WAFLW 2025 Season PreviewThursday, March 27, 2025 - 8:33 AM - by Chris Pike

THE WAFL Women's competition for 2025 now features nine teams with Perth jumping on board and with all clubs trying to see if they can catch Claremont and East Fremantle who have played in the past three Grand Finals.

The 2025 WAFLW season gets underway this weekend with the Round 1 action beginning at Sullivan Logistics Stadium with East Perth at home to Swan Districts on Saturday afternoon.

That same afternoon will see Peel Thunder play Perth at Lane Group Stadium with history made as the Demons take part in their first ever WAFLW fixture.

Also on Saturday afternoon will be a derby at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with South Fremantle facing East Fremantle before on Saturday night, West Perth takes on Subiaco at Arena Joondalup.

CLAREMONT

Last season: Won premiership. 11-3 record, second position

Claremont has kept most of its successful group together as the Tigers now attempt to win a third WAFLW premiership in four years in 2025, and to claim back-to-back flags for the first time.

The remarkable Claremont-East Fremantle WAFLW rivalry continued in 2024 and it was Claremont's turn to bounce back from losing the 2023 Grand Final having been the standout team all season.

This time the Tigers roared when it mattered most to beat East Fremantle in the Grand Final in stirring fashion with the winning goal in the dying stages from co-captain Rachel Ortlepp.

Claremont has done an impressive job under coach Jack Schwarze keeping the majority of the premiership group together aside from Adele Arnup, Kobi Nichols, Eva Campo and AFLW draftee Claudia Wright.

There's natural improvement within the group from that Grand Final team including India Bonadeo, Paige Hamilton-Smith, Mackenzie Webb, Tess Blackburn, Eva O'Donnell, Abby Maynard, Matilda Sergeant, Sasha Goranova, and 2024 Rogers Cup fairest and best Jemimah Port.

Then with leaders like Jayme Harken, Rebecca Tuckey, Jacinta Valentini, Claire Ortlepp, Matilda Husband, Kate Orme, Jess Ritchie and Sarah Viney along with the emerging Juliet Kelly, Mia Jackson and Taylah Orzel, and there's every reason to expect Claremont to be contenders again in 2025.

Following the bye in Round 1, Claremont opens its season away to West Perth in a preliminary final rematch in Round 2 before unveiling their premiership flag in their first home game at Revo Fitness Stadium in Round 3 in a Grand Final rematch with East Fremantle on Saturday April 12.

EAST FREMANTLE

Last season: Lost Grand Final. 13-1 record, minor premiership

East Fremantle did everything but secure the WAFLW premiership in 2024 and now will be desperate to make up for that in 2025 just as they did back in 2023.

East Fremantle was able to stun Claremont in the WAFLW Grand Final of 2023 and the dominated a lot of the season in 2024 in an attempt to win back-to-back premierships.

The Sharks lost just one game all season long and entered the Grand Final on a 12-game winning streak, but for the second time in three years the Tigers were able to complete an almighty upset at the Sharks expense.

Despite having that tough to stomach loss to sit with them all off-season, there's plenty to be optimistic about at East Fremantle and it all starts with having a home ground to play at.

The newly redeveloped Shark Park, and newly renamed The Good Grocer Park, will provide a significant boost for East Fremantle who have made the WAFLW Grand Final the past three years despite not having a regular training and home playing venue.

While there have been some significant losses on the playing front including AFLW draftees Zippy Fish and Taya Chambers, coach Matt Templeton has been able to bring in some impressive recruits and returnees, and maintain a significant chunk of the team that dominated for most of 2024.

Ashleigh Gomes has been appointed captain for the Sharks in a season with great excitement surrounding it with their return home with Amber Kinnane, Chloe Reilly, Tiani Teakle and Larissa Versaci among the leadership group.

Jae Flynn, Anjelique Raison and Torrens Revell are all former East Fremantle players returning to the Sharks in 2025 as well while excitement machine Noa McNaughton is on board having crossed from arch-rival South Fremantle over summer.

The Sharks started their season with a derby in Round 1 before unveiling their new home ground in Round 2 against Peel Thunder.

EAST PERTH

Last season: 2-12 record, seventh position

East Perth is coming into a third season in the WAFL Women's competition and with some East Fremantle premiership names on board to help a young group, the Royals will look to take another leap forward.

East Perth first joined the WAFLW competition back in 2023 and after a tough initiation, the Royals showed impressive improvement in 2024 with two wins and becoming significantly more competitive.

They will be looking to continue that upward trajectory now in the 2025 season with coach Jenna Allomes supported by East Fremantle premiership coach Steph Walding, and with the Royals bringing in some impressive recruits to their young group.

East Perth has signed East Fremantle premiership winning pair Hayley O'Donnell and Kate Inglis-Hodge in two significant additions not only because of the quality they provide on the field, but also their experience from having been heavily involved in a winning culture at the Sharks.

Not only did East Perth score their first two WAFLW victories last year against Peel Thunder and South Fremantle, but they were significantly more competitive especially in the first half of the season.

