1945 WAFL season | |
---|---|
Teams | 8 |
Premiers | East Fremantle 20th premiership |
Minor premiers | East Fremantle 25th minor premiership |
Sandover Medallist | George Bailey (Perth) |
Bernie Naylor Medallist | Bill Baker (West Perth) |
Matches played | 84 |
The 1945 WANFL season was the 61st season of the various incarnations of the Western Australian National Football League.
During the 1944 season, participation had been restricted to players under nineteen as of October 1, 1944. After the season, it was clear to the WANFL that changes had to be made to this underage restriction, [1] since the Over-Age Footballers Association, the Metal Trades Association and services competitions were developing a good standard from players who were too old to play league football. [2] In October 1944, the WANFL agreed to raise the limit to 25 years of age as of December 31, 1945, [3] but this move proved ill-received and on March 29 the League decided to abolish age restrictions altogether, returning the WANFL to open-age competition. [4] There was concern that the erratic availability of players who were still in the services would cause difficulties, [5] which meant that the seconds competition, which was disbanded after 1940, was not resumed.
Numerous famous players of the era — amongst them Merv McIntosh and Bernie Naylor — remained entirely unavailable due to war service, and all clubs had to make constant changes to their lineups. [6] It was generally thought that the 1945 teams would largely be composed of under-age players from 1944, but this proved not to be the case as most either joined the military or proved uncompetitive in senior competition. East Perth, whose unbeaten under-age team of 1944 retained many more of its players than any other club, [7] found the going very tough in open competition and fell to sixth. Owing to the return of numerous top players from its 1941 team, including “Scranno” Jenkins, “Corp” Reilly, Alby Higham and Harry Carbon, South Fremantle, whose restricted-age team had at the close of 1944 lost 24 consecutive matches by an average of ninety-six points, [8] recovered in remarkable fashion to reach the Grand Final.
Claremont were forced to play home games at Subiaco and the W.A.C.A. due to the 1944 Claremont Oval fire [2] and the Claremont Showground, which would ordinarily have become an alternative Tiger home venue, being itself burned in a separate fire during January 1945,. [9] The Tigers finished last by six games, and would apart from a surprising narrow fourth position in 1952 remain perennial tailenders until Jim Conway took them from last to first in 1964, winning only 116 of 386 matches for a success rate of 30.05 percent. East Fremantle and West Perth, who contested the previous open-age Grand Final, against set the pace, but Old Easts dominated the latter part of the season and won the premiership.
A new innovation was the Simpson Medal, the first award in Australian sport for the best player in a Grand Final.
Round 1 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 5 May (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 16.20 (116) | def. | Subiaco 3.17 (35) | Fremantle Oval | [10] |
Saturday, 5 May (2:45 pm) | Claremont 11.13 (79) | def. by | Perth 12.10 (82) | Subiaco Oval | [11] |
Saturday, 5 May (2:45 pm) | East Perth 9.8 (62) | def. by | Swan Districts 10.12 (72) | Perth Oval | [12] |
Saturday, 5 May (2:45 pm) | West Perth 12.12 (84) | def. | South Fremantle 12.9 (81) | Leederville Oval | [13] |
|
Round 2 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 12 May (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 18.19 (127) | def. | East Perth 13.12 (90) | Fremantle Oval | [15] |
Saturday, 12 May (2:45 pm) | Swan Districts 15.13 (103) | def. by | West Perth 18.18 (126) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 4009) | [16] |
Saturday, 12 May (2:45 pm) | Perth 12.10 (82) | def. by | Subiaco 13.13 (91) | WACA | [17] |
Saturday, 12 May (2:45 pm) | Claremont 10.12 (72) | def. by | East Fremantle 20.14 (134) | Subiaco Oval | [18] |
South Fremantle broke a 24-match losing streak with its first win since 1943. Returning forward Alby Higham kicked seven goals in the win. |
Round 3 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 19 May (2:45 pm) | Swan Districts 11.10 (76) | def. by | South Fremantle 13.11 (89) | Bassendean Oval | [19] |
Saturday, 19 May (2:45 pm) | West Perth 14.16 (100) | def. by | East Perth 17.8 (110) | Leederville Oval | [20] |
Saturday, 19 May (2:45 pm) | Claremont 16.15 (111) | def. by | Subiaco 17.17 (119) | Subiaco Oval | [21] |
Saturday, 19 May (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 20.17 (137) | def. | Perth 14.14 (98) | Fremantle Oval | [22] |
