Round 8 Match ReportsMonday, May 28, 2018 - 7:29 AM - by Chris Pike

THE WAFL competition roared to life on Saturday with the best round of the 2018 season as Claremont upset South Fremantle, East Fremantle ended its horror losing run, Perth took it right up to Subiaco and Swan Districts were impressive beating East Perth.

The lower ranked team won three of the four Round 8 WAFL matches on Saturday and even though Subiaco remained undefeated as well, Perth took it right up to the Lions and were only two points behind early in the last quarter.

While there has at times been a stark gap between the top and bottom placed teams in the WAFL this season over the opening seven rounds, that certainly wasn’t the case on Saturday as the competition shone despite the bleak weather.

The round got underway at Leederville Oval with East Perth hosting Swan Districts, and Swans were well on top over the opening three quarters and went on to win 13.8 (86) to 11.7 (73).

The other three matches saw Claremont beat South Fremantle 13.10 (88) to 12.10 (82), Subiaco defeat Perth 15.12 (102) to 9.8 (62) and East Fremantle down reigning premiers Peel Thunder 8.13 (61) to 4.13 (37).

The results leave Subiaco (7-0) clear on top of the ladder ahead of South Fremantle (5-2), West Perth (4-3), Swan Districts (4-3) and East Perth (4-3).

There is then a sizeable two-game and percentage gap to the bottom four teams Claremont (2-5), Peel Thunder (2-5), Perth (2-5) and East Fremantle (2-6).

Saturday's action began at Leederville Oval with East Perth and Swan Districts both looking to consolidate themselves further inside the top five.

Swans got off to a flying start with six goals to two in the first quarter and then kicked away further with four goals to nil in the third term to lead by 37 points at three quarter-time before ending up winning by 13 points.

Taryce Stewart came in to play his first game of the season for Swan Districts and kicked four goals with Rhys Palmer adding two to go with 26 possessions.

Nathan Blakely was outstanding in the ruck for Swans finishing with 27 possessions and 24 hit outs. David Ellard also had 23 disposals, Jesse Turner 23, Kirk Ugle 19, Matt Riggio 19 and Steven Payne 18 against his old team.

Jack Petruccelle returned for East Perth and kicked three goals with Matthew Allen booting two.

Luke Partington racked up 33 possessions for the Royals, Julian Ameduri 24, Shayne Hille 23, Nathan Blee 23, Francis Watson 22, Sharrod Wellingham 21 and Patrick McGinnity 20.

Everything pointed towards a South Fremantle win against Claremont at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with the Bulldogs on a five-game winning streak and having lost the past four against the Tigers.

Nobody told Claremont that, though, with the Tigers starting impressively leading by 27 points midway through the second quarter when captain Ian Richardson kicked truly.

However, South Fremantle got on a roll with five goals in nine minutes and went on to lead by three points at half-time. 

It remained a tight affair throughout the second half and scores were all tied at the 27-minute mark of the last term when Haiden Schloithe kicked truly after receiving a lucky free-kick for his trademark action of drawing a high tackle. 

Claremont wouldn’t be denied, though, with Tom Lee finding some space in attack to mark 30m out directly in front of goal. He went back and kicked truly to give Claremont the six-point win for its second victory of 2018.

Tom Lee kicked four goals for Claremont, Keifer Yu two, Ian Richardson two and Ryan Murphy two.

Jye Bolton racked up 30 possessions for the Tigers, Kane Mitchell 27, Jared Hardisty 26 and Haydn Busher 23.

Cory Dell'Olio kicked another three goals for South Fremantle and Mason Shaw two.

South Fremantle lost in-form midfielder Shane Hockey early in the game but ruckman Brock Higgins (21 touches, 56 hit outs, four tackles) and Marlion Pickett (36 disposals, six tackles) did a power of work. Captain Dylan Main also had 25 possessions.

East Fremantle and Peel Thunder had both been struggling heading into their contest at East Fremantle Oval, but with Peel having won the last two premierships and nine straight matches against the Sharks, the home team did appear to have the job ahead of them.

It didn’t turn out to be the case, though, with East Fremantle on top all afternoon before going on to kick the only two goals of the last quarter to win by 24 points and snap a five-match losing run.

George Hampson was the standout player in the game highlighting his quality in his 99th WAFL appearance with 38 possessions, 13 tackles, 10 inside-50 entries and a goal.

Jonathon Marsh also picked up 24 touches for the Sharks, Nick Kommer 23, Ambrose Ryan 23, Dylan Winton 21 and Jarrad Jansen 19 to go with 12 tackles.

Ben Howlett amassed 35 possessions for Peel, Stefan Giro 34, Ethan Hughes 25, Taylin Duman 25, Tom Sheridan 21, Tom North 20 and Michael Apeness 20 along with seven marks, 32 hit outs and a goal.

Harley Bennell finished with 16 disposals but was only allowed to play half the match.

Subiaco had won its opening six matches of the season by an average of almost 79 points while also having won 10 of the last 11 meetings against Perth, but the Demons came out ready to take it right up to the Lions.

Perth certainly ended up doing that bouncing back from trailing by 18 points at quarter-time to be just seven points down at half-time. Then with the first goal of the last term, the Demons were within just two points of the Lions.

Subiaco did kick away from there with seven of the game's last eight goals to win by 40 points but it was still a strong showing from Perth.

Rhys Waters, Chris Phelan, Ben Sokol, Brad Stevenson and Clancy Wheeler all kicked two goals each for Subiaco.

Captain Kyal Horsley amassed another 33 possessions for the Lions, Phelan 31, Lachlan Delahunty 27 (24 hit outs) and Leigh Kitchin 21.

Cody Ninyette and Anton Scotney booted two goals apiece for Perth.

Clint Jones picked up 26 possessions for the Demons, Brant Colledge 26 and Ben Giobbi 16.

ROUND 8 WAFL RESULTS
LEAGUE
East Perth 11.7 (73) lost to Swan Districts 13.8 (86)
South Fremantle 12.10 (82) lost to Claremont 13.10 (88)
Perth 9.8 (62) lost to Subiaco 15.12 (102)
East Fremantle 8.13 (61) defeated Peel Thunder 4.13 (37)

RESERVES
East Perth 15.14 (104) defeated Swan Districts 4.8 (32)
South Fremantle 8.13 (61) defeated Claremont 7.11 (53)
Perth 7.9 (51) lost to Subiaco 11.18 (84)
East Fremantle 8.8 (56) defeated Peel Thunder 7.7 (49)

COLTS
East Perth 6.4 (40) lost to Swan Districts 11.5 (71)
South Fremantle 8.6 (54) defeated Claremont 3.11 (29)
Perth 6.9 (45) defeated Subiaco 5.9 (39)
East Fremantle 5.9 (39) lost to Peel Thunder 8.11 (59)

Click the graphics for specific game reports.