WAFL Round 4 WrapMonday, May 1, 2023 - 8:43 AM - by Chris Pike

SWAN Districts is on the board for the 2023 WAFL season after ending their hoodoo down at the port while Peel Thunder snapped East Perth's unbeaten start, East Fremantle and Subiaco kept winning, and Claremont handed West Coast another triple figure thrashing.

There's no longer any undefeated teams left in the WAFL after four rounds with Peel knocking off East Perth on Saturday while there's only two winless teams remaining after Swan Districts' breakthrough win as well, and that was just the start of a fascinating round of action.

Round 4 in the WAFL got underway on Saturday at the WACA Ground with East Fremantle overcoming Perth for a third consecutive victory in an entertaining affair, prevailing 16.9 (105) to 12.5 (77).

Peel Thunder then bounced back from its first loss of the season and handed East Perth a first defeat in the process by winning 13.8 (86) to 6.17 (53) at Leederville Oval.

Later on Saturday afternoon and Subiaco made it three wins from four games to start the season by knocking off reigning premiers West Perth, winning 9.12 (66) to 6.9 (45) at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium.

Saturday's action wrapped up with Swan Districts snapping a nine-game losing run at Fremantle Community Bank Oval and winning for the first time in 2023, beating South Fremantle 13.10 (88) to 10.10 (70).

The round concluded on Sunday with Claremont hitting back from a first loss of the season and handing the West Coast Eagles a third consecutive triple figure loss by winning 23.16 (154) to 6.7 (43) at Revo Fitness Stadium.

Round 4 in the Reserves all took place on Saturday beginning with East Perth defeating Peel Thunder 12.17 (89) to 8.4 (52). Brandon Ugle kicked four goals for the Royals with Ethan Regan, Sandon Page and Brodie Ginbey adding two each.

Ben Ramshaw gathered 26 touches for East Perth, Page 22, Adam Boules 20 and Kade Dittmar 19.

Corey Tregenza-Cashell kicked three goals for the Thunder and Lachlan Cullen two with James Sturrock gathering 23 possessions, Charlie Harmelin 22, Tyrone Thorne 21 and Aidan Hare 20.

Subiaco then defeated West Perth 8.10 (58) to 7.4 (46) with Jack Mayo kicking three goals and Jordan Faraone two. Noah Ash amassed 25 touches, Jordan Snadden 24 and Connor Patterson 23.

Logan Foley, Jasper Scaife and Jack Demarte kicked two goals for West Perth with Griffith Julian collecting 2 touches and Daniel Gathercole 22.

Swan Districts won a close one with South Fremantle 10.10 (70) to 9.8 (62) with Kristian Caporn kicking four goals while Max Chipper collected 23 touches, Lawson Humphries 23, Lewis Tester 18, Tom Smith 17 and Tony Notte 17 to go with eight marks in his second game back from his ACL reconstruction.

Jake Florenca returned for South Fremantle with 13 possessions, five tackles and two goals with Matthew Parker also back with 27 disposals. George Wessels also finished with 27 possessions and two goals with Solomon James another back with 13 disposals and 35 hit outs.

Perth then got over the line against East Fremantle 11.6 (72) to 7.15 (57) at the WACA Ground.

Ben McGuire and Corey Holmes kicked two goals for the Sharks with Enrique Aiken-Featherstone gathering 23 touches, Orien Kerr 20 and Jackson McDonald 17.

Kristian Cary appears ready for a league call up after kicking four goals for Perth while Brodie Gray amassed 29 touches, Denzel More 25, Zach Moody 22 and Jacob Peletier 21.

Meanwhile in Round 4 of the Colts, three of the four matches took place on Saturday at Mineral Resources Park beginning with East Perth defeating Peel Thunder 16.13 (109) to 5.6 (36).

Xavier Milner, Xavier Walsh and Matthew Burgess kicked two goals each for East Perth with William Cassidy amassing 29 disposals, Jude Mazzucchelli 25 and Bailey Harbour 21.

Kaed Collard kicked two goals for the Thunder and Mitch Edwards had 19 possessions and 34 hit outs.

Subiaco then beat West Perth 18.9 (117) to 6.7 (43) with Lance Collard booting six goals for the Lions, Ben Steinmann three, Malakai Champion two and Koopa Walsh two with Riley Wills finishing with 32 possessions and Ethan Barbieri 26.

Odin Jones kicked two goals for the Falcons and Kyle Wilcox racked up 20 possessions and Ashton Waters 19.

