10 Things We Learned: Royals back on track, unstoppable Tigers, more Peel heartache

We take a look at the talking points from an entertaining weekend of Sullivan Logistics WAFL, ATCO WAFLW and EGT WAFL Colts.

Captain gets Royals back on track

Co-captain Hamish Brayshaw dominated in his first game of the season as East Perth got their season back on track with a gritty four-point win over Perth at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday.

Brayshaw didn’t miss a beat in his return from a calf injury, tallying 27 disposals, seven inside 50s and six clearances to help last year’s grand finalists bounce back from a shock loss to East Fremantle last week.

Former Docker Tom North was also instrumental in the win with 30 possessions and seven clearances as the Royals moved to 2-2 for the season.

Unstoppable Tigers

Claremont produced the most emphatic performance of the Sullivan Logistics WAFL season, thrashing East Fremantle by a jaw-dropping 111 points at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday.

Sandover Medal duo and co-captains Bailey Rogers and Callan England combined for 66 disposals, 13 clearances and a dozen inside 50s, with Rogers also hitting the scoreboard with two majors.

Fellow midfielder Sam Alvarez continued his breakout season with 27 touches, while spearhead Jaiden Hunter kicked a game-high five majors and Talon Delacey and Kieran Gowdie chipped in with four apiece.

The Tigers piled on 21 goals to three to continue their unbeaten start to the season and underline their status as premiership favourites.

It was a dark day for the injury-hit Sharks, coming off back-to-back wins, suffering their biggest ever loss Claremont, with 103 points their previous worst back in 2005.

Not again!

Spare a thought for premiership coach Adam Read after Peel Thunder suffered their second one-point defeat in a row, this time to Subiaco at Sullivan Logistics Stadium on Saturday.

It came a week after the same result against Perth, with the Thunder’s season tally now 1-3.

Remarkably, all four of Peel’s matches have been decided by 13 points or less, with their average margin just 6.5 points.

Ruckman Jack Mayo (22 disposals, 17 hit-outs, 10 marks, four clearances and a goal) was brilliant for Subiaco, with Stefan Giro (23 disposals and two goals) and skipper Greg Clark (24 and six inside 50s) also important.

Former Collingwood VFL player Lachlan Tardrew (30 disposals and six clearances) continued his strong debut season for the Thunder, while AFL-listed defenders Oscar McDonald and Hugh Davies stood tall down back and Chris Scerri responded to his AFL axing in style.

The Eagles can make finals

West Coast made it three wins in a row with a heart-stopping one-point triumph over Swan Districts at Mineral Resources Park on Sunday.

The perennial cellar dwellers moved to 3-1 for the season and currently sit in third spot on the ladder as they hunt their first WAFL finals appearance since 2019.

AFL-listed midfielder Tom Gross was the hero with the match-winning goal in the dying minutes.

Gross finished with three majors to go with 22 disposals, seven clearances, six tackles and three score assists to put his hand up for an AFL recall and give West Coast fans something to smile about in a tough weekend.

Goalsneak Matthew Owies also pushed his case for a return to the ones with a five-goal haul as the Eagles held off a fast-finishing Swan Districts.

Two-horse race for Dhara Kerr Medal

Subiaco ball magnet Paige Sheppard and Swan Districts gun Jaime Henry combined for a staggering 80 disposals over the weekend as both of their teams kept their winning ways going.

Sheppard amassed a season-high 41 touches for the Lions, with her stat line also including 13 tackles and eight clearances in the hard-fought victory over Peel Thunder at Sullivan Logistics Stadium on Saturday night.

Henry continued her career-best campaign on Friday night as ladder leaders Swan Districts recovered from a slow start to go 5-0 for the year.

The prolific midfielder, who’s averaging more than 35 disposals per game in 2026 to earn Kia WAFLW State Team selection after missing out last year, had 39 touches to go with 16 tackles, five clearances and five inside 50s.

AFLW Pre-Season Draft prospect has a day out

Claremont ball magnet Juliet Kelly produced one of the performances of the season to lead her team to victory over East Perth at Revo Fitness Stadium on Sunday.

Kelly racked up 36 disposals for the reigning champs to go with a whopping 11 tackles, six clearances and a goal.

The teenager was unlucky to not get drafted last year and will no doubt still be on the radar of AFLW clubs ahead of next month’s Pre-Season Draft with games like this.

Irish recruit looks right at home in WAFLW

West Perth’s Irish recruit Ellee McEvoy had the best game of her short WAFLW career to help her team to a tight victory over South Fremantle at HIF Health Insurance Oval on Sunday.

From Naomh Ciaran in Offaly County, McEvoy is an All-Ireland Champion in the LGFA who was part of nine titles in 10 seasons in Ireland.

The midfielder had a career-high 25 disposals, seven tackles and four clearances in the win to underline her cross-code talents.

Tazzi takes a hanger

Peel Thunder young gun Tazzi Faithfull took a hanger for the ages in Friday night’s Colts clash against Subiaco at Sullivan Logistics Stadium.

Faithfull got some serious airtime early in his team’s loss to the Lions, using his opponent as a step ladder before soaring into the air.

The mark went viral on social media, with more than 100,000 views of the stunning moment.

Unbelievable mark from Peel Thunder young gun Tazzi Faithful in the opening term of tonight’s WAFL Colts clash against Subiaco at Sullivan Logistics Stadium. Got some serious airtime! 🛫 pic.twitter.com/Qk5PQ3kp2R

— Jordan McArdle (@jordan_mc12) April 24, 2026

Another son of a gun emerges

Noah Braun enjoyed a career-best game in Claremont’s thrilling one-point EGT WAFL Colts victory over the previously-undefeated East Fremantle at Revo Fitness Stadium on Sunday.

With fellow sons of guns George Gale and Harper Banfield out due to PSA duties among a whopping 15 changes, Braun stood up in the Tigers’ midfield to help the reigning champs get over the line.

The son of West Coast premiership player Michael racked up a career-high 30 disposals, nine marks and four inside 50s in the way, bettering his previous best disposal tally of 21.

The smooth-moving left-footer played in a colts flag as a bottom-ager last year and is part of Claremont’s leadership group this season.

Sharp-shooting Sam leads unbeaten Dogs

South Fremantle finished Round 4 of WAFL Colts as outright top of the ladder after a dominant win over West Perth at HIF Health Insurance Oval.

Key forward Sam Hookham starred in the win, booting 6.0 to take his season tally to a competition-high 13 majors.

The Bulldogs took their season tally to 4-0 with the 69-point win as last year’s grand finalists look to go one better in 2026.