Allan Wilkinson, who had been playing for West Adelaide in previous weeks, kicked nine goals for Subiaco, but he was soon to be forced out of the game after suffering a serious knee problem and being unable to afford surgery. [6] |
Round 4 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 26 May (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 11.21 (87) | def. by | West Perth 13.10 (88) | Subiaco Oval | [23] |
Saturday, 26 May (2:45 pm) | Perth 15.11 (101) | def. | Swan Districts 14.13 (97) | WACA | [24] |
Saturday, 26 May (2:45 pm) | East Perth 13.16 (94) | def. by | Claremont 17.14 (116) | Perth Oval | [25] |
Saturday, 26 May (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 18.14 (122) | def. | South Fremantle 13.13 (91) | Fremantle Oval | [26] |
Round 5 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 2 June (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 13.13 (91) | def. | South Fremantle 8.14 (62) | Subiaco Oval | [27] |
Saturday, 2 June (2:45 pm) | Perth 21.8 (134) | def. | East Perth 14.10 (94) | WACA | [28] |
Saturday, 2 June (2:45 pm) | Swan Districts 16.16 (112) | def. | Claremont 13.11 (89) | Bassendean Oval | [29] |
Saturday, 2 June (2:45 pm) | West Perth 16.9 (105) | def. | East Fremantle 14.14 (98) | Leederville Oval | [30] |
Round 6 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 9 June (2:45 pm) | Perth 9.12 (66) | def. | South Fremantle 6.6 (42) | WACA | [31] |
Saturday, 9 June (2:45 pm) | East Perth 8.8 (56) | def. | Subiaco 3.6 (24) | Perth Oval | [32] |
Saturday, 9 June (2:45 pm) | Claremont 4.11 (35) | def. by | West Perth 13.12 (90) | Subiaco Oval | [33] |
Saturday, 9 June (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 7.16 (58) | def. by | Swan Districts 11.15 (81) | Fremantle Oval | [34] |
Round 7 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 16 June (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 11.11 (77) | def. | Swan Districts 6.10 (46) | Subiaco Oval | [37] |
Saturday, 16 June (2:45 pm) | West Perth 9.16 (70) | def. | Perth 6.17 (53) | Leederville Oval | [38] |
Saturday, 16 June (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 12.14 (86) | def. | Claremont 10.15 (75) | Fremantle Oval | [39] |
Saturday, 16 June (2:45 pm) | East Perth 10.3 (63) | def. by | East Fremantle 11.10 (76) | Perth Oval | [40] |
Round 8 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 23 June (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 17.17 (119) | def. | West Perth 14.14 (98) | Fremantle Oval | [41] |
Saturday, 23 June (2:45 pm) | East Perth 7.11 (53) | def. | Swan Districts 5.19 (49) | Bassendean Oval | [42] |
Saturday, 23 June (2:45 pm) | Perth 7.9 (51) | def. by | Claremont 11.11 (77) | Leederville Oval | [43] |
Saturday, 23 June (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 7.14 (56) | def. by | East Fremantle 11.13 (79) | Subiaco Oval | [44] |
Record rainfall in Perth of 384.7 millimetres (15.15 in) over thirteen days ending 22 June [35] led to the Perth v Claremont match being transferred due to flooding of the WACA. It is the only such transfer due to a flooded ground in WA(N)FL history. [45] |
Round 9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 30 June (2:45 pm) | West Perth 23.14 (152) | def. | Swan Districts 11.16 (82) | Leederville Oval | [46] |
Saturday, 30 June (2:45 pm) | East Perth 19.16 (130) | def. | South Fremantle 7.18 (60) | Perth Oval | [47] |
Saturday, 30 June (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 12.9 (81) | def. | Perth 9.6 (60) | Subiaco Oval | [48] |
Saturday, 30 June (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 15.17 (107) | def. | Claremont 7.3 (45) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2604) | [49] |
East Perth take the last place in the top four with a fine win led by a 9.8 (62) to 0.2 (2) second quarter with captain-coach Cecil Rowland scoring their first six goals and eight overall. |
Round 10 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 7 July (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 10.26 (86) | def. | Swan Districts 11.14 (80) | Fremantle Oval | [50] |
Saturday, 7 July (2:45 pm) | East Perth 7.13 (55) | def. by | West Perth 10.11 (71) | Perth Oval | [51] |
Saturday, 7 July (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 19.11 (125) | def. | Claremont 5.6 (36) | Subiaco Oval | [52] |
Saturday, 7 July (2:45 pm) | Perth 7.5 (47) | def. by | East Fremantle 18.18 (126) | WACA | [53] |
Following the match between traditional rivals West Perth and East Perth, a mob of around fifty spectators made a hostile attack upon field umpire Mosey, following him until he dispersed some distance down Bulwer Street. [54] |
Round 11 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 14 July (2:45 pm) | West Perth 19.14 (128) | def. | Subiaco 19.5 (119) | Leederville Oval | [55] |
