wafl.com.au Team and Player of Round 13

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wafl.com.au Team and Player of Round 13Tuesday, June 20, 2017 - 11:43 PM - by Chris Pike

A HOST of young and unheralded players stood tall to lead East Fremantle to its first victory of 2017 while a couple of Claremont forwards and South Fremantle midfielders booted four goals apiece as did Subiaco livewire Liam Ryan as just some of the Round 13 standout performances.

Round 13 of the 2017 WAFL season all took place on Saturday afternoon beginning with East Fremantle's breakthrough win of the season, beating Perth 19.17 (131) to 11.7 (73) at East Fremantle Oval with a whole host of players standing up.

Claremont made it consecutive wins beating Swan Districts 16.14 (110) to 6.7 (43) at Claremont Oval with Beau Maister and Chris Oakley kicking four goals each, and Jye Bolton outstanding.

Subiaco won its 11th straight match in the battle of the Leederville Oval co-tenants, downing East Perth 14.14 (98) to 10.6 (66) with Ryan kicking four goals but plenty of other Lions having good days out.

South Fremantle then moved clear again in second place with a 16.15 (111) to 10.4 (64) win over West Perth at HBF Arena with Haiden Schloithe and Dylan Main both racking up 30 possessions and kicking four goals apiece.

wafl.com.au PLAYER OF THE ROUND – DYLAN MAIN (South Fremantle)

He spent two years on West Coast's list playing in the WAFL with East Perth and while he played some decent games, he could never really settle into a spot. It was a similar case in the first half of last year on return to the Bulldogs.

But against Perth in Carnarvon, he was moved to a role as an inside midfielder and he's never looked back since. He finished the 2016 season playing that role on the ball and was a key part of the Bulldogs making it all the way to the preliminary final.

And now he has carried on that form as an on-baller in 2017 and took it up to another level in Saturday's 47-point win over West Perth at HBF Arena.

Not only did he rack up 30 possessions to go with six tackles, five marks and four inside-50 entries, but he also was terrific getting forward to boot four goals for the first time in his career. He had previously never kicked more than two goals in a game.

wafl.com.au TEAM OF THE ROUND (times named)
BACK: Marlion Pickett (4), Jordan Lockyer (2), Ben King (1)
HALF-BACK: Josh Cuneo (1), Mark Hamilton (1), Jayden Schofield (5)
CENTRE: Dylan Main (2), Leigh Kitchin (4), Mitch Browne (1)
HALF-FORWARD: Haiden Schloithe (5), Jesse Mirco (1), Warrick Wilson (2)
FORWARD: Chris Oakley (1), Beau Maister (1), Liam Ryan (5)
RUCK: Brock Higgins (3), Jye Bolton (2), Corey Holmes (1)
INTERCHANGE: Nathan Fahey (1), Lachlan Delahunty (3), Will Maginness (5), Tom Marshall (1)

BACK POCKET – MARLION PICKETT (South Fremantle)
South Fremantle's back-line might have had only 32 entries to combat against West Perth on Saturday, but they did so tremendously. His performance was exciting running out of the back-line and driving the Bulldogs forward. Would constantly balk by opponents and ended the game with 26 possessions, five marks and four inside-50 entries.

FULL-BACK – JORDAN LOCKYER (Subiaco)
Subiaco's back-line might have been missing Declan Jackson, Aaron Heal and Hayden Kennedy but he continues to be the mainstay of the defence and is rock solid. The state defender had a significant influence on the win over East Perth as a defensive presence despite having just nine possessions and four marks.

BACK POCKET – BEN KING (West Perth)
The lockdown defender was playing his second game back from injury and given the job on triple Bernie Naylor Medal winner and this year's state game Simpson Medallist Ben Saunders. He conceded a goal early on but did a strong job from there limiting him to that one goal while having eight possessions and four tackles himself.

HALF-BACK FLANK – JAYDEN SCHOFIELD (East Fremantle)
Continued to be the most consistent player at East Fremantle this season and was instrumental in the victory over Perth on Saturday. Once again provided great run and drive off half-back with 25 possessions and four marks to be named to the Team of the Round for a fifth time in 2017 as he closes in on 100-game milestone.

CENTRE HALF-BACK – MARK HAMILTON (West Perth)
The big man arrived at West Perth from the Northern Territory late in 2015 and then did well at times in 2016 at either end of the ground. But now in 2017 he looks to have found his spot at centre half-back and had another good performance on Saturday against South Fremantle opposed to Mason Shaw. He kicked just two goals from his team's 64 inside-50 entries while ending up with 16 possessions and six marks opposed to him.

HALF-BACK FLANK – JOSH CUNEO (East Fremantle)
It has been somewhat surprising that he has been languishing in the reserves through the first half of the season despite East Fremantle's struggles, but showed once again on Saturday in the big win over Perth why he can be a valuable member of the team. Did well off half-back finishing the afternoon with 22 disposals, five inside 50s and four marks.

