EAST Fremantle has produced the defensive performance of the season to eliminate South Fremantle from the WAFL Women’s finals series, holding on for a four-point win, 3.4 (22) to 2.6 (18), in a brutal, low-scoring first semi-final at The Good Grocer Park.

The Sharks were under siege for most of the afternoon and had no right to win on territory. South Fremantle registered 41 inside 50s to 17, won the ruck 51 hitouts to 30 and laid 102 tackles to 83, but managed just 2.6 from eight scoring shots and converted at 25 per cent. It took the Bulldogs until the 10th minute of the third term – some 50 minutes of football – to kick their first goal, and by then the Sharks had built the buffer that ultimately survived.

For a side most had written off in the pre-season after a summer of departures, it is another chapter in a remarkable year. East Fremantle now heads into a preliminary final against reigning back-to-back premiers Claremont, while South Fremantle’s season is over. It also completes an extraordinary trilogy between the pair: the Bulldogs won the Round 1 meeting by 49 points, the Sharks reversed it by a solitary point in Round 9, and now they have taken the one that counts.

South Fremantle had the first look when Madison Hadley burst from a forward stoppage two minutes in and missed to the left, but East Fremantle answered with repeat entries and the game’s opening goal at the eight-minute mark, Jasmine Johansen laying a terrific tackle inside 50 and converting the resulting set shot from 30m. The Bulldogs looked dangerous every time they found space — one lightning transition was spoiled away from Kiana Lee in the goalsquare — and Annalie Polimeno hit the post at the 15-minute mark as South began to camp forward. Eve Wilson-Sieber‘s flying shot on the run added a behind for a 7-2 quarter-time lead, with Anjelique Raison already clunking marks at will in defence.

The second quarter was a genuine arm-wrestle, and the pattern held. Mackenzie Webb and Raison continued to hold up the back half, while Sarah Wielstra took a huge grab in a 1v1 against Alexis Edgley inside 50 only to miss to the right at the 12-minute mark. The Sharks’ second goal came three minutes later and was nicely done, Wilson-Sieber taking a handball receive 35m out and slamming it home to stretch the margin to 14-2. In the final 30 seconds a downfield free after Raison was collected late gave Ashlee Atkins a set shot from 35m that fell short, before Olivia McCay‘s quick snap registered a behind for a half-time score of 2.3 (15) to 0.2 (2).

South Fremantle attacked from the outset after the main break and East Fremantle simply refused to break, holding firm through another grinding stretch. The breakthrough finally came at the 10-minute mark when Shannyn Pomersbach snapped truly, and two minutes later the game had flipped entirely – Polimeno shrugged Cienna Leslie and found Lee on the goalline to cut the deficit to a point. Jessica Watts was involved in the lead-up to both.

Lee then marked 45m out, sidestepped her opponent on the mark and missed to the left and out of bounds, before Watts found her again 50m out and the shot fell short to be rushed through, levelling the scores at 2.3 (15) apiece at the 17-minute mark. Charlie Vandenberg clunked a mark inside 50 in the closing minutes as the Bulldogs attacked hard, but the three-quarter time siren sounded with nothing separating them.

The final term belonged to South Fremantle everywhere but the scoreboard. Lee marked strongly 15m out in the pocket and hit the near right post from a tight angle to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the day at the four-minute mark, 2.4 (16) to 2.3 (15). From there the visitors generated repeat inside 50s while East Fremantle’s pressure held up in a way that bordered on absurd. Lee won a free for a push and missed to the left from 40m with 11 minutes to play, Polimeno sent one across the face and Lee’s snap under pressure went astray as the lead stretched only to three points.

East Fremantle did not manage an inside 50 until 13 minutes into the term – and it decided the final. Leslie’s shot missed to the left, but Hunter Cronin‘s kick-in was turned over by Amber Kinnane in the forward pocket and Jae Flynn dribbled home the goal that put the Sharks back in front at 22-18. East Fremantle slowed the game down going forward from there, and while a fortunate bounce let South Fremantle work it deep one final time, McCay took a strong intercept mark and wound down the clock.

Flynn was outstanding in the biggest moment of her season, finishing with a game-high 23 disposals, seven tackles, three inside 50s and the match-winning goal. Webb was again enormous behind the ball with 18 disposals – 17 of them by foot – and four marks, while Milla Spalding (10 disposals) and Clotilde Decaux (six disposals, five tackles) both did the unglamorous work superbly. Wielstra had 13 disposals and three marks, and McCay’s 18 touches and that late intercept made hers one of the performances of the day.

Tiani Teakle (14 disposals, four marks) and Raison (14 disposals, four marks) were pillars in defence, Atkins laid nine tackles to go with 13 disposals, and Ava Anderson added nine tackles of her own. Zoe Keley (16 hitouts, 10 disposals and eight tackles) and Brooke Repacholi (14 hitouts, 11 disposals and seven tackles) shared the ruck against a dominant opponent, while Siena Jezierski-Brown and Meg McAullay both had 11 touches through the middle.

Tahleah Mulder was immense in defeat with 20 disposals, five inside 50s and a staggering 15 tackles, with skipper Ashleigh Gomes (17 disposals, four marks and 10 tackles) matching her for effort. Brianna Cleggett was superb in a shutdown role, while Watts (15 disposals, six tackles) and Jasmine Bazeley (13 disposals, eight tackles and five inside 50s) drove the ball forward relentlessly.

Polimeno finished with 15 disposals and six tackles, Kate Newson dominated the ruck with 42 hitouts, and Ebony Grant (12 disposals, eight tackles) and Liusaidh Gilchrist (12 disposals) were busy. Lee’s 1.3 from eight disposals and four marks tells the story of the Bulldogs’ afternoon as much as any number on the sheet.

South Fremantle will spend a long off-season wondering how 41 inside 50s produced just three goals. East Fremantle, meanwhile, keeps finding ways to win the games it is not supposed to statistically – and now gets a crack at the reigning premiers for a place in the decider.

EAST FREMANTLE 1.1 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 3.4 (22)
SOUTH FREMANTLE 0.2 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 2.6 (18)

GOALS: East Fremantle: J. Johansen, J. Flynn, E. Wilson-Sieber
South Fremantle: S. Pomersbach, K. Lee

BEST:
East Fremantle: J. Flynn, M. Webb, M. Spalding, C. Decaux, S. Wielstra
South Fremantle: T. Mulder, B. Cleggett, A. Gomes, J. Watts, J. Bazeley