THE four might be settled but round 23 still threw up some interesting results. Of most interest was the nine-point win by Swan Districts over Claremont at Bassendean. Swans took control early and led by 40 points at three quarter time. The Tigers sent a message by kicking six goals to one in the last quarter. There was worrying news for the home team with their most important player Ashley Hansen hurting his hamstring and not making it through the game. Defenders Kyle Hams, Graham Jetta, Tallen Ames and Justin Simpson set the scene for Swans with Shaun Hilderbrandt and Marlon Motlop on top in the midfield and Wes Lammie again impressive in the ruck. Returning stars Luke Blackwell and Paul Medhurst (three goals) were good players for Claremont.
Swan Districts 14.8 (92) Claremont 12.11 (83).
East Fremantle secured a home first semi final at least by beating East Perth in a top encounter at Leederville Oval. Mark McGough was outstanding for the Sharks, defenders Steven Dodd, Andrew Stephen and Jayden Schofield were good players and Robert Young’s competitiveness in the ruck was important. Adam Prior kicked four goals and marked well for the Royals, Nick Kommer’s transformation from annoyance to quality midfielder has been incredible while Aaron Sweet ran the ball well.
East Fremantle 15.9 (99) East Perth 14.8 (92).
Coaches are funny. After Peel beat Subiaco on Saturday stand-in coach Mark Moody said he wasn’t surprised: “You could see for a while that we were close to having a win.” The Thunder had lost their previous two games by 99 and 81 points. Anyway the writing was on the wall and Peel kicked six goals to none in the first quarter and went on to win by 52 points. Brendon Jones was again excellent in the midfield for Thunder, Jesse Crichton kicked three goals and was outstanding in the first half, Brad Holmes kicked four goals and Eddie Dann had his best game of the season. Jack Anthony kicked four goals for the Lions and Aidan Parker again did all he could do.
Peel 20.15 (135) Subiaco 12.11 (83).
South Fremantle ended their season with a win and moved past Subiaco on the ladder after a thrilling victory over West Perth at Arena Joondalup. Ashton Hams was outstanding for the Bulldogs and Jarrad Winter kicked three goals. Defender Dan Hunt put in a good game in defence for the Falcons against his old team.
South Fremantle 15.5 (95) West Perth 13.8 (86).
It’s the final round this weekend and things could change. Swans will to go to the top spot if they beat Perth and Claremont lose to Subiaco while East Fremantle could go to second if they beat Peel and Swans lose to the Demons. Chances are things won’t change.
The ladder: Claremont 56; Swan Districts 56; East Fremantle 52; East Perth 46; West Perth 34; South Fremantle 28; Subiaco 28; Perth 24; Peel 20.
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. Co-founder with Vin Maskell of scoreboardpressure.com. Founder of australianrules.com.au and the Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/abandonedcricketpitches/
Must’ve been a hell of a crowd at Bassendean Oval on Saturday with Claremont visiting and the glorious weather. People were even starting to park on my street when I went out on Saturday afternoon. Must be that new Can Bar they have on the hill with the giant Swan. All looks very ‘Jonestowne’ to me.