THE team you support may have finished well adrift in the finals race the previous season, but round one brings a whole lot of hope and expectation to fans across the nation. In terms of the WAFL Colts, we saw a terrific conclusion to the 2018 season with Subiaco edging out Swan Districts in an absolute thriller. There are bound to be plenty of storylines and young stars looking to put their names in front of the AFL gurus. With all that said, let’s get on with the action.

WAFL Colts - Round 1

Swan Districts 9.9 (63) defeated South Fremantle 8.11(59)

Swan Districts started their quest for Grand Final redemption in strong style after holding off a gallant South Fremantle outfit by four points at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday morning.

After South Fremantle controlled the early passages of play without converting truly it it was Jermarl Daly who got the first goal of the season for the black and whites.

The visitors continued to bring the ball forward with confidence and eventually got their reward when Malachi Walley crumbed the ball well to kick the Bulldogs first of the season. A mark and goal by Jebh O’ Donohue saw the home team reclaim the lead at the twenty minute mark. For all their attacking thrusts, the Bulldogs deserved to be closer than what they were and Jaxon Bellchambers did just that snapping truly to give to cut the deficit to three points at quarter time.

The second quarter was all about 17-year-old Daly, with the South Hedland product causing many headaches for South Fremantle’s defence. The well built youngster took a number of one-grab marks and kicked three goals for the term. Swans blew the margin out to 22 points midway through the term but the Bulldogs steadied somewhat with a goal by bottom ager Dontay Bolton and trailed by 14 points at the long break. In terms of possessions, bottom-age Swan Districts talents Zane Trew and Ty Sears led the way with 13 and 12 disposals respectively, while Jacob Sax was a shining light for South Fremantle with 15 disposals.

The key figure of Daly started the third quarter where he finished the first half, this time snapping truly for his fifth of the game. The Bulldogs were looking threatening every time they brought the ball forward but could not convert their chances. That changed when Walley kicked his second for the game, but Daly had the answers yet again two minutes later kicking his sixth.

Toby McQuilkin was looking lively in the third term and was unlucky to miss from a previous attempt but made amends a few minutes later to cut the margin to 13 points. Even though it was the first game of the season, the heat had definitely gone up a couple of levels. The home team led by 12 points at three quarter time and the questions was whether Swans could hold on or South Fremantle produce a comeback victory.

The Bulldogs peppered the goals in the early stages of the quarter continuing their fine end to the third term. Their perseverance paid off as they kicked two goals through Brodie Plunkett and Nathan Spooner to give them the lead since the early stages of the first quarter. However, try as they might they could not build on that lead and despite having just two scoring shots for the term, Swan Districts were able to kick the match winning goal through Kade Walldrot with four minutes remaining on the clock and were able to see the game out to claim their first four points of the season.

As we see so often in a new season, the skills were a bit rusty, but it was a highly competitive affair with a lot for both coaches to take away from the game.

Star

While were a number of impressive performers on both sides, in terms of pure difference makers Jermarl Daly was exactly that with his six goals. If he can replicate even half that output on a regular basis, Swans will be certainly up amongst the contenders again.

First impressions

Swans have a well rounded team with exciting talents like Kade Walldrot and Brenton Hilton who can play multiple positions, while their key defenders in Jake Pasini and Jack Allen are more than capable of keeping their opponents under wraps.

South Fremantle have a very nimble running fleet led by the likes of Jack Musika, Jacob Sax and Manfred Kelly while Malachi Walley is a very clever operator in the forward 50. Last season they made a sluggish start before storming home and making the top five, so a good start is imperative if they want to progress further this season.

In other games:

East Fremantle 10.6(66) def. Claremont 9.10(64)

In a rematch of the 2017 Grand Final, it was East Fremantle who came out on top winning another thriller on the opening day of the season by two points at Claremont Ovql. Unlike their Fremantle rivals, the Sharks’ comeback in the final quarter was successful with Trey Roscoe kicking two goals in as many minutes which helped overturn a 10 point deficit and topped off a fine display as he also compiled 20 disposals, five marks and four tackles. Ronin O’ Connor was a tireless worker for the Tigers with 20 disposals and nine tackles.

East Perth 10.8(68) def. Subiaco 5.5(35)

Subiaco’s Premiership defence got off to a shaky start as East Perth caused the biggest upset on the opening day of the season defeating their co-tenants by 33 points. The Royals who finished twelve games behind Subiaco last season finishing in eighth position, set up their win with strong first half and went on the job in a professional fashion. Jaxon East was a game breaker for the Royals with 27 disposals and three goals while Harley Sparks was prominent throughout with 32 disposals. Tristan Hobley like he always does for the Lions was tireless with 30 disposals and 10 tackles.

Peel Thunder 11.7(73) def. West Perth 8.8(56)

2018 Preliminary finalists Peel Thunder never relinquished the lead but withstood a number of challenges from West Perth to run out 17 point winners at David Grays Arena. Jarvis Piña led the way for the home side with32 disposals, eight marks and four tackles and he was well supported by Bradley Oldfield with 22 disposals and five tackles while Tyrone Thorne was lively with 17 disposals and two goals. For the Falcons, Koopah Todd with 20 disposals and eight tackles, along with Ben Johnson with 17 disposals and two goals were strong contributors for the visitors.