A big crowd turned out at East Fremantle Oval and they saw a classic WA Day derby. The home team jumped the Bulldogs and led by 32 points at quarter time. South Fremantle clawed their way back and actually hit the front mid way through the third quarter before the Sharks steadied to take a 16-point lead into the last quarter. The last quarter was a beauty with South dominating the inside 50s but East always looking likely to score when they went forward. A clever goal from Paul Mugambwa gave the Bulldogs the lead then a shot on the run from Matthew Boyle that would have put the Sharks in front hit the post. South were in attack when the siren rang and they deserved their gutsy victory. Captain Ryan Cook was superb in the midfield for South Fremantle and he also kicked three set-shot goals, Marlon Pickett’s run from defence was unrelenting and a major factor in the win, Cory Dell’Olio kicked four goals, Ashton Hams set up a lot of opportunities, Steven Verrier was a good defender and tall skinny ruckman Josh Branchi made a fine debut. Brad Dalzeill kicked four goals to be East Fremantle’s most effective player, Jamie McNamara was impressive in his 100th game, George Hampson kicked three goals, Robert Young was strong in the ruck and Rory O’Brien was again influential in the midfield. The away team has now won the past 10 Fremantle derbies.
South Fremantle 15.13 (103) East Fremantle 14.14 (98)
The Perth derby was a slaughter with East Perth returning to form led by ruckman Paul Johnson who gained a Sandilands-ilke 58 hit-outs and continually drove his team forward. Fellow big man Scott Lycett kicked four goals while Freddie Clutterbuck celebrated his 100th game with two goals in a strong performance. Patrick McGinnity, Craig Wulff and Stephen Payne enjoyed Johnson’s dominance. The tireless Matthew Guadagni was West Perth’s best player while Shane Nelson and Aaron Black did their bit.
East Perth 18.11 (119) West Perth 10.11 (71)
Swans had to work hard at home to hold off bottom team Perth on Saturday. The Demons kicked five goals to three in the last quarter to show that they could be nuisance value as the season goes on. Gritty midfielder Adam Faulkner was a strong player for the winners, Ryan Davis continued his Simpson Medal form, Nathan Blakely controlled the ruck and former Perth players Aaron Elari and Simon Donovan (three goals) did enough to annoy their old team. Aidan Tropiano and Liam McKenna were again impressive for the Demons. In fact Tropiano is having a Fyfe-like season despite his team sitting on the bottom of the ladder.
Swan Districts 13.7 (85) Perth 11.12 (78)
The Tigers are officially back in town. They have now won four in a row after losing their first five games of the year. On Saturday they thrashed Peel at the Showgrounds in a game that was all over at quarter time and must have been a big disappointment to the Docker-loaded Thunder. Youngsters Ryan Liam, Shane McAdam (three goals) and Francis Watson showed the way for the Tigers, Ryan Neates and Tom Ledger were again good and Jack Bradshaw kicked four goals. Lachie Weller, Ethan Hughes and Ed Langdon were Peel’s best players.
Claremont 17.16 (118) Peel Thunder 6.10 (46)
The ladder: Subiaco 28; West Perth 20; East Fremantle 20; Peel 20; South Fremantle 20; Swan Districts 16; East Perth 16; Claremont 16; Perth 4.
About Les Everett
A Footy Almanac veteran, Les Everett is the author of Gravel Rash: 100 Years of Goldfields Football and Fremantle Dockers: An Illustrated History. He is the footyalmanac.com WAFL correspondent and uses the money he makes from that role to pay for his expensive websites australianrules.com.au and talkingfrankie.com and fund the extravagant Vin Maskell at scoreboardpressure.com
Thanks again, Les. Amazing that there’s just one game separating second (5-4) on the ladder with second-last (4-5). Subiaco (7-1), two games clear on top, have played one less game than the other eight teams.