Saturday, 14 July (2:45 pm) | Swan Districts 12.19 (91) | def. | Perth 11.6 (72) | Bassendean Oval | [56] |
Saturday, 14 July (2:45 pm) | Claremont 9.13 (67) | def. by | East Perth 12.12 (84) | Subiaco Oval | [57] |
Saturday, 14 July (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 15.12 (102) | def. by | South Fremantle 16.14 (110) | Fremantle Oval | [58] |
Round 12 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 21 July (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 15.15 (105) | def. | Subiaco 7.7 (49) | Fremantle Oval | [59] |
Saturday, 21 July (2:45 pm) | East Perth 11.11 (77) | def. | Perth 7.18 (60) | Perth Oval | [60] |
Saturday, 21 July (2:45 pm) | Claremont 9.4 (58) | def. by | Swan Districts 17.9 (111) | WACA | [61] |
Saturday, 21 July (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 7.14 (56) | def. by | West Perth 8.13 (61) | Subiaco Oval | [62] |
Round 13 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 28 July (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 10.8 (68) | def. | Perth 7.14 (56) | Fremantle Oval | [65] |
Saturday, 28 July (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 5.7 (37) | def. by | East Perth 9.5 (59) | Subiaco Oval | [66] |
Saturday, 28 July (2:45 pm) | West Perth 16.13 (109) | def. | Claremont 3.11 (29) | Leederville Oval | [67] |
Saturday, 28 July (2:45 pm) | Swan Districts 14.13 (97) | def. by | East Fremantle 15.10 (100) | Bassendean Oval | [68] |
Round 14 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 4 August (2:45 pm) | Swan Districts 11.19 (85) | def. | Subiaco 7.10 (52) | Bassendean Oval | [69] |
Saturday, 4 August (2:45 pm) | Perth 9.8 (62) | def. | West Perth 7.13 (55) | WACA | [70] |
Saturday, 4 August (2:45 pm) | Claremont 8.11 (59) | def. by | South Fremantle 16.13 (109) | Subiaco Oval | [71] |
Saturday, 4 August (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 23.12 (150) | def. | East Perth 6.10 (46) | Fremantle Oval | [72] |
|
Round 15 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 11 August (2:45 pm) | West Perth 11.10 (76) | def. by | South Fremantle 13.16 (94) | Leederville Oval | [74] |
Saturday, 11 August (2:45 pm) | Swan Districts 10.20 (80) | def. | East Perth 8.7 (55) | Bassendean Oval | [75] |
Saturday, 11 August (2:45 pm) | Perth 17.33 (135) | def. | Claremont 1.3 (9) | WACA | [76] |
Saturday, 11 August (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 11.5 (71) | def. by | East Fremantle 12.15 (87) | Subiaco Oval | [77] |
|
Round 16 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 18 August (2:45 pm) | West Perth 7.15 (57) | def. | Swan Districts 5.7 (37) | Leederville Oval | [81] |
Saturday, 18 August (2:45 pm) | East Perth 8.14 (62) | def. by | South Fremantle 13.9 (87) | Perth Oval | [82] |
Saturday, 18 August (2:45 pm) | Perth 11.8 (74) | def. by | Subiaco 10.16 (76) | WACA | [83] |
Saturday, 18 August (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 23.19 (157) | def. | Claremont 9.5 (59) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2253) | [84] |
Round 17 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 25 August (2:45 pm) | Swan Districts 15.12 (102) | def. | South Fremantle 10.15 (75) | Bassendean Oval | [85] |
Saturday, 25 August (2:45 pm) | East Perth 7.14 (56) | def. by | West Perth 14.7 (91) | Perth Oval | [86] |
Saturday, 25 August (2:45 pm) | Claremont 6.11 (47) | def. by | Subiaco 18.15 (123) | Subiaco Oval | [87] |
Saturday, 25 August (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 19.7 (121) | def. | Perth 9.10 (64) | Fremantle Oval | [88] |
Round 18 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 1 September (2:45 pm) | West Perth 9.13 (67) | def. | Subiaco 6.17 (53) | Leederville Oval | [89] |
Saturday, 1 September (2:45 pm) | Perth 7.12 (54) | def. | Swan Districts 6.17 (53) | WACA | [90] |
Saturday, 1 September (2:45 pm) | Claremont 6.7 (43) | def. by | East Perth 16.19 (115) | Subiaco Oval | [91] |
Saturday, 1 September (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 18.15 (123) | def. | South Fremantle 12.14 (86) | Fremantle Oval | [92] |
Swan Districts lost by one point against Perth after kicking 0.8 (8) with the breeze in the last quarter. |
Round 19 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 8 September (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 16.16 (112) | def. | South Fremantle 14.7 (91) | Subiaco Oval | [93] |
Saturday, 8 September (2:45 pm) | East Perth 13.21 (99) | def. | Perth 9.14 (68) | Perth Oval | [94] |
Saturday, 8 September (2:45 pm) | Claremont 10.10 (70) | def. by | Swan Districts 15.25 (115) | WACA | [95] |
Saturday, 8 September (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 19.13 (127) | def. | West Perth 11.9 (75) | Fremantle Oval | [96] |
