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Round 22 WAFL ResultsMonday, August 19, 2013 - 11:30 AM - by Chris Pike
CLOSE matches weren’t the order of the day in WAFL Round 22 action over the weekend but East Perth, Claremont, East Fremantle and South Fremantle all recorded impressive and crucial thumping victories.
The round began on Saturday with East Perth beating Perth 20.16 (136) to 13.10 (88) at Leederville's Medibank Stadium and that saw the Royals improve to third position on the ladder to all but secure a finals position with games against South Fremantle and Subiaco to finish their season.
There were then three matches on Sunday highlighted by East Fremantle thumping West Perth 20.14 (134) to 9.7 (61) in front of 6195 fans at Arena Joondalup with the result seeing the Sharks move up to fourth spot on the ladder.
Swan Districts fell out of the four when Claremont beat the black-and-whites 19.10 (124) to 9.11 (65) at Claremont Oval while South Fremantle hammered Peel Thunder 24.16 (160) to 9.13 (67) at Mandurah's Bendigo Bank Stadium.
East Perth had too many weapons for Perth in Saturday's standalone Round 22 fixture at Medibank Stadium with the Royals improving to third spot to look set for a finals appearance while the Demons' quest for a first finals appearance since 1997 is all but over.
It was an entertaining and high-scoring first three quarters with the Royals leading by just four points at quarter-time, 11 at half-time and 15 at three quarter-time, but East Perth then kicked six goals to one in the last term to end up winning comfortably by 48 points.
Josh Smith went a long way to securing the Bernie Naylor Medal with a six-goal haul from 20 possessions and 13 marks with Freddie Clutterbuck adding three goals and Craig Wulff two.
Ruckman Paul Johnson dominated with 21 possessions, 26 hit outs and two goals with West Coast foursome Adam Selwood, Matt Rosa, Blayne Wilson and Cale Morton terrific.
Selwood finished with co-captain Brendan Lee picked up another 26 possessions with Mat Seal also gathering 24 touches and Aaron Sweet 24. 27 possessions, Rosa 34, Wilson 26 and Morton 32 to go with 11 marks, eight inside 50s and two goals.
Brennan Stack kicked three goals for Perth with Paul Bevan and Simon Tunbridge adding two apiece while Jarryd Morton picked up 22 possessions, Jarrad Irons 20 and Joel Leeson 18.
Swan Districts beat Claremont on its last visit to Claremont Oval and needed to so again on Sunday to stay in the top-four.
The black-and-whites started strongly with an eight-point quarter-time lead, but from there Claremont kicked 16 goals to five for the rest of the afternoon to end up winning by 59 points.
Paul Medhurst kicked four goals for Claremont with Ian Richardson adding three as did Anton Hamp with ruckman Mark Seaby and full-forward Mark Seaby adding two each.
Luke Blackwell was again outstanding with another 35 possessions with Jake Murphy finishing with 30 disposals, Andrew Foster 30, Jack Bradshaw 27, Ryan Neates 27, Jesse Laurie 22 and Tom Taylor 20.
Ryan Davis and Kirk Ugle both kicked two goals for Swan Districts with Shaun Hildebrandt picking up 32 possessions, Wayde Twomey 28, Kyle Hams 25, Matt Riggio 20, Graham Jetta 20, Tom Roach 20 and Dayle Garlett 19 to go with five tackles and six entries inside 50.
West Perth got off to a good start against East Fremantle and still led by four points at quarter-time, but the Sharks dominated from there with 17 goals to five over the last three quarter to record a thumping 73-point victory.
Rob Young and Brad Dick both kicked four goals apiece for the Sharks with Scott Hancock, Louis Cronan, Alex Howson and Jack Perham all booting two each.
Rory O'Brien continued his outstanding form with another 38 possessions while Mark McGough gathered 32 disposals, Andrew Stephen 32, Sean Henson 27, Aidan Tropiano 26, Brett Peake 26, Kieran King 25, Jacob Brennan 24, James Bayliss 24, Scott Hancock 24 and Jayden Schofield 23.
It was a tough day for West Perth but the Falcons were without a host of key players and still remain solid in second position on the ladder.
Mark Hutchings returned and was terrific with 26 possessions and two goals with Josh Mellington also adding 25 disposals and two goals.
Steve Potente picked up 25 disposals, Aaron Black 24, Brayden Antonio 22, Shane Nelson 21 and Frank Stockley 16 to go with 33 hit outs in the ruck.
South Fremantle kicked five goals in the first 15 minutes against Peel in Mandurah on Sunday and dominated the rest of the afternoon at one stage leading by triple-figures, but finishing up with a 93-point victory.
Ashton Hams had a day out for the Bulldogs with 31 possessions and six goals with half-back Adam McIntosh outstanding with 26 disposals and three goals while also keeping dangerous Peel half-forward Kristin Thornton in check.
There wasn’t a single South Fremantle player who didn’t contribute in the dominant win with captain Ryan Cook racking up 34 possessions, Mitch Banner 32, Brendan Verrier 30, Jacob Martinez 25 (and two goals), Tim Kelly 24, Haiden Schloithe 23 (and two goals) and James Laurino 22.
The Bulldogs' back-line was outstanding with Nick Borovac finishing with 22 disposals, Warrick Andreoli 21, Dylan Ross 20 and Adam Guglielmana 18.
It was a terrible day for Peel but far and away captain Brendon Jones was once again the Thunder best player and hardest worker.
The 27-year-old 177-game veteran is clearly Peel's best player and an outstanding leader, and will be impossible to replace and there's little doubt he will retire with his third fairest and best award of his career.sessions, seven clearances, nine inside-50s and a goal but even worse than the 93-point loss, was the announcement post-match that Jones is retiring.
Jones received precious little help from teammates with James Flaherty one to stand up in a terrific performance at full-back holding reigning Bernie Naylor Medallist Ben Saunders to just two goals from five kicks.
Brad Holmes worked hard up forward with three goals from 16 possessions and 11 marks with Marlon Motlop also kicking three goals. Liam McKenna had 23 possessions, Jesse Crichton 22 and Laine Wilkins 19.
ROUND 22 RESULTS
LEAGUE
East Perth 20.16 (136) defeated Perth 13.10 (88)
Peel Thunder 9.13 (67) lost to South Fremantle 24.16 (160)
Claremont 19.10 (124) defeated Swan Districts 9.11 (65)
West Perth 9.7 (61) lost to East Fremantle 20.14 (134)
RESERVES
East Perth 12.6 (78) defeated Perth 9.3 (57)
Peel Thunder 6.5 (41) lost to South Fremantle 11.24 (90)
Claremont 11.14 (80) defeated Swan Districts 11.5 (71)
West Perth 10.8 (68) defeated East Fremantle 9.7 (61)
COLTS
East Perth 8.5 (53) lost to Perth 10.6 (66)
Peel Thunder 2.4 (16) lost to South Fremantle 20.11 (131)
Claremont 21.19 (145) defeated Swan Districts 4.3 (27)
West Perth 1.8 (14) lost to East Fremantle 22.18 (150)
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