CENTRE – LEIGH KITCHIN (Subiaco)
The prolific midfielder had another standout performance in the Subiaco midfield in Saturday's victory over East Perth that made it 11th straight for the Lions. He racked up another 24 possessions to go with seven marks, five tackles, five inside-50 entries and a goal.

WING – MITCH BROWNE (Perth)
It was another tough afternoon for Perth going from 23 points up at half-time to lose by 58 points to the previously winless East Fremantle, but emerging players continue to give the Demons a glimmer of hope and he is certainly one of them. In just the 18th game of his league career, the 21-year-old put together a strong performance to finish with 30 possessions, eight tackles and five marks.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – HAIDEN SCHLOITHE (South Fremantle)
Is in career-best form in 2017 and that's saying a lot considering how good his 2014 was when he won South Fremantle's fairest and best award. But has taken his game to another level this season and there's every reason to think he is leading the Sandover Medal right now. Delivered another brilliant showing in win over West Perth with 30 possessions, nine marks and four goals.

CENTRE HALF-FORWARD – JESSE MIRCO (East Fremantle)
Had a good colts career at South Fremantle and then good goal kicking season with the Bulldogs in the reserves in 2016 booting 40 goals. But the Sharks saw something more in him and orchestrated a trade with South Fremantle in the off-season. Hadn't really paid off until Saturday when he was impressive in attack ending up with three goals from 17 disposals and nine marks.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – WARRICK WILSON (Swan Districts)
Following a stint in the reserves, showed why he is an important player in the Swan Districts line-up with the bit of X-factor that he provides. Was at his lively best in a team well beaten against Claremont at Claremont Oval on Saturday finishing with 25 possessions, five inside-50 entries and four marks.

FORWARD POCKET – CHRIS OAKLEY (Claremont)
The colts premiership player from last year played just his third league game on Saturday and showed plenty to suggest that the exciting small forward has plenty to offer despite his diminutive size. Had a particularly dynamic finish to the game and ended the afternoon with four goals from eight kicks and six marks.

FULL-FORWARD – BEAU MAISTER (Claremont)
The 139-game veteran found some strong form in attack in Saturday's big win over Swan Districts at Claremont Oval to help his Tigers to consecutive victories. Had kicked just five goals in his previous seven games, but hit back to form as the key target in attack with four goals from 11 kicks and eight marks.

FORWARD POCKET – LIAM RYAN (Subiaco)
Had still been making a good contribution up forward despite kicking just the one goal in each of the past two weeks, but the Bernie Naylor Medal leader was back to his goal kicking best in Saturday's win over East Perth with four majors from nine kicks and six marks.

RUCK – BROCK HIGGINS (South Fremantle)
Continues to do a tremendous job as a workhorse ruckman. Without the support of Zac Strom on Saturday, proved too big and strong for mobile West Perth ruckman Scott Simpson. Was hugely instrumental in the eventual 47-point victory with 17 disposals, six marks and 40 hit outs.

RUCK ROVER – JYE BOLTON (Claremont)
The Sandover Medallist has slowly been building his form back after struggling with a knee complaint suffered against South Fremantle back on Good Friday. Put in his best performance of 2017 on Saturday. Delivered 37 possessions, eight marks, seven inside-50 entries and a goal in the big win for Claremont over Swan Districts.

ROVER – COREY HOLMES (East Fremantle)
Outstanding in just the fifth league game of his career and instrumental through the midfield in East Fremantle's eventual breakthrough victory to the tune of 58 points. Terrific performance ending up with 28 possessions, nine marks, six inside-50 entries and a goal up against an on-ball brigade including the likes of Clint Jones, Aidan Tropiano and Julian Jacobs.

INTERCHANGE – NATHAN FAHEY (East Fremantle)
Joined East Fremantle from Peel Thunder this season to add to the Sharks' key position stocks. He had to bide his time in the reserves but in his third game at his new club and ninth of his career he showed he could make an impact in attack. Finished the afternoon with an impressive 20 possessions, five marks and three goals.

INTERCHANGE – LACHLAN DELAHUNTY (Subiaco)
The versatile big man had a good battle in the ruck with East Perth's Jonathon Giles, but at ground level he was a cut above and delivered another standout effort in the 32-point victory over the Leederville Oval co-tenants. Ended the afternoon with 25 touches, nine marks, five tackles and 18 hit outs.

INTERCHANGE – WILL MAGINNESS (East Perth)
With his body now holding up after several years ruined by injury troubles, he had another significant influence in his career-best season on Saturday. Finished the game against Subiaco with 19 possessions, seven marks and two goals to be named to the Team of the Round for a fifth time in 2017.

INTERCHANGE – TOM MARSHALL (East Fremantle)
Another in the exciting batch of East Fremantle players who will be part of the future and in the 10th game of his career put in a spirited showing in the breakthrough victory. Ended up with a career-high 24 possessions to go with nine tackles as he continues to show that he is as much a good ball-winner as he enjoys putting pressure on the opposition.

UNLUCKY BUNCH
There were plenty of players who delivered tremendous performances across Round 13 but couldn’t quite squeeze into the Team of the Round, including: