Round 21 McDonald's WAFL Wrap UpTuesday, August 18, 2015 - 2:50 PM - by Chris Pike

WEST Perth won to stay second, East Perth won to improve to third and Claremont was also victorious to move into fourth position after Round 21 of the 2015 WAFL season.

Three of the four Round 21 WAFL matches took place on Saturday afternoon with West Perth consolidating second position with a 14.12 (96) to 11.9 (75) win over Swan Districts at HBF Arena that sees the black-and-whites slide outside of the top five with one game remaining.

Claremont replaced Swan Districts in fifth spot with a come from behind 18.7 (115) to 12.8 (80) victory over East Fremantle at the Claremont Showground, with the Tigers and Swans now to fight over that fifth position at Steel Blue Oval this Saturday.

The other game on Saturday saw the league-leading Subiaco beat the bottom-placed Perth 22.15 (147) to 8.6 (54) at Lathlain Park and then on Sunday, East Perth won its fifth straight match to replace Peel in third spot with a 13.16 (94) to 8.14 (62) win over the Thunder at Bendigo Bank Stadium.

The round's results leave Subiaco (15-3) on top of the WAFL ladder ahead of West Perth (12-6), East Perth (11-8), Peel Thunder (11-7) and Claremont (9-9).

Swan Districts (9-10) is just outside of the top five followed by South Fremantle (8-10), East Fremantle (5-13) and Perth (2-16).

Click here for the summary of Round 21 of the WAFL 

TEAM OF THE WEEK (times named in team) 
BACK: Drew Rohde (WP, 1), Nathan Blee (EP, 6), Nathan Broad (SD, 6)
HALF-BACK: Joe Morrow (WP, 1), Tony Notte (SD, 4), Josh Bootsma (PT, 2)
CENTRE: Aaron Black (WP, 8), Sam Menegola (S, 8), Steven Payne (EP, 6)
HALF-FORWARD: Chris Phelan (S, 8), Lachlan Delahunty (S, 5), Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls (EP, 2)
FORWARD: Matthew Jukes (SD, 3), Beau Maister (C, 3), Kyle Halligan (S, 3)
RUCK: Chris Keunen (WP, 4), Corey Yeo (C, 7), Brendan Lee (EP, 9)
INTERCHANGE: Matt Riggio (SD, 6), Trent Manzone (WP, 3), Clancee Pearce (PT, 2), Callum Walley (P, 1)

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
It would be a stretch to say that East Perth co-captain Brendan Lee is in career-best form given some of the consistent and outstanding football he has played with the Royals either side of spending a season in the AFL with Essendon but he very well could be.

Lee turned himself into the hardest working player in the competition by 2011 winning the Royals' fairest and best award to end up getting drafted into the AFL to spend a year with the Bombers where he made his debut at the top level but also won the VFL's team best and fairest and award.

He then returned to East Perth in 2013 and won another fairest and best award in the team that made the grand final, and after an injury-interrupted start to 2014, he again had a terrific year in the side that made another grand final.

Injuries have seen him miss three games now again in 2015 but his last month of football has been as good as any other point in his career, and again on Sunday he had 33 possessions, eight tackles and five marks in the Royals' fifth straight victory over Peel Thunder to see them improve to third position.

THE SHINING LIGHTS
West Perth welcomed back premiership star Rohan Kerr from a back injury while co-captain Luke Tedesco returned in the reserves with Nick Rodda, Kris Shannon and Laine Rasmussen all potentially back in time to take on South Fremantle this Saturday at Fremantle Oval.

Sandover Medallist Aaron Black delivered a best on ground performance for West Perth with 32 possessions, 14 marks and two goals in the win over Swan Districts.

Michael Lourey, Shane Nelson, Steven Potente and Kody Manning all kicked two goals apiece for West Perth while Corey Chalmers continued his best run of form in his short league career with another three majors.

Trent Manzone continued his career-best form as well for the Falcons in the midfield with 30 possessions and 10 tackles while co-captain Jay van Berlo finished with 22 disposals, nine marks, five tackles and three inside-50 entries.

