WAFL Round 20 WrapSunday, August 27, 2023 - 6:55 PM - by Chris Pike

A SIXTH straight win wasn’t enough for West Perth to make finals this WAFL season to defend its premiership but the derby victory did send East Perth down to fourth position with the last round victories also for Peel Thunder and Claremont.

It was always set to be a fascinating last round of the 2023 WAFL season with top spot going on the line between East Fremantle and Subiaco, and then Peel Thunder, Claremont and West Perth left fighting it out over the final two positions inside the top five.

In the end, the Sharks finished brilliantly to make it nine straight wins to secure a first minor premiership since 1998 while the size of the Falcons' win over the Royals sent their rivals down to fourth spot denying them a double chance even if the reigning premiers' season is over.

Then there was the Thunder winning to secure that finals double chance in the 150th game of captain Ben Hancock while the Tigers also locked in their finals place as Jye Bolton earned his life membership in game 150.

The last round began on Saturday morning with the only game that had no finals implications and South Fremantle finished its season keeping the West Coast Eagles winless in 2023 with the 24.5 (149) to 9.6 (60) victory at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

Next up was Peel Thunder not only guaranteeing their finals place for a second straight season but also securing a double chance by defeating Swan Districts 12.11 (83) to 10.13 (73) at Steel Blue Oval.

Things then really got interesting from there and Claremont locked away a finals position to end the season of West Perth in the process by defeating Perth 13.12 (90) to 6.5 (41) at Revo Fitness Stadium.

It was then a typical dramatic derby between the old foes at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium and despite not being able to play finals, West Perth did finish the season with a sixth consecutive win prevailing 15.10 (100) to 13.7 (85) to send the Royals down to fourth place in the process.

Then there was the minor premiership going on the line between Subiaco and East Fremantle at Leederville Oval, and the Sharks dominated the further the game went to beat the Lions 15.19 (109) to 9.5 (59).

As a result, East Fremantle closes the season with a ninth consecutive victory to finish with a 14-4 record to earn the break in the first week of the finals with Subiaco staying second ahead of hosting Peel in a qualifying final.

COLTS

The final round of the Colts got underway on Saturday morning with Peel Thunder defeating Swan Districts 12.9 (81) to 6.18 (54) at Steel Blue Oval in what was the last game of the season for both teams with finals out of reach.

Kaed Collard and Bo Allan kicked two goals each for Peel with Kody Sharpes picking up 22 touches, Collard 19, Toby Jenkins 16, Joel Rush 15 and Ethan Logan 15.

Otis Harvey and Max York finished the season with two goals apiece for Swan Districts with Harvey also racking up 29 possessions, Riley Hardeman 27, Blake Kelly 22, Chayse Martinson 21 and Luke Cotellessa 18.

Claremont and Perth were battling over top spot with the winner at Revo Fitness Stadium to be guaranteed of the minor premiership, but the teams couldn’t be split and ended up playing out a draw with both finishing on 5.8 (38).

That means that courtesy of percentage it's the Demons who claim top spot and the break in the first week of the finals with the Tigers ending up second to host a qualifying final.

Ryan Lazar kicked two of the five goals for Claremont with Ashton Bryant collecting 25 touches, Joe Fonti 21, Austin Van Der Struyf 17 and Riley Disisto 16.

Coen Livingstone also kicked two of the five goals for Perth with Jake Watson finishing with 28 disposals, Cameron Hall 20, Oscar Hine-Baston 18 and Cooper Moore 17.

East Fremantle also won a thriller 9.7 (61) to 9.5 (59) against Subiaco at Leederville Oval which means the Sharks secure third position and a finals double chance with the Lions ending the season in fourth place.

Luke Urquhart kicked two goals in the win for East Fremantle while James Spadanuda gathered 26 touches, Darcy Wills 22 (20 hit outs) and Declan Pauline 17.

Lance Collard and Koopa Walsh kicked two goals apiece for Subiaco with Tyler Senge picking up 22 disposals, Ethan Barbieri 22, Judd Kelman 20 and Lachlan O'Keefe 17.

