Peel as the two marking targets in attack in the absence of Matt Taberner who kicked four goals the previous week against East Fremantle.

Connor Blakely also returned to the Peel line-up and continued to make a strong case for an AFL debut with Fremantle racking up 29 possessions to go with five tackles and four inside-50 entries.

Ed Langdon was also impressive for the Thunder with 25 possessions and a goal while Brendon Jones finished with 23 disposals in his 201st WAFL match, and 100th for Peel Thunder.

Gerald Ugle was up against his former side for the first time and had a good afternoon with 22 touches, five marks and four inside 50s.

Max Duffy also had 22 disposals for the Thunder, Jacob Ballard 22 and Josh Bootsma 16 to go with nine marks in defence.

Perth had its own pair of former Peel players up against their former side for the first time as well with Liam McKenna continuing to be one of the Demons' shining lights in the midfield with 30 possessions, eight inside 50s and seven marks.

Toby Gianatti was also a solid contributor for Perth against his old side with 16 touches, five marks and a goal.

Aidan Tropiano again led the way on the ball for Perth with another 35 possessions while Michael Sinclair had it 28 times, Michael Florio 25, Brent Latch 20 and returning captain Dene White 18 along with seven tackles and five inside-50 entries.

Daniel O'Sullivan was terrific for Perth across half-forward with two goals from 25 possessions while Chance Bateman also booted two majors and David Johnston was again rock solid in defence with 20 disposals and 12 marks.

Subiaco didn’t score into the breeze in the opening quarter of the twilight clash with West Perth at Medibank Stadium, but from there the Lions kicked nine of the last 11 goals of the match to win by 17 points in difficult conditions.

In the absence of Shane Yarran, Matt Boland and Chris Deluca, Subiaco had to find some new avenues to goal and threw premiership defender Brad Stevenson forward to good effect with him booting three goals from 15 possessions.

James Garcia also kicked three majors and that proved to be enough for the Lions to secure the hard-fought victory.

Chris Phelan led the way in the middle for the Lions with 27 possessions while Brett Mahoney gathered 21 disposals, Brett Robinson 19, Scott Hancock 17 and Leigh Kitchin 15 to go with 11 strong tackles.

Lachlan Delahunty worked hard at centre half-forward with 18 possessions and eight inside-50 entries.

Shane Nelson was the outstanding player of the game right throughout the contest finishing with 43 possessions, made up of 23 kicks and 20 handpasses, to go along with seven tackles, four marks and four entries inside the forward 50.

It continues a stunning start to the 2015 season for the premiership on-baller who has won the last two Breckler Medals as West Perth fairest and best. The 21-year-old is averaging a remarkable 33 disposals a game so far this year.

Michael Lourey kicked two first quarter goals for West Perth as did Andrew Strijk and Luke Meadows. The two goals in the third quarter again with the advantage of the breeze came courtesy of Kody Manning and Matt Fowler.

Chris Keunen had a strong game for West Perth in the ruck as well battling up against three opponents in David Madut, Lachlan Delahunty and Clancy Wheeler.

The premiership ruckman and West Perth life member finished the night with 15 possessions, 42 hit outs and seven entries inside the forward 50.

Strijk also racked up 21 possessions for the Falcons while Aaron Black had it 20 times, Rohan Kerr 20, Aidan Lynch 18, Luke Tedesco 17 and Steven Browne 17.

Co-captain Jay van Berlo worked hard for 16 touches while laying 10 tackles and Meadows battled manfully across half-forward for his 13 disposals, seven tackles, five marks, four inside 50s and a goal.

Debutant Sam Rotham also showed some good signs for West Perth finishing his first league appearance with eight possessions and three marks. 

RESERVES STANDOUTS
South Fremantle's reserves continued its unbeaten start to the season with a thumping 20.11 (131) to 4.3 (27) win over Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval.

The Bulldogs kept Swans to just one goal in the entire first half and then scoreless in the last term to record the 104-point victory.

Paul Mugambwa kicked four goals for South Fremantle with Noah Strom, Ben Sokol and John Sgherza all kicking three apiece, and Bailey Matera and Tim Stewart two each.

Josh Branchi was terrific in the ruck for the Bulldogs with 20 possessions and 24 hit outs while Lewis Harvey gathered 20 disposals, Jacob Dragovich 20, Jason Maskos 19, Sokol 19, Sgherza 18, Adam Carter 18, Bailey Matera 16 and Simon Panizza 16.

Steven Wityk kicked two of Swan Districts' four goals for the game with Albert Dean racking up 29 possessions, Ben Whitsed 26, Jesse Turner 22 and Jacob Coniglio 20. Troy Yukich had 23 hit outs.

Claremont's reserves scored a comfortable 11.18 (84) to 5.7 (37) win at ATOM Stadium with Steven Edwards kicking three goals for the Tigers, Alexander Manuel two, Jack Richardson two and Ryan Lim two to go with 36 possessions, eight marks, six inside 50s and five tackles.

Haydn Busher also racked up 36 disposals for the Tigers, Isaac Baum 26, Matthew Palfrey 23, Francis Watson 20, Jack Beeck 20 and Edwards 20.