Aidan Lynch worked hard again for 21 touches, six marks, four tackles and three inside 50s while Kerr made a strong return with 21 possessions and six marks, but more importantly his precise kicking along with Andrew Strijk's proved a big difference. Strijk finished with 20 disposals, eight marks and seven inside-50 entries.

West Perth's back-line held up well also with Joe Morrow holding Tim Geappen to just eight possessions and one goal, while Marcus Adams (19 possessions), Drew Rohde (18 disposals, seven marks) and Luke Meadows (18 touches) were terrific in defence.

Ruckman Chris Keunen also had the better of his one-on-one battle with Nathan Blakely finishing with 16 possessions, seven marks, 38 hit outs, five inside-50 entries and a goal.

Two Swan Districts premiership players from 2010 Ryan Davis and Matt Riggio again did all they could to try and get the black-and-whites over the line with Davis finishing with 25 possessions, seven inside 50s, five marks and a goal, and Riggio 28 disposals, 13 marks and six inside-50 entries.

Aaron Elari also gathered 27 disposals for Swans, Albert Dean 25, Adam Faulkner 24 and Jacob Coniglio 23.

Matthew Jukes and Dylan Nelson were both impressive in attack kicking three goals each for Swans while in defence, Tony Notte was terrific with 20 touches and six marks while Nathan Broad kept Matt Johnson quiet and had 18 disposals and seven marks.

Captain Tallan Ames also had 21 touches for Swans in defence even if his kicking wasn’t always on target while Justin Simpson was again a steadying influence with 18 possessions and seven marks.

Claremont had to overcome a surprise 25-point half-time deficit against East Fremantle, but the Tigers dominated after half-time with 14 goals to four to win by 35 points and return to fifth position on the ladder and to extend the Sharks' winless run to 11 matches.

Beau Maister was again terrific at full-forward for Claremont continuing his run of season-best form with six goals from 12 possessions and seven marks with him now having kicked 15 goals in his last four matches having only managed 13 in his first eight appearances of 2015.

Darcy Cameron, Jack Bradshaw and Corey Yeo all kicked two goals apiece for Claremont as well with Yeo outstanding with 28 possessions, seven inside-50 entries and five tackles as well.

With Mark Seaby still working his way back to full fitness following a knee injury, Mitch Andrews dominated the ruck for the Tigers with 21 disposals and 34 hit outs.

Tom Ledger continued his outstanding form in the midfield with another 29 possessions, eight marks, seven inside 50s and a goal for the Tigers while Ryan Neates amassed 22 disposals, Matthew Davies 21, Ryan Lim 20 and Tom Swift 19.

While it was an improved performance by East Fremantle, it still was a 35-point loss despite the best efforts of captain Rory O'Brien once again who amassed 30 possessions, seven marks and five tackles.

Brandon Ellis also gave East Fremantle what it's been sorely lacking in a goal kicking option booting four goals from eight kicks and eight marks while Matthew Bannister and James Bristow booted two as well.

Youngster Jacob Green had a good impact for the Sharks gathering 26 possessions with Jamie McNamara also finishing with 25 disposals, Cameron Eardley 24 (10 tackles), Ryan Lester-Smith 22, Sean Henson 19, Andrew Stephen 19 and Sam Read 18.

Perth started encouragingly against Subiaco kicking four of the last five goals going into quarter-time to take a four-point lead, but it was the Lions who dominated from there showing once again why they are raging favourites to win back-to-back premierships.

Subiaco kicked 19 goals to four after quarter-time to win by 93 points and it was on the back of some career-best performances in attack with Kyle Halligan booting six goals for the first time in his 25-game career, and Chris Phelan kicking four goals for the first time in 116 matches.

Premiership full-forward Matt Boland also kicked five goals for the Lions while Sam Menegola delivered another best on ground performance with 32 possessions, nine inside 50s, five marks and a goal.

Reece Blechynden and Michael Wood also kicked two goals each for Subiaco with Kyal Horsley racking up 22 possessions, Leigh Kitchin 22, Jordan Lockyer 22, Craig Hoskins 22 and Scott Hancock 21.

