WAFL Round 6 WrapMonday, May 15, 2023 - 9:19 AM - by Chris Pike

PEEL Thunder has shot to the top of the WAFL heading into the State game break while Claremont pulled off another thrilling win, East Fremantle made a statement against Subiaco, South Fremantle got on the board and West Perth kept its dominance over Perth.

It was a fascinating Round 6 of WAFL action before the break this weekend for the State game where the WAFL team will take on the SANFL on Friday afternoon at Adelaide Oval.

A big win for the Thunder saw them claim top spot after six rounds with them and the Tigers the lone teams on 5-1 records while the Falcons moved up to third place, the Sharks won to be fourth and the Bulldogs got their first premiership points of the season.

All five matches took place on Saturday afternoon with Claremont delivering a second straight dazzling fightback with a scintillating last quarter to break the hearts of Swan Districts once again, winning 11.9 (75) to 10.13 (73) at Steel Blue Oval.

West Perth then made it 22 of the last 23 wins against Perth by spoiling the milestones of both Michael Sinclair and Matt Taylor with the Falcons winning 17.12 (114) to 9.11 (65) at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

South Fremantle then shook off a slow start to dominate East Perth in the second half to put four points on the board for the first time this season with the 11.12 (78) to 6.13 (49) win at Leederville Oval.

The West Coast Eagles got off to a flying start in Mandurah but couldn’t maintain it with Peel Thunder ending up winning 21.15 (141) to 7.10 (52) at Lane Group Stadium to shoot to top position.

Then later in the afternoon at a muddy WACA Ground, East Fremantle proved too strong for Subiaco winning 13.10 (88) to 7.14 (56).

In Round 6 of the Reserves, the first match took place on Saturday morning at Leederville Oval with South Fremantle beating East Perth 13.8 (86) to 5.14 (44).

Riley Colborne kicked five goals for the Bulldogs and two each to Aiden Hall, Chase Bourne and Mackenzie Nield while Robbie Turnbull gathered 26 possessions, Seth Connor 23, Jaxon Bellchambers 21 and Jaren Carr 20.

Sandon Page kicked two goals for East Perth with Michael Randall putting his hand up for a call up with 35 possessions, seven marks, four inside-50 entries and a goal.

Then at the WACA Ground, East Fremantle defeated Subiaco 8.8 (56) to 4.11 (35) with Lachlan Blakiston kicking two goals for the Sharks and Corey Holmes racking up 28 possessions, Josh Ritchie 26, Enrique Aiken-Featherstone 26 and Matt Williamson 25.

Subiaco didn’t have a multiple goalscorer with Corey Robinson picking up 23 touches, Noah Ash 21, Connor Faraone 20 and Corey Bellouard 18.

Swan Districts defeated Claremont 14.17 (101) to 5.9 (39) with Kristian Caporn kicking five goals for Swans, Jack Cox two and Adam Brock two. Ayden Cartwright amassed 34 possessions to go with 13 inside-50 entries and 12 marks.

Jacob Sideris also collected 27 touches, Lawson Humphries 25, Bailey Jenkin 22, Lewis Tester 19 and Matthew Germs 18 to go with 24 hit outs and a goal.

Menno Inverarity ended up with 27 possessions for Claremont, Sam Alvarez 25, Felix Rogers 19 and Mitch Barron 17.

West Perth also scored an 8.15 (63) to 5.10 (40) reserves victory against Perth with Rudy Riddoch and Darcy Dixon kicking two goals each for the Falcons. Dixon also had 21 disposals and six tackles.

Daniel Gathercole collected 25 disposals, Blake Wilhelm 23, Nate Dimanlig 21 and Callum Johnson 20 while Mark Hutchings played his second game back for 17 touches and eight tackles.

Christian Martin kicked three goals for the Demons with Regan Hill picking up 27 touches, Brodie Gray 26, Ned Shannon 18 and Jack Poole 18.

Then in Round 6 of the Colts, Subiaco defeated East Fremantle 16.7 (103) to 8.6 (54) at the WACA Ground.

Lance Collard kicked four goals for the Lions and two each to Riley Wills, Malakai Champion, Ben Steinmann and Luke Kentfield. Wills had 23 disposals, Ethan Barbieri 23, Tyler Senge 19, Lachlan O'Keefe 18, Cruz Woodley 18 and Judd Kelman 18.

Dante Wiseman, Noah Dean and Jack Cocking kicked two goals for East Fremantle while Koen Sanchez finished with 27 possessions, James Spadanuda 23 and Zac Petersen 21.

