WAFL Round 3 WrapMonday, May 2, 2022 - 5:29 PM - by Chris Pike

CLAREMONT remains the only undefeated team in the WAFL after three rounds with a win over South Fremantle on Saturday while Subiaco lost a third straight and there were wins as well for East Fremantle, West Perth, Peel Thunder and Swan Districts.

Round 3 all took place on Saturday and it got underway in Northampton with East Fremantle starting on fire with 10 goals in the opening quarter. East Perth outscored them the rest of the way but the Sharks held on to win 13.13 (91) to 12.9 (81).

Jonathon Marsh kicked six goals for East Fremantle with Cam Eardley delivering 40 possessions off half-back. Tom Edwards-Baldwin and Nick Robertson kicked three goals each for East Perth with Jackson Ramsay racking up 32 disposals and Angus Schumacher 31.

West Perth was able to inflict some more early season pain on Subiaco with the Falcons winning 16.4 (100) to 10.9 (69) against the still winless Lions at Leederville Oval.

Keegan Knott kicked another four goals for West Perth and Tyler Keitel three with Conal Lynch collecting 23 possessions. Subiaco captain Leigh Kitchin had 26 possessions and two goals with Lachlan Delahunty adding 31 disposals and 25 hit outs.

It was the battle of the undefeated teams at Fremantle Community Bank Oval in a rematch of last year's preliminary final with Claremont kicking the only two goals of the last quarter to beat South Fremantle 10.10 (70) to 8.11 (59).

Sandover Medallist Bailey Rogers kicked three goals and had 27 possessions for Claremont with Ryan Lim racking up another 33 disposals. Zac Strom kicked two goals for South Fremantle with Jake Florenca racking up 38 touches and 12 tackles.

Peel Thunder were able to record their second win of the season beating the still winless West Coast Eagles 19.6 (120) to 10.5 (65) at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park on Saturday afternoon.

Wade Derksen kicked four goals for Peel, Jye Amiss three, Blair Bell three and Sam Sturt three with Connor Blakely amassing 31 possessions. Jack Williams kicked three goals for the Eagles with Joey Deegan gathering 27 touches and Jamaine Jones 26.

The round then wrapped up on Saturday evening in the second half of the double-header at Mineral Resources Park with Swan Districts kicking four goals to two in the final quarter to beat Perth 12.6 (78) to 10.13 (73).

It was a first win of the season for the Swans with Tom Edwards and Chris Jones kicking three goals each while Sam Fisher picked up 27 possessions. Fraser McInnes kicked three goals for Perth with Corey Byrne compiling 34 disposals.

Following the Round 3 action, it's Claremont sitting on top of the WAFL ladder with a perfect 3-0 record to be ahead of South Fremantle, East Perth, Peel Thunder, West Perth and East Fremantle who have all won two out of three matches in 2022.

Swan Districts and Perth have won one of their three matches with Subiaco and the West Coast Eagles winless after three games.

Round 4 will see all five matches take place on Saturday afternoon in the 2.10pm time slow with Swan Districts playing Claremont, East Perth taking on Subiaco, Peel Thunder facing Perth, West Perth battling South Fremantle, and East Fremantle playing West Coast at the WACA Ground.

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 3

EAST FREMANTLE 13.13 (91) defeated EAST PERTH 12.9 (81)

East Fremantle delivered quite the scintillating start on Saturday in Northampton before holding out East Perth in the finish for a 10-point victory.

The Sharks had won their first game of the season the previous week with a stirring win over Swan Districts and kept that momentum going into Saturday's game in Northampton against East Perth.

The Royals won their first two matches of the season too against Swan Districts and Perth, but the Sharks blew them away with 10 goals to one in the first quarter.

It was a stunning opening that the Sharks couldn’t maintain with the Royals outscoring them the rest of the way 11 goals to three. However, it was enough for East Fremantle to hold on and win 13.13 (91) to 12.9 (81).

Jonathon Marsh finished up kicking six goals for East Fremantle from 12 kicks and five marks. Brynn Teakle and Dillon O'Reilly added two goals apiece.

Cam Eardley racked up 40 possessions and seven marks off half-back for the Sharks with Kyle Baskerville amassing 29 disposals, Milan Murdock 27, Blaine Boekhorst 24, Jarrad Jansen 23 and Luke English 19.