The Lions also came into the clash without a recognised ruckman but Lachlan Delahunty (22 possessions, 10 marks, five tackles, 26 hit outs, six inside-50 entries and a goal) and Clancy Wheeler (20 disposals, seven marks and 19 hit outs) dominated.

Callum Walley kicked a career-best four goals for Perth as the former Claremont player continues to be another handy pick up for the Demons in 2015.

Aidan Tropiano is another more than handy recruit who joined East Fremantle late in 2014 and he's now gone on to have another outstanding 2015 and he had 28 possessions, seven tackles and six marks in the loss to Subiaco.

Liam McKenna has also been outstanding in 2015 for Perth after crossing from Peel Thunder and he had another 27 disposals, eight marks, five tackles and a goal against the Lions.

Jarryd Morton picked up 22 disposals for the Demons while Brett Wolfenden had 21 touches and captain Dene White 18.

East Perth co-captain Brendan Lee delivered another best on ground performance in the midfield with 33 possessions, eight tackles and six inside-50 entries.

He had good support in the midfield as well with Steven Payne racking up 27 touches and 12 marks and Kane Lucas 23 disposals, 10 tackles and eight marks.

Mitch Howlett, Craig Wulff and Tom Lamb all kicked two goals apiece for the Royals while Rowen Powell worked hard for 19 possessions, eight marks and a goal.

East Perth's back-line also stood up well with Kyle Anderson doing a good job on Peel's resting ruckmen while Nathan Blee did well keeping Matt Taberner in check while finishing with 20 possessions, 10 marks and just his second goal of the season.

Mitch Fraser did well helping to limit the effectiveness of Leroy Jetta while also having 21 possessions and seven marks as a small defender while Garry moss finishing with 20 touches and seven marks and Tom Barrass 13 disposals and nine marks.

It wasn’t a day to remember for Peel but Clancee Pearce did work tirelessly in the midfield finishing with a game-high 38 possessions even if his ball use wasn’t always up to the standard he would like.

Peel also had some other major ball winners with Jacob Ballard gathering 30 disposals, Brady Grey 29 (10 tackles, eight inside 50s), Ed Langdon 25, Lachie Weller 21 and captain Brendon Jones 19 to go with six tackles.

Gerald Ugle kicked three goals for Peel while the Thunder's back-line held up reasonably well considering East Perth's dominance with Ethan Hughes finishing with 20 possessions and seven marks, Josh Bootsma 19 disposals and Tanner Smith 19 touches. 

RESERVES STANDOUTS
West Perth's reserves remained in fourth position on the ladder with two rounds of the season remaining with a 19.5 (119) to 16.5 (101) victory over Swan Districts at HBF Arena.

Brayden Antonio was outstanding for West Perth with 34 possessions, eight inside-50 entries, six marks, six tackles and three goals as he tries to break back into the league side.

Hayden Yarran also kicked five goals for the Falcons, Callum Papertalk three, Mark Hamilton three and Bradley Ryan two while Dean Munns had 28 disposals to go with 14 tackles.

Broderick Walton also finished with 23 touches for West Perth, James Batterham 19 and Marc Crisp 18 while Luke Tedesco made a solid return from a calf injury with 12 possessions and seven marks.

Rudy Riddoch kicked five goals for Swan Districts in the reserves with Sean Fletcher also booting four majors, Nelson Ansey three and Jackson Slater two.

Ben Whitsed compiled 27 possessions for Swan Districts, Jason Daniels 23, Warrick Wilson 22, Ansey 21, Jesse Turner 20, Brandon Erceg 19 and Fletcher 18.

Claremont's reserves came away with a 12.9 (81) to 8.12 (60) win over East Fremantle at the Claremont Showground on Saturday.

Keegan Knott and Jack Richardson kicked two goals each for the Tigers with Tom Willett racking up 28 possessions, Ben Higgs 25, Morgan Davies 24, Chaz Flint 22, Isaac Baum 21, Steven Edwards 20, Cameron Palmer 20 and Sam Bevan 20.

Tom Bowey kicked three of East Fremantle's eight goals with Jayden Schofield amassing 37 disposals, Dion Anthony 31, Barry Barone 26, Dylan Coulthard 25 and Aaron Holmes 22.

