THERE were three big WAFL matches to close Round 12 on Sunday with Peel Thunder winning to move into third spot, Claremont winning a fifth straight to move into fifth and Swan Districts scoring a crucial victory to stay in touch for a finals berth. Following Subiaco's 9.12 (66) to 6.8 (44) victory over South Fremantle at Medibank Stadium on Saturday to see the Lions move three games clear on top of the ladder, the last three matches of the round all took place on Sunday afternoon. Peel Thunder and East Perth did battle with the winner to consolidate a spot in the top-five and it was the Thunder who prevailed 17.12 (114) to 13.14 (92) at Bendigo Bank Stadium to move into third position. East Fremantle had an eventful week with a coaching change and it couldn’t end it with a win with Swan Districts holding on in a thriller 12.7 (79) to 11.8 (74) at ATOM Stadium to celebrate the 150th WAFL game for versatile big man Tony Notte. And then to close out the round, Claremont won a fifth straight match beating Perth 20.8 (128) to 13.6 (84) at Lathlain Park to reclaim the Pyke Cup and to celebrate the 100th appearance of stand-in captain Beau Maister. Read More ...

THE league-leading reigning premiers Subiaco moved three games clear on top of the WAFL ladder thanks to a 22-point win over South Fremantle with the Lions never surrendering the lead all afternoon at Medibank Stadium. Subiaco hosted South Fremantle in the opening WAFL Round 12 contest on Saturday afternoon and after kicking the first behind and goal of the game, the Lions never gave up the lead with the closest the Bulldogs' came being two points late in the second quarter. Subiaco kicked the first two goals of the second half and in a low-scoring affair that turned out to be enough to secure the eventual 9.12 (66) to 6.8 (44) that sees the Lions improve to a 9-1 record having now won seven straight matches to be three games clear of the second placed West Perth. Subiaco's 22-point victory was all the more impressive considering South Fremantle was coming off two strong wins to be in third position, and the fact that the Lions lost three players to injury before half-time – Darren Rumble (calf), Brett Robinson (foot) and Hayden Kennedy (concussion). Read More ...

DESPITE again having some impressive individual performances led by West Perth's Clint Hinchcliffe, Western Australia has gone down on Saturday to Vic Metro by 74 points at Domain Stadium as part of the 2015 AFL National 18s Championships. The game was played as a curtain-raiser to the West Coast-Essendon AFL clash at Domain Stadium, but despite WA starting reasonably well and showing some fight in the third quarter, it was Vic Metro who ended up winning 19.7  (121) to 7.5 (47). The result means that WA's State 18s team has now lost three straight matches for the championships after starting impressively with a thrilling one-point win over the two-time defending champions South Australia at Lathlain Park. Read More ...

SWAN Districts coach Greg Harding felt his team played as well as it has all year last Saturday against East Perth, but the fact that it was still a defeat means that he is fully aware that this Sunday's clash with a desperate East Fremantle at ATOM Stadium is a virtual must-win affair. Swans might have played an improved brand of football last Saturday against East Perth on the back of a hard fought win against Perth, but it was still a loss at the hands of the Royals leaving the black-and-whites down in seventh position on the ladder with a 4-6 record. That's why Harding is fully aware that Swans can't afford to lose on Sunday against an East Fremantle team hungry to bounce back as well under a new coach Brad Dodd, and coming off three successive losses. Read More ...

FOLLOWING a horror three-week stretch leading into the bye and State game, the best East Perth could have hoped for was to bounce back with two wins following that and co-captain Brendan Lee has been delighted to see that happen and hopes it becomes three against Peel on Sunday. East Perth is now back up into fourth position on the WAFL ladder coming into Round 12 and could end Sunday night as high as second with a win over Peel at Bendigo Bank Stadium. That would make a terrific turnaround by the Royals following a horror three-week stretch before the break that saw them lose to South Fremantle at home, go down to West Perth by 38 points after leading by 43 late in the third quarter and kick a record low score in a loss to Claremont. However, the break did East Perth the world of good both to get things settled again and get some troops back and the result has been a dominant 48-point WA Day derby win over West Perth and then a hard fought come from behind 17-point victory last Saturday over Swan Districts. Read More ...

PEEL Thunder is looking to get its tilt at a historic WAFL finals appearance back on track against East Perth at Bendigo Bank Stadium on Sunday with star recruit Gerald Ugle enjoying his move and the leadership role with his new club despite being just 22 years of age. Peel is yet to seriously threaten to play in a WAFL finals campaign since entering the competition in 1997, but this year it appears a distinct possibility and a win over East Perth would make that even more likely. The Thunder already went on a club record four-match winning streak earlier this season and remain in the top-five with a 5-5 record and they could finish Round 12 as high as second with a win over the Royals. Read More ...