The day at Lathlain wrapped up with Swan Districts defeating South Fremantle 13.9 (87) to 6.6 (42) with Lewis Zolnier-Owens kicking three goals for Swans with two each to Evan Smith, Denver Roberts and Jack Lawson.

Smith also had 18 possessions and 40 hit outs with Luke Kelly racking up 27 possessions and 19 tackles.

Callum Copeland finished with 25 possessions for South Fremantle, Ashton Ferreira 19, Matthew Dellar 17 and Jacob Whan 16.

The Colts round wrapped up on Saturday evening at the WACA Ground with Perth defeating East Fremantle 11.11 (77) to 6.2 (38).

Coen Livingstone kicked three goals for Perth and Cooper Moore two to go with 30 possessions. Jayden Davis and Jack Cocking kicked two goals each for the Sharks with James Spadanuda gathering 32 touches.

 

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 4

EAST FREMANTLE 16.9 (105) defeated PERTH 12.5 (77)

Despite the eventual 28-point scoreline in favour of East Fremantle, the Sharks were made to earn it against Perth at the WACA Ground on Saturday.

It was an exciting contest between the Sharks and Demons as former Subiaco running buddies Bill Monaghan and Peter German locked horns as senior coaches in the WAFL for the first time.

Perth weren’t afraid to take the game on and play an attacking, corridor focused running brand of football. While that is having a mix of exciting results and costly turnovers at the moment, you can clearly see what German is trying to build in his first season.

However, on Saturday it was a more polished, experienced and potent East Fremantle line-up who claimed the 16.9 (105) to 12.5 (77) victory to make it three straight wins this season after a first up loss in Mandurah to Peel on Good Friday.

The East Fremantle forward-line is looking ominous and was missing the suspended Cody Leggett on Saturday, but Jonathon Marsh and Hugh Dixon kicked three goals apiece as did veteran small forward Brayden Lawler.

Milan Murdock continued his brilliant midfield form for East Fremantle with another 32 possessions while Tom Joyce collected 32 disposals, Kyle Baskerville 30, Cam Eardley 27, Josh Schoenfeld 26, Jarrad Jansen 22, Harry Marsh 21 and Fraser Turner 21.

Reuben McGuire continued to do well in the ruck and had 22 disposals and 20 hit outs.

Austin Davis' running game was exciting for Perth and he kicked three goals on his raking left boot coming off half-back and running through the middle, including one with multiple bounces before steadying to slot it.

Sam Stubbs also kicked three goals on his return for the Demons from four kicks in a fascinating battle with Matthew Jupp while Victorian recruit Charlie Thompson kicked two goals from 25 disposals.

Jack Avery racked up 33 possessions to go with 12 marks for Perth with Corey Byrne finishing with 30 disposals, Matt Taylor 24, Trent Manzone 21 and ruckman Dakota Baldwin-Wright 26 along with 33 hit outs, six inside 50s, five marks and three tackles.

East Fremantle was back at the WACA Ground for the first time this season with the Sharks making a strong start with the first goal of the contest thanks to hard nut midfielder Milan Murdock.

Perth responded through ruckman Dakota Baldwin-Wright but East Fremantle worked on top from there with the next three goals to Josh Schoenfeld, Hugh Dixon and Kyle Baskerville to hold an 18-point advantage at quarter-time.

Dillon O'Reilly gave East Fremantle the perfect start to the second term when he kicked truly but Austin Davis was giving the Demons great run off half-back, and he used his pace and raking left boot to keep the Demons in touch when he kicked a goal early in the second term too.

After Dixon kicked his second for the Sharks, the Demons got on a run in impressive fashion heading into half-time and goals to Charlie Thompson, Regan Clarke, Corey Byrne and finally Sam Stubbs meant the game was right up for grabs at half-time.

With those last four goals of the half, Perth cut East Fremantle's lead to a point at the main break but the Sharks responded well with two quick goals to Dixon and Brayden Lawler inside the opening five minutes of the second half.

The Demons weren't going away, though, and stayed in touch with another impressive running goal from left-footer Davis after several bounces through the middle of the WACA Ground.

It started quite the dramatic several minutes for Davis who then inexplicably dropped a chest mark in the defensive goal square. 

He could do nothing but watch on in horror as Sharks powerhouse Jonathon Marsh picked the ball up, kicked the goal and celebrated with a flex to the Lillee-Marsh Stand.