Tom Edwards-Baldwin kicked three goals for East Perth from six kicks to grab his opportunities with Nick Robertson kicking two goals as well to go with 13 possessions.

Jackson Ramsay finished with 32 possessions and eight tackles for the Royals with Angus Schumacher collecting 31 disposals, Angus Scott 26, Hamish Brayshaw 25 and Stan Wright 22 while Scott Jones had 40 hit outs in the ruck.

East Fremantle came out on fire in Northampton ready to put on a show in one of the richest breeding grounds in their district. It took only 45 seconds for Finn Gorringe to see the Sharks kick the first goal of the game.

Jonathon Marsh and Brynn Teakle then kicked early goals and when Dillon O'Reilly and Kyle Baskerville added goals, the Sharks had five on the board in the opening 14 minutes.

It took another eight minutes for the next goal and that went East Perth's way thanks to Kyle Hamersley, but the Sharks weren't done and closed the quarter with five goals in the last five minutes.

That included three to Marsh in the space two and-a-half minutes and the Sharks had 10 goals to one on the board to lead by 54 points at quarter-time.

East Perth was able to hit back with the only five goals of the second quarter but still it was East Fremantle in control leading by 25 points at half-time.

The Sharks extended their lead further in the third term with three goals to one, and then despite the Royals kicking the only five goals of the final quarter, East Fremantle held on for the 13.13 (91) to 12.9 (81) victory.
 

SUBIACO 10.9 (69) lost to WEST PERTH 16.4 (100)

West Perth continued its strong form to start the 2022 WAFL season to beat Subiaco by 31 points on Saturday and hand the Lions their third loss to open their premiership defence.

West Perth might have lost at home in Round 1 but that was a narrow defeat at the hands of the league's only undefeated team, Claremont, before they bounced back impressively to beat Peel Thunder in Mandurah last Sunday.

Subiaco, meanwhile, had lost its first two matches to South Fremantle and Claremont to mean the reigning premiers were desperate to avoid an 0-3 start to the season.

It wasn’t to be, though, with West Perth impressive in the 16.4 (100) to 10.9 (69) victory at Leederville Oval.

Keegan Knott continued his strong start to the season for West Perth as a small forward kicking four goals from eight kicks and four tackles. Tyler Keitel also returned from missing last week's win over Peel by kicking three goals with Sam Rotham adding two.

Conal Lynch finished the afternoon with 23 possessions for the Falcons while Aaron Black racked up 22 disposals, Luke Meadows 22, Trent Manzone 22, Shane Nelson 19 and Blake Wilhelm 18.

Subiaco captain Leigh Kitchin kicked two goals to go with 26 possessions, eight tackles, seven inside 50s and four marks. Bailey Matera and Jaimon Alone also kicked two goals each for the Lions.

Lachlan Delahunty did all he could to try and inspire Subiaco to their first win of the season with 31 possessions, 10 marks and 25 hit outs.

Chad Harris also collected 25 touches, Noah Ash 21, Liam Hickmott 18 (10 tackles) and Angus Dewar 17.

Subiaco was hunting its first win of the 2022 season and it was Jaimon Alone who gave them a good start with a goal in the first minute. Sasha Kernutt then replied minutes later for West Perth.

Ben Sokol and Tristan Hobley then traded goals too but West Perth went into three quarter-time leading by 17 points on the back of late first quarter goals from Tyler Keitel, Keegan Knott and Sam Rotham.

Rotham, Knott and Shane Nelson then kicked the first three goals of the second quarter for West Perth to see the lead balloon out to 35 points.

From there, the Falcons went into the half-time break still leading by 30 points and that advantage was out to six goals when Keitel kicked truly to open the second half.

The Lions did get back within 28 points but again by three quarter-time West Perth's lead was back to 39 points, and then they ended up winning 16.4 (100) to 10.9 (69) to consign Subiaco to a third consecutive loss to open the 2022 season.
 

SOUTH FREMANTLE 8.11 (59) lost to CLAREMONT 10.10 (70)

Claremont was able to finish strongly to put behind them some recent pain at Fremantle Community Bank Oval to beat South Fremantle by 11 points on Saturday afternoon.

