Souths complete near-perfect season with epic two-point WAFL Grand Final winSunday, September 21, 2025 - 6:18 PM - by Jordan McArdle

South Fremantle capped off a near-perfect Sullivan Logistics WAFL campaign with an epic two-point Grand Final victory over East Perth at Optus Stadium on Sunday.

The Bulldogs, who only their only game of the season to wooden spooners West Coast back in Round 5, made it 15 wins in a row in a remarkable debut campaign under coach Craig White.

But South Fremantle’s 15th WAFL flag wasn’t all smooth sailing, with East Perth coming home strongly to give the champions a real scare in front of 23,752 fans.

From 22 points down at the 17-minute mark, the Royals kicked the final three goals of the match to cut the margin back to just two.

In the dying seconds, a holding-the-ball free-kick was given to Riley Saunders in the centre before the siren sounded.

Chase Bourne booted the ball in elation, with East Perth pleading in vain for a 50m penalty as Souths hung on for a stunning victory.

Returning South Fremantle big man Hamish Free, in his first season back after a stint with North Melbourne, won the Simpson Medal after a strong performance in the ruck.

Free booted two second-half goals to go with 14 disposals, 19 hit-outs and five clearances.

South Fremantle’s back six, led by captain Chad Pearson, were as well-drilled as ever, with East Perth struggling to convert their inside-50 opportunities into scores for most of the game.

Former Docker Ethan Hughes was also outstanding in defence and ex-Eagle Jamaine Jones provided his usual run and carry, while the usual suspects of Tom Blechynden, Isiah Winder, Jake Florenca and Matthew Parker were also prominent in the midfield.

Stan Wright and Jordyn Baker never stopped trying in the back half for East Perth, combining for 63 disposals, with co-captain Hamish Brayshaw doing everything he could on the way to 24 touches and two goals.

Boom recruit Trey Ruscoe opened up the scoring for Souths to continue his impressive campaign, but he was well held by Royals stopper Corey Watts for the rest of it.

Former West Coast speedster Coby Burgiel brought the game – and the Optus Stadium crowd – to life with a stunning goal from the boundary late in the opening term to cut East Perth’s deficit to two points at quarter-time.

The second quarter belonged to the minor premiers, booting the first three goals of the half – including one to Sandover medallist Haiden Schloithe who hinted this game could be the last of his decorated WAFL career after returning from cancer earlier in the season – to open up a 14-point half-time buffer.

South Fremantle’s lead continued to grow in the third quarter, despite the midfield battle being relatively even, with the margin up to 20 by three-quarter time.

East Perth flicked the switch in the last quarter to make a game of it, kicking back-to-back majors through ruckman Scott Jones and Mitch Schofield to cut the margin back to just nine points at the eight-minute mark.

Young gun Roan O’Hehir’s forward pressure was elite inside attacking 50 for Souths, and he got his reward with a final-quarter goal before East Perth made their charge with three goals in five minutes.

In the EGT WAFL Colts decider, West Coast father-son prospect Charlie Banfield led Claremont to their third consecutive flag against minor premiers South Fremantle.

Banfield, the son of Eagles great Drew, starred in the 55-point win with 28 possessions, five clearances and two goals on his way to winning a flag with his younger brother Harper.

Fellow AFL Draft prospect Cody Curtin, the younger brother of Adelaide Crow Dan, also impressed for the victors with six goals.

Earlier in the day, East Perth defeated the highly-fancied Claremont in the WAFL Reserves Grand Final by 24 points with exciting forward Tyler Lindberg winning the Merv McIntosh medal for his three-goal, 21-disposal performance.

SCOREBOARD

SOUTH FREMANTLE 1.2, 4.4, 6.6, 8.8 (56)

EAST PERTH 1.0, 2.2, 3.4, 8.6 (54)

Goals – SOUTH FREMANTLE: H Free 2, T Ruscoe, J Florenca, M Parker, Z Strom, H Schloithe, R O’Hehir. EAST PERTH: H Brayshaw 2, L Tedesco, C Burgiel, S Jones, M Schofield, S van Diemen, X Milner.

Best – SOUTH FREMANTLE: H Free, C Pearson, J Jones, J Florenca, E Hughes, R O’Hehir. EAST PERTH: S Wright, J Baker, H Brayshaw, T North, C Watts, Z Raykos.

Umpires: M Adams T McPhee L Fahey-Gilmour B Laycock.

Crowd: 23,752 at Optus Stadium.