West Perth also defeated East Perth 11.7 (73) to 8.12 (60) at Pentanet Stadium with the Falcons having already been locked into fifth position and playing in an elimination final with the Royals out of the finals hunt.

Eli Alexander, Matt Galjaardt and Patrick Atkins kicked two goals apiece for West Perth with Odin Jones finishing with 24 possessions and 30 hit outs while Callum Smith had 21 touches, Jack Wooden 19 and Bailey Long 17.

Xavier Walsh kicked three goals for East Perth and Brody Delaney two with Mitch Miller racking up 22 possessions, Will Cassidy 21, Andre Gulluni 21, Tyler Lindberg 20 and Bailey Harbour 19.

RESERVES

The last round of the Reserves for the home and away season began at Steel Blue Oval with Swan Districts gearing up for the finals beating Peel Thunder 15.7 (97) to 8.5 (53). Swans were already locked into second position no matter the result with Peel's season now over.

Lewis Zolnier-Owens kicked five goals from six kicks in the win for Swan Districts with Ben Hewett and Jiah Reidy adding two goals apiece. Ayden Cartwright collected 27 possessions, Luke Kelly 24, Hewett 19, Ethyn Kane 15 and Adam Justice 15.

Corey Tregenza kicked four goals for Peel and Guy Barnes two while he had 28 possessions as well. Aidan Hare finished with 25 disposals, Cameron Gavin 19, Mitch Edwards 16, Taj Wyburd 16 and Tristan Bryce 16.

Claremont remained finishing in fourth position as a result of the 11.6 (72) to 9.7 (61) victory against Perth at Revo Fitness Stadium. The Tigers now enter the finals from fourth place with the Demons ending the season in last place with four wins.

Coen Jackman kicked four goals in the win for Claremont with Menno Inverarity finishing with 41 possessions, Joel Western 30, Finn Moloney 24, Anthony Treacy 23, Ben Clarke 22, Bailey Bennett 21, Max Mumme 21 and Felix Rogers 21.

Christian Martin kicked three goals for Perth and Joaquin Wheelock two while Brodie Gray amassed 36 possessions, Jack Bodle 19, Hamish McFarlane 19 and Oliver Zolnier-Owens 19.

Subiaco needed to beat East Fremantle to secure third place and a finals double chance, and the Lions defeated East Fremantle 15.13 (103) to 8.5 (53). Subiaco finishes third at 10-6 with East Fremantle to also play finals from fifth at 8-7 with a draw.

Keeshawn Cook, Filimone Muavou and Jacob Wagenknecht kicked three goals apiece in the win for Subiaco while Jaxon McGowan had 25 disposals, Noah Ash 18, Max Walters 17, Corey Robinson 16 and Lachlan Vanirsen 15. Jordan Lockyer also returned with 13 touches and six marks.

Milan Murdock returned for East Fremantle and delivered 26 possessions and two goals with Jacob Calabrese also kicking two majors. Enrique Aiken-Featherstone also had 19 disposals, Max Murphy 18 and Jack Walsh 18.

West Perth had already secured the minor premiership going into Saturday's derby but the Falcons still beat East Perth 11.10 (76) to 8.12 (60) to end up a game and percentage clear in first place while the Royals end up seventh at 5-11 out of the finals. 

Logan Foley, Jasper Scaife and Jack Demarte kicked two goals each for West Perth while Mark Hutchings collected 26 touches, Daniel Gathercole 22 and Corey Rundle 20.

Tom Graham kicked four goals for East Perth with Taylor North gathering 26 disposals, Adam Boules 22, Ben Ramshaw 20 and Tom Albertsen 19.

 

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 20

WEST COAST EAGLES 9.6 (60) lost to SOUTH FREMANTLE 24.5 (149)

South Fremantle finished its frustrating 2023 season on a high with its biggest win and kicking a highest score to beat the West Coast Eagles by 89 points at Mineral Resources Park.

