EAST Fremantle made it three wins on the trot on Saturday, downing Perth by 37 points in our WAFL Colts Match of the Round this weekend. The Sharks now sit pretty in second at 3-1, while their latest opponents are one of four teams vying for finals spots with two wins to their name. We took note of the top performers from that clash, before taking a look around the grounds in Round 5.

By: Hayden Narducci

PERTH:

#6 Tyrese Warrell

Despite perfect conditions throughout the game, the overnight cold and rain made for wet weather style of play which Warrell used to his advantage. The small forward finished with 1.2, but applied a great deal of pressure on defenders, doing whatever he could to lock the ball inside forward 50 for as long as possible, finishing the game with six tackles. Warrell had defenders on skates with his agility and speed to break out of contests and open the game up for teammates, though next time he will be hoping for a greater return.

#15 Baxter Philip

In a game that presented little to be pleased about for Perth, Philip continued his fine form this season to be one of the Demons’ shining lights. Philip had 21 touches on the day, but his ability to mop up teammates’ mistakes, find space to be a marking option coming out of defence, and display great vision to set up counter attacks with inch perfect kicks made his 21 disposals feel like so much more. One of his best moments came in the second quarter, where he took a mark just outside defensive 50 and immediately spotted a teammate in the centre of the ground, piercing the kick between two Shark’s players to spark a counter attack out of nothing.

#20 Ben Fairbank

One of the hardest worked blokes on the field, Fairbank, along with the other members of his back six faced an absolute barrage of opposition inside 50s and despite the end score, Fairbank looked more than up to the challenge. The key defender finished with 22 disposals, seven marks and five tackles, looking more than comfortable one-on-one on the ground or in the air against any opponent he faced. At 191cm and in his draft year, Fairbank proved this game that he has the potential to be a genuine smokey in this year’s intake.

EAST FREMANTLE:

#9 Luke Yeo

Much like Philip from Perth, Yeo is one of the unlucky mids to have missed out on the recent state squad. With the absence of Jed Hagan in the midfield for the Shark’s due to National Academy duties, Yeo stepped up to produce a monster 12 tackles to go with 22 touches and a goal. With a wet deck underfoot, the ball was tough to control throughout the game, yet Yeo showed great composure to find teammates consistently by hand or by foot. His goal in this game makes it five majors from five games in the midfield, proving how damaging he can be going forward as well as in the centre of the ground.

#10 Luca Gangemi

Leading all comers for disposals on the day with 26, Gangemi was a workhorse in the midfield, creating an unstoppable partnership with Yeo in the centre of the ground. With 20 of his 26 disposals coming by foot, Gangemi was one of the most dangerous players afield, setting up several scoring opportunities for his side and consistently finding the best marking option. By far his best game so far for the Sharks, Gangemi will face a big challenge to back it up next week against a strong Subiaco outfit.

#22 Jack Cleaver

On the eve of his 18th birthday, Cleaver looked unstoppable in this game. There was an obvious difference in strength between Cleaver and his direct opponents throughout this game, and he used this to shrug off tackles like nothing and dominate one on one marking contests. He showed a great deal of composure to evade tackles and kick to the best option while under pressure rebounding from half back and looked a class above colts level. The second half saw Cleaver move into the midfield and even spend a moment in the cage at full forward, but his work at half back will see him eyeing off a spot in the senior sides in the near future. Finishing with 22 disposals, six marks, and some unique sledges to distract opposition players in their set shot routines, Cleaver was one of the best on ground.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

By: Michael Alvaro

South Fremantle took out a thriller against Peel Thunder, defeating the fifth-ranked side by a single point to draw level with 2-2 apiece records. The Thunder were wasteful from start to finish, notching 1.5 in the first quarter, 0.3 in the second, and 2.4 in the last as the Bulldogs kicked into gear after half time and snatched the 7.8 (50) to 6.13 (49) victory.

A trio of prominent ball winners lead the way for the hosts, with Christian Wilson (38 disposals, 10 marks), Roan O’Hehir (35 and 10), and Seth Connor (29 and 11) notching massive numbers. Meanwhile, the speedy Chase Bourne was one of two Bulldogs to boot a pair of goals.

In the absence of AFL Academy ruck Jackson Broadbent, fellow bigman Mitchell Edwards won 25 hitouts and four marks, while Corey Tregenza-Cashell notched his own game-high of three goals from a whopping 13 marks. Elsewhere, usual suspects Michael Sellwood (25 disposals, 11 tackles) and Byron Finch (19 disposals, one goal) were also solid in the loss.

Subiaco was the round’s biggest winner, and by quite a margin as the Lions ran out 64-point victors against Swan Districts at Leederville Oval. An eight-goal third term proved the difference for Subi, who finished with 14 more scoring shots from an advantage of just two inside 50s in the 17.8 (110) to 7.4 (46) drubbing.

With usual goal merchant Koltyn Tholstrup only managing one major, over-ager Richard Bartlett snagged a game-high five, as skipper Jacob Evitt, Riley Walls, and the speedy Robert Hansen Jnr all notched two. In addition to their efforts, Lachlan Macrae and Ethan Barbieri both ticked up over 25 touches.

For the Black Ducks, it was no surprise to see Darcy Jones (27 disposals, seven inside 50s, two goals) stand above the rest, while bottom-ager Riley Hardeman was his only teammate to hit the 20-mark. Braydon Fawcett also had a crack, laying seven tackles to go with his 18 disposals and sole goal.

Fellow finals contender East Perth was the round’s other winner, after shaking off Claremont to the tune of 20 points at Revo Fitness Stadium. The hosting Tigers stuck with the Royals for three quarters, but three East Perth goals to nil in term four made all the difference on the 10.8 (68) to 7.6 (48) final scoreline.

In a game which otherwise exclusively featured single goalkickers, Bienfat Kihusa booted five-straight majors from nine kicks in an inspired outing. Thanakhan Chaichana and Jordyn Baker both lead the way with 25 touches, while Maxwell Bailey (19 hitouts, nine tackles) got his hands dirty.

Just like East Perth, Claremont had two players tied atop the disposal charts, with Max Mumme and Harry Cole collecting 28 apiece. Mitchell Barron managed 22 and five inside 50s, as Conrad Williams (18 disposals, five marks) showed signs and Ted Barrass clunked a game-high seven marks among his 15 touches.