WAFL Team of the Week – Round 20Monday, September 5, 2022 - 6:18 PM - by Chris Pike

ROUND 20 provided the last chance for WAFL players to push their case for a spot in the Team of the Week across the five matches this weekend and to make a case to ultimately be included in the Team of the Year for 2022.

The Round 20 action began on Saturday afternoon with East Fremantle shaking off a slow start to defeat East Perth 7.11 (53) to 3.14 (32) at Leederville Oval to secure second position.

West Perth then locked away its first minor premiership since 1993 by beating Subiaco 13.11 (89) to 5.12 (42) thanks to a dominant second half at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium.

Claremont then guaranteed a finals double chance and third position by beating the West Coast Eagles 10.8 (68) to 6.9 (45) at Revo Fitness Stadium.

South Fremantle then remained in fourth position as they prepare for a seventh consecutive finals campaign by beating Perth 14.8 (92) to 4.4 (28) at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

The round then wrapped up on Sunday afternoon at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium with Peel Thunder and Swan Districts battling over fifth position and the last spot in the finals.

Peel proved too strong going on to win 18.20 (128) to 5.6 (36) to mark their first finals appearance since winning back-to-back premierships in 2016 and 2017, and to end the season of Swans in the process.

That saw plenty of players putting their hands up for the Round 20 Team of the Week once more.

The two standout ruckmen in Round 20 were South Fremantle's Hamish Free and Lloyd Meek. Not only will they be doing battle in the elimination final now this Saturday but it will likely come down to them for the ruck spot in the Team of the Year too.

Defenders to put their hands up for the Team of the Week included Matthew Jupp, Jamie Meade, Corey Watts, Kye Willcocks, Lachlan Martinis, Callan England, Jack Lewsey, Zac Guadagnin, Ben Johnson, Drew Rohde, Noah Strom, Blake Schlensog, Toby McQuilkin, Kasey Nicholas, Chris Mayne and Nathan Wilson.

Among the forwards to stand out across Round 20 this weekend were Alex Manuel, Tyler Keitel, Ben Sokol, Mason Shaw, Sam Stubbs and Sam Sturt.

There were once again plenty of inside midfielders impressing including Josh Schoenfeld, Milan Murdock, Jackson Ramsay, Hamish Brayshaw, Jye Bolton, Ben Edwards, Greg Clark, Aidan Lynch, Mitch Peirce, Liam Hickmott, Tom Blechynden, Steve Verrier, Corey Byrne, Mitch Crowden and Connor Blakely.

Those more on the outside to shine were Ryan Lester-Smith, Tom Bennett, Angus Scott, Ryan Lim, Patrick Naish, Sam Petrevski-Seton, Aaron Black, Stefan Giro, Wil Hickmott, Chad Harris, Steely Green, Brendon Ah Chee, Andrew Fisher, Ethan Hughes, Travis Colyer, Liam Henry and Jesse Turner.

Other midfielders to play well in Round 20 were Kyle Baskerville, Angus Schumacher, Jack Cooley, Christian Ameduri, Bailey Rogers, Jackson Nelson, Luke Meadows, Harry Marsh, Haiden Schloithe, Denzel More, Neil Erasmus, Karl Worner and Aidan Clarke.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND – LLOYD MEEK (PEEL THUNDER)

He deserves to feel unlucky that he's at an AFL club where he's not the No. 1 ruckman, but that continues to be to Peel Thunder's benefit and Lloyd Meek was quite the dominant force on Sunday.

Peel played host to Swan Districts on Sunday in Mandurah with a spot in the finals on the line for the winner while the loser will miss out. So there was everything to play for but it didn’t take the Thunder long to assert their dominance and it all started with Meek in the middle.

Rather than being dejected by not being part of the Fremantle Dockers team the night before that beat the Western Bulldogs in remarkable fashion in the AFL elimination final, Meek took it on the chin and produced a brilliant display for the Thunder the next day.

Meek has now played 15 AFL matches with the Dockers over the last two years, but it's not a stretch to say he would be the No. 1 ruckman at a host of other clubs in the competition if he wasn’t behind Sean Darcy like he is at Fremantle.