Neither team might have been a chance to play finals for the clash that began on Saturday morning at Lathlain, but given the Eagles did score their last win against the Bulldogs at the same venue in Round 10 last year, they might have held out hope of avoiding a winless 2023.

It wasn't to be, though, with South Fremantle kicking its highest score of the season and recording its biggest victory to finish the season on a high despite the continued absence of a host of key players with the eventual 24.5 (149) to 9.6 (60) victory.

South Fremantle might have been struggling to score for a lot of the season and hadn’t kicked more than 13 goals in a game since the Round 1 win against the Eagles nor reached more than 100 points since and only had kicked 10 or more goals in five matches since.

However, to close the season on Saturday South Fremantle's firepower kicked into gear and ended up kicking 24 goals and the 149 points was the highest score of the campaign for the Bulldogs by 47 points more than the Round 1 score also against the Eagles.

Brandon Donaldson kicked four goals for South Fremantle to finish the season with 26 goals to his credit with Jimmy Miller also having a standout finish to 2023 with four goals from 10 kicks and six marks enjoying the chance to spend more time inside-50.

Jack Blechynden has continued to get better week after week over the past six matches of the season since settling in the league side as a target in attack, and he did well to kick three goals from eight kicks and six marks.

Ed Graham, Kaden Harbour, Noah Strom and Jacob Dragovich all kicked two goals apiece for South Fremantle as well with Dragovich adding 28 possessions, five inside 50s, eight marks and four tackles.

Strom went forward late in the game to kick two goals which were his only two goals of the season and just the second and third of his entire 106-game WAFL career. His only other goal came in Round 20, 2018 in what was the 17th game of his career at that point.

Tom Blechynden capped off the best season of his 67-game WAFL career as well for South Fremantle with 30 possessions while fourth gamer Aaron Drage was a standout once more with 26 touches and a goal.

Ashton Ferreira also had 25 possessions in the third game of his career with Zac Strom carrying the ruck with 23 touches, 28 hit outs, seven marks, seven inside-50 entries and a goal.

Toby McQuilkin ended up with 22 disposals for South Fremantle, Roan O'Hehir 21, Jarrod Salmeri 20, Aiden Hall 19 and Glenn Byron 19.

West Coast's season came to an end without a victory in the WAFL in 2023 but Andries Mercer finished Saturday's game kicking two goals from 11 kicks and four marks.

Greg Clark also gathered 29 possessions for the Eagles, Zane Trew 26, Isiah Winder 23, Xavier O'Neill 23, Ethan Hansen 20, Luke Foley 19, Jordyn Baker 19 and Callum Jamieson 19 along with 36 hit outs in the ruck.

It took three and-a-half minutes for the first goal of the game and that came courtesy of South Fremantle four-game forward Ed Graham. Jack Blechynden soon added another for a perfect start for the Bulldogs.

West Coast did get on the board at the 15-minute mark of the first quarter thanks to Josh Burke before Xavier O'Neill added another, but the Bulldogs were just warming up.

South Fremantle closed the opening term with a stunning burst of five goals in just eight minutes with Jimmy Miller getting the run started before Kaden Harbour, Jacob Dragovich, Harbour again and Brandon Donaldson joined in.

That saw the Bulldogs go into the quarter-time break leading by 29 points and that advantage grew to 42 points in the second quarter with goals to Dragovich and Zac Strom.

However, the Eagles had the better of the rest of the first half with goals to Zane Trew and then two to Andries Mercer with the home team able to cut the South Fremantle lead to 24 points by the half-time interval.

West Coast was then able to make it four goals in succession with the opening goal of the second half thanks to former Bulldog Jarrod Garlett, but the Bulldogs then took charge from there.

South Fremantle went on a dominant run the rest of the third quarter to kick nine unanswered goals including three of them to Miller, a couple to Donaldson and then with Blechynden, Graham, Aiden Hall and Chase Bourne joining in the fun.