Tom Bowey kicked two goals for East Fremantle with Julian Locantro gathering 27 possessions, Aaron Holmes 26, Jacob Green 22 and Barry Barone 17.

Perth's reserves beat Peel by 49 points at Lathlain Park with Brennan Stack and Scott Moore kicking two goals each while Blake Borrett dominated the ruck with 19 possessions and 41 hit outs.

Joel Kalajzic racked up 27 disposals for the Demons, Kieran Hug 25 (10 tackles), Ashley Boyes 23 and Mitchell Browne 20 (11 marks).

Reise Wilkey kicked two goals for Peel's reserves with Harrison Tyler picking up 18 possessions, Ben Hancock 17, Garrick McLaughlin 17, Brennan Gillam 16 and Mitch Gill 15.

The West Perth and Subiaco reserves also met on Saturday afternoon in a rematch of the grand final won by the Falcons last year, but this time it was the Lions winning by 19 points.

West Perth started the game in style with five goals to two in the first quarter and then to still lead by 18 points at half-time, but Subiaco then kicked eight goals to two in the second half to end up winning 14.9 (93) to 10.14 (74).

Michael Wood responded to being dropped by Subiaco by having 18 possessions and three goals in the reserves' win.

Cody Grace, Chris Wrigley, Jeremy Woodley and Mitch McPhee all kicked two goals for the Lions while Max Walters compiled 31 possessions, Joel Ashman 18 and Tim Edwards 17.

Hayden Yarran was West Perth's best option in attack kicking three goals from 14 possessions while Chris Yarran, Blake Wilhelm and Tim Sutherland all booted two majors apiece.

Corey Chalmers racked up 30 possessions for West Perth to go with eight inside 50s and a goal.

Trent Manzone finished with 29 disposals, Wilhelm 22 to go with his two goals, Ray Bartholomew 20, Broderick Walton 16, Callum Papertalk 15 and Brent Fotheringham 15.

COLTS RISING STARS
South Fremantle's colts came up 26 points short despite a stronger second half showing against a Swan Districts team coming off winning last year's premiership.

South Fremantle kicked just the one goal in the first half, but had its chances in the second half and only had one less scoring shot than Swans, but ended up losing by 26 points.

Josh Cipro kicked three goals for Swan Districts in the win with Tim Yorkshire and Taryce Stewart booting two apiece.

Chad Daniels racked up 30 possessions for the black-and-whites, Brendan O'Kane 25, Brayden Hackett 24, Jack Watson 23, Cipro 23 and Jarrod Shorter 20.

Brandon Donaldson kicked two of South Fremantle's goals with Miles Barritt and Jake Florenca the other goal scorers.

Florenca also gathered 19 possessions for the Bulldogs, Joel McComb 19, Shai Bolton 16, Chad Foster 15 and Daniel Burke 15.

Claremont's colts dominated its contest with East Fremantle winning 10.12 (72) to 3.7 (25) at ATOM Stadium.

Matt Guelfi, Russell Wynne and Jake Waterman all kicked two goals each for Claremont with Jacob Sideris picking up 31 disposals, Declan Mountford 26, Wynne 26, Gus Devitt 23, Matthew Cairns 20, Ryan Murphy 19, Tom Gajewski 19, Bailey Rogers 19 and Waterman 18.

Samuel Lewis kicked two goals for East Fremantle with Oliver Parish gathering 24 disposals, Fraser Perry 23, James Harrold 22, Peter Delaney 21, Thomas Marshall 20, James Meade 20, Thomas Bennett 19 and Stellan Grljusich 18.

Perth's colts scored a 10.9 (69) to 6.8 (44) victory over Peel with Marshall Jones kicking three goals and Matthew Taylor two.

Kayle Phillips racked up 35 possessions for the Demons, Ben Cable 22, Corey Byrne 22, Chapman Jones 22, Bradley Pattison 19, Quinton Narkle 19, Zac Fisher 19, Rhys Leech 18 and Daniel Horan 18.

Nicholas Merritt kicked two goals for the Thunder with Michael Curnow gathering 26 possessions, Hayden Davis 26, Dylan Winton 18, Keegan Power 17 and Karl Collard 17.

West Perth's colts got the day off to an encouraging start at Leederville holding Subiaco to one first half goal and two for three quarters before ending up winning in commanding fashion 18.7 (115) to 5.3 (33).

Mitch Antonio backed up his seven-goal performance the previous week against Perth with another four goals for the Falcons while Clint Hinchcliffe was best on ground with 30 possessions, six inside 50s, five marks, five tackles and three goals.

Zac Guadagnin also kicked three goals for West Perth with Joel Horgan and Daniel Robertson adding two apiece.

Conal Lynch racked up 27 possessions for the Falcons, Angus Allen 26, Josh Rotham 19, Robertson 19, Troy Manners 18, Mitchell Peirce 18 and Scott Nelson 17.

Justin Woodley kicked three goals for Subiaco with Jacob Miller gathering 23 possessions, Ethan Burnett 20, Ryan Borchet 19 and Jack Beverley 17.