To Davis' immense credit, he responded in the best possible way by kicking a third goal in immediate response to that. However, East Fremantle closed the third term with goals to Matt Williamson and Lawler to take a 24-point advantage into the final break.

Perth gave itself a real sniff of the breakthrough win with a couple of goals to Stubbs in the first nine minutes of the last term. When Jy Lane added another suddenly it was game on with East Fremantle's lead cut to nine points.

However, East Fremantle hit back and closed the game with goals to Marsh, Lawler and Marsh again to win by 28 points and continue the strong start to the 2023 season on the back of a finals return in 2022.

 

EAST PERTH 6.17 (53) lost to PEEL THUNDER 13.8 (86)

East Perth again started well in the attempt to remain unbeaten this WAFL season but Peel Thunder took over with the game's next 11 goals to set up the eventual 33-point win.

The Royals had won their opening three games of the season in impressive fashion against Swan Districts, Subiaco and Perth, and they started well at Leederville Oval on Saturday leading by 21 points late in the opening quarter.

However, the inaccurate East Perth would only kick one goal the rest of the day with Peel piling them on for the 13.8 (86) to 6.17 (53) victory with both teams now sitting on 3-1 records after four rounds.

Tom Emmett continues to impress in the Peel forward-line and he kicked three goals in Saturday's win from 12 kicks, four tackles and three marks. Ben Middleton and Sebit Kuek kicked two goals each while Josh Treacy was a powerful presence with 13 kicks, 10 marks and a goal.

Karl Worner continued his tremendous form for Peel with another 33 possessions and 11 marks off half-back with Nathan Wilson also providing great drive out of defence with 26 disposals and seven marks.

Captain Ben Hancock also racked 22 touches for Peel, Brady Grey 19, Blair Bell 19, Jacob Blight 19 and Jack Sears 18.

Nick Bonomelli kicked two goals from his six kicks and six marks for East Perth as his team's only multiple goal scorer.

Scott Jones again did well in the ruck for the Royals with 41 hit outs while Hamish Brayshaw collected another 30 possessions, Angus Scott 27, Mitch Crowden 25, Tom North 24, Angus Schumacher 23 and Kye Willcocks 20.

East Perth came into the game as the lone undefeated team left in the WAFL and started strongly at home with the game's first four scoring shots including a goal to Nick Bonomelli.

The Thunder needed to respond to that slow start and last week's loss to South Fremantle, and did so with a couple of goals to Ben Middleton in the space of three minutes to grab the lead.

The Royals then responded with three goals in four minutes to Liam Tedesco, Scott Jones and Riley Saunders before a second to Bonomelli stretched the East Perth advantage to 21 points heading towards quarter-time.

The Thunder did get a goal back before the break thanks to debutant Jonathon Ietto before making a flying start to the second term with goals to Brady Grey and Josh Treacy to cut East Perth's lead to four points.

Blair Bell then put in front midway through the second term when he kicked truly in his first game back and Brody Wemm extended the Thunder advantage. 

Peel continued the momentum heading towards half-time with two goals to Tom Emmett and that saw the Thunder hold a 20-point edge at the long break.

There was only one goal the whole of the third quarter and that went the way of Nathan Wilson at the four-minute mark which helped Peel remain in control and leading by 24 points at three quarter-time.

There would be no Royals fightback in the fourth quarter and Sebit Kuek put the dagger into his former side with a couple of last term goals as Peel went on to win by 33 points and leave both teams with three wins from the opening four matches of the season.

 

WEST PERTH 6.9 (45) lost to SUBIACO 9.12 (66)

Subiaco continued its strong start to the WAFL season with a 21-point win against the reigning premier West Perth at Joondalup on Saturday afternoon.

With the Lions and Falcons not only the last two WAFL premiers but having combined to win seven of the past 10 flags, it's always a fascinating clash when the two teams meet and Saturday at Pentanet Stadium was no different.

Both teams came into the game having won two of the first three this season too, but it was the Lions who proved too strong with their physical, high pressure and defensive mindset coming to the fore in the 9.12 (66) to 6.9 (45) victory.

The Subiaco forward-line is coming together nicely and again Ryan Borchet and Ben Sokol kicked two goals apiece in the win on Saturday.

Zac Clarke was the dominant player on the ground with the veteran ruckman continuing to shine upon his return to Subiaco this season. He finished with 23 possessions, 41 hit outs, six marks and a goal.

Stefan Giro returned after missing last week's win against Claremont for 21 disposals while Angus Dewar had 20 and also did well in his role on Falcons spearhead Tyler Keitel.