Those nine goals saw South Fremantle take a 72-point lead into three quarter-time and the Bulldogs weren’t done with yet. They made it 10 goals in succession when Donaldson opened up the fourth quarter with his fourth goal of the game.

Eventually Noah Strom went forward late in the game to close the season with the last two goals for South Fremantle with the Bulldogs ending a season of frustration in 2023 with an 89-point victory.

SWAN DISTRICTS 10.13 (73) lost to PEEL THUNDER 12.11 (83)

Peel Thunder geared up for a second straight finals appearance locking away a double chance in the process by beating Swan Districts by 10 points at Steel Blue Oval.

It was the last game of the season for Swan Districts and coming off winning four of the past five matches, the black-and-whites had hopes of ending the season on a high and potentially even knocking Peel out of the finals.

Swans did start well with three goals to one in the first quarter, but Peel worked on top from there with six goals to two in the second term to set up the eventual 12.11 (83) to 10.13 (73) win.

The victory sees Peel finish the season in third position with a 12-6 record to earn a finals double chance while Swan Districts ends up with an 8-10 record.

Josh Corbett responded to coming back into the Peel line-up after playing the past four weeks at AFL level with Fremantle. He came back to the Thunder and kicked five goals from 14 kicks and 12 marks in a match-winning performance.

Ben Middleton also stood up impressively to kick three goals for Peel with Brody Wemm adding two.

Brady Grey spent a lot of the afternoon playing off half-back for the Thunder and set up play impressively with 25 possessions and nine marks.

Will Brodie also finished with 25 disposals, Nathan O'Driscoll 19 (10 marks), Nathan Wilson 19 and captain Ben Hancock 19 as he made history by becoming the first player in Thunder history to reach 150 games and earn automatic life membership.

Lachlan Riley and Josh Cipro kicked two goals apiece for Swan Districts with Riley also ending the afternoon with 19 possessions and six marks with Cipro also having 26 disposals, six marks, four inside-50 entries and three tackles.

Reigning Swans fairest and best winner, and vice-captain Jesse Turner finished another fine season with a terrific performance once more on the wing with 34 possessions, eight marks and five inside-50 entries.

Aidan Clarke also delivered a standout showing with 31 possessions, seven marks and six inside 50s with Jackson McLachlan racking up 29 touches, Jarvis Pina 23, Lawson Humphries 22, Jehb O'Donohue 21 and Tony Notte 17 in the 292nd game of his remarkable career.

While it was Peel who was the team needing the win to sew up a finals spot, it was Swan Districts who had the better of the start to the contest and after a string of three behinds, they finally kicked the first goal thanks to a crafty snap from Ryan Kemp.

Almost 10 minutes later and Swans had the game's first two goals when Josh Cipro kicked truly. Peel did get on the board thanks to Ben Middleton, but the black-and-whites finished the opening term with another goal to Lachlan Riley to be in control leading by 15 points at quarter-time.

The Thunder did make a better start to the second stanza with a couple of early goals to Josh Corbett and Brody Wemm. Then when Max Knobel kicked another, the Thunder were in the lead but Swan Districts answered with a quick couple of goals themselves to Jesse Glass-McCasker and Cipro.

It was Peel's turn to grab back the momentum, though, heading into half-time with late goals to Corbett (two) and Middleton which saw the Thunder leading by 11 points at the main break and on track to secure a finals berth.

Corbett then opened up the second half kicking his fourth goal of the game for Peel before Wemm added a second, and Middleton a third as the lead blew out to 28 points for the visitors.

Swans weren’t going away, though, and did close the third period with a couple of goals from Max Chipper and Sam Fisher to narrow the gap to 14 points by three quarter-time to remain within striking distance.

Early goals in the last quarter to Corbett and debutant Reece Torrent then put Peel back out to a 26-point lead. That was enough to secure the win despite Swans kicking the game's last three goals to Riley, Jackson McLachlan and Chris Jones to close the final margin to 10 points.

