WAFL NAIDOC Round WrapMonday, July 10, 2023 - 11:44 AM - by Chris Pike

THE WAFL's top five teams might all but be guaranteed after Saturday's NAIDOC Round results but what separates those five clubs is remarkably small to set up a fascinating finish to the 2023 season.

With East Perth and East Fremantle pushing Swan Districts and West Perth further out of finals calculations, and fellow top five teams Claremont and Peel Thunder winning on Saturday, the teams inside the top five right now look like staying there.

However, where they will all end up is anyone's guess with Claremont remaining in first place with a 10-2 record but the other four teams are close behind with East Perth second at 9-3, Peel Thunder third at 8-4, East Fremantle fourth at 8-4 and Subiaco fifth at 8-4.

All five NAIDOC Round matches in the WAFL took place on Saturday afternoon with Peel Thunder finishing strongly against Subiaco for the 8.10 (58) to 6.8 (44) victory at Leederville Oval.

East Perth then put in a dominant performance to make it six consecutive wins by beating Swan Districts 11.14 (80) to 4.8 (32) at Steel Blue Oval.

East Fremantle continued its tremendous form as well with a third successive win to defeat the reigning premiers West Perth 12.19 (91) to 7.8 (50) at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium.

Claremont then also made it five straight wins to maintain top position in the WAFL by beating South Fremantle 9.6 (60) to 8.8 (56) on the back of another thrilling finish with the late goal to Bailey Rogers at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

The dramatic game of the round was the one featuring the bottom two teams in the competition. The West Coast Eagles were leading when the siren sounded but Kristian Cary from Perth had the ball in his hands.

His shot fell well short but the huge pack competing on the goal line saw the ball forced through for the rushed behind which meant both teams finished on 15.8 (98) for the dramatic draw.

Meanwhile, Round 13 of the Reserves saw East Perth beat Swan Districts 10.11 (71) to 3.11 (29) at Steel Blue Oval with Sandon Page and Tom Graham kicking two goals for the Royals.

Riley Saunders finished with 27 touches, Campbell Abbott 27, Nathan Eaton 22, Nick Bonomelli 21 and Jonah Brooks 20.

Swan Districts' goals came from Jack Saunders, Patrick Farrant and Tristen Burgess with Lawson Humphries picking up 26 possessions, Tarir Bayok 21, Ayden Cartwright 21, Max Chipper 17 and Jacob Sideris 16.

Subiaco got the win over an inaccurate Peel Thunder 11.7 (73) to 3.3 (31) at Leederville Oval with Richard Farmer kicking five goals for the Lions and Corey Bellouard ending up with 26 touches, Lachlan Vanirsen 25, Connor Patterson 23, Jordan Lockyer 22, Jake Stergiou 21 and Jordan Snadden 21.

James Sturrock picked up 24 possessions and 13 tackles for Peel with Guy Barnes ending up with 21 touches, Jacob Hewitt 19 and Kyren Gavin 18.

East Fremantle then scored the narrow 13.3 (81) to 10.11 (71) victory against West Perth at Pentanet Stadium.

Ethan Paholski kicked five goals for the Sharks, James Spadanuda three and Eddie Simpson two with Corey Holmes gathering 27 touches, Ryan Lester-Smith 23, Josh Ritchie 20 and Jack Walsh 20.

Bailey Thompson, Jasper Scaife and Henry Ryan all kicked two goals apiece for West Perth with Koopah Todd picking up 23 disposals, Aidan Lynch 22, Callum Johnson 21 and Blake Wilhelm 17.

Claremont also had a 14.9 (93) to 6.10 (46) Reserves win against South Fremantle.

Steven Miller kicked four goals for the Tigers, Dylan Mulligan three, Rhori Williams-Jolley two and Felix Rogers two while Sam Alvarez picked up 27 touches, Finn Moloney 27, Morgan Davies 26 and Max Mumme 20.

Oscar Armstrong kicked two goals for South Fremantle as did Ed Graham with Seth Connor picking up 25 possessions, Aaron Drage 24, Roan O'Hehir 22 and Mitch Sinnott 19 while Solomon James had 19 touches and 35 hit outs in the ruck.

Then in the Colts, Swan Districts had an impressive 15.9 (99) to 7.11 (53) win against East Perth.

Lewis Zolnier-Owens kicked four goal for Swans, Judd Cheshire three, Colby McDonald three and Harry Creighton two. Chayse Martinson racked up 26 possessions, Creighton 24, Otis Harvey 19, Tom Cathcart 19 and Owen Carroll 17 to go with 34 hit outs in the ruck.

