WAFL Team of the Week – Round 7Tuesday, May 30, 2023 - 9:49 PM - by Chris Pike

ZAC Clarke dominated the ruck for Subiaco, a rising Perth forward gun kicked five goals while Peel Thunder's running brigade was too much for West Perth and there were strong wins for East Fremantle and East Perth as well in Round 7 of the WAFL.

There were again a host of standout performances across the five games in the WAFL as the season resumed across the weekend after last week's State game in Adelaide against South Australia for the KIA WAFL State team.

It was a statement round on a number of fronts too in the wins for Subiaco, Perth, Peel Thunder, East Fremantle and East Perth in Round 7 of the WAFL with spots tough to come by in the Team of the Week.

The round got underway on Saturday afternoon in Broome with East Fremantle moving up to second position by beating Claremont 11.14 (80) to 9.8 (62).

Subiaco then shook off conceding the first three goals of the game to Swan Districts to end up winning 8.9 (57) to 7.11 (53) at Leederville Oval.

West Perth opened up a 39-point lead midway through the second quarter at Pentanet Stadium before Peel Thunder kicked the game's next seven goals to set up an eventual 11.11 (77) to 9.14 (68) triumph to consolidate their hold on top spot.

Perth then breathed life back into their season with 101-game veteran Matthew Taylor kicking the game's winning goal as the Demons defeated South Fremantle 12.5 (77) to 11.7 (73) at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

East Perth then returned to the winning list after three successive losses on Sunday to beat the West Coast Eagles 22.8 (140) to 9.12 (66) at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

That all led into the selection of the Team of the Week for Round 7 from those who performed well in those five matches, so let's get to how it came together.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND – ZAC CLARKE (SUBIACO)

Once again he is the oldest player selected in the WAFL Team of the Week, but Zac Clarke has returned to Subiaco this season and is proving a dominant force in the ruck once again.

Clarke last played in the WAFL with Subiaco in the premiership year of 2018 before joining Essendon for his second stint in the AFL after initially playing with Fremantle, and then remaining in Melbourne the last couple of years playing with Doncaster East in the Eastern Football Netball League.

However, life brought him back to live in Western Australia in 2023 and it seemed only a natural fit for him to resume his career with Subiaco which ended after the 2018 premiership.

Clarke has nothing left to prove on his return to Subiaco this season having already played 110 AFL matches including being out there in Fremantle's lone grand final appearance in 2013.

At WAFL level, he has now also played 92 matches including winning premierships both with Peel and Subiaco, but the 33-year-old has come back to Subiaco this year in terrific shape, clearly high on motivation and is now playing dominant football in the ruck.

Clarke was quite the imposing force both in the ruck contests and then around the ground in Saturday's clash for Subiaco against Swan Districts which saw him get the better of Swans veteran Nathan Blakely, and Nathan Ireland who was his backup.

By the end of the afternoon with the Lions clinging to a four-point victory, Clarke was the dominant player on the ground for what he did in the ruck. He finished with 26 possessions, 48 hit outs, nine marks, three tackles and three inside 50s.

He might be a dual WAFL premiership player, might have had a 110-game AFL career that included a grand final, and has racked up well over 200 matches in both WA and Victoria, but the 33-year-old is in some of the best form of his life and is going to be key to how far Subiaco goes in 2023.

Players of the Round
Round 1 – Max Walters (Subiaco)
Round 2 – Tyler Keitel (West Perth)
Round 3 – Ryan Borchet (Subiaco)
Round 4 – Brady Grey (Peel Thunder)
Round 5 – Jaiden Hunter (Perth)
Round 6 – Cody Leggett (East Fremantle)
Round 7 – Zac Clarke (Subiaco)

WAFL TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 7

BACK: Chad Pearson (SF), Joel Hamling (PT), Drew Rohde (S)
HALF-BACK: Corey Wagner (PT), Matthew Jupp (EF), Jack Avery (P)
CENTRE: Rylie Morgan (S), Charlie Thompson (P), Fraser Turner (EF)
HALF-FORWARD: Liam Henry (PT), Jaiden Hunter (P), Aidan Clarke (SD)
FORWARD: Mitch Schofield (EP), Zac Strom (SF), Cody Leggett (EF)
FOLLOWERS: Zac Clarke (S), Liam Hickmott (S), Shane Nelson (WP)
INTERCHANGE: Jake Florenca (SF), Zane Trew (WCE), Jack Cooley (P), Jye Bolton (C) 

BACK POCKET – CHAD PEARSON (South Fremantle)
Fresh off playing last week in the State game for WA, he came back to South Fremantle and picked right back up where he left off with another outstanding performance down back for the Bulldogs despite the eventual loss to Perth. He spent much of the day on State teammate and Perth captain Michael Sinclair limiting him to four kicks and one goal while having 21 touches and eight marks himself.