CLAREMONT 13.12 (90) defeated PERTH 6.5 (41)

Claremont built up some form and confidence to take into a sixth consecutive WAFL finals campaign during Saturday's 49-point victory against Perth at Revo Fitness Stadium.

Claremont had put itself in a precarious position with a four-game losing streak before beating Swan Districts last Saturday but still the Tigers needed to win on Saturday at home to Perth to guarantee a finals position.

Claremont had the game in control virtually from the outset with five goals to one in the opening quarter before going on to lead by 36 points at half-time and 42 at three quarter-time before winning 13.12 (90) to 6.5 (41).

Claremont finishes the season in fifth place as a result with a 12-6 record to be about to play finals for a sixth consecutive season with an elimination final to come against East Perth.

It was another tough season for Perth who finished with just two wins and a draw to only end up ahead of the winless West Coast Eagles on the ladder.

Bailey Rogers has worked his way back to his Sandover Medal winning form heading into the finals for Claremont and had 29 possessions, 11 inside-50 entries and four goals in the win on Saturday.

Kieran Gowdie also kicked three goals for the Tigers to ensure he'll keep his spot as a key forward target going into the finals.

Jye Bolton celebrated his 150th game with Claremont to earn life membership in style by spending most of the afternoon on the ball in the absence of captain Declan Mountford, and finishing with 38 possessions, nine inside 50s and six marks.

Teia Miles gathered another 28 touches off half-forward for the Tigers with Ben Edwards racking up 27 disposals, Anthony Davis 24, Jack Lewsey 22, Callan England 22, Sam Alvarez 20, Ben Elliott 19, Oliver Sheldrick 19 and ruckman Oliver Eastland 19 to go with 28 hit outs.

Sam Stubbs finished his season with three goals from 10 kicks and seven marks for Perth to end 2023 with 26 goals to his credit.

It wasn’t the end to the season Perth was hoping for with Austin Davis finishing with 32 possessions, Corey Byrne 29 in his 100th game, Jack Cooley 29, Liam Dellamarta 28, Charlie Thompson 27, Jacob Coniglio 24, Jye Clark 22 and Trent Manzone 20.

Perth had the chance to knock Claremont out of the finals with the upset win and the Demons made the perfect start with the first goal inside a minute from Sam Stubbs.

That would be as good as it would get for the Demons, though, and in fact it was their only score of the entire first quarter. A few minutes later and Claremont tall forward Kieran Gowdie took a strong mark in the goal square and banged home the goal.

Lachlan Martin, Tyron Smallwood and Bailey Rogers then also banged home goals to give Claremont four goals in the space of 10 minutes, and then Gowdie kicked another before quarter-time for the Tigers to be leading by 26 points to be well on the way to securing a finals spot.

Perth again started the second quarter with an early goal to Ajang Ajang, but that also would be the only score of the term for the Demons although it did take until the eight-minute mark for Claremont to get a goal through Rogers.

Declan Hardisty added another before half-time and Claremont was in control leading by 36 points at the main break.

Rogers kicked a third goal for Claremont to open the third quarter and then when Talon Delacey added another the Tigers advantage had grown to 49 points, and they had all but done enough to lock away their finals place.

Perth did well to respond to kick three goals inside eight minutes from Jye Clark, Harry Quartermaine and Stubbs after only kicking two goals in all of the opening half.

But Claremont again responded to close the third term with goals to Alex Manuel and Sam Alvarez to remain in control leading by 42 points.

Gowdie added his third goal to open the last quarter and from there Claremont cruised to the 49-point win to lock in a finals spot and celebrate the 150th game of Jye Bolton with the win.

SUBIACO 9.5 (59) lost to EAST FREMANTLE 15.19 (109)

East Fremantle delivered a stunning final quarter assault on Subiaco to win Saturday's top-of-the-table clash by 50 points at Leederville Oval to end up claiming the minor premiership with a two-game and percentage advantage.

Top spot went on the line at Leederville Oval on Saturday and for three quarters it was a fascinating contest. It was the Lions leading by 17 points at quarter-time and by seven at half-time with scores all level by three quarter-time.