Tyrone Virgo and Darcy Craven kicked two goals apiece for East Perth with Mitch Miller gathering 30 touches, Tyler Lindberg 23, raven 21 and Bailey Harbour 20.

Subiaco beat Peel Thunder 9.19 (73) to 6.10 (46) at Leederville Oval with Koopa Walsh kicking four goals and Ben Steinmann two. Tyler Senge also amassed 28 disposals, Oscar Dees 27, Lachlan O'Keefe 22 and Charlie Burke 20.

Kaed Collard kicked two goals for Peel with Joel Rush finishing with 19 possessions, Deian Roberts 18 and Darcy Clarke 16.

East Fremantle scored the 12.11 (83) to 6.9 (45) victory against West Perth at Joondalup with Jack Cocking kicking four goals, Darcy Wills three and Taj Forrest two. Zac Petersen also had 22 touches, Declan Pauline 21, Mitch Zadow 21 and Ashton Warner 20.

Eli Alexander, Camden Pires and Kayde Sherwood all kicked two goals each for West Perth with Matt Galjaardt collecting 27 touches, Callum Smith 27, Tjad Gianoncelli 18 and Camden Pires 18.

Then it was Claremont beating South Fremantle 13.14 (92) to 6.7 (43) at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

Hamish Davis, Harry Cole, Riley Disisto and Ryley Valli all kicked two goals each for Claremont while Bailey Banfield gathered 24 possessions, Valli 21, Bailey van der Struyf 21, Sullivan Moody 20 and Jaxon Bizzaca 20.

Callum Copeland finished with 21 possessions for the Bulldogs, Jacob Whan 20, Jordan Douglas 17 and Josh Taylor-Thorpe 16 while Jackson Broadbent made his return in the colts and had 18 touches, 20 hit outs, five marks and a goal.

 

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – NAIDOC ROUND

SUBIACO 6.8 (44) lost to PEEL THUNDER 8.10 (58)

Peel Thunder has made a habit of strong finishes this season and that continued on Saturday as they kicked the last two goals to beat Subiaco by 14 points at Leederville Oval.

The two teams went to battle over third position on the WAFL ladder and produced quite the hard fought affair where both had their moments on top.

The Lions did lead by eight points at quarter-time and 11 at half-time but the Thunder had turned the tide to be up by six at three quarter-time.

However, Subiaco was back on top with back-to-back goals in the fourth quarter before Peel answered with the last two of the contest to win 8.10 (58) to 6.8 (44).

Sebit Kuek had a fascinating battle with Subiaco's Galen Savigni throughout the afternoon and kicked two goals for Peel from eight kicks seven marks.

Ethan Stanley was the other multiple goalscorer for the Thunder on the day with two to go with 18 possessions.

Peel captain Ben Hancock was terrific again as he approaches his 150-game milestone with 27 possessions, nine marks and seven tackles.

Corey Wagner also picked up 24 touches for the Thunder, Nathan Wilson 21, Blair Bell 20, Sam Sturt 18, Nathan O'Driscoll 18 and Haydn Matthews 18.

Ben Golding was Subiaco's lone multiple goalscorer with Peel's back-line doing well to hold the dangerous Jack Mayo, Ryan Borchet and Ben Sokol to one goal apiece with Joel Hamling, Jacob Blight and Hugh Davies impressive in their roles.

Subiaco captain Leigh Kitchin is working back to strong form with 26 possessions while Taj Schofield picked up 25 touches, Stefan Giro 20, Liam Hickmott 19, Drew Rohde 19, Wil Hickmott 17 and Jaxon McGowan 17 along with doing a strong defensive job on Travis Colyer.

The two form teams were battling over a top three position when they locked horns at Leederville Oval on Saturday, and it was Peel who got the first goal of the contest after 14 minutes thanks to Sebit Kuek.

Subiaco was able to hit back, though, with goals to Jack Mayo and Ben Golding to see the Lions out to an eight-point advantage by quarter-time.

Peel again started well in the second quarter with an early goal to Nathan O'Driscoll, but the trend continued with the Lions answering with the last two goals of the half from Ben Sokol and Golding.

That saw Subiaco lead by 11 points at the main break before once again, Peel kicked the first goal of the third quarter. This one came from ruckman Liam Reidy who got forward to find some space from Zac Clarke and then produced a nice finish from 50.

This time the Thunder were able to build some momentum with Kuek and Ethan Stanley adding goals to give them a six-point lead by three quarter-time.

Peel also kicked the first goal of the last quarter thanks to Blair Bell but Subiaco wasn't done with yet. Quick goals to Clarke and Ryan Borchet saw the Lions regain the lead at the 17-minute mark.

