Round 1 WAFLW PreviewFriday, February 18, 2022 - 10:00 AM - by Chris Pike

ROUND 1 of the 2022 WAFLW season is upon us and it starts with a bang with Peel Thunder unfurling their premiership flag on Saturday night before South Fremantle and West Perth chase their first ever wins and then the Dhara Kerr Cup goes on the line.

The WAFLW competition has expanded to seven teams now for the 2022 season with West Perth the latest club to now take part at league level.

Initially the first WAFLW season saw Claremont, East Fremantle, Peel Thunder, Subiaco and Swan Districts as part of it in 2019 before South Fremantle was introduced in 2020. Now with West Perth joining, the competition continues to grow and expand in exciting ways.

Now Round 1 gets underway this weekend and it all begins with a Grand Final rematch from 2020 with Peel Thunder hosting Subiaco at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium on Saturday evening from 5.30pm.

Then on Sunday, South Fremantle and West Perth do battle at Fremantle Community Bank Oval from 11am and at 12.30pm, Claremont and Swan Districts clash for the Dhara Kerr Cup at Claremont's Revo Fitness Stadium.

East Fremantle has the Round 1 bye.

WAFLW 2022 SEASON PREVIEW

PEEL THUNDER v SUBIACO
The season couldn’t begin in any more tantalising fashion than Peel Thunder hosting Subiaco in Mandurah on Saturday night.

The Thunder have won the past two WAFLW premierships and are looking to make it three in-a-row in 2022 while the Lions have been strong contenders in each of the last three seasons, and are determined to take that next step.

Peel will also be unfurling the 2021 premiership flag pre-game on Saturday so it will be an occasion to savour for everyone that was part of that triumph before then turning the attention to what lies ahead.

At the same time, it will provide Subiaco with a glimpse of the success they want to create.

The two teams met in the 2020 WAFLW Grand Final as well and had some fascinating battles last year as well so this will be a good early test of how both the Thunder and Lions are shaping up for 2022.

Peel Thunder coach Steve Markham is looking forward to the flag being unfurled pre-match and then to see how his young squad can get the new season underway.

"We're very excited about that and we'll have a function before hand so we'll get that out and unveil it. Hopefully it's a better start than last year when we unveiled it and went to the wrong end of the ground. That's something to watch and we're excited," Markham said

"There's a lot of change but still a lot of experience. I think through the middle we are still really strong but we've got about nine changes from the premiership team, and we had six changes the year before. 

"The young girls and State 18s will start to come through but I think we'll challenge as well as we can and hopefully play a similar brand of footy."

Subiaco star Tarnica Golisano is a veteran of the WAFLW competition now and is looking forward to finding out how this Lions group can come together starting with the test of the reigning premiers on Saturday night.

"It's a fantastic first test for Round 1. Obviously premierships aren’t won in the first couple of rounds but it will be a really big game for us and a real opportunity to see where we're at," Golisano said.

"I think over the last couple of years we've really been building. We've kept a lot of our core girls this year which is really exciting as well as welcoming in a bunch of new girls from the amateur girls. 

"Having the experienced girls and the new ones is something that I think will really help our success this season."

SOUTH FREMANTLE v WEST PERTH
History will be made at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Sunday when South Fremantle takes on West Perth to open the 2022 WAFLW season.

Both the Bulldogs and Falcons are chasing a first ever win in the WAFLW competition and one of them will be celebrating that milestone on Sunday afternoon at the port.

South Fremantle is entering its third season as part of WAFLW but the Bulldogs have yet to breakthrough for that elusive first victory, despite being significantly more competitive and knocking on the door in 2021.

Then there is West Perth who are making their debut in the WAFLW competition for 2022. There is plenty of exciting young talent with the Falcons, though, after they won the Youth Girls Rogers Cup premiership in 2021.

With South Fremantle hunting for that long-awaited first WAFLW win and West Perth attempting to start their life in the competition on a winning note, one of them will leave happy on Sunday afternoon.

South Fremantle captain Lauren Vecchio is a stalwart of the Bulldogs now and she's hoping to break that duck to start the 2022 season on a winning note come Sunday.

"Of course we don’t want to be the first team to lose to them so we'll give it a red hot crack and let's hope it's a good contest," Vecchio said.

"We're pretty excited and always like a new challenge so it will be exciting to see the new talent come through the competition with West Perth part of it now."

Young West Perth star Teal Bennett is a player to watch out for in 2022 with the Falcons and looks to have a definite AFLW future. But more immediately, she is just excited and proud to be part of the first ever West Perth team to play in the WAFLW.

"It's very exciting. It's been a really long pre-season and everyone is just keen to get the season started now," Bennett said.

"We were beyond excited to become part of WAFLW and a lot of us have been waiting for this, and working really hard to get this. 

"Our Rogers Cup team doing well last year we hoped would be enough to get it and now it's made everyone working even harder now that we've got here. Everyone's put in the hard yards and now we are keen to get out there and see how we match up with the other teams."

CLAREMONT v SWAN DISTRICTS
The final game of Round 1 in the WAFLW competition should be a terrific contest as well with Claremont hosting Swan Districts at Revo Fitness Stadium.

There is a strong natural rivalry that has been built up over a number of years between the Tigers and Swans in female football, and that has continued into the WAFLW competition.

Swan Districts have enjoyed a strong first three seasons in WAFLW reaching the Grand Finals of 2019 and 2021, but they are still chasing that first premiership as are Claremont who have reached finals, but not quite been able to get over that hump.

The Dhara Kerr Cup will also be on the line for the two clubs when they clash on Sunday to open their seasons.

Swan Districts was the standout team in the WAFLW competition last year, claiming the minor premiership and losing just the once all home and away season.

However, the lost to Peel Thunder in the second semi-final and then the Grand Final to give them added motivation coming into 2022.

They have a new captain as well in the form of Jess Cox and she is buoyant over the potential her team has for this season.

"It definitely has crept up on us a bit earlier than you are expected and already the season is here now. It doesn’t quite feel like Round 1 already but I definitely think after the jumper presentation night we'll start getting a little bit excited for the season to start. We can't wait," Cox said.

"There's really some exciting talent coming through the doors in our team and we've got a great coaching panel and staff, and support team behind us. 

"We're all really excited for the season ahead and I think the main thing really as a group is that we are wildly optimistic about what we can create. We're excited now for Round 1 to get it all started."

Reigning WAFLW fairest and best winner Ella Smith is going to be a key part of any success Claremont is able to achieve in 2022 with the Tigers putting a lot of focus on culture.

"It's awesome vibes down at the club. We're working on our candour culture at the moment to be trusting with each other and to take on feedback," Smith said.

"The girls are taking to it really well and feel comfortable, but feel challenged. Our aim this year is to be the club destination at the moment and our culture is something we really pride ourselves on. 

"It's foundational through the years of work through Andrew Di Loreto and now with Jack, he's really pushed that candour culture and the girls are taking to it really well."