Jaxon McGowan also finished with 20 touches for the Lions, Liam Hickmott 19 and Galan Savigni 18 to go with nine marks in defence.

There wasn’t a multiple goal scorer for West Perth with Keitel limited to one goal by Dewar after he had kicked 15 the previous two weeks for the Falcons.

Ben Johnson continued his outstanding start to the season down back for West Perth with the running defender amassing another 23 possessions.

Luke Meadows also had 22 disposals for the Falcons, Aidan Lynch 22 (11 tackles), Shane Nelson 21, Mitch Peirce 21 and last week's hero Nathan Murray 19.

With both teams hunting a third win for the season and as the last two premiers, it always shaped as an intriguing match up and Subiaco started well with a goal from State squad member Taj Schofield at the 11-minute mark.

West Perth got the quick response thanks to Corey Rundle but it was string of behinds from both teams before a goal to Joe Hinder just before quarter-time gave the Falcons the five-point lead.

It only took three minutes of the second quarter for Subiaco to regain the narrow lead with a goal to Ben Sokol. It would take 17 minutes for him to add another, but when he kicked a second it stretched the Lions lead.

Ryan Borchet added another just before half-time and that saw Subiaco head into the break leading by 15 points.

Subiaco stretched its lead to 21 points thanks to Luker Kentfield to start the second half but West Perth got one back thanks to Tyler Keitel with his first of the afternoon after kicking 15 over the past two weeks.

Subiaco continued to have the answers and got one back through Josh Robbins. The teams continued to trade goals but by three quarter-time the Lions were still on top by 13 points despite two late West Perth goals from Mitch Dobson and Conal Lynch.

A second of the day to Borchet steadied the Lions to a 20-point lead early in the last term and that would prove the last goal of the contest with Subiaco going on to score the strong 21-point victory against the reigning premiers

 

SOUTH FREMANTLE 10.10 (70) lost to SWAN DISTRICTS 13.10 (88)

Not only did Swan Districts record its first win of the season on Saturday but also won at Fremantle Community Bank Oval for the first time in nine years with the 18-point victory.

South Fremantle was back home looking to keep the momentum going from wins already at Fremantle Community Bank Oval this season against West Coast and Peel with the knowledge the Bulldogs had won nine straight at home against the Swans dating back to 2014.

Swan Districts might have lost its first three games of the season but it was by a combined 12 points against East Perth, East Fremantle and West Perth, and all three results could have been different.

The black-and-whites arrived at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on a mission and put together a strong performance to end up winning 13.10 (88) to 10.10 (70).

It's the first win of the season for Swans and a first at the port since 2014 with Brayden Noble celebrating his 100th WAFL appearance for the black-and-whites with the first win at the venue of his career in eight attempts.

South Fremantle slips to a 2-2 record on the season with the loss, but thanks to the penalty of eight premiership points, technically the Bulldogs remain winless on the ladder after four rounds.

The Swan Districts forward-line is starting to click and on Saturday, Jesse Palmer kicked another four goals from eight kicks while co-captain Chris Jones kicked three goals from six kicks and five marks.

Tom Edwards also chimed in with two goals while in his 100th game, Brayden Noble kicked a goal from 13 touches, seven hit outs, five marks and five tackles as he played in his first win at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

While the Swans midfield was missing Sam Fisher and Aidan Clarke, Tobe Watson performed strongly with 22 possessions, six tackles, five marks and four inside-50 entries along with the clinching goal.

Jesse Turner collected another 20 possessions while Jarvis Pina finished with 19 disposals and Jackson McLachlan 19.

South Fremantle captain Dylan Main kicked three goals to go with 21 possessions while Brendon Ah Chee had 25 disposals and two goals, and Zac Strom two goals to go with 12 touches, 21 hit outs and five tackles.

Toby McQuilkin produced another standout performance down back for South Fremantle and compiled 29 possessions with Tom Blechynden gathering 27 disposals, Jacob Dragovich 25, Chad Pearson 17 and Glenn Byron 17.

Fremantle Community Bank Oval had been anything but a happy hunting ground for Swan Districts over the last decade, but they did start well on Saturday with an early goal to emerging forward Tom Edwards.

Co-captain Chris Jones soon added a second for the black-and-whites and then a couple leading into quarter-time from Jesse Palmer, and another to 100-gamer Brayden Noble and suddenly the hoodoo at the port was a chance of being ended by Swan Districts.

