WAFL – Round 21: Sharks slip into the five

WAFL round 21

It was a sad day at Lathlain Park on Saturday. During the first quarter, news came through that Perth Football Club president Vince Pendal had died in hospital. On the field, Perth was sloppy but spirited during the first half but fell away mid-way through the third quarter. Brett Peake (four goals) and George Hampson (two) used the ball brilliantly for the Sharks, Liam Anthony and Cam Eardley were strong in the midfield, James Bristow battled hard in the ruck and kicked three goals in the last quarter to finish with four. Defenders Matthew Jupp and Ryan Lester-Smith set things up nicely for the Sharks. Brett Wolfenden kicked two goals in a lively effort for Perth, young forward Cody Ninyette kicked two goals and looked dangerous and Julian Jacobs worked hard to link up in the midfield.

East Fremantle 17.12 (114) Perth 9.11 (65)

Subiaco secured top spot with a comfortable victory over co-tenant East Perth at Leederville Oval. It’s worth reflecting on what the Lions have been up to over the past few weeks. They conceded six goals to Royals and prior to that it was Swans (five), Sharks (nine), Perth (six, in a loss), Swans and Tigers (11) and Sharks (five). The point is they’re hard to score against. Livewire Liam Ryan kicked four goals, Kyal Horsley played on a wing and controlled the game, Jordan Lockyer was effective in defence along with Greg Broughton and Leigh Kitchen had another good game. Lewis Jetta had his best game for East Perth and Patrick McGinnity was solid.

Subiaco 9.14 (68) East Perth 6.10 (46)

Two factors define Claremont’s season – close losses and accurate goal kicking, On Saturday at Arena Joondalup they kicked 17.5 and lost by a point. The Tigers kicked seven goals to five in a thrilling last quarter but West Perth hung on to win. Max Duffy had his best game as a Falcon and finished with six goals, Rohan Kerr’s kicking was a game highlight and Jay Van Berlo, Aidan Lynch and Aaron Black also performed well. Jye Bolton was good again for Claremont, Ian Richardson, and Beau Maister each kicked three goals and youngster Matt Guelfi impressed.

West Perth 17.6 (108) Claremont 17.5 (107)

At Fremantle Oval, South Fremantle scored 4.8 to a goal in the second quarter to gain control over Swans and that was enough to hold sway over the plucky bottom team. Ben Saunders kicked four goals for the Bulldogs, Dylan Main was a strong inside midfielder, Mason Shaw again contributed strongly in attack and Ashton Hams was back to his best. Adam Faulkner kicked two goals in a hard working effort for Swans, Matt Riggio was good again and Rudy Riddoch did some exciting things.

South Fremantle 14.21 (105) Swan Districts 11.4 (70)

The ladder: Subiaco 60; South Fremantle 52; West Perth 48; Peel 40; East Fremantle 36; East Perth 36; Claremont 24; Perth 24; Swan Districts 8.

Next week: East Fremantle vs Claremont; East Perth vs South Fremantle; Peel vs Subiaco; Swan Districts vs Perth.

The battle for fifth spot between Peel, East Fremantle and East Perth is hot. The Sharks and Royals meet in the final round so one of them will only win once at best for the rest of the year. All three have tough games on Saturday – winning would be very useful. It’s also worth pointing out that Claremont has the third best percentage in the competition.