However, the signs were there that East Fremantle was well on top but kicking 6.16 had denied the Sharks a lead. That changed in the last quarter as they kicked nine goals to one from Subiaco to end up winning emphatically 15.19 (109) to 9.5 (59).

As a result, East Fremantle finishes on top of the ladder with a 14-4 record having won nine straight matches to earn a break in the first week of the finals. Subiaco does remain second at 12-6 to host Peel Thunder now in a qualifying final.

East Fremantle's forward-line might have still been missing Jonathon Marsh and Dillon O'Reilly with Cody Leggett managing just six behinds from his 11 kicks and eight marks, but the Sharks still had no trouble kicking a winning score.

Dual premiership winner from Peel Thunder, Brayden Lawler kicked five goals for the first time in his 137-game WAFL career with Josh Schoenfeld showing how determined he is to hold his place in the team after a stint in the reserves.

Playing as a high half-forward, the former Gold Coast Suns AFL midfielder delivered 24 possessions and four goals with Hugh Dixon also ending up with three goals to go with 16 touches, 15 hit outs and six marks with Jarrad Jansen kicking two goals as well for East Fremantle.

Fraser Turner continued his first-rate form on the wing for East Fremantle with another 27 possessions and eight marks with Tom Joyce finishing with 24 disposals, Jackson McDonald 24, Kyle Baskerville 21 and Reuben McGuire 17 with 15 hit outs in the ruck opposed to Zac Clarke.

Ryan Borchet kicked three goals from six kicks for Subiaco while Jake South did his best to try and hold his spot for the finals with two goals from nine kicks. 

However, Ben Sokol had another tough afternoon against strong opposition with Matthew Jupp holding him to one behind and for him to be goalless for the second straight week to miss out on a Bernie Naylor Medal.

Liam Hickmott continued his strong form in the midfield for Subiaco with 28 possessions, eight tackles, eight inside 50s and a goal with Stefan Giro having another 26 touches and nine tackles.

Captain Leigh Kitchin also had 23 disposals, Angus Dewar 19, Wil Hickmott 17, Drew Rohde 16 and Zac Clarke 15 to go with 46 hit outs in the ruck.

Top spot went on the line at Leederville Oval and it was Subiaco who got the first goal on the board through Liam Hickmott before the first couple of misses for the afternoon from East Fremantle's Cody Leggett.

Subiaco then ensured it had the first three goals of the contest when Jordan Faraone and Ryan Borchet also got on the board before East Fremantle managed a lone goal for the first term thanks to Jarrad Jansen.

Subiaco, though, closed the opening term with another goal from Corey Hitchcock and the Lions were in control leading by 17 points at the first change.

Jake South had the chance to try and lock in a place in the finals as that tall forward and back up ruckman for the Lions, and kicked a goal to start the second term to stretch the Subiaco lead to 23 points.

East Fremantle needed to respond with top spot potentially slipping away and it was Josh Schoenfeld who managed the second goal of the day for the Sharks before they then scored five consecutive behinds.

However, the Sharks had worked their way on top in general play and it eventually translated to a couple of goals from Brayden Lawler. South, though, kicked a second for Subiaco and that ensured the home team still led by seven points at the long break.

It was Schoenfeld who kicked another for East Fremantle to start the second half to bring scores back level and would be goal for goal from there the rest of the third term and by three quarter-time, scores were all level despite the Sharks having 22 scoring shots to 12.

It was in the last quarter that East Fremantle got reward for its efforts further up the field and three goals inside the first five minutes with a third to Schoenfeld and then two quickly to Lawler saw it out to an 18-point lead.

East Fremantle kept on going with goals to Hugh Dixon, another to Schoenfeld, Ben McGuire and then a fifth to Lawler with the Sharks going on to score the 50-point triumph to end the season two games and percentage clear on top of the ladder.