That included a host of young, local players continuing to emerge including 18-year-old Lucy Greenwood who won the fairest and best along with kicking seven goals while averaging 13 possessions a game.

Sabella Banks was also impressive to be runner-up in fairest and best voting with the 19-year-old looking to continue that form in 2025 while Jess Verbrugge and Taylah Suda have been appointed co-captains for the season.

East Perth will begin the 2025 season at home to Swan Districts before remaining at Sullivan Logistics Stadium the following Sunday for a clash with co-tenant Subiaco leading into the Round 3 bye.

PEEL THUNDER

Last season: 1-13 record, eighth position

It has been tough going in the WAFL Women's competition for Peel Thunder since completing back-to-back premierships in 2021 but they will be looking to move back up the ladder in 2025.

Since those premierships triumphs of 2020 and 2021, Peel did again make finals in 2022 but it's been challenging since then over the past two seasons with an increasingly youthful squad and a lot of those premiership stars having moved on.

That led to just three wins in 2023 with two of those against the upstart East Perth and then the Thunder managed just one victory from the 14 games in 2024 where they managed to average just 14.6 points a game while giving up 61.7.

That included an average losing margin of 52.2 points a game but there are plenty of signs to suggest Peel will begin to make that rise back up the WAFLW ladder in 2025 under coach Ethan Norris.

Peel have retained some key players including captain Ebony Dowson who averaged another 22 possessions a game throughout 2024 along with Ebony Bilcich who continued her emergence with 21.7 disposals across her 13 appearances.

The Thunder have also welcomed back a couple of those premiership stars including Cassie Davidson who is back from playing with Hawthorn in the VFLW the past two years.

Chloe Wrigley is another returnee with the tenacious midfielder returning to Peel from East Fremantle even though the Thunder will miss the consistency and experience of Greta McKinley.

However, there's exciting young talent continuing to come through at Peel headed up by rebounding defender Evie Cowcher with Krystal Carter, Kaitlyn Hayes and Chelsea Hutchinson other players the Thunder will be looking for big things from.

SOUTH FREMANTLE

Last season: 6-8 record, sixth position

South Fremantle went ever so close to a Grand Final appearance two years ago and will be looking to be back in the mix in 2025 with a new coach and some impressive signings on board.

After a rough initiation into the WAFL Women's competition joining back in the COVID impacted season of 2020, by 2022 the Bulldogs broke through to win four games and then in 2023 finished second before losing a home preliminary final to eventual premiers, East Fremantle.

The 2024 season was a step backwards for South Fremantle with six wins from 14 games to miss out on finals, but a lot of that was down to the departure of some key players and the blooding of some exciting young talent.

Now it's the start of a new era for the Bulldogs in a lot of ways in 2025 with the arrival of new coach Pia Faletti and with Molly O'Hehir and Indi Strom drafted into the AFLW, and Noa McNaughton departing for East Fremantle.

Softening the blow of the loss of that trio is the arrival of AFLW premiership player Bailey Hunt who will join South Fremantle having played over 50 games at the Western Bulldogs before now making the move west.

The Bulldogs will also welcome former Fremantle Dockers AFLW trio Makaela Tuhakaraina, Tahleah Mulder and Tara Stribley.

There's also the continued emergence of future potential AFLW stars like Renee Morgan and Alira Fotu, with Fotu continuing to combine playing in WAFLW along with NBL1 West basketball at the Perry Lakes Hawks after a WNBL season at the Perth Lynx.

South Fremantle will again be led by Lauren Vecchio who will share the captaincy with Hunter Cronin as the Bulldogs begin their 2025 campaign with a home derby at Fremantle Community Bank Oval against East Fremantle.

SUBIACO

Last season: 6-8 record, fifth position

Subiaco has now missed out on the WAFL Women's finals for the past three years but the Lions will be looking to change that in 2025 and have some exciting young talent to help make that happen.

When the WAFLW competition was formed back in 2019, Subiaco were regular finalists in those first three seasons including being minor premiers in each of the first two years, but the going has been significantly tougher since.

Subiaco has finished fifth in each of the past three years so they haven’t been too far away including having a 6-8 record in 2024 with the Lions winning four of their last six matches to only narrowly miss out on playing finals.

Of those six wins for Subiaco last year, they came with an average winning margin of 51.5 points while the eight defeats were only by an average of 12.8 so it will only take a marginal improvement to get right back in the finals hunt in 2025.

Baker Denneman is coming into a second season as coach at Subiaco with some exciting recruits on board including Lisa Steane, Paige Sheppard and Charlotte Tompkin.

Tompkin joins Subiaco having played 22 WAFLW matches at Claremont over the past three years including 13 in 2024 but not being part of the premiership team.

Steane and Sheppard join the Lions after making the move across the Nullarbor coming off playing at the Sydney Swans in the AFLW bringing with them plenty of quality and experience.

