WAFL Round 5 Wrap

West Perth’s remarkable winning run at Lathlain Park has continued, the Falcons winners by seven points over Perth in a pulsating contest as part of round five of the 2020 WAFL season on Saturday.

Other results saw South Fremantle make it five wins on the trot with a come from behind win over Swan Districts at Fremantle Oval, Subiaco steadied their premiership defence with a gritty win over Peel Thunder at Rushton Park while Claremont improved their record to 4-1 with a 34 point triumph over East Perth at Leederville Oval.

The Demons-Falcons match lived up to the hype that surrounded the fixture, with Perth heading in undefeated against second placed West Perth who had won three of their first four games.

Tyler Keitel marked his 100th game with the first goal inside 30 seconds, fellow forward Michael Lourey hitting the scoreboard minutes later to give the Falcons a fast start.

The Demons then slammed on the next five goals kicking with the aid of a strong north westerly breeze, former Tiger Jack Richardson with two first term majors.

Keitel then ripped the game apart in the second term, kicking four goals in 10 minutes as he completely dominated his direct opponent Clayton Giblett, giving him five majors in just over a quarter of footy.

His dominance saw the Falcons lead at half time with a seven goal to one quarter, before the Demons rose again in the third term through young gun Logan McDonald and Richardson, setting up a gripping final term.

Two goals to Brant College either side of three quarter time levelled the scores, before a costly free kick from Andrew Fisher allowed Aaron Black to dish off to Keitel for his sixth major, Dylan Yem giving his team some breathing space with a goal from a set shot.

McDonald’s late mark and goal for the Demons was in vain, extending West Perth’s winning streak at Perth’s home venue to 16 matches, 13.12 (90) to 12.11 (83).

Falcons skipper Aaron Black had 29 disposals, while Luke Meadows was his side’s most impactful midfielder with 27 disposals, Keitel with 6.2 in a powerful performance from the key forward in his milestone game.

Andrew Fisher had 22 disposals and 12 inside 50’s for Perth, Chris Masten and Matthew Taylor also with 22 disposals while Richardson and McDonald each kicked 3 goals.

South Fremantle had only kicked four goals in the first three quarters against Swan Districts, but powered home with a six goal to two final term to deny the Black Ducks their first win of 2020, keeping their undefeated record intact in the process with a 10.7 (67) to 7.5 (47) triumph.

Swans started impressively at the Port, kicking four goals to one in the first term as Leigh Kohlmann kicked two first quarter goals, George Hampson and Frank Anderson also hitting the scoreboard.

The Bulldogs looked sluggish after their demolition of Subiaco in round four, kicking the only two goals of the second stanza kicking with the aid of the breeze, still trailing at the half.

Swans maintained their lead in a dour third term that saw both teams only kick one goal each, but Souths had begun to wrestle back the momentum by the final break and made it count on the scoreboard, Mason Shaw (4 goals) and Sandover medallist Haiden Schloithe (27 disposals and 2 goals) standing tall when it mattered most.

Zach Strom (21 disposals and 14 hitouts) led the ruck with aplomb in the absence of usual lead ruckman Brock Higgins in what was a fascinating match up with Corey Gault and Nathan Blakely, while Chad Pearson (24 disposals) was again excellent in defence.

Jesse Turner worked hard in midfield with 29 disposals for Swans, Sam Fisher with 27 and George Hampson 22 while Kohlmann kicked 3 majors in a fine showing up forward.

Subiaco bounced back to a 2-2 win-loss record with a comfortable 37 point win in wet conditions over Peel Thunder at Rushton Park.

The Lions were wasteful in the wet early, kicking 1.8 to Peel’s 0.2 in the first term to waste their dominance in general play.

Subiaco were never really headed despite their inaccuracy, leading by 18 points at the half before getting reward on the scoreboard in the third, kicking four goals to one to push away from the bottom placed Thunder.

Nick Martin’s fine start to his league career continued, kicking 3.3 to be the dominant forward on the ground giving him nine goals in his first four games for Subi.

Skipper Leigh Kitchin revelled in the slippery conditions with 28 disposals, Lachlan Delahunty with 18 disposals and 39 hitouts as the former Frankston pair experienced some more recognisable weather conditions to their native state.

Ben Newton kicked two goals from 20 disposals, reigning Bernie Naylor Medallist Ben Sokol kept scoreless in a rare quiet game.

For Peel it was a tough day with just two goals in the first three quarters, three last quarter majors giving the home fans something to cheer about with Hayden Ballantyne (2 goals) the only multiple goal kicker.

Momentum swings were prevalent in the East Perth-Claremont clash at Leederville Oval, Claremont marking star utility Anton Hamp’s 150th game with an eventual 34 point win.

Only two goals were scored in the first stanza, Claremont leaving their kicking boots at home as they kicked 1.6 to the Royals 1.1.

East Perth then produced a sizzling second stanza, kicking eight goals to three to open up a 19 point lead at the main break.

Jonathan Freeman kicked two on his Royals debut, while Matt Young’s impressive form continued with two goals of his own.

Alec Waterman kicked his side’s first three goals to keep his side in the hunt, before the Tigers returned after half time a rejuvenated outfit in kicking five goals while keeping the home side scoreless, the game back on Claremont’s terms.

Hamp celebrated his life membership at the club with three second half goals, as Darren Harris’ men kept the Royals goalless after half time to run away with a 34 point win as the rain arrived in the final term to make East Perth’s task impossible.

Hamp hauled in 11 marks and kicked 3.2 to be the star of the show for the visitors, Bailey Rogers with 22 disposals and a goal as he continues to progress in his new midfield role, Callan England with 21 disposals and a goal of his own.

Rohan Kerr was the only Royal to register 20 disposals, Jackson Ramsay, Angus Schumacher and Kye Willcocks among their best players.

Round six of the WAFL competition is next Saturday, with Subiaco playing East Perth in a battle of the co-tenants at Leederville Oval, winless sides Swan Districts and Peel Thunder meeting at Bassendean Oval, Claremont hosting Perth at Claremont Oval and West Perth at home to East Fremantle at Arena Joondalup.

IMAGE: WAFL Twitter.