The pressure was back on Peel to respond and they did exactly that with the last two goals of the game from Stanley and Bailey Banfield to claim the 14-point win and sit in third spot at the end of Round 13.

SWAN DISTRICTS 4.8 (32) lost to EAST PERTH 11.14 (80)

East Perth dealt a cruel blow to Swan Districts' finals hopes and enhanced its own quest to unseat Claremont in top spot with the commanding 48-point victory at Steel Blue Oval.

It was a dominant performance by East Perth virtually from the outset with only some inaccurate kicking stopping the Royals opening up a match-winning advantage in the first half.

East Perth did hold Swans to just one goal in the first half but only kicked three themselves to go with 10 behinds. However, the Royals went on to kick eight goals to three after half-time.

That set up the eventual 11.14 (80) to 4.8 (32) victory for the Royals to set up a battle over top spot this coming Sunday at Leederville Oval with Claremont.

Tom Medhat is responding well to his recall after spending some time in the reserves giving East Perth a strong forward target by kicking three goals from 10 kicks and nine marks. Mitch Schofield also kicked two goals.

It was Hamish Brayshaw who delivered a best on ground performance for the Royals as he finished up with 34 possessions, 12 marks and three goals.

He had plenty of help, though, with Angus Scott racking up another 36 touches, Angus Schumacher 32, Michael Randall 19, Shayne Hille 18, Alex Pearce 18, Mitch Crowden 16, Nick Robertson 16 and Schofield 16.

East Perth's key defensive pair Harrison Macreadie and Corey Watts did well limiting Swans pair Tom Edwards and Chris Jones to just one goal as well.

Swans' four goals for the day were kicked by Jesse Palmer, Chris Jones, Jackson McLachlan and Jiah Reidy.

Despite the disappointing final scoreline, there were some impressive performers for Swan Districts led by vice-captain and reigning Swan Medallist Jesse Turner who had 44 possessions.

Aidan Clarke also racked up another 31 disposals, McLachlan 27, Jarvis Pina 24, Tobe Watson 18, Josh Cipro 17 and Nathan Blakely 17 to go with 25 hit outs while Jehb O'Donohue did another good job running with Mitch Crowden to keep him to the 16 disposals.

Both teams were fresh off the bye and coming off good wins before the break, but it was East Perth who dominated from the outset. The Royals just couldn’t put the score on the board with their first five scores all being behinds in the first 12 minutes.

Eventually East Perth did kick the lone goal for either team in the opening term and that was courtesy of Hamish Brayshaw.

That saw East Perth lead by 10 points at quarter-time despite just the one goal and the Royals extended that lead with an early goal in the second quarter from Tom Medhat.

Jiah Reidy responded soon after to put Swan Districts on the board but the home team couldn’t build any momentum and the Royals kicked the last goal of the half from Mitch Schofield to go into half-time on top by 20 points.

Brayshaw then continued his huge afternoon by kicking the first two goals himself to start the second half to extend the East Perth lead to 32 points before Swans did get one back from co-captain Chris Jones.

There wouldn’t be another goal from either team the rest of the quarter with the Royals remaining in control by 23 points.

The two teams might have combined for only seven goals in the opening three quarters, but things really opened up in the last term with East Perth ending up running away with things.

East Perth ended up piling on six goals to just two from Swan Districts in the final quarter to see the Royals winning by 48 points to make it six wins in-a-row.

WEST PERTH 7.8 (50) lost to EAST FREMANTLE 12.19 (81)

East Fremantle dealt West Perth's premiership defence another cruel blow in another impressive performance of their own to win by 31 points at Pentanet Stadium on Saturday.

East Fremantle continued its impressive form with another dominant performance against the reigning premiers at Joondalup with the Sharks in control after quarter-time with 10 goals to four to end up winning 12.19 (81) to 7.8 (50).

Jonathon Marsh is building up to some of his most imposing form now for East Fremantle and kicked another three goals from 25 possessions and 14 marks while Dillon O'Reilly kicked another two goals.

Cam Eardley was prolific off half-back for East Fremantle once more with 32 touches and a goal and Kyle Baskerville was too at times along with time in the midfield on his way to 29 possessions and eight tackles.

Milan Murdock didn’t let his new hair colour stop him being back to his ball winning best with 30 possessions and seven tackles with Harry Marsh also having 27 touches, Jackson McDonald 26, Reuben McGuire 21, Fraser Turner 20, Jack Cleaver 18 and Cody Leggett 18 despite just two behinds.