FULL-BACK – JOEL HAMLING (Peel Thunder)
It might be unlikely that he gets to add to his 87 games in the AFL including being a premiership player, but now that his body is standing up, he's proving himself one of the very best key defenders in the WAFL and is instrumental in the way Peel's back-line is standing up right now. Did well once more on Saturday in the win against West Perth and finished with 19 possessions and 10 marks.

BACK POCKET – DREW ROHDE (Subiaco)
The triple premiership winning 132-game veteran continues to thrive with the extra leadership responsibility at Subiaco in the continued absence of injured captain Leigh Kitchin, and put in an outstanding performance in the narrow win on Saturday against Swan Districts. Did the job on Jesse Palmer limiting him to two kicks and one goal while he had 17 possessions, 11 marks and three tackles himself.

HALF-BACK FLANK – COREY WAGNER (Peel Thunder)
Is in his first season on Fremantle's list having previously played at both Melbourne and North Melbourne before earning his way back into the AFL with his VFL form. Is settling in tremendously at Peel where his run and dash is a highlight, but his defensive work is underrated. Had a standout performance against West Perth where not only did he amass 33 possessions but also helped restrict the dangerous Keegan Knott to eight kicks and one goal.

CENTRE HALF-BACK – MATTHEW JUPP (East Fremantle)
Fresh off captaining the KIA WAFL State team in Adelaide last week, he led his East Fremantle team to an important win in Broome on Saturday against Claremont to improve the Sharks to second position on the ladder. He had a fascinating battle on Jack Buller and kept him goalless and to two marks for the afternoon while having 17 disposals, four marks and three tackles himself.

HALF-BACK FLANK – JACK AVERY (Perth)
The 20-year-old is quickly becoming one of the more exciting and damaging attacking defenders in the competition and on the back of the form he's showing, it wouldn’t surprise to see an AFL club give him an opportunity in this week's mid-season draft. At 190cm, he's also a good size to do some work in the air but it's with the ball in hands he's making his mark. He had another 25 touches, eight marks and three tackles in the win against South Fremantle.

WING – RYLIE MORGAN (Subiaco)
Has found his niche now in this Subiaco team as a tagger given the job to run with the opposition's best ball winner and was given the task on the prolific Jesse Turner from Swan Districts on Saturday. He held the reigning Swans fairest and best winner and State team vice-captain to just 11 possessions, which was his lowest tally since Round 3 last year after he had averaged 30.2 so far this season. Also had 17 possessions, four marks and four tackles himself.

CENTRE – CHARLIE THOMPSON (Perth)
Has become perhaps the recruit of the season having joined Perth this season from VFL club Coburg. Has settled in wonderfully at the Demons and quickly become one of their prime movers, and he was instrumental in the win against South Fremantle for his work on the ball on Saturday. Ended up with 30 possessions, 12 tackles and two goals to be named to the Team of the Week for a third time.

WING – FRASER TURNER (East Fremantle)
The 22-year-old has joined East Fremantle this season from South Adelaide in the SANFL and has fitted right in. He's enjoying the wide spaces of the WAFL grounds where he can use his running power, and even thrived in the hot conditions in Broome on Saturday in the Sharks' win over Claremont. Ended the afternoon on the wing with an impressive 25 touches, five marks and a goal.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – LIAM HENRY (Peel Thunder)
He was challenged to come back to WAFL level with Peel and find some greater consistency, and simply just to work harder for longer, and use his greatest asset better which is his speed and running ability. He is certainly doing that now and is in the best patch of form in his career to be banging down the door for a return to the Dockers. Delivered another 22 touches, six marks and two goals in win against West Perth.

CENTRE HALF-FORWARD – JAIDEN HUNTER (Perth)
Understandably with his ability to take a contested mark, kick a goal and to still be athletic enough to be versatile at 196cm, the 21-year-old is one of the more exciting players in the WAFL and right in the mix to be taken by an AFL team in the mid-season draft. He had a day out on Saturday against South Fremantle too for Perth where he kicked five goals from six kicks and seven marks in just his third game of the season on the back of his knee reconstruction.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – AIDAN CLARKE (Swan Districts)
The emerging Swan Districts midfielder made his return after being sidelined with a hamstring injury since Round 2 and put in a remarkable performance especially in the first half on Saturday against Subiaco. Just in time to impress recruiters ahead of the AFL mid-season draft, he did most of his damage in the first half including two early goals before finishing the game with 31 touches, seven inside-50 entries and five marks.

FORWARD POCKET – MITCH SCHOFIELD (East Perth)
The 21-year-old has been building gradually as a key forward with East Perth since kicking two goals in Round 7 last year. He then put together a scintillating start to Sunday's game with West Coast and finished the afternoon with a career-best four goals for the Royals to go with 11 kicks and nine marks. It's the first time in his 16-game WAFL career that he's kicked more than two goals.