Subiaco's reserves handed Perth another big defeat with the Lions running out 18.14 (122) to 9.6 (60) winners at Lathlain Park.

James Garcia, Dylan Clarke and Mitch McPhee all kicked three goals each for Subiaco while Ray Daniels added two and Matt Bogensperger had 34 possessions, Max Walters 28, Clarke 25, Braden Fimmano 23, Joel Latham 23, Daniels 21 and the returning Brett Mahoney 19.

Kieran Hug worked tirelessly for Perth with 29 possessions and three goals while Daniel Arangio kicked two goals and Kurtis Chester gathered 33 disposals, Kayle Phillips 26, Ben Cable 22, Mitch Browne 22 and Cameron Jones 19.

East Perth's reserves started the day on Sunday with a 16.14 (110) to 3.6 (24) win over Peel Thunder at Bendigo Bank Stadium with the Royals moving three games clear in fifth position on the ladder.

Daniel Perkins was outstanding for East Perth with 24 possessions, seven marks and five goals while Brandon Hughes and Jake Keeffe kicked two goals each for the Royals.

Tom Shanahan finished with 33 possessions and 11 marks for East Perth, and Will Young 28 disposals, Freddie Clutterbuck 25, Zachary Dent 23, Damian Lee 22 and Tom Hodgson 22.

Laine Wilkins gathered 25 possessions for Peel's reserves, Josh Mathers 25, Kieran May 22, Jamahl Mulholland 21, Corey Morris 19, Kyle Shanahan 18 and Brendan Tingey 18. 

REDiMED COLTS RISING STARS
West Perth's colts returned to fifth position on the ladder with two rounds of the season remaining beating reigning premiers Swan Districts 11.6 (72) to 8.10 (58) at HBF Arena on Saturday morning.

Clint Hinchcliffe delivered another outstanding performance for West Perth in the colts with 24 possessions, six tackles and two goals while Mitch Antonio and Ethan Mullane added two goals apiece.

Troy Manners gathered 25 possessions for the Falcons, and Ethan Hills did well in the ruck ending up with 14 disposals, 27 hit outs and a goal.

Robert Mostert and Brody Sutton kicked two goals each for Swan Districts with Brayden Hackett racking up 29 possessions and John Shaw 17.

Claremont returned to the top of the colts ladder with two rounds remaining with a 8.11 (59) to 6.9 (45) victory over East Fremantle on Saturday morning at Claremont Showground.

Jake Waterman kicked four goals for Claremont and Eddie Simpson two while Declan Mountford gathered 25 possessions, Aden Wilkins 24, Matt Guelfi 23 and Jacob Sideris 21.

Sam Lewis kicked two goals for East Fremantle while Jordan Snadden picked up 23 possessions, Jesse Adamini 22, Nick Menegola 20 and Tom Bennett 19.

Perth's colts kept its finals hopes alive with two rebounds remaining beating Subiaco 9.14 (68) to 3.6 (24) at Lathlain Park.

Jackson Giles kicked three goals for Perth and Cody Ninyette two with Chapman Jones racking up 26 possessions, Corey Byrne 26, John Levien 25, Matthew Taylor 24 and Zachary Hill 16 to go with 23 hit outs in the ruck.

Ethan Burnett, Liam Catalfamo and Max Dennis kicked Subiaco's three goals with Jack Beverley compiling 26 possessions, Ryan Borchet 21 and Sean Foley 18.

Peel Thunder's colts finished the day on Sunday at Bendigo Bank Stadium with a thumping 20.15 (135) to 6.8 (44) victory over East Perth to see them improve to third position on the ladder.

Karl Collard and Brett Milward kicked three goals each for Peel with Robert Bird, Josh Schoenfeld, Noah Hura and Michael Humble all booting two majors apiece.

Keegan Power racked up 29 possessions for the Thunder, Hura 27, Humble 26, Mitchel Curnow 24, Haydn Matthews 23 and Schoenfeld 19.

Stanley Wright worked hard for East Perth and amassed 32 possessions while Jake Lewis had it 22 times, Tarir Bayok 21, Mitch Dobson 20 and Josh Hewett 19 to go with 10 marks.