THE final round of the 2020 WAFL League season saw a host of great individual and team performances alike with Perth securing a drought-breaking finals appearance. The round also saw East Perth, West Perth and Swan Districts secure victories. Claremont was the club that had the bye this weekend. Read below to catch up on all the Round 9 results, and to see the best players.

EAST PERTH 15.11 (101) def. PEEL THUNDER 4.6 (30) East Perth ended its 2020 Optus WAFL League campaign with a bang, after thumping Peel by 71 points at Leederville Oval. Former Casey Demon Angus Scott starred for East Perth with 26 possessions, 12 marks, 4 tackles and 3 goals. Ex-AFL players Jackson Ramsay (35 possessions, five inside 50s, three marks, three tackles), Nicholas Robertson (25 possessions, seven marks, six tackles, one goal), Rohan Kerr (22 possessions), Nathan Blee (21 possessions, six marks), Patrick McGinnity (15 possessions, two goals), and Scott Jones (12 possessions, 35 hit-outs) were prominent for the Royals. Young guns Kye Willcocks (19 possessions, eight marks), Christian Amdeuri (15 possessions, eight tackles, one goal), and Matthew Young (12 possessions, five marks, one goal) also showed encouraging signs for the Royals. For Peel, talented youngsters Michael Randall (22 possessions, seven marks), Isiah Winder (15 possessions), Tyrone Thorne (13 possessions, eight tackles, one goal), and James Sturrock (12 possessions, four marks, four tackles) showed promise, somewhat a theme of the Thunder’s difficult season.

WEST PERTH 12.5 (77) def. SUBIACO 8.10 (58) West Perth ended the finals hopes and dynasty of reigning premier, Subiaco after beating the Lions by 19 points at Provident Financial Oval. In his 200^th Club game, Aaron Black was sensational for West Perth with 26 possessions, 7 tackles, 3 marks, 3 inside 50s and a goal. Shane Nelson (28 possessions, 3 marks), Connor West (20 possessions, five marks, three tackles, three inside 50s), Luke Meadows (15 possessions, four tackles), Noah Pegoraro (13 possessions, four marks), and Tyler Keitel (12 possessions, eight marks, five goals) helped guide the Falcons to victory. For Subiaco, captain Leigh Kitchin competed admirably with 23 possessions, 13 tackles and 4 inside 50s. Kyal Horsley (21 possessions, five tackles, five inside 50s, four marks), Lachlan Delahunty (18 possessions, 36 hit-outs), Max Walters (17 possessions, one goal), and Greg Clark (16 possessions, four marks, three tackles, three inside 50s, two goals) also competed strongly for the Lions.

PERTH 8.18 (66) def. SOUTH FREMANTLE 9.7 (61) Perth secured its first finals campaign since 1997, after overcoming South Fremantle by five points in a thrilling contest at Mineral Resources Park. Former West Coast player Brant Colledge was inspirational for Perth with 22 possessions, 4 marks, 4 tackles, 2 inside 50s and a goal. Andrew Fisher (26 possessions, 9 marks), Matthew Rogers (13 possessions, 8 marks, 6 tackles, 6 inside 50s, 3 goals), Jacob Coniglio (17 possessions, 4 marks) and Marshall Jones (15 possessions, 8 tackles, 1 goal) were excellent for the Demons. Budding stars Conor McPartland (16 possessions, five inside 50s, four tackles), Nathan O’Driscoll (10 possessions, seven tackles), Regan Clarke (9 possessions, three marks) and Logan McDonald (8 possessions, one goal) played pivotal roles to help steer the Demons to victory. For South Fremantle, former Hawthorn player, Kade Stewart shone with 19 possessions, nine tackles, four marks, four inside 50s and two goals. Jacob Dragovich (27 possessions, seven tackles, seven inside 50s, five marks), Chad Pearson (21 possessions, three marks, three tackles, three inside 50s), Ben Rioli (14 possessions, one goal), Caleb Datson (16 possessions, two goals), Dylan Main (12 possessions, seven tackles, one goal) and Steven Verrier (13 possessions, four tackles) contributed strongly for the Bulldogs.

EAST FREMANTLE 6.8 (44) def. by SWAN DISTRICTS 11.9 (75) Swan Districts secured its third victory of the 2020 Optus WAFL League competition, after overwhelming East Fremantle by 31 points at New Choice Homes Park. Jesse Turner was best afield for Swan Districts with 32 possessions, 7 inside 50s, 6 marks, 5 tackles and 3 goals. Samuel Fisher (28 possessions, six tackles, six inside 50s, four marks, one goal), Frank Anderson (25 possessions, five tackles), Corey Gault (22 possessions, 23 hit-outs) and Lachlan Riley (14 possessions, one goals) produced superb performances for the Swans. Former Fremantle Rookie Luke Strnadica was a shining light for East Fremantle with 11 possessions, 16 hit-outs and two goals. Cameron Eardley (26 possessions, six inside 50s, five marks, five tackles), Blaine Boekhorst (26 possessions, three tackles), Cody Leggett (19 possessions, three inside 50s) and Jarrad Jansen (16 possessions, nine tackles) were admirable for the Sharks.

Featured Image: Perth players celebrate their finals qualification | Credit: (Retrieved from) @WAFLOfficial via Twitter