FULL-FORWARD – ZAC STROM (South Fremantle)
It's hard to imagine a more versatile player in the WAFL. Over the course of his 163-game career, he started as a key defender before settling as a hard leading centre half-forward and then even as a tall wingman. Along the way he's also been a ruckman and now through necessity, he's South Fremantle's main spearhead in the absence of Jimmy Miller and retirement to Mason Shaw. Took his chances well on Saturday too kicking four goals from eight kicks and six marks. The four goals equalled his career high from back in 2017.

FORWARD POCKET – CODY LEGGETT (East Fremantle)
Without Jonathon Marsh in the East Fremantle forward-line in Broome on Saturday and with Hugh Dixon spending most of the game in the ruck, he took on extra responsibility as the main spearhead for the Sharks. He kept going his terrific goal kicking form as well despite having the close checking Declan Hardisty from Claremont to deal with. Kicked another three goals from eight kicks and five marks to now give him 16 goals already in just four matches in 2023.

RUCK ROVER – LIAM HICKMOTT (Subiaco)
On the back of his standout 2022 season where he was named to the WAFL Team of the Year, has even improved further with the added responsibility in the Subiaco midfield in the continued absence of Leigh Kitchin. He was outstanding in Saturday's win against Swan Districts with 34 touches, eight marks, four tackles and four entries inside the forward 50.

ROVER – SHANE NELSON (West Perth)
It's remarkable to think that he is in some of the best form of his career but that's the reality of the situation at the same time. With nothing left to prove in a career now spanning 215 games and has seen him play in two premierships and win five fairest and best awards at West Perth, he's showing no signs of slowing up. Was outstanding once more against Peel on Saturday with 32 disposals, 11 inside-50 entries, seven marks and two goals.

INTERCHANGE – JAKE FLORENCA (South Fremantle)
He has had a horror run with injury which included an Achilles that robbed him of playing in the 2020 premiership then a hamstring injury that saw him sidelined from Round 8 onwards last season. In between, he could well have been the best player in the competition and is desperately unlucky not to be on an AFL list right now. He showed his quality in his return encounter on Saturday by producing 28 disposals, 10 tackles, five marks and five inside-50 entries.

INTERCHANGE – ZANE TREW (West Coast Eagles)
It's somewhat surprising that the 21-year-old Swan Districts product has still played just the four AFL matches, with two in 2022 and two so far in 2023. However, he continues to be banging down the door for more opportunities as one of the lone shining lights for the Eagles at WAFL level this season. Put together another strong showing on Sunday against East Perth by finishing with 30 disposals, four tackles and a goal.

INTERCHANGE – JACK COOLEY (Perth)
He was craving more opportunities after playing just 28 games the past two years with East Perth and now that chance has been given to him at Perth by Peter German, and he's grasping it with both hands. Has quickly become an important part of the Demons on-ball brigade and was instrumental in the win on Saturday against South Fremantle finishing with 32 touches, 11 tackles, three inside 50s and two marks.

INTERCHANGE – JYE BOLTON (Claremont)
With Claremont missing Bailey Rogers, Ben Edwards and Ben Elliott from its midfield, he was pushed onto the ball for most of the game on Saturday in Broome having spent the majority of the 2023 season to date playing off half-back. He put in the type of performance that has become his trademark over his 139-game career by racking up 33 possessions, seven marks, five inside-50 entries and a goal.
 

UNLUCKY BUNCH

There were plenty of players who delivered tremendous performances across Round 7 but couldn’t quite fit into the Team of the Round, including:

Claremont's Teia Miles, Tyron Smallwood, Zac Mainwaring, Oliver Eastland, Callan England and Declan Mountford.

East Fremantle's Tom Joyce, Kyle Baskerville and Milan Murdock.

Subiaco's Galen Savigni, Henry Berenger, Max Walters and Ben Sokol.

Swan Districts' Jehb O'Donohue, Jarvis Pina and Jackson McLachlan.

West Perth's Tyler Keitel, Nathan Murray, Luke Meadows and Zac Guadagnin.

Peel Thunder's Neil Erasmus, Nathan Wilson, Jacob Blight, Sebit Kuek, Ben Hancock and Will Brodie.

South Fremantle's Jordan Boullineau, Glenn Byron, Brandon Donaldson, Tom Blechynden and Matthew Parker.

Perth's Corey Byrne and Matthew Taylor.

East Perth's Zach Raykos, Scott Jones, Mitch Crowden, Hamish Brayshaw, Angus Scott, Angus Schumacher, Stan Wright, Tom North, Jacob Msando, Alex Pearce and Kye Willcocks.

West Coast's Jarrod Garlett, Callum Jamieson, Coby Burgiel, Josh Browne and Harry Creasey.