WAFL Reserves Grand Final Preview – Subiaco v West Perth

SUBIACO is looking to finish off a dominant WAFL reserves season by winning the premiership on Sunday at Patersons Stadium but West Perth is in its second straight grand final and out to break a reserves drought that stretches back to 1960.

Subiaco put together a dominant season in the reserves winning 18 of its 20 matches during the home and away season with a five-game and percentage advantage over the rest of the competition.

The Lions more than doubled their opposition’s scores throughout the whole season and then thumped West Perth by 56 points in the second semi-final to advance straight to the grand final.

The rest of the reserves teams were then fighting for second spot and it was last year’s losing grand finalists West Perth who got the nod to earn the double chance.

The Falcons needed that after losing the second semi-final but then dominated the preliminary final last Sunday against Claremont at Medibank Stadium to win by 68 points and book in a grand final clash with Subiaco.

Subiaco’s reserves had a dominant run between 1995 and 2007 winning eight premierships with the Lions winning in 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007, but they haven’t managed a flag since 2007.

Subiaco hasn’t won a premiership at any level since the league success of 2008 either that capped off the club’s first ever hat-trick.

However, Subiaco now has teams in the reserves and league grand final in 2014 with the Lions looking to replicate the performance of 2007 when both won flags on the same day at Patersons Stadium.

Remarkably West Perth has not won a reserves premiership since 1960 despite coming close on several occasions including making last year’s grand final before losing to South Fremantle.

Even though the Falcons have won league premierships in 1969, 1971, 1975, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2013, the drought in the reserves has now extended 53 years and it will be 54 unless they are able to beat Subiaco in Sunday’s grand final at Patersons Stadium.

Subiaco moved straight into the reserves grand final for 2014 with a 56-point second semi-final victory with that team featuring Kyle Halligan, Dylan Elliott, Frank Stockley and Scott Worthington who went on to play the league preliminary final the next week against East Fremantle.

It was a dominant display from the Lions in that second semi-final win with 113 more disposals than West Perth, 39 more marks, 13 more inside 50s and nine more scoring shots.

West Perth had to bounce back and did so in the preliminary final against Claremont while opting for a smaller, running side without big men Seva Martin and Shayne Zanetti.

Martin had just two disposals in the second semi-final despite playing some good league football in 2014 and Zanetti failed to score despite kicking seven goals in the final round against Perth.

West Perth turned on a dominant display against Claremont winning by 68 points with Brayden Antonio kicking five goals and Matt Fowler four while Trent Manzone continued his dominant form with another 31 possessions.

Despite Subiaco’s big second semi-final win over West Perth, the Lions hadn’t dominated the Falcons during the home and away season as they did the rest of the reserves competition.

West Perth handed Subiaco one of its two losses in Round 9 with a 20-point victory at Medibank Stadium before the Lions won a three-point thriller at HBF Arena in Round 16.

While Worthington, Halligan, Elliott and Stockley moved into the league team for Subiaco in the preliminary, only Worthington looks certain of holding his place.

Elliott is already a certain return to the reserves line-up while Stockley could as well if Matt Boland plays for Subiaco in the league grand final and if the weather turns nasty as expected.