Round 20 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 15 September (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 7.12 (54) | def. by | Swan Districts 11.13 (79) | Subiaco Oval | [97] |
Saturday, 15 September (2:45 pm) | West Perth 10.14 (74) | def. by | Perth 14.9 (93) | Leederville Oval | [98] |
Saturday, 15 September (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 21.18 (144) | def. | Claremont 14.12 (96) | Fremantle Oval | [99] |
Saturday, 15 September (2:45 pm) | East Perth 5.8 (38) | def. by | East Fremantle 9.19 (73) | Perth Oval | [100] |
Swan Districts defeated Subiaco by 25 points in a match which directly decided which of the two teams finished fourth. |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | East Fremantle (P) | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 2149 | 1400 | 153.5 | 64 |
2 | West Perth | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 1777 | 1549 | 114.7 | 56 |
3 | South Fremantle | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 1812 | 1749 | 103.6 | 48 |
4 | Swan Districts | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 1648 | 1540 | 107.0 | 40 |
5 | Subiaco | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 1532 | 1558 | 98.3 | 36 |
6 | East Perth | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 1498 | 1585 | 94.5 | 36 |
7 | Perth | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 1512 | 1617 | 93.5 | 32 |
8 | Claremont | 20 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 1272 | 2202 | 57.8 | 8 |
First semi-final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 22 September (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 16.13 (109) | def. | Swan Districts 9.11 (65) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 10,500) | [101] |
First-year rover Steve Marsh (South Fremantle) kicked eight goals. |
Second semi-final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 29 September (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 14.14 (98) | def. | West Perth 6.10 (46) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 18,000) | [102] |
Ted Tyson played his last match for the Cardinals. |
Preliminary final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 6 October (2:45 pm) | West Perth 9.7 (61) | def. by | South Fremantle 16.11 (107) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 13,000) | [103] |
1945 WANFL Grand Final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 13 October (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle | def. | South Fremantle | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 21,000) | [104] |
2.2 (14) 5.6 (36) 6.10 (46) 12.15 (87) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 4.6 (30) 4.6 (30) 6.9 (45) 7.9 (51) | Umpires: Leo McComish Simpson Medal: Alan Ebbs (East Fremantle) | ||
Meiers 3, McDonald 3, George Doig 2, French, Prince, Alan Ebbs, Strang | Goals | Marsh 3, Reilly 2, Lewington, Lyon | |||
Strang, Gabrielson, Alan Ebbs, Mann, Soltoggio, McDonald, Garrity, French | Best | “Scranno” Jenkins, Reilly, Marsh, Carbon, Erikson, Graham, Brown | |||
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from April to September, with the top five teams playing off in a finals series, culminating in a Grand Final. The league also runs reserves, colts (under-19) and women's competitions.
The Claremont Football Club, nicknamed Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in Claremont, Western Australia, that currently plays in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). Its official colours are navy blue and gold. Formed as the "Cottesloe Beach Football Club" in 1906, the club entering the WAFL in 1925 as the "Claremont-Cottesloe Football Club"', changing its name to the present in 1935. Claremont have won 12 senior men's premierships since entering the competition, including most recently the 2011 and 2012 premierships.
The 1934 WANFL season was the 50th season of the various incarnations of the Western Australian National Football League. Following upon numerous unsuccessful attempts to revive Midland Junction during the 1920s, Bassendean-based Swan Districts were admitted to the competition. The black and whites were more competitive than previous new clubs owing to the presence of a number of players with previous WANFL experience, including Fred Sweetapple from West Perth, captain-coach "Judda" Bee from East Fremantle and Nigel Gorn from South Fremantle, but after five promising campaigns were to endure nineteen open-age seasons without once winning as many matches as they lost.
The 1933 WANFL season was the 49th season of the Western Australian National Football League in its various incarnations. It was the last year of a seven-team senior competition, and saw George Doig, during the second semi-final, become the first player to kick one hundred goals in a season.
The 1