Swans were leading by 29 points at quarter-time having held South Fremantle goalless but it only took a minute of the second term for the Bulldogs to change that thanks to in-form midfielder Tom Blechynden.

The visitors responded, though, with Jones kicking a second before rival skipper Dylan Main kicked South Fremantle's second of the afternoon. Jones was having a half to remember and soon had a third on the board with the Swans lead out to 32 points.

The game was slipping from the grasp of the Bulldogs but they hit back with goals leading into half-time from Brandon Donaldson, Nathan Spooner and Brendon Ah Chee to make it a 12-point ball game at the main break.

The Bulldogs kept the momentum going to start the second half with another to skipper Main to make it a five-point ball game with the home side having kicked four goals in succession.

Swans got a steadier through Palmer and then it would be more than 13 minutes before either side kicked another goal, and it was the black-and-whites who put their foot down with goals to Lachlan Riley and Palmer heading into three quarter-time.

Swan Districts was up 21 points heading into the last term but South Fremantle got off to a flying start to the final quarter with a third of the day to Main and another to Zac Strom.

It was just a nine-point ball game again but Swans continued to have the answers and goals to Ryan Kemp and Edwards were just what they needed to snap the drought at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

Tobe Watson kicked a goal late to make sure of the 18-point victory for Swan Districts

 

CLAREMONT 23.16 (154) defeated WEST COAST EAGLES 6.7 (43)

Claremont became the latest team to take full advantage of the struggles at the West Coast Eagles with the 111-point thumping win at Revo Fitness Stadium on Sunday.

Claremont came into the game fresh off having lost its first game of the season the previous Saturday to Subiaco so the Tigers weren’t lacking in motivation to hit back, and they did so in emphatic fashion.

West Coast came into the game having lost its past two matches to last year's top two teams by the end of the home and away season by a combined 277 points, and things didn’t get any better on Sunday.

While West Coast showed some fight in the third quarter kicking four goals, Claremont outscored them 17 goals to two in the other three to end up winning 23.16 (154) to 6.7 (43).

The win puts Claremont atop the WAFL ladder with three wins from four games this season while West Coast is anchored to last place now having lost its four games this season by a combined 431 points.

Not only did the Tigers win by 111 points with 39 scoring shots to 13, but they also had 141 more possessions than the Eagles along with taking 40 extra marks and having 61 inside-50 entries to 30.

Sandover Medallist Bailey Rogers had a day out for Claremont finishing the afternoon with 33 possessions and four goals while Max Minear kicked three goals, Zac Mainwaring three, Anthony Treacy two, Ben Edwards two, Talon Delacey two and Joel Western two.

Oliver Eastland produced another strong showing in the ruck for the Tigers with 16 touches, 34 hit outs, six tackles and a goal.

Dual Sandover Medallist Jye Bolton did as he pleased with 40 possessions and eight marks for Claremont with Lachlan Martinis also racking up 35 touches, Edwards 26 and captain Declan Mountford 24 in his first game of the season.

Ronin O'Connor also racked up 22 touches, Ben Elliott 21, Western 21 and Teia Miles 20.

Josh Burke kicked two goals for West Coast from his five kicks and three marks.

Josh Browne did battle hard for the Eagles with 30 possessions while another Sandover Medallist, Kane Mitchell made his WAFL return in West Coast colours against his old team and had 28 touches.

Ethan Hansen also picked up 26 disposals and Jackson Nelson 19 to go with eight tackles.

Claremont high on motivation to hit back from last week's first loss of the season to Subiaco was bad news for a West Coast team fresh off losing the last two weeks by a combined 277 points.

However, the Eagles did score the opening goal of the contest thanks to Tyrell Dewar at the six-minute of the first term.

It took Claremont eight minutes to kick its first goal through Talon Delacey, but the Tigers added three more heading towards quarter-time thanks to Zac Mainwaring, Delacey and Joel Western to see them lead by 24 points.

The Tigers continued to take charge and another five goals to one in the second quarter saw the home team in control to lead by 46 points at the half-time break.

Both teams piled on the goals in a high-scoring third quarter where they combined for 10 goals.

West Coast put up a fight with four goals in the quarter but Claremont continued to extend the lead with six goals of its own and by three quarter-time the Tigers were on top by 61 points.

The Eagles showed some impressive fight in that third quarter, but it was all the Tigers in the last term. Claremont piled on eight goals to one behind from West Coast and that saw the Tigers win by 111 points to hand the Eagles a third straight triple-figure defeat.