Then there is the emerging talent coming through at Subiaco headed up by Olivia Crane and Olivia Wolmarans with Krstel Petrevski, Kate Pocsidio, Chloe Shearing, Hali Epis, Beatrice Devlyn, Lauren Bilaloski, Dahna Lee, Aimee Schmidt, Hayley Corlett, Eva Popovsky and Tess Lyons still on deck.

SWAN DISTRICTS

Last season: Lost first semi-final. 8-6 record, fourth position

Swan Districts finished the 2024 WAFL Women's season strongly to surge into the finals and will look to keep that momentum going into 2025 with a new coach taking over and some exciting young talent continuing to emerge.

Swans left themselves with work to do last season having lost five of their opening nine matches, but they won four of the last five in the home and away season to finish in fourth spot with an 8-6 record.

While they did lose in the first semi-final to West Perth, it had been a season of promise for the black-and-whites that they will be attempting to build on now in 2025 despite plenty of changes once more in the off-season.

Jason Burton is the new man in charge at Swan Districts for the 2025 season but his co-captains remain in place with Eliza Gelmi and Demi Liddle to once again lead the playing group.

Jaime Henry returns after spending last season playing in the VFLW for the Western Bulldogs while former Fremantle Dockers AFLW speedster Ashley Sharp will resume her WAFLW career with Swan Districts.

While the midfield for Swans does lose Lily Paterson who was drafted into the AFLW by Port Adelaide, there remains plenty of exciting young talent including reigning fairest and best winner Carys D'Addario along with Sienna Gerardi, Tamzyn Beros and Ava Stewart.

Then there remains a core group including Kayley King, Taylah Edwards, Courtney Zappara, Adi Griffith, Emma Nanut, Naomi Baker, Indi West, Hope Ugle-Hayward, Tyla Fitzgerald, Lauren Quaife, Meg Carron, Emma Humphries and Emily McGuire who will continue to show the way.

Swans open their season on the road to East Perth in Round 1 before a bye and then their first home game in Round 3 against Subiaco on Saturday April 12.

WEST PERTH

Last season: Lost preliminary final. 9-5 record, third position

West Perth has made impressive continued improvement over their first three WAFLW seasons leading to a preliminary final appearance in 2024 that they will look to further build upon in 2025.

Having built a strong base through the Rogers Cup, West Perth joined the WAFL Women's competition in 2022 and while that proved a winless season, the foundation was being built.

The Falcons then dramatically improved in 2023 winning five matches and then took a further leap forward in 2024 winning nine games and ending up in third position at the end of the home and away season.

West Perth then won its first ever final in the WAFLW against Swan Districts in the first semi-final before falling short of Claremont in the preliminary final.

However, the improvement in three years is something all at West Perth should be proud of with Clint Degebrodt coach now continuing as coach coming into 2025 and with Gemma Bailey and Emily Bennett appointed co-captains.

It will be exciting to watch the continued growth in the game of vice-captain Stacey Francis-Bayman with the former England international and West Coast Fever netball star remaining committed to Aussie Rules.

There's plenty of exciting young talent coming through for the Falcons as well who will naturally make the transition into the WAFLW from their Rogers Cup team that has been undefeated the past two seasons and winning back-to-back premierships.

West Perth has also added some new signings including Sara Riou, Matilda Bennett, Madison Dodd and Tazma Hutson with their season in the WAFLW to get underway under lights at Arena Joondalup with three straight home games against Subiaco, Claremont and Perth.

PERTH

First season in competition

Perth will join the WAFL Women's competition for the first time in 2025 and the Demons have done all they can to ensure their competitiveness right from the get go.

While the history of first seasons for new clubs in the WAFLW competition suggests that Perth will have its challenges in 2025, the Demons have put in place pieces to ensure their competitiveness but also the past tells you their growth can be quick.

South Fremantle, West Perth and East Perth all failed to win a game in their inaugural seasons joining the competition, but their growth was quick after that including the Bulldogs and Falcons having already reached preliminary finals.

Before joining the WAFL Women's competition, Perth has fielded a team in the Rogers Cup now since 2023.

Following a winless first season, the Demons won six games in 2024 to only narrowly miss finals with a lot of that young talent to now form a key part of their WAFLW line-up in 2025.

It won't be a completely youthful Perth team, though, with the Demons having signed former St Kilda AFLW player Isabella Shannon while it's going to be fascinating following the progress of former Australian Diamonds netball great Caitlin Bassett as she tries out a new sport.

Another trying a new sport, former Australian hockey star Brooke Peris will also be pulling on a Demons jumper in 2025.

Perth will also be coached by Jessica Sedunary while Shannon along with former Peel Thunder player Holly Britton will be co-captains with Gemma Dix vice-captain.

Fina Dethlefsen, Jorja Haines, Breanna Wills, Tessa Kongras, Kailey Secomb and Skye Elliott are among the players with experience at other WAFLW clubs joining Perth too.

Perth's life in the WAFLW competition begins with their historic first ever match away to Peel Thunder in Round 1 before playing at home at Mineral Resources Park for the first time in Round 2 in an evening clash with South Fremantle.