However, when he has come back to Peel this year he has done so with the attitude of not being disappointed to be there, but being willing to keep developing and improving, and showing what he's capable of.

That then included perhaps his standout performance of the season on Sunday for the Thunder with a finals spot at stake and he did so against another quality ruckman too in the form of Matthew Germs from Swan Districts.

Meek finished the afternoon for Peel with 22 possessions, 29 hit outs, six marks, five tackles and three goals. 

It's the first time in his 42-game WAFL career for the Thunder that he's kicked three goals in a match on top of everything else he did around the field, and now he's primed to be a key player in Peel's final charge.

Players of the Round
Round 1 – Jake Florenca (South Fremantle)
Round 2 – Ryan Lim (Claremont)
Round 3 – Luke Meadows (West Perth)
Round 4 – Jesse Turner (Swan Districts)
Round 5 – Leigh Kitchin (Subiaco)
Round 6 – Blair Bell (Peel Thunder)
Round 7 – Oliver Eastland (Claremont)
Round 8 – Matthew Jupp (East Fremantle)
Round 9 – Toby McQuilkin (South Fremantle)
Round 10 – Aaron Black (West Perth) 
Round 12 – Blaine Boekhorst (East Fremantle)
Round 13 – Noah Strom (South Fremantle)
Round 14 – Brandon Erceg (Swan Districts)
Round 15 – Darcy Tucker (Peel Thunder)
Round 16 – Stefan Giro (Subiaco)    
Round 17 – Tyron Smallwood (Claremont)
Round 18 – Regan Clarke (Perth) 
Round 19 – Milan Murdock (East Fremantle)
Round 20 – Lloyd Meek (Peel Thunder)

WAFL TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 20
BACK: Zac Guadagnin (WP), Noah Strom (SF), Corey Watts (EP)
HALF-BACK: Drew Rohde (S), Kasey Nicholas (P), Lachlan Martinis (C)
CENTRE: Ryan Lim (C), Aidan Lynch (WP), Stefan Giro (S)
HALF-FORWARD: Ethan Hughes (PT), Mason Shaw (SF), Haiden Schloithe (SF) 
FORWARD: Alex Manuel (C), Tyler Keitel (WP), Ben Sokol (S)
RUCK: Lloyd Meek (PT), Josh Schoenfeld (EF), Mitch Crowden (PT)
INTERCHANGE: Steely Green (SF), Milan Murdock (EF), Luke Meadows (WP), Kyle Baskerville (EF)

BACK POCKET – COREY WATTS (East Perth)
He capped off the best season of his career with a strong showing down back for East Perth against East Fremantle spearhead Jonathan Marsh. He was up against a powerful opponent who had the potential still of nabbing the Bernie Naylor Medal if he had a day out, but held Marsh goalless for the afternoon while having 14 touches himself to be named to the Team of the Week for a second time in 2022.

FULL-BACK – NOAH STROM (South Fremantle)
He missed the previous week's win against Subiaco through illness but returned on Saturday and made life mighty difficult for emerging Perth key forward Harry Quartermaine. Delivered a defensive masterclass to hold Quartermaine scoreless and to just one kick for the day while he had 12 touches and marks himself to be named to the Team of the Week for a sixth time in 2022.

BACK POCKET – ZAC GUADAGNIN (West Perth)
Has slotted tremendously right back into the West Perth back-line after missing seven games through the mid-part of the season. He has now been back for three weeks heading into the finals and hasn’t wasted any time rediscovering some of his best form. Produced another standout performance in Saturday's win against Subiaco where he finished with 19 touches and 10 marks.

HALF-BACK FLANK – DREW ROHDE (Subiaco)
Finished the season for Subiaco up against his former team and capped off what likely has been his best and most consistent season even if it won't be with the team success he has become accustomed to. Is now a 125-game player across both the Falcons and Lions, and remains one of the more consistently solid performance defenders in the competition. Capped off the season with 19 touches, six marks and three inside-50 entries on Saturday to be named to the Team of the Week for a fourth time in 2022.