Claremont's colts defeated Swan Districts 8.8 (56) to 6.7 (43) at Steel Blue Oval and while the Tigers had eight individual goal scorers, Joseph Fonti finished with 21 disposals, Kai Dehavilland 20, Riley Disisto 20 and Ed Greenaway 20.

Lewis Zolnier-Owens kicked three goals for Swan Districts and Evan Smith two who also had 20 possessions, 11 hit outs and eight marks. Tom Cathcart finished with 27 touches and Luke Kelly 25 to go with 11 tackles and a goal.

Perth's colts had a thumping 13.9 (87) to 3.4 (22) win against West Perth with Michael Hall kicking four goals for the Demons and Robert Warrell three. Tynan Garlett finished with 22 disposals, Cooper Moore 21, Kalib Dempster-Park 21, Noah Cachard 21 and Brodie McLean 20.

Callum Smith picked up 25 possessions for West Perth and Odin Jones 20 to go with 21 hit outs in the ruck.

The thriller took place on Sunday morning at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with South Fremantle coming from behind with two goals in the middle of the last quarter from Ed Graham and Latrell Yarran helping to deliver the 10.8 (68) to 10.7 (67) win against East Perth.

Isaiah Hayden kicked two goals for the Bulldogs while Ashton Ferreira collected 29 disposals, Graham 23, James Rhyder 20, Callum Copeland 19 and Tamate Oakley 18.

Mitchell Williams kicked three goals for East Perth with William Cassidy finishing with 23 possessions, 10 tackles, six inside 50s and a goal.

 

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 6

SWAN DISTRICTS 10.13 (73) lost to CLAREMONT 11.9 (75)

Not for the first time this season, Swan Districts has lost in heartbreaking fashion from a strong position with Claremont kicking the only five goals in the last quarter for the two-point win at Steel Blue Oval.

Swans were hunting their second win of the season and despite missing a string of key players, they started on fire with seven goals to three in the opening quarter.

Swan Districts was still leading by 29 points at three quarter-time, but Claremont dug deep and was full of run and attacking flair to kick five goals to nil in the final stanza to claim the 11.9 (75) to 10.13 (73) victory.

Talon Delacey and Zac Mainwaring kicked three goals each for Claremont with Jack Buller returning after missing the last two weeks and providing a strong target with 12 touches, six marks and two goals.

Teia Miles racked up 25 possessions for the Tigers, Jye Bolton 25, Declan Mountford 22, Callan England 21 and ruckman Oliver Eastland 18 to go with 47 hit outs in another standout performance.

Jehb O'Donohue had a fascinating afternoon for Swan Districts where he was given the task of running with Jye Bolton for most of the afternoon. He ended up kicking three first quarter goals and 17 possessions for the day.

Jesse Palmer also continued his impressive form for Swans with another three goals from just four kicks while Tom Edwards added two goals.

Jesse Turner maintained his first-rate form in the midfield for Swan Districts with 30 possessions and nine inside-50 entries while Jarvis Pina gathered 21 disposals, Josh Cipro 20, Greg Ottaviano, Jackson McLachlan 19 and Nathan Blakeley 19 in the ruck along with 15 hit outs.

Captain Brandon Erceg had another 16 possessions and five marks while limiting Max Minear to five kicks, two marks and one goal.

Swan Districts made a blistering start while hunting a second win of the season despite being shorthanded up against the league-leaders. It took just 10 minutes for Swans to already have three goals on the board thanks to Jehb O'Donohue, Tom Edwards and Nathan Ireland.

Brayden Noble soon added another and Swan Districts had the first four goals of the contest before Claremont got on the board courtesy of small forward Zac Mainwaring at the 17-minute mark.

Swans weren’t going to let up the momentum, though and Jesse Palmer added their fifth goal, and then O'Donohue capped off his stunning first quarter while running with Jye Bolton with a second and third goal.

That saw the Swans' lead grow to 37 points but Claremont was able to keep in touch with two late goals to Jack Buller.

While the two teams combined for 10 goals in the first quarter, it took more than 13 minutes in the second term for either team to find the major opening. That came courtesy of Palmer for Swans to push the lead back out to 32 points.

Claremont got one back thanks to Mainwaring but Swans closed the half with Palmer's third goal and that saw the home team remaining in control leading by 32 points.

Swan Districts looked set to be cruising to the upset victory when starting the second half with another goal to Edwards. That put the onus back on Claremont to respond and the Tigers did, building on the confidence from their comeback win last week against East Perth.