Hugh Dixon did well back in the ruck for the Sharks with 18 possessions, 30 hit outs and seven tackles.

West Perth didn't have a multiple goalkicker on the day with Matthew Jupp doing well limiting Tyler Keitel to one goal and eight kicks while fellow key forward Zarne Robis had three kicks and no score largely opposed to Reuben McGuire while Keegan Knott kicked just one goal from four kicks.

West Perth small defender Ben Johnson did well to finish with 26 possessions while Shane Nelson gathered another 25 disposals, Luke Meadows 19, Nathan Murray 17 and Noah Pegoraro 17.

West Perth made the perfect start in the must-win game for the reigning premiers to stay in touch of a finals berth with Tyler Keitel and Kane Bevan giving the home team the first two goals of the contest.

The Sharks soon responded beginning with Jonathon Marsh's first of the afternoon. Dillon O'Reilly soon added another but West Perth's solid opening quarter continued when debutant Griffith Julian kicked his first goal to ensure the Falcons led by seven points at quarter-time.

Ben McGuire then gave East Fremantle the first goal of the second term inside the first minute and Harry Marsh kicked another soon after a clever set up pass from his brother.

The Falcons did hit back with a terrific running effort from Joe Hinder but East Fremantle was starting to work its way on top and led by seven points at half-time thanks to a second goal from O'Reilly just before the siren.

The game was still well and truly up for grabs at the start of the second half, though, and the same was the case at three quarter-time with the Sharks kicking one goal only from seven scores in the third term.

That saw West Perth clinging to staying in touch by 13 points at the last change but it was all East Fremantle in the final term with the Sharks piling on five goals to just one from the Falcons to end up winning by 41 points away from home. 

PERTH 15.8 (98) drew with WEST COAST EAGLES 15.8 (98)

They might be the bottom two teams in the WAFL but you can't accuse Perth and the West Coast Eagles for not putting on a show in the most dramatic of draws at Mineral Resources Park.

Despite Perth leading by 14 points at quarter-time, 32 at half-time and five at three quarter-time, it was West Coast who appeared to have the game won thanks to late goals from Jed Kemp and Tyrell Dewar.

The Eagles were leading when the siren sounded but the ball was in the hands of Perth's Kristian Cary. However, his shot fell short and went through for a behind off the hands of the pack on the goal line with both teams finishing on 15.8 (98).

Perth captain Michael Sinclair is settling in nicely to his new role as a forward late in his career with three goals from 15 touches for the day.

Kristian Cary also kicked three goals for the day despite not quite being able to kick the game winner with Corey Byrne, Jye Clark and Baxter Philip all kicking two apiece.

Jack Cooley has been a tremendous addition to the Perth midfield this season and he amassed 34 possessions and seven tackles. The same can be said for Charlie Thompson who finished with 28 touches and seven tackles.

Byrne also had 28 touches to go with his two goals while down back Jack Avery had another 30 disposals and 10 marks and up forward Sam Stubbs had 25 possessions and a goal.

Brodie Gray also had 21 touches and 16 tackles with Jye Clark collecting 20 disposals and Ajang Ajang 12 to go with 36 hit outs and five tackles in the ruck.

Zane Sumich has spent most of his WAFL career to date as a defender both with South Fremantle and West Coast, but he went forward with good effect to kick three goals from four kicks.

Jed Kemp and Jack Eastough also kicked two goals each for the Eagles with another eight players kicking a goal apiece.

Josh Browne has been West Coast's best ball winner through some huge losses but he had another 28 possessions, seven tackles and a goal in a stronger all-round team performance on Saturday.

Jackson Nelson also had 26 touches, Kemp 24, Darby McCarthy 23 (10 tackles), Harry Creasey 19, Cooper Nitschke 19, Ethan Hansen 19 and Andries Mercer 19.

West Coast did start the game well with the first goal of the contest thanks to Josh Burke before Perth answered soon after through emerging youngster Baxter Philip.

Jack Evans then added another for the Demons and so did Kristian Cary, and then Corey Byrne stretched the Perth lead to 20 points before the Eagles got one back just before quarter-time from Jed Kemp.

There were 11 goals kicked between the two teams in the second quarter with Perth threatening to open up a match-winning lead when up by 38 points when Philip added another goal.

However, the Eagles were clinging to staying in touch including kicking a goal after the siren through Darby McCarthy.

The Perth lead was back to 38 points to start the second half thanks to a goal to Sinclair but the Eagles were about to produce their best quarter of the season.

It started with a goal to Zane Sumich and by the time he kicked two more for the quarter to make the most of his rare foray forward, West Coast had kicked seven goals in the third term to only be trailing the Demons by five points at the last change.

