WAFL Finals - Royals and Demons TriumphMonday, September 1, 2025 - 11:54 AM

The 2025 WAFL Finals series kicked off over the weekend and the opening week had it all.

The Royals toppled the Tigers on Saturday and then the Demons ticked off a finals victory for the first time since 1997, in a fantastic week of WA football.

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East Perth 10.6 (66) v Claremont 7.11 (53)

East Perth began their finals campaign in brilliant fashion with a 13-point victory over the Tigers at Revo Fitness Stadium.

The Royals went in as underdogs at Claremont’s home deck, but led from the opening bounce to the final siren in a game that they won almost every major statistical category in.

Star midfielder Hamish Brayshaw led from the front in a captivating performance in which he collected 31 disposals, took nine marks, laid five tackles and kicked a goal, while Zachary Raykos was also superb, finishing with 28 disposals and 11 tackles.

East Perth welcomed back a host of experienced talent that had been given a rest in the final game of the season, and it appeared to benefit Christian Ameduri (24 disposals, seven tackles, two goals) and Angus Scott (24 disposals, one goal) as well as Stan Wright and Harrison Macreadie.

The ruck battle was fascinating, Scott Jones and Oliver Eastland going head-to-head with the former winning 37 hit outs and the latter winning 35.

Kye Willcocks performed well for the visiting side while for the Tigers, Callan England, Bailey Rogers and Benjamin Elliot were among the best.

Keiran Gowdie’s three goals weren’t enough to drive Claremont home, and they will now take on Perth at home in a game that will see one winner advance to the Preliminary Final, and one will pack their bags for 2025.

East Perth will travel to Fremantle Oval and battle premiership favourites South Fremantle with a spot in the 2025 WAFL Grand Final on the line.

Perth 16.10 (106) v East Fremantle 11.11 (77)

For the first time in 28 years, Perth have won a WAFL League final.

It was brilliant to see the Red Legs up and about in just their second post-season appearance since the turn of the century, and after a slow start, they looked to be the better team.

The Sharks made the early running at their newly developed home ground, playing their first final back in East Fremantle since the redevelopment, but could not put Perth away with the lead remaining just five points heading into the main break.

Perth then gained momentum in the second half, booting 10 goals to four, with the Sharks making a slight comeback midway through the final term but not enough to scare the Demons.

For much of the opening half it was a tale of two forwards as Jed Hagan and Aaron Clarke did all the damage for their respective sides.

Hagan finished with five majors and Clarke, who finished fourth in the Bernie Naylor Medal, kicked six.

Mitchell Zadow added two goals for the home side but four goals, including two in the final quarter from Lachlan Paton proved too much, as he whipped out a celebration late in the final period that appeared to be him reeling in a shark.

Perth’s midfield won plenty of the football as Charlie Constable (31 disposals, six marks, five tackles, one goal), Matthew Taylor (26 disposals) and Brandon Parfitt (25 disposals) all performed well, as did club stalwart and three-time Best and Fairest winner Corey Byrne, who played in his first career final after 132 games in the red and black.

For Perth, they’ve booked a date with Claremont next week with a place in a Preliminary Final on the line while the Sharks will rue this loss as they begin off-season preparations and start looking ahead to next year.

In the reserves competition, East Perth won in an upset over the Demons to eliminate Perth, while Swan Districts were too good for South Fremantle.

In the Colts, West Perth made a late comeback to steal victory from Swan Districts and East Fremantle took down Claremont by 25-points.

South Fremantle take on the Royals at Fremantle Oval next Saturday, while Perth will try and make it two finals in a row against Claremont at Revo Fitness Stadium on Sunday afternoon.