IN the last round of the Western Australian Women’s Football League (WAWFL), controversy ensued as the Peel Thunderbirds lost top spot on the ladder after a loss against the third-placed Swan Districts. The Sharks’ 129-point thrashing of South Fremantle meant that they were able to swoop right in and snatch top spot at the last minute.

2018 League

SUBIACO 11.16 (82)
PERTH ANGELS 0.2 (2)

GOALS:

Subiaco: M. Dowrick 4, S. Lewis 2, A. Renshaw, H. Miller, K. Rogers, T. Lake, T. Haynes.
Perth Angels: Nil.

It was a one-way street in this game, as the fourth-placed Subiaco took care of the seventh-placed Perth Angels. AFL Women’s Academy member, McKenzie Dowrick starred in this match, kicking four goals for the Titans on Saturday. She was complemented by two majors from Sara Lewis, which took her goal kicking tally to 17 goals from 16 games in what has been a consistent year from her. Fremantle AFLW players, Hayley Miller and Tiah Haynes also got on the board with singles. The win gave the Titans a percentage boost, jumping from 139.69 in Round 15 to 154.75 at the end of Round 16.

CLAREMONT 7.8 (50)
WEST PERTH 3.5 (23)

GOALS:

Claremont: L. Kenyon 2, C. Lewis, A. Hayward, I. Zadnik, C. Colegate, P. Laurie
West Perth: C. Metcalf 2, L. Pugh

In a fifth versus sixth clash, sixth was able to get over the line as Claremont convincingly defeated West Perth by 27 points. Lindsey Alana Kenyon booted two goals on the day, while Caitlin Lewis, Angel Hayward, Isabella Zadnik, Chloe Colegate and Parris Laurie all kicked singles. Western Australia Under-18 representatives, Matilda Sergeant and Sarah Garstone also featured in the win. They came up against fellow state representative, Jacinta Valentini, who was on the loser’s side. Chloe Metcalf was the shining light up forward for West Perth with two goals while Laura Pugh contributed with one. Metcalf’s two goals meant she finished third in the goal kicking tally for the home and away season and led the way in terms of West Perth players. She ended up kicking 26 goals from 14 games.

SOUTH FREMANTLE 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 (1)
EAST FREMANTLE 6.5 | 8.8 | 15.9 | 20.10 (130)

GOALS:

South Fremantle: Nil
East Fremantle: B. Smith 5, K. Tinson 4, S. Sparke 4, M. Caulfield 3, A. Atkins 2, R. Roux, T. Doumanis

East Fremantle ended its season on a massive high, defeating cellar-dwellers, South Fremantle by 129 points. Everything seemed to go right for the Sharks, as the top-of-the-table Peel Thunderbirds suffered a shock loss against Swan Districts while they piled on 130 points to give themselves a huge win and percentage boost to take top spot ahead of finals. Former Fremantle AFLW player and now Western Bulldogs player, Belinda Smith starred inside 50, kicking five goals on the day. She finished the season leading the goal kicking for the Sharks after booting through 25 goals in 15 games this season. Against South Fremantle, she was complemented inside 50 by fellow AFLW players, Melissa Caulfield (three goals) and Ashlee Atkins (two goals). Western Australia Under-18 representative, Roxanne Roux also pitched in with a major.

SWAN DISTRICTS 2.3 | 4.3 | 5.3 | 8.4 (52)
PEEL THUNDERBIRDS 3.1 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 (27)

GOALS:

Swan Districts: G. Houghton 3, E. McGuire 2, R. Williams , A. Sharp, E. Bonser
Peel Thunderbirds: K. Phillips 2, K. Bartlett 2

This was the biggest upset of the round as ladder-leaders, Peel Thunderbirds were defeated by third-placed Swan Districts, who played magnificently. The Swans were behind at quarter time but regained the lead by half-time, thanks to a two goals to one quarter. After that, they did not look back and put the foot down in the last term especially, kicking three goals and keeping the Thunderbirds scoreless to record a memorable 25-point win. Fremantle AFLW duo, Gemma Houghton and Emily McGuire did all the damage up forward, combining for five goals between them. Dockers teammate, Ashley Sharp also contributed to the scoring with one major. There was also no shortage of Western Australian Under 18 stars with Rikkiesha Carling, Mikayla Bowen, Taylor Pescud and Emma O’Driscoll all featuring in the win. They came up against fellow state representative, Kate Bartlett, who kicked two of her side’s four goals on the day. WAWFL leading goal kicker, Kira Phillips kicked the other two majors, bringing her season tally to a remarkable 78 goals from 16 games. Western Australia Under 18s captain, Sabreena Duffy and ruck, Sonia Dorizzi also featured in the loss.

2018 Reserves

Claremont’s 129-point thrashing of West Perth was headlined by a remarkable performance up forward from Amy Smeding. Smeding kicked 14 of her team’s 20 goals and ended up finishing second on the goal kicking tally for the season with 39 goals from 10 games. She finished just one goal short of leader, Narelle McIntyre with 40 goals from 13 games. At Fremantle Community Bank Oval, East Fremantle was able to get the job done over South Fremantle by 63 points. Kymberley Lavell and Katelyn Catalano each kicked three majors for the Sharks. In a close encounter, Subiaco just got over the line against the Perth Angels, winning by 15 points. Kaley Cornell and Vanessa Letts each kicked two goals for the Titans. In the final game of the round, Swan Districts recorded a comfortable win over East Perth. Shannon Matthews kicked two majors while Emily Stott, Tayah Reed, Renee Holwill, Elizabeth Tuohy and Mackenzie Huggins all contributed with singles.

2018 Rogers Cup

In the first match of the round, Claremont got a convincing victory over West Perth, winning by 73 points. An accurate 12.4 meant that the Tigers were hard to tame at Claremont Oval. At Fremantle Oval, second and third went head-to-head, and it was the third-placed East Fremantle who came out on top, defeating South Fremantle by a goal. Jenna Bantick kicked a major in the loss, but equaled the leading goal kicker with that major, taking her home and away tally to 24 goals from 14 games. East Fremantle’s Gabriella Radojkovich was the only multiple goal kicker for the game in a tight battle. Over at Grenville Reserve, accurate kicking kept the Perth Angels in the hunt against the eighth-placed Subiaco, kicking six straight goals for the match. However, the cellar-dwellers went down by 22 points in the end. Shakira and Madelyn Kickett each kicked two majors for the Angels. In Swan Districts’ match-up against East Perth, Western Australia Under-18 representative, Mikayla Hyde got on the board with a major in her side’s 29-point win. She was complemented by two goals from equal leading goal kicker, Aimee Hiscock. Hyde came up against fellow state representative, Tanisha Anderson, who continued her goal kicking streak with a major for East Perth in the loss. Anderson finished the season with 22 goals from 10 games.