WEST PERTH 15.10 (100) defeated EAST PERTH 13.7 (85)

West Perth shook off conceding eight goals in 15 minutes in the third quarter to beat East Perth by 15 points to end the season on a high even if the Falcons did miss out on finals in 2023 as reigning premiers.

West Perth came into the derby at Pentanet Stadium in its best form of the season having won the past five matches but not only did the Falcons need to win on Saturday, they also needed some help elsewhere.

However, the first job was for West Perth to beat East Perth and despite the Royals kicking the last eight goals of the third quarter to make it a fascinating contest after the Falcons led by 52 points, the reigning premiers responded.

West Perth kicked four goals to two in the last quarter to win 15.10 (100) to 13.7 (85) to finish the season with six straight wins. 

While it wasn’t enough still for the Falcons to sneak into the top five with Claremont and Peel Thunder also winning on Saturday, the result did see the Royals slip to fourth position and miss out on a finals double chance.

Sasha Kernutt was playing the 27th game of his career for West Perth and while he's a premiership player, he had the best performance of his career on Saturday. 

He had kicked five goals previously, but that was in the annihilation of West Coast earlier this season. He faced stiffer competition this time and kicked five goals from 11 kicks including four in the first half.

Nathan Murray and Tyler Keitel also kicked two goals apiece in the win for the Falcons with those for Keitel taking him to 57 on the season to secure a third Bernie Naylor Medal.

Shane Nelson finished off another brilliant season from the 226-game dual premiership winning veteran with 35 possessions and a goal while reigning Simpson Medallist Luke Meadows had 34 touches, six marks, five inside 50s and a goal.

Aidan Lynch also racked up 22 touches for West Perth along with 11 tackles while Mitch Peirce finished with 19 disposals, Tyson Moulton 18, Koopah Todd 18, Zac Guadagnin 16 and Noah Pegoraro 16.

Mitch Schofield provided a good forward target for East Perth and kicked four goals from 11 kicks and seven marks. Shayne Hille also kicked two goals from 18 touches and seven marks in the 114th game of his career.

Hamish Brayshaw capped his season with another brilliant performance that could well tip him over the edge on Sandover Medal night finishing with 37 possessions, 12 marks, 10 inside 50s and a goal for East Perth.

Stan Wright also racked up 34 disposals, Angus Schumacher 28, Angus Scott 28, Kade Dittmar 23 and Tom North 18.

Before West Perth could worry about if any other results went their way, they had to take care of business themselves and small forward Sasha Kernutt gave them the perfect start with a goal just over a minute into the last round derby.

Zach Raykos responded soon after for East Perth with a nice snap around his body but the Falcons were on a mission and opened up a two-goal advantage when Koopah Todd and Nathan Murray also kicked truly.

Hamish Brayshaw and Mitch Schofield kicked goals to keep East Perth close but two more in the opening term for West Perth from Kernutt ensured the Falcons went into quarter-time leading by 12 points.

Luke Meadows kicked another to start the second quarter for West Perth and then a fourth already to Kernutt had the Falcons in control leading by 25 points. 

Shane Nelson added another to push the lead out to 30 points, and the Falcons would hold the Royals goalless for the quarter to go into the half-time break in control leading by 33 points.

West Perth looked like the game was in the bag with goals to start the second half from Murray, Tyler Keitel and Darcy Dixon with the lead getting out to 52 points, but then East Perth found a remarkable patch of form to close the third quarter.

Nick Bonomelli got the run rolling for the Royals at the 16-minute mark which was then followed over the next 15 minutes with goals also to Tom Medhat, Shayne Hille, Christian Ameduri, Schofield, Hille again, Sam van Diemen and then Schofield.

Suddenly that had the Royals back within five points going into three quarter-time with all the momentum and with East Fremantle beating Subiaco, that could have had East Perth secure second position going into the finals.

However, it wasn’t to be and West Perth dominated the final quarter with four goals to two including a fifth of the day for Kernutt to secure the 15-point win and send the Royals down to a fourth position finish in the process even if they missed finals themselves.