CENTRE HALF-BACK – KASEY NICHOLAS (Perth)
It ended up being another mighty challenging season for Perth with just the three wins coming their way and not ending the season with the same coach they started with, but he was without question one of the great shining lights. Produced the best season of his career as a key defender and was often under pressure a lot with the Demons back-line under siege. That was again the case against South Fremantle with the Bulldogs having 56 inside-50 entries for the day, but he stood up well and finished with 20 possessions and nine marks.

HALF-BACK FLANK – LACHLAN MARTINIS (Claremont)
Claremont sorely missed his run and creativity off half-back last week when he was out suspended against East Fremantle, and he made a welcome return in this Saturday's win against West Coast which saw the Tigers lock away third position. He produced a performance made up of 30 touches, seven tackles, six marks and four inside-50 entries to earn a spot in the Team of the Week for a seventh time in 2022.

WING – RYAN LIM (Claremont)
He might be 148 games into his career now and will earn life membership for Claremont during the upcoming final series by reaching 150, and he's doing it after the best and most consistent season he's produced so far. Put in another standout performance in Saturday's win against West Coast with 31 touches, six marks and a goal to earn his spot in the Team of the Week for a seventh time in 2022.

CENTRE – AIDAN LYNCH (West Perth)
It has been a fascinating return season to West Perth in 2022 as he returned to where he started his career before moving on to East Perth, but now he's finished the campaign in some blistering form and will be happy with the decision he's made as he's part of the minor premiers. He did have a stint in the reserves mid-season, but has cemented his league spot since and guaranteed his selection for the finals by delivering 30 touches, six marks, four tackles and three inside 50s against Subiaco.

WING – STEFAN GIRO (Subiaco)
There's no question a big factor in the former Fremantle Dockers wingman joining Subiaco was to be part of more success with the reigning premiers so he will be disappointed to not be playing finals, but he couldn’t have done more to try and lift the Lions throughout 2022. That was again the case against West Perth where he delivered 30 possessions, eight tackles and six marks to earn a spot in the Team of the Week for a sixth time for the season.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – ETHAN HUGHES (Peel Thunder)
There are several players in a similar position to him where they are playing well enough and are good enough to be in the Fremantle AFL team right now, but it's a mighty tough team to break into and he's staying focused back with Peel and playing some outstanding football. Is providing plenty through the middle and going forward for the Thunder, and delivered another 30 possessions, 10 marks, seven inside 50s and two goals in Sunday's big win over Swan Districts.

CENTRE HALF-FORWARD – MASON SHAW (South Fremantle)
The South Fremantle premiership winning vice-captain and Bernie Naylor Medallist has had a tough 2022 season, but he has now put together a strong month heading into the finals. It's his best run of form for the season providing the Bulldogs that spearhead in attack they've been needing throughout the year. He kicked another three goals from 17 possessions and nine marks in Saturday's win against Perth.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – HAIDEN SCHLOITHE (South Fremantle)
He is now 199 games into his remarkable WAFL career and he's finishing the 2022 season in a remarkable patch of form showing there is no signs of him slowing down whatsoever. He earned a spot in the Team of the Week for a seventh time this season with all those appearances coming from Round 12 onwards. He was superb again in the win against Perth with 31 touches, seven tackles, seven inside 50s and a goal.

FORWARD POCKET – ALEX MANUEL (Claremont)
It has been a bit of an up and down season in 2022 for the 84-game Claremont forward, but he produced one of his strongest performance in Saturday's important win against West Coast that consolidated third position and the finals' double chance. He ended up kicking three goals from 18 touches and eight marks to have now kicked 22 goals in his 14 matches in 2022.

FULL-FORWARD – TYLER KEITEL (West Perth)
The West Perth spearhead hasn’t quite had his kicking boots on for a lot of the 2022 season and that might be why he hasn’t been able to claim another Bernie Naylor Medal, but he did enough to pip Keegan Knott as the Falcons' leading goal scorer at the end of the home and away season. He had another day out against Subiaco kicking five goals from 23 possessions and nine marks to finish the season kicking 35 goals to go with 34 behinds which means he's had the most shots on goal in the WAFL.

