ROUND 15 saw the West Australian Football League (WAFL) clubs regain their state Under-18 players as we approached the pivotal point of the home and away season. It had been an absorbing season to this point with two divisions opening up on the ladder between those teams looking to seal a top-two finish while the rest of the teams scrambling to secure the remaining finals berth.

Round 15 WAFL Colts wrap:

East Perth 7.11 (53) defeated Swan Districts 7.6 (48)

East Perth continued its well-timed push for the finals with their third straight victory as the Royals won a thrilling encounter against Swan Districts by five points at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday morning. The first quarter was a dead even encounter with scores locked at 2.1 a piece and that trend continued in the early stages of the second term. Bottom-ager Sebastian Bright finally broke the deadlock 12 minutes into the term but late goals to Rhai-arn Cox and Sebit Kuek gave the Royals a six-point lead heading into the long break. Louis Miller was prominent for the visitors at the half with 15 disposals while Blake Pescud led the way with 14 disposals for Swans.

The third quarter saw the same pattern continue with nothing separating the teams on the scoreboard and with both teams having different objectives in terms of their season goals, the stage was set for a thrilling last term. Nathan Ireland and Ben McGuire traded goals early in the last term but it was the Royals who were looking the more dangerous in attack. Cox then kicked his second to open up a precious mini-break of eight points with just 10 minutes left in the contest. For all its dominance in terms of forward 50 entries, East Perth was missing golden opportunities to seal the game but its inaccuracy had a benefit as it pushed the margin out to two goals. A goal to Patrick Farrant with two minutes remaining gave Swans a real sniff and a chance to punish their opponents for their wastefulness, but it was the Royals who managed to hang on and secured a precious four points in their push for the finals.

In keeping with the pattern of the contest, not a lot separated the teams in terms of key statistics with East Perth edging the disposal count (239-234) and inside 50s locked at 37 a piece. Louis Miller continued his impressive first half with a strong showing in the final two quarters finishing with 28 disposals and five marks while Cox was extremely lively all day with 17 disposals, five marks and 2.3. Sebastian Bright worked tirelessly for Swans with 13 tackles to go along with 15 disposals and a goal, while Farrant was a good target with 19 disposals and four marks.

Peel Thunder 14.11 (95) defeated Perth 7.8 (50)

Peel maintained their spot in second place on the ladder with a composed 45 point win against a slumping Perth at Lathlain Park. Looking to rebound after last weeks defeat in the top of the table clash against Subiaco, Peel got off to the ideal start amassing 16 inside 50s and kicking five goals to two to lead by 21 points at quarter time. Bottom-ager Bailey Smith kicked his second to cut the margin to 15 points and that was soon followed by Mitch McLIheney’s second major. However Peel hit back hard with goals to Tyrone Thorne and Jack Sears and led by an impressive 31 points at the long break.

Further goals to Thorne and Lachlan Riley in the early part of the third term pushed the lead past seven goal and virtually sealed the game for the visitors and they maintained that lead for the rest of the term and lead by 43 points with a quarter to play. To their credit, Perth showed some true fight in the final quarter and kept the margin from blowing out any further. Peel completely controlled the tempo of the game despite having only having seven more possessions (285-278) and less marks (59-51). However they dominated the inside 50 count (56-36) and used that to generate ten more scoring shots than their opponents (25-15).

Bottom ager Thorne was a live wire for the Thunder and had 16 possessions but kicked four goals all of which came at important moments of the contest. Jake Howes was at his in and under best with 23 disposals and ten tackles while state representative Bradley Oldfield seamlessly slipped back into Colts action with 21 disposals and four marks. For Perth whose losing streak now stretches to six games, WA U/18s key midfielder Luke English was prominent with 30 disposals and five marks while bottom ager Deven Robertson was a diligent worker all game with 21 disposals and 12 tackles.

Subiaco 7.12 (54) defeated South Fremantle 3.9 (27).

Subiaco kept their one game lead on top of the WAFL Colts ladder with a gritty 27 point win over a gallant South Fremantle at a wet Leederville Oval on Saturday. Lions forward Nicolas Martin kicked the only two goals of the first quarter but the Bulldogs hit back kicking two of the three goals in the second term through Lachlan Feeney and Jack Redman. Subiaco took in a slender four point lead into the half time break but with the stormy weather closing in around the metro area and the surface already quite heavy, goals were certainly going to be at a  premium as the match progressed.

The Lions kicked a crucial early goal in the third term through Jacob Peletier and continued that momentum with another major by key forward Jack Mayo. However Thomas Weston gave the Bulldogs a lifeline a few minutes from three quarter time with a goal which cut the margin to 12 points. The sealer was kicked by bottom ager Sandon Page and Mayo put the icing on a pretty tasty cake for the Lions as they ticked off another victory which was their sixth in a row. Subiaco to their credit controlled the momentum for a great majority of the contest in the difficult conditions and their effort levels and how the game was played as a whole was illustrated by the fact that there were 209 tackles in the game which Subiaco had 124 of them.

The Hickmott brothers tallied 61 possessions between them with Liam having 33 disposals and eight tackles and Wil compiling 28 disposals and four tackles. Mayo was fantastic in the tough conditions where he had 16 disposals, seven marks five hit-outs, four tackles and two goals. The key forward could have had a real bag in the evening but his inaccuracy cost him kicking five behinds. The Bulldogs keep their spot in the top five due to a superior percentage over their rivals but continued to show positive signs throughout the contest. Matthew Ward was superb for the Lions with 25 disposals and 13 tackles while Jack Musika matched his efforts with 22 disposals and 12 tackles.

Claremont, East Fremantle and West Perth all had the bye this weekend.