The rivalry has produced some remarkable games between the Bulldogs and Tigers in recent years, with most of them taking place at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

That included the qualifying and preliminary finals of 2021, and the second semi-final and Grand Final of 2020.

South Fremantle won the last three of those narrowly so when Claremont arrived on Saturday afternoon in the battle of undefeated teams, they were looking to avoid another heartbreaking trip to the port.

South Fremantle was missing Tom Blechynden, Brandon Donaldson, Blake Schlensog, Zac Dent, Caleb Datson and Toby McQuilkin while Claremont was able to regain a host of stars who missed last week's win over Subiaco through COVID protocols.

With both teams having won their opening two matches of 2022, it always shaped as another fascinating match up and it was Claremont who opened up a handy gap during the second quarter, but South Fremantle responded and by three quarter-time led by seven points.

However, the Tigers dominated the last quarter to come away with the 10.10 (70) to 8.11 (59) victory to become the last remaining undefeated team for the 2022 season after three rounds.

Bailey Rogers was one of the stars to come back in the line-up for Claremont and the reigning Sandover Medal winner produced 27 possessions, seven inside 50s and three goals in a brilliant display. Jack Buller also kicked two early goals for the Tigers.

Ryan Lim continued his brilliant form for Claremont with another 33 possessions, eight marks, eight tackles and a goal with Ben Edwards also delivering another 28 disposals and four tackles.

Jye Bolton was back into the side and had 26 possessions with Ben Elliott finishing with 21 touches, Oliver Sheldrick 21, Lachlan Martinis 19 and Declan Mountford 16.

The only multiple goal scorer in the game for South Fremantle was Zac Strom with two to go with 11 possessions and seven marks.

Jake Florenca produced another standout performance in the midfield for the Bulldogs to rack up 38 possessions to go with 12 tackles, six marks and a goal.

Chad Pearson also racked up another 26 disposals for South Fremantle, Haiden Schloithe 24, Jarrad Doney 24, Brendon Ah Chee 17 and Aiden Hall 17 while Noah Strom was tremendous defensively holding Timm House to one goal.

Claremont started well at a ground they've suffered more pain at in recent times than they'd like to remember. Jack Buller kicked the first goal of the game but it was goal for goal throughout the opening term.

Zac Strom responded for South Fremantle before Kieran Gowdie kicked truly for Claremont and soon after Mason Shaw got the Bulldogs' second of the game. Claremont went into three quarter-time leading by four points following a late goal from Buller to give him two in the opening term.

Timm House then got away briefly from Noah Strom for a goal to start the second quarter. Bailey Rogers and Ben Elliott then did the same and suddenly the Tigers were out to a 22-point lead at the 12-minute mark of the second quarter.

South Fremantle had to respond and they were able to start with Zac Strom's second of the first half. Then after Rogers kicked a second for Claremont, the Bulldogs finished the half with goals to Jake Florenca and nick Suban to be within seven points at half-time.

Jimmy Miller then started the second half with a stunning effort off the group and scores were soon tied before Rogers restored the lead for the Tigers with his third of the day.

The Bulldogs were able to pick up some momentum the rest of the quarter, though, with goals to Haiden Schloithe and Jarrad Doney to see the home side take a seven-point advantage into the three quarter-time break.

Hamish Free kicked a behind to start the last quarter for South Fremantle, but it was all Claremont from there as they had the last nine scoring shots and while only two of them were goals, it turned out to be enough for the 10.10 (70) to 8.11 (59) win.
 

WEST COAST EAGLES 10.5 (65) lost to PEEL THUNDER 19.6 (120)

Peel Thunder made it two wins from three games so far this season with an impressive performance to beat the West Coast Eagles by 55 points on Saturday.

The two teams battled at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park in the first half of the double-header and while West Coast kicked the first two goals of the game, Peel kicked 19 goals to eight the rest of the way to end up winning 19.6 (120) to 10.5 (65).

Wade Derksen showed just why Peel were so high on his recruitment over summer by delivering four goals to go with 22 possessions, seven marks and five hit outs.

Jye Amiss kicked another three goals as did Blair Bell on return to the Thunder slide and Sam Sturt kicked three goals also.

Connor Blakely was tremendous in the midfield for the Thunder with 31 possessions, 11 marks and seven inside-50 entries while James Ewing collected 21 touches, Haydn Matthews 20 and Mitch Curnow 18.

