his weekend in the WAFL, finals kicked off with wins going to East Perth and Perth. The Royals will take on minor premiers South Fremantle for the first spot in the Grand Final this weekend, while Claremont will look to keep their finals campaign alive against Perth, who are fresh off a historical breakthrough win.
Here is all the action from week one of finals.
CLAREMONT 7.11 (53) def by. EAST PERTH 10.6 (66)
East Perth has breached Tigerland to claim a 13-point win over Claremont at Revo Fitness Stadium, putting them one step closer to premiership redemption.
Saturday’s win not only saw the Royals snap an eight-match run of losses at Claremont’s home ground, but also secured them a spot in next weekend’s semi-final against the minor premiers South Fremantle.
While East Perth will be fighting for a place in the Grand Final, Claremont will play the elimination final against Perth next weekend.
The contest was truly an arm-wrestle between both sides, with Claremont in touch with East Perth the entire game, but East Perth’s overall composure won them the match.
Last year’s runner-ups were undermanned, having lost crucial midfield cogs Tom North and Liam Tedesco to calf injuries, but a masterclass from captain Hamish Brayshaw helped his side over the line.
The Sandover medallist amassed 31 disposals, 9 marks and a goal to see his side over the line. At the same time, Zachary Raykos did a spectacular job shutting down Jye Bolton, accumulating 28 disposals and 11 tackles himself.
State captain Christian Ameduri (24 disposals, 2 goals) also played a crucial role at half forward, while Angus Scott (24 disposals, one goal) and Kye Willcocks (22 disposals, 9 tackles) both played well.
Claremont’s forward line was kept under lock and key by the East Perth defence, but Kieran Gowdie managed to break through and snag three goals, while Ben Elliot kicked two.
However, Tigers’ sharpshooter Jaiden Hunter will be unavailable until the grand final after sustaining a concussion during the late stages of the game.
Midfielders Callan England (25 disposals, 3 marks) and Bailey Rogers (22 disposals, 4 inside 50s) were Claremont’s two standouts, as usual.
And although they didn’t hit the scoreboard, Talon Delacey (19 disposals, 8 marks) and Alec Waterman (18 disposals, 5 inside 50s) both contributed well.
EAST FREMANTLE 13.11 (89) def by. PERTH 12.8 (80)
Perth has snagged its first finals win in nearly three decades to claim a 29-point victory against East Fremantle at The Good Grocer Park.
The Demons, who had not won a final since 1997, did it in style after producing a 50-point comeback to end the Sharks’ finals hopes, with most heavy lifting done during the third quarter.
A 21-point lead was shaved back through a blistering third-quarter display, where they kicked six goals to East Freo’s two to put them in front by the three-quarter time siren.
Perth kept its foot on the gas in the final quarter, piling on another four goals to keep its finals campaign alive for another week, with Claremont awaiting them at Revo Fitness Stadium.
Forward Aaron Clarke proved to be a handful for East Fremantle’s defence and booted three of his six goals during the defining third quarter. He and Lochlan Paton were electric up forward, combining for 10 goals.
Co-Captain Charlie Constable also had a major say in the result, finishing on 32 disposals, 8 inside 50s and 6 marks.
Other notable performances were given by Blake Schlensog (17 disposals, 2 goals), Corey Byrne (27 disposals, 8 tackles) and Austin Davis (24 disposals, 6 marks).
It wasn’t the day East Fremantle had planned, with their first finals appearance at the newly revamped Shark Park and stalwart Cam Eardley’s 200th game celebrations ruined.
However, East Fremantle’s star midfielders Tom Joyce (28 disposals, 4 tackles) and Milan Murdock (23 disposals, 6 tackles, one goal) played with plenty of intent, while Jed Hagan kicked a career-high five goals up forward.
Kyle Baskerville (22 disposals, 7 tackles) and Harry Marsh (21 disposals, 7 marks) were also solid.
IMAGE: Peter Keleman Photography