WAFLW Semi Finals WrapMonday, July 3, 2023 - 11:18 AM - by Chris Pike

IT was quite the eventful opening to the WAFLW final series for 2023 on Sunday with Claremont the first team into the grand final while there will now be a derby between South Fremantle and East Fremantle to decide their opponents.

All four finals teams for the 2023 season deserved to come into the last three weeks of the season thinking that they were genuinely capable of winning the premiership which set the tone for two fascinating semi-final match ups.

In the end, Claremont won its way into the grand final, Swan Districts' season came to an end and now it's going to be the most significant ever WAFLW derby do decide who takes on the Tigers in the decider.

First up was the first semi-final at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Sunday and East Fremantle ended up proving too strong for Swan Districts to prevail 7.4 (46) to 2.5 (17).

Then it was time for the second semi-final with the competition's top two teams locking horns and it turned out a terrific contest.

Despite Claremont not having lost a game all season and South Fremantle never having beaten them in the WAFLW, the Bulldogs pushed the reigning premiers but in the end the Tigers prevailed 4.5 (29) to 2.1 (13) at Revo Fitness Stadium.

What that all means is that Claremont is the first team through to the grand final, Swan Districts' season is over and South Fremantle will play East Fremantle in the preliminary final with the winner to play the Tigers in the decider on Saturday July 15 at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

Meanwhile, in the Rogers Cup action, the first semi-final on Sunday at Revo Fitness Stadium saw Claremont defeat East Perth 9.6 (60) to 1.1 (7).

Savannah Muir kicked three goals for the Tigers, Jessica Rava two, Charlotte Tompkin two, and one each to Georgia Webb and India Bonadeo. East Perth's goal was kicked by Annabel Parkinson.

The second semi-final took place at Revo Fitness Stadium as well with West Perth advancing to the grand final by beating South Fremantle 7.11 (53) to 2.2 (14).

Chloe Shearing and Chanel Scott kicked two goals each for West Perth with Jamarah Woods, Hayley Bidefeld and Kaitlyn Roper kicking one each. The goals for South Fremantle were kicked by Annalie Polimeno and Nicole Taylor-Thorpe.

Those results mean that the season is over for East Perth, West Perth is into the grand final and South Fremantle and Claremont will clash this weekend in the preliminary final.

WAFLW PREMIERSHIP SEASON – SEMI FINALS

FIRST SEMI-FINAL: EAST FREMANTLE 7.4 (46) defeated SWAN DISTRICTS 2.5 (17)

East Fremantle remain a chance to make up for last year's heartbreak this WAFLW season after advancing to the preliminary final with a 29-point first semi-final win against Swan Districts on Sunday.

East Fremantle and Swan Districts did battle with their seasons going on the line on neutral turf at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Sunday afternoon.

The Sharks came into the game on the back of finishing the home and away season in third position with eight wins, five losses and a draw while Swans had eight wins and six losses, with those wins coming in their last 10 matches in a tremendous turnaround.

That set the stage for a tantalising match up but it was East Fremantle who came out and kicked the first four goals of the game and that set the tone for the eventual 7.4 (46) to 2.5 (17) victory.

As a result, the Sharks stay alive this season and will take on South Fremantle in a preliminary final this Sunday back at the same venue while the season is over for Swan Districts.

Anjelique Raison might well be pushing herself to exhaustion at the moment having also started to play NBL1 West basketball at the Perth Redbacks this season, but she's still playing well for East Fremantle and kicked another two goals from 11 possessions and three marks.

She would prove to be the only multiple goal scorer in the game and had a significant impact in attack for the Sharks.

Laura Catherine had a strong performance in the ruck for East Fremantle finishing with nine possessions and 33 hit outs.

Sharon Wong also ended up with 15 disposals in the win for the Sharks, Leanne Gubbins 14, Beth Beckett 13, Caylen Crook 11, Mylee Leitch 11, Ashleigh Gomes 11 and Zippy Fish 11.

Swan Districts' two goals for the game were kicked by Courtney Zappara and Hope Ugle-Hayward.

Jaime Henry racked up 16 possessions to finish the season strongly for Swan Districts with Ruby Mahony confirming herself one of the best midfielders in 2023 with another 13 touches and 12 tackles.

Isabella Edgley also ended up with 11 touches and four tackles for the Swans while Kayley King finished with 10 disposals, Jasmine Ware 10, Indiana West nine and Demi Liddle nine to go with six tackles.

East Fremantle made a flying start to the first semi-final with the opening two goals in the contest inside the first eight minutes. The first came from Chloe Reilly at the four-minute mark and then Grace Freeman added another four minutes later.