Jack Williams kicked three goals for the Eagles with Jack Petruccelle and Isiah Winder adding two apiece.

Joey Deegan finished with 27 disposals for West Coast, Jamaine Jones 26, Josh Rotham 21, Josh Browne 19 and John Levien 18.

West Coast started impressively chasing their first win of the season with goals to Jack Petruccelle and Jack Williams, but that would be as good as things got on the afternoon for the Eagles.

Peel responded with the last five goals of the first quarter to be on top by 18 points at quarter-time.

Both teams kicked four goals apiece in the second term in some attractive attacking football but still by half-time the Thunder were in control leading by 21 points.

If the Eagles were still in touch at the half-time break, that didn’t last long with Peel blowing the game wide open to start the second half with goals to Blair Bell, Jye Amiss, T Anderson and Roy George in the first 11 minutes.

The Thunder then closed the quarter with goals to Sam Sturt, Bell and Wade Derksen to open up a 52-point advantage.

Derksen then opened the last quarter with his fourth of the day for Peel and Amiss closed the game with his third and the Thunder went on to win, 19.6 (120) to 10.5 (65).
 

PERTH 10.13 (73) lost to SWAN DISTRICTS 12.6 (78)

Swan Districts had to come from 28 points down in the third quarter, but they did so to beat Perth at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday night for their first win of the 2022 season.

Swans had lost their opening two matches of the WAFL season after reaching the finals in 2021 and couldn’t afford to slip to 0-3, but the job was ahead of them with the Demons leading by 28 points during the third quarter to be on track to bounce from a disappointing loss to East Perth.

Swan Districts had to dig deep and they were able to do exactly that with a strong finish to end beating Perth 12.6 (78) to 10.13 (73) with both teams now sitting on 1-2 records three rounds into the season.

Swan Districts got its first win of the season despite the absence of Aidan Clarke, Jarvis Pina and Ryan Kemp, and it was the move forward of Chris Jones in the second half that proved a masterstroke by coach Adam Pickering.

He kicked three goals in the second half and finished the game with 17 possessions and 10 marks. Tom Edwards also kicked three goals from 15 possessions and six marks while Greg Ottaviano had 22 disposals, seven inside 50s and two goals.

Sandover Medallist Sam Fisher racked up 27 possessions for Swan Districts while Tobe Watson finished with 26 disposals and 11 tackles. Lachlan Riley also had 22 touches, Seb Bright 22, Jehb O'Donohue 19 and Anthony Stephens 17.

Matthew Germs did well in the ruck as well with 13 touches and 34 hit outs.

Fraser McInnes had a terrific game for Perth with three goals along with 23 possessions, 10 hit outs, 10 inside 50s and eight marks. Sam Stubbs also kicked three goals from seven kicks and Austin Davis two goals to go with 22 touches.

Reigning Butcher Medallist Corey Byrne was tremendous for Perth with 34 possessions, eight marks and seven inside 50s while Matthew Taylor finished with 24 disposals, Brayden Ainsworth 22, Austin 22 and Dakota Baldwin-Wright 20 to go with 33 hit outs.

Swans were chasing their first win of the season and started well with a goal to Tom Edwards inside a minute. Jak Watson then gave them the first two goals of the game before Perth got on the board courtesy of Kristian Cary.

There was another goal each before quarter-time but scores were all square on the back of the six behinds the Demons also kicked.

Perth then opened the game wide open to start the second quarter with three goals in the opening 10 minutes to Austin Davis, Haydn Busher and Sam Stubbs. Fraser McInnes added another before half-time and the home team was leading by 22 points at the major break.

Perth was then back up 28 points early in the third quarter and with the players Swans were missing, it was going to be an uphill battle for them to try to fight back into the contest as they were hunting that first win of 2022.

By three quarter-time, the black-and-whites were right back in the contest on the back of the move of usual defender Chris Jones forward. He kicked a couple of goals in quick succession and then Edwards added another, Ben Hewett kicked truly.

That had Swans within five points at three quarter-time and Jones' third goal put them in front inside three minutes of the last quarter. Greg Ottaviano extended that lead to seven points, Seb Bright made it 14 and Swans held on for the 12.6 (78) to 10.13 (73) victory.