The West Australian Football League State 18s play Victoria Metro at 11.20am on Saturday, June 13  as a curtain raiser to the West Coast Eagles v Essendon AFL game at Domain Stadium. A replay of the State 18s game will be broadcast by FOX FOOTY (Channel 504) on Sunday June 14 at 9am WST.  TEAMS - WA v VIC METRO Read More ...

ROUND 12 of the 2015 WAFL season features one big game on Saturday between the league-leaders and a team trying to cement a top-five position while Sunday features three intriguing match ups including two significant milestones, and one team under a new coach for the first time. The standalone match on Saturday afternoon features Subiaco taking on South Fremantle at Leederville's Medibank Stadium. Then on Sunday, East Fremantle takes on Swan Districts at ATOM Stadium with Brad Dodd in charge of the Sharks for the first time and Tony Notte celebrating his 150th game milestone for Swans. Peel Thunder will also host East Perth at Mandurah's Bendigo Bank Stadium with Perth then taking on Claremont in Beau Maister's 100th WAFL game at Lathlain Park to close out the round. Read More ...

Team selections and previews with Frizz Ferguson for all of this weekend's McDonald's WAFL Round 12 match-ups. Read More ...

Last Saturday when East Perth played Swan Districts Michael Washbourne became the 14th Boundary Umpire in Western Australia to reach 200 Games. Washbourne joined the umpiring team in 2005 and made his league debut in Round 4 of 2007 when West Perth played South Fremantle at Arena Joondalup. WAFL Umpire Manager Darryl Sinclair said that Michael had been a model of consistency thjroughout his career to date. "In his 200 games you could count on one hand where he has not performed at the required level," Sinclair said. Read More ...

The West Australian Football Commission’s WAFL State Academy continues to develop elite players for AFL and WAFL ranks with 87% of inductees becoming AFL listed players or WAFL League debutants over the past five years. A commitment to the program sees players enter an elite environment with a level of professionalism designed to develop strong on and off-field leaders at WAFL League and AFL level. 2015 WAFL State Academy Captain Greg Clark provides an insight into a week in the life of an Academy player with the first of a series of State 18s player diaries. Read More ...

It is important for the junior footballer to eat well every day – not just on game day or before a carnival. Active children need constant refuelling and cooling. Their nutritional needs are of great importance to their overall health, growth and development, as well as to their sporting performance. The junior athlete will play better, for longer, and recover quicker from training and competition Read More ...

PERTH and Claremont will compete to take home the Pyke Cup at Lathlain Park at 2.40pm this Sunday to honour champion father and son Frank and Don Pyke, who played for the Demons and Tigers respectively. The Cup was inaugurated in 2013, with Claremont claiming an exciting 15-point win 14.12 (96) to 12.9 (81). The most recent meeting between the two teams earlier this season was also a close contest, with Perth claiming the Round 5 victory at the Showgrounds 11.9 (75) to 10.6 (66). Read More ...

SUBIACO moved two games clear on top of the WAFL with a sixth straight win in Round 11 action on Saturday while East Perth, West Perth and South Fremantle all scored impressive wins on the back of five-day breaks. The only team who didn’t defy the odds and win on a five-day break against a fresher team was East Fremantle as the Sharks went down to the reigning premiers Subiaco, with the Lions winning 15.18 (108) to 8.12 (60) in what ended up being Steve Malaxos' last game in charge. East Perth, South Fremantle and West Perth all won in impressive fashion, though, backing up well from playing just on Monday in the traditional WA Day fixtures. The Royals beat Swan Districts 13.9 (87) to 11.4 (70) at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval in front of almost 4000 fans while the Bulldogs downed Perth 17.10 (112) to 11.8 (74) at Fremantle Oval and the Falcons defeated Peel Thunder 17.9 (111) to 17.5 (107) at Mandurah's Bendigo Bank Stadium. Read More ...

Narelle Scott is a passionate driver of WA Football in the community and in the classroom. The Tuart Rise Primary School music specialist is not the first person most would think is the school’s AFL School Ambassador, not to mention the ‘2014 Most Outstanding Female Program’ category winner in the WA Ambassador of the year awards. Narelle teachers from Kindy through to Year 6 and is currently coaching both the girls and boys teams for the 2015 Dockers Cup. She also runs before school programs where the students are taught umpiring and football skills and in addition to all of that, she is helping to organise an AFL themed week at the school. Read More ...