Claremont did manage two quick goals from Talon Delacey and Max Minear, but couldn’t build lasting momentum and Swans missed the chance to put the game to bed by kicking four successive behinds to close the third quarter.

Swans were still leading by 29 points at three quarter-time but the Tigers came out an inspired outfit and it took only 15 seconds into the last term for a goal to Delacey.

Claremont had the belief of being able to overrun Swans and Mainwaring's third goal brought the margin back to 16 points and then another to Bolton at the eight-minute mark made it 10.

Eventually another to Delacey at the 20-minute mark and the Tigers were within three points and it was Callan England who kicked the winner. 

Running all alone inside the forward 50, he received the chip pass over the top and ran in to kick it under no pressure with no Swans opponents anywhere near him and the Tigers would end up winning by two points.

 

PERTH 9.11 (65) lost to WEST PERTH 17.12 (114)

West Perth continued its remarkable dominance against Perth especially at Lathlain with nine goals to one in the opening half to set up the eventual 49-point victory.

The Falcons arrived at Mineral Resources Park having not lost at the venue since 2004 and by kicking nine goals to one in the first half on Saturday, that streak was always going to continue.

To Perth's credit they were able to match West Perth in the second half, but the Falcons still won 17.12 (114) to 9.11 (65).

The victory means West Perth has beaten Perth in 22 of the last 23 meetings between the two teams including having not lost to the Demons at Lathlain on the last 19 visits, with one draw and 18 wins dating back to 2004.

West Perth co-captain Aaron Black was back from a hamstring injury and kicked three goals to go with 18 possessions and six marks. 

Tom O'Donnell also played his second game of the season to partner Tyler Keitel as a target in attack and kicked two goals from nine kicks and seven marks while Keitel kicked two more goals himself from 20 possessions and seven marks. Koopah Todd also kicked two goals.

He might be 214 games into a career that includes five fairest and best awards and two premierships, but Shane Nelson is in brilliant form for West Perth and had another 34 possessions.

Luke Meadows also had 30 disposals, Nathan Murray 27, Mitch Peirce 23, Ben Johnson 20, Tristan Hobley 20, Aidan Lynch 19 and Riley Sprigg 17 along with 26 hit outs in the ruck.

Perth captain Michael Sinclair is enjoying a late move forward in his career and kicked three goals from 11 kicks and 10 marks in his 150th game. Meanwhile, 100-game defender Matt Taylor had 24 possessions, five marks and four tackles.

Charlie Thompson racked up another 32 disposals for the Demons, Corey Byrne 30, Regan Clarke 29, Jack Cooley 27, Jack Avery 25, Daniel Hill 22, Jacob Coniglio 21 and ruckman Dakota Baldwin-Wright 19 to go with 32 hit outs.

West Perth had not lost at Lathlain against Perth in 19 years so arrived full of confidence with the Falcons taking less than three minutes to get a good start with the game's first goal thanks to Tyler Keitel.

They soon had three on the board inside nine minutes after goals as well to Koopah Todd and Tristan Hobley.

Perth did get one back from Sam Stubbs, but it only briefly stemmed the tide with Nathan Murray kicking a beauty from right up against the boundary in the right forward pocket.

The Falcons added another through Mitch Dobson and were in control against the Demons once more with a 26-point lead by the first break.

The returning Tom O'Donnell then stepped up to kick a goal as a forward target to open the second quarter for West Perth before it would be almost 12 minutes without a goal for either team.

That drought would be broken by West Perth co-captain Aaron Black before the Falcons added two more before half-time through Joe Hinder and O'Donnell to hold Perth to one goal for the half and to be in control leading by 50 points at the major break.

There was then just three goals kicked in the third quarter and two of those did go the way of Perth to limit West Perth's lead to 43 points at three quarter-time.

West Perth really threatened to blow the game away with four quick goals to start the last quarter to blow the margin out to 68 points.

To Perth's credit they did manage to kick six of the game's last seven goals over the next 20 minutes, but it didn't stop the Falcons still cruising to the eventual 49-point victory.

 

EAST PERTH 6.13 (49) lost to SOUTH FREMANTLE 11.12 (78)

One team was going to have to break out of the grind that was the first half at Leederville Oval on Saturday and South Fremantle delivered a blistering third quarter to set up the 29-point win against East Perth.

East Perth and South Fremantle both kicked just one goal in each of the first two quarters at Leederville Oval on Saturday afternoon with neither team able to really get much flow into their games in the opening half.