That all set up a big finish with both teams desperate for the win. Sinclair pushed Perth's lead back to 12 points to start the last quarter but the Eagles weren’t going away and suddenly the next two goals to Kemp and Tyrell Dewar and West Coast was in front.

It was a brilliant finish from the pocket from Dewar to give the Eagles the lead at the 17-minute mark but the result wasn’t done yet. Just before the siren sounded, Cary took the mark inside-50 on the half-forward flank for the Demons.

The siren went and the game rested on his shoulders. He didn’t make great contact and his shot didn’t make the distance, but the huge pack on the line contested the ball and it went off hands for the rushed behind and neither team got what they wanted with the game ending in a draw.

SOUTH FREMANTLE 8.8 (56) lost to CLAREMONT 9.6 (60)

Claremont pulled off another miracle escape with a final minute goal from Bailey Rogers to come from behind against South Fremantle to win by four points at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

South Fremantle played host to Claremont for the now annual NAIDOC Week fixture between the two clubs for the Jimmy Melbourne Cup dating back to 2007, and the Bulldogs were on top for most of the afternoon.

South Fremantle led by eight points at quarter-time, 10 at half-time and 10 at three quarter-time before that lead got out to 16 with the first goal of the last term.

However, Claremont fired back which has become the trademark of the Tigers this season and after Jimmy Miller appeared to be the hero for the Bulldogs with his fourth goal, there was time for Rogers to kick the winner as the Tigers prevailed 9.6 (60) to 8.8 (56).

Max Minear was able to kick two goals for the day for Claremont from five kicks despite the close checking of South Fremantle's 100-game premiership defender Noah Strom. Tyron Smallwood also kicked two goals for the Tigers.

Ben Edwards made a strong return to the Claremont midfield and showed how much he's been missed by finishing with 29 possessions and five tackles.

Jye Bolton compiled another 27 disposals for the Tigers with Bailey Rogers finishing with 24 to go with kicking the game's winning goal. 

Declan Mountford finished with 24 disposals as well with Callan England gathering 22, Lachlan Martinis 20, Anthony Davis 19 and Ben Elliott 18 while Oliver Eastland did well in the ruck once more with 21 possessions, 40 hit outs, six marks and five tackles.

In celebration of NAIDOC Week, Jimmy Miller proved to be the best forward in the game and kicked four goals for South Fremantle with one in each of the quarters to go with 16 touches, seven marks, five tackles and three inside-50 entries.

Chase Bourne also chipped in with two goals as a small forward for the Bulldogs.

Jake Florenca delivered a tremendous performance in the midfield for South Fremantle finishing with 29 possessions and 14 tackles while Caleb Stephens played the best game of his fledgling career. Spending more time in the midfield, he ended up with 26 touches and four tackles.

Tom Blechynden also collected another 24 disposals for South Fremantle, Glenn Byron 18, Kyle Russell 16 and Toby McQuilkin 16.

The two key forwards of either team kicked an early goal with Jimmy Miller getting on the board for South Fremantle and Max Minear for Claremont. Brandon Donaldson then added another for the Bulldogs to see the home team lead by eight points by quarter-time.

Claremont kicked the first goal of the second term courtesy of Alex Manuel but the Bulldogs answered thanks to Jacob Dragovich. Zac Mainwaring kept the Tigers close but South Fremantle closed the half with a second goal to Jimmy Miller to remain leading by 10 at the main break.

The goal for goal trend continued in the third quarter with an early Claremont goal to Tyron Smallwood responded to by Chase Bourne. 

Ben Elliott then brought the Tigers back within five points before Miller's third goal for South Fremantle ensured the home side were still up by 11 points at three quarter-time.

The South Fremantle lead was then 16 points to start the final term with a second goal to Bourne and they were in prime position to knock off the league-leaders.

However, Claremont has produced some impressive fight backs this season and couldn’t be ruled out, and the Tigers were right back in the contest with goals to Anthony Treacy and Minear. Then at the 23-minute mark, Smallwood marked and kicked truly to put the visitors in front.

That was only the start of the drama with Miller's big day for NAIDOC Week continuing up the other end. His big frame didn’t give his defender Jack Maibaum a chance to get around and he grabbed the mark, and went back to continue his knack for kicking clutch goals.

South Fremantle was back in front by two points at the 26-minute mark, but Claremont found a way to escape once more. Sandover Medallist Bailey Rogers marked and showed nerves of steel to back to slot it, and give the Tigers the four-point win to stay clear in top spot.