WAFL Round 13 Recap

IT was a round of thrillers in the WAFL with Perth snapping its home drought against West Perth with Aaron Clarke kicking eight goals while there were nail-biting wins for Subiaco, East Perth and Claremont along the way.

The WAFL season resumed to a full round across the weekend and the action certainly delivered with the biggest margin in the five games being the 27 points that Perth beat West Perth by with three of the five matches decided by single figures.

The round got underway on Saturday afternoon and Subiaco was able to snap its run of losing six of the past seven games by beating Peel Thunder for a second time already in 2024 with the 9.12 (66) to 9.6 (60) victory at Lane Group Stadium.

Subiaco has only won four games this season but two of them are over the league-leading Peel with Ryan Borchet, Ben Sokol and Ky Franceschini all kicking two goals and Luke Foley racking up 27 disposals. Will Brodie shook off an injury the week before for 34 touches for Peel.

Perth then snapped its seven-game losing run this season and beat West Perth at home for the first time in 20 years with the 16.4 (100) to 11.7 (73) victory.

It also gets the Demons off the bottom of the ladder with Aaron Clarke kicking eight goals while Corey Byrne and Charlie Constable had 29 disposals. It’s a fifth consecutive loss for West Perth despite six goals from Tyler Keitel.

The last game on Saturday saw East Perth dominate South Fremantle for most of the day before the Bulldogs came charging home with the only five goals of the last quarter but the Royals held on to win 10.8 (68) to 10.5 (65).

Tom Graham kicked three goals for East Perth and Michael Randall had 25 possessions with Zac Strom kicking three goals for the Bulldogs and Matthew Parker having 32 touches.

Then on Sunday, Swan Districts celebrated the 100th game of ruckman Nathan Blakely with a fifth straight win to beat West Coast 16.8 (104) to 12.8 (80) at Steel Blue Oval.

Tom Edwards kicked another four goals for Swans and Jesse Turner had 30 disposals while Jack Williams kicked four goals for the Eagles and Zane Trew had 33 touches.

The round ended with Claremont replacing East Fremantle in the top five with the 9.8 (62) to 8.5 (53) victory on neutral turf at Sullivan Logistics Stadium.

It’s a fourth straight win for the Tigers with Oliver Eastland dominating the ruck with 27 possessions and 34 hit outs. Jed Hagan kicked three goals for the Sharks and Cam Eardley 27 disposals.

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 13

PEEL THUNDER 9.6 (60) lost to SUBIACO 9.12 (66)

PERTH 16.4 (100) defeated WEST PERTH 11.7 (73)

EAST PERTH 10.8 (68) defeated SOUTH FREMANTLE 10.5 (65)

SWAN DISTRICTS 16.8 (104) defeated WEST COAST EAGLES 12.8 (80)

EAST FREMANTLE 8.5 (53) lost to CLAREMONT 9.8 (62)