However, South Fremantle got rolling in the third quarter and kicked five goals to break the game wide open and from there the Bulldogs went on to beat the Royals 11.12 (78) to 6.13 (49).

While it's a third win of the season for South Fremantle, it gives the Bulldogs their first four premiership points while the Royals slip to a 3-3 record having now lost three straight after winning the opening three matches.

George Wessels came into the South Fremantle team and kicked the first two goals of his WAFL career to go with 12 possessions. Brendon Ah Chee and Zac Strom also kicked two goals apiece for the Bulldogs.

Tom Blechynden continued his strong form this season in the midfield for South Fremantle with another 28 possessions, nine tackles, seven marks and five inside-50 entries.

Matthew Parker also gathered 24 disposals, Brandon Donaldson 20, Ah Chee 18, Dylan Main 18 and second-gamer Caleb Stephens 18.

The Bulldogs' back-line was again strong conceding just the six goals and Toby McQuilkin finished with 25 possessions, Chad Pearson 22 and Glenn Byron 22 to go with 10 marks.

East Perth's lone multiple goal scorer was Liam Tedesco who kicked two to go with nine kicks and nine marks.

The Royals still had plenty of standout ball winners despite the loss with Hamish Brayshaw picking up 30 possessions, Angus Schumacher 28, Stan Wright 26, Nick Robertson 25, Mitch Crowden 22 and Angus Scott 20 while Scott Jones had 45 hit outs in the ruck.

It wasn’t the most inspiring opening to the contest and it took almost 10 minutes for the first goal to be kicked which went the way of East Perth thanks to Angus Scott.

It then took another 13 minutes for another to be kicked and that went the way of South Fremantle's Jordan Gallucci and by quarter-time, the Bulldogs were leading by three points after five scoring shots to two.

It took another 13 minutes of the second term for a goal to be kicked and it was East Perth powerhouse Liam Tedesco who took the mark and went back to kick truly to put the Royals back in front.

Again South Fremantle hit back with one just before half-time, this time thanks to Zac Strom and as a result the Bulldogs clung to a three-point lead by the major interval.

The trend continued of it taking some time for both teams to warm into the third quarter but when Manfred Kelly kicked a goal for South Fremantle at the 10-minute mark, it got the Bulldogs rolling.

Brendon Ah Chee, Brandon Donaldson and Caleb Datson also added goals and those first four goals of the half pushed the South Fremantle lead out to 26 points.

East Perth got a brief steadier from Nick Bonomelli, but the Bulldogs closed the quarter with a first career goal to George Wessels and that saw them into the last change leading by 26 points.

South Fremantle then all but put the game out of reach of East Perth with the first two goals of the last quarter thanks to Ah Chee and Strom. From there the Bulldogs went on to score the 29-point to notch their first four premiership points of the season and hand East Perth a third successive loss.

 

 PEEL THUNDER 21.15 (141) defeated WEST COAST EAGLES 7.10 (52)

West Coast made a fast start in Mandurah on Saturday but Peel Thunder dominated the rest of the afternoon to end up winning by 89 points with the win moving them to top spot in the WAFL heading into the State game break.

On the back of losing their past four matches by an average of 123 points, the Eagles delivered their best quarter of the season to open the contest at Lane Group Stadium with five goals to two from Peel.

However, from that point the Thunder dominated the game with 19 goals to two the rest of the game to end up with 151 more possessions than the Eagles along with taking 119 marks to 52, 61 inside-50 entries to 31, and 36 scoring shots to 17.

Peel ended up scoring the 21.15 (141) to 7.10 (52) victory to improve to a 5-1 record on the season in top spot while the Eagles are anchored to the bottom at 0-6 having lost 14 straight dating back to last year.

Brody Wemm ended up kicking four goals for Peel from 18 possessions and seven marks with Sebit Kuek also booting three goals, Sam Sturt two, Ben Hancock two and Ben Middleton two.

Karl Worner had another outstanding performance providing great run for the Thunder as he racked up 36 possessions and 11 marks while captain Hancock had 27 disposals to go with the two goals in his 139th game for Peel that sees him equal the club's record with Rory O'Brien.

Corey Wagner also finished with 25 touches, Liam Henry 25 (11 tackles, seven marks), Sturt 24, Nathan Wilson 23, Jacob Blight 23, Tom Emmett 22 (10 tackles), Traye Bennell 21, Haydn Matthews 19 and Michael Sellwood 19.