FORWARD POCKET – BEN SOKOL (Subiaco)
The three-time premiership player and Simpson Medallist is now a dual Bernie Naylor Medallist after wrapping up the award as the league's leading goalkicker against West Perth on Saturday. He kicked three goals in the first half for the Lions to give him 41 goals for the season. He did kick five behinds as well so missed the chance to finish with a big haul from his 15 touches and eight marks, but he's now kicked 277 goals in a 128-game career.

RUCK ROVER – JOSH SCHOENFELD (East Fremantle)
He wasn’t fit and available to play until Round 12 this season for East Fremantle but he's now entering the finals in some standout form to be one of their prime on-ball movers. He delivered a superb all-round performance in Saturday's win against East Perth that locked away second spot finishing with 32 touches, five tackles, four inside-50 entries and three marks.

ROVER – MITCH CROWDEN (Peel Thunder)
It's a tremendously tough Fremantle midfield to break into at AFL level, but he's had a tremendous season back with Peel Thunder to make sure he's ready for a call up should it ever come his way. He has now earned selection in the Team of the Week four times throughout the season and was a standout once more in Sunday's win over Swan Districts. He finished with 38 possessions, eight marks, seven inside-50 entries, four tackles and a goal.

INTERCHANGE – STEELY GREEN (South Fremantle)
It's been a big year for the 18-year-old who could still be playing colts at South Fremantle and he played State 18s this year for WA, but he is proving himself more than ready to play against men at league level. He produced another impressive display for the Bulldogs in Saturday's win against Perth with the performance of his seven-game career so far with 31 touches, seven tackles, seven inside 50s and four marks.

INTERCHANGE – MILAN MURDOCK (East Fremantle)
Has announced himself as one of the gutsiest in-and-under warriors in the competition and he ended the home and away season with another typically hard-working performance for East Fremantle in Saturday's win against East Perth. He earned a spot in the Team of the Week for a fifth time in 2022 on the back of 27 touches, eight tackles and four marks in the 45th match of his career as he prepares to play finals for the first time.

INTERCHANGE – LUKE MEADOWS (West Perth)
The powerful West Perth midfielder is still chasing that premiership dream with the Falcons and he will be a key to their attempts to win the flag in 2022 on the back of guaranteeing top spot with Saturday's win against Subiaco. He was first-rate once more with 28 touches, seven marks and three inside-50 entries to be named in the Team of the Week for a seventh occasion.

INTERCHANGE – KYLE BASKERVILLE (East Fremantle)
He might have missed six games through the middle part of the season, but he started the season on fire and is now entering the finals back in some scintillating form in the middle for the Sharks. He was superb once again for East Fremantle in the win against East Perth to be named to the Team of the Week for a seventh time from his 12 matches in 2022 with 31 touches, nine marks and four inside-50 entries.
 

UNLUCKY BUNCH

There were plenty of players who delivered tremendous performances across Round 20 but couldn’t quite fit into the Team of the Round, including:

East Fremantle's Matthew Jupp, Jamie Meade, Ryan Lester-Smith and Tom Bennett.

East Perth's Angus Scott, Angus Schumacher, Jackson Ramsay, Kye Willcocks, Jack Cooley, Christian Ameduri and Hamish Brayshaw.

Claremont's Jye Bolton, Callan England, Bailey Rogers, Ben Edwards and Jack Lewsey.

West Coast's Patrick Naish, Jackson Nelson, Greg Clark and Sam Petrevski-Seton.

West Perth's Aaron Black, Mitch Peirce and Ben Johnson.

Subiaco's Harry Marsh, Liam Hickmott, Wil Hickmott and Chad Harris.

South Fremantle's Tom Blechynden, Blake Schlensog, Toby McQuilkin, Hamish Free, Brendon Ah Chee and Steve Verrier.

Perth's Corey Byrne, Andrew Fisher, Denzel More, Chris Mayne and Sam Stubbs.

Peel Thunder's Neil Erasmus, Connor Blakely, Sam Sturt, Karl Worner, Travis Colyer, Liam Henry and Nathan Wilson.

Swan Districts' Jesse Turner and Aidan Clarke.