The Sharks were still leading by 12 points by quarter-time having held Swans goalless to start the first semi-final.

East Fremantle then also kicked the opening two goals of the second quarter and suddenly the Sharks were in control leading by 25 points and the job was ahead of Swan Districts to keep its season alive.

Swans did manage a goal in response thanks to Hope Ugle-Hayward but the Sharks answered back prior to half-time through Larissa Versaci and that meant they remained in control leading by 25 points at the main break.

Swans needed to respond coming out of half-time with their season on the line but it wasn’t to be with East Fremantle holding them scoreless. The Sharks kicked two more goals themselves through Anjelique Raison and Zippy Fish and that saw them in control by 37 points.

Swan Districts did manage the only goal of the last quarter through Courtney Zappara but it wasn’t enough to stop East Fremantle cruising to the 29-point win and moving into a preliminary final and ending the season of the black-and-whites.

SECOND SEMI-FINAL: CLAREMONT 4.5 (29) defeated SOUTH FREMANTLE 2.1 (13)

Claremont is the first team into the WAFLW grand final for 2023 after earning a hard fought 16-point second semi-final victory against South Fremantle at Revo Fitness Stadium on Sunday.

The two teams finished in the top two positions at the end of the home and away season to set up the second semi-final match up with a spot in the grand final up for grabs for the winner.

On the back of winning last year's premiership, Claremont has gone through without losing a game in 2023 winning 13 matches and having a draw with East Fremantle. The Tigers' last loss was the second semi-final last year to the Sharks.

South Fremantle, meanwhile, had its best ever WAFLW season winning 10 games, losing three and drawing one to qualify for the finals for the first time as they attempted to beat Claremont for the first time on Sunday.

And the Bulldogs did battle hard, but the Tigers did enough to remain undefeated in 12 months by scoring the 4.5 (29) to 2.1 (13) victory to book in a grand final berth.

South Fremantle will have a second chance to join Claremont in the grand final by playing host to East Fremantle in the preliminary final this Sunday.

Claremont's goals in the second semi-final were kicked by Jayme Harken, Tess Blackburn, Kobi Nichols and Sarah Viney.

The Tigers midfield was on top throughout a lot of the afternoon too with Matilda Sergeant collecting 22 possessions, Harken 22 and Viney 19 to go with nine tackles.

Kate Orme provided great run too in her 16 touches while Claire Ortlepp ended the second semi-final with 15 disposals, Andie Payne 14, Rebecca Tuckey 14, Sarah Garstone 13 and Bridie Garlick 13.

Both South Fremantle's goals in the game were kicked by Bethany Bond from her three kicks and four tackles.

South Fremantle coach Craig McNaughton mixed things up a little to try and knock off Claremont including using the competition's standout ruck Ariana Hetherington as a big bodied midfielder with Zoe Huggett and Ella Ward sharing the ruck role.

Huggett ended the game with 39 hit outs while Ward had 12 with Hetherington finishing with 15 disposals, nine tackles, four inside 50s and two marks.

Teenage sensation Renee Morgan ended up with 16 possessions for the Bulldogs, Molly O'Hehir 14, Kahra Sprlyan 12, Noa McNaughton 11, Hunter Cronin 11 and Lauren Vecchio 11.

It was a hard fought first quarter between the competition's top two teams and everything you would expect with a grand final spot on the line with South Fremantle taking it right up to the reigning premiers.

Claremont hadn’t lost a game since the second semi-final last year so it marked a 12-month stretch without a loss, but on that day against East Fremantle they were the second placed team trying to hand a dominant side a defeat.

So the Tigers certainly weren’t taking anything for granted but Claremont did open up the second semi-final with the first goal of the contest at the four-minute mark thanks to Sarah Viney.

South Fremantle responded shortly after, though, with their first ever goal in the WAFLW finals courtesy of Bethany Bond and it was game on in the second semi-final.

The Tigers did get a second goal on the board before half-time, though, thanks to Tess Blackburn and that saw the minor premiers head into the main break leading by eight points.

The Bulldogs were taking it right up to them, though, and a second goal to Bond to open the second half suddenly made it just a two-point ball game once more.

However, South Fremantle weren’t able to manage another goal the rest of the game despite their best efforts and despite it remaining a tremendous contest around the ground.

Claremont did get another goal thanks to Jayme Harken early in the third quarter and then it was Kobi Nichols running into a goal for a nice finish after receiving a brilliant handpass to seal the win for the Tigers who prevailed by 16 points to move straight into the grand final.