Max Knobel and Liam Reidy also did well sharing the ruck and combining for 57 hit outs.

Jack Eastough was West Coast's multiple goalkicker with two while Zane Trew gathered 32 possessions, Josh Browne 23, Ethan Hansen 19 and Jackson Nelson 17 to go with eight tackles.

Peel kicked the game's first goal in under three minutes through Sebit Kuek and the signs were there of the recent trend continue for West Coast, but to the Eagles' credit they would produce their best quarter of the season from there.

Cooper Nitschke kicked a first goal for West Coast and they would add four more for the term thanks to John Levien, Darby McCarthy, Jarrod Garlett and Josh Burke.

Suddenly not only were West Coast on track to avoid another hefty defeat, but were leading by 26 points before the Thunder did get a goal back just before quarter-time through Sam Sturt.

If the Eagles were feeling better after their best quarter of the season, that joy didn’t last long and within 14 minutes, Peel had kicked four goals in the second term and Ben Hancock's major at the 14-minute mark put his team in front.

Ben Middleton stretched the lead further before Hancock added a second and all up, Peel piled on nine goals for the quarter and restricted West Coast to two points to turn that 19-point deficit into a 35-point lead.

It was more of the same in the third quarter and suddenly the percentage boosting win Peel needed to shoot to the top of the ladder was on the cards. The Thunder kicked another five goals to two from the Eagles in the quarter and went into the last term leading by 52 points.

The Thunder kept their foot on the gas and held West Coast scoreless the entire last quarter and would add another five goals themselves to win by 89 points which was enough to see them rise to top spot.

 

EAST FREMANTLE 13.10 (88) defeated SUBIACO 7.14 (56)

East Fremantle revelled in the muddy conditions at the WACA Ground on Saturday and by the time the game finished in darkness, had defeated Subiaco by 32 points to consolidate themselves in the top five going into the State game.

It always loomed as a potential statement contest for the two teams and the fact that the wet weather had created a muddy centre square, and the fact it was a twilight fixture only added to the intrigue.

However, it was the Sharks who worked their way on top early with four goals to one in the opening quarter and they remained in control the rest of the match to end up beating the Lions 13.10 (88) to 7.14 (56).

Cody Leggett proved the most effective forward in the game kicking another five goals for East Fremantle from eight kicks and four marks to already give him 13 goals in three matches in 2023.

Dillon O'Reilly was the best of East Fremantle's tall forwards with 11 touches, eight marks and two goals.

Milan Murdock was right back to his best in the East Fremantle midfield and at home in the mud of the centre square to finish with 26 possessions, seven tackles and a goal.

Cam Eardley also had 26 touches and nine marks off half-back for East Fremantle with Fraser Turner gathering 22 disposals, Jackson McDonald 22, Luke English 21, Kyle Baskerville 19 and Lennon Marlin 18 in his first game for the Sharks after previously played 29 at Perth and 16 at West Coast.

Jack Mayo was made to earn his place back in the Subiaco line-up in the reserves after his knee reconstruction and played his first league game since the 2021 grand final and kicked two goals from 16 touches and three marks.

Jaimon Alone also kicked two goals for the Lions while Ben Sokol and Ryan Borchet were held to a combined one goal Matthew Jupp and Reuben McGuire respectively.

Jaxon McGowan finished with 29 possessions and nine marks for Subiaco while Stefan Giro had 25 disposals, Liam Hickmott 25, Angus Dewar 19 and Wil Hickmott 19.

Zac Clarke had another 16 possessions, 52 hit outs, four tackles and three marks in the ruck for the Lions.

East Fremantle got off to a quick start before the mud in the middle of the WACA Ground could have too much of an impact on the contest. The Sharks got the game's first goal through Chris Walker after three minutes.

It would be more than 11 minutes before the next goal after a string of behinds to both teams. That was kicked by Josh Schoenfeld for the Sharks before Cody Leggett and Dillon O'Reilly joined in.

That gave East Fremantle the first four goals before Subiaco did get one just before quarter-time courtesy of the returning Jack Mayo.

East Fremantle remained on top, though, with a second goal to Leggett to open the second term. Mayo got one back for Subiaco and throughout the quarter, there was another two goals apiece and by half-time it was the Sharks still in control leading by 21 points.

There would be no signs of a Subiaco fightback as the lights took over into the evening at the WACA Ground. East Fremantle added another four goals to two in the third quarter to extend the lead to 31 points by three quarter-time.

The Sharks then finished the game off with two more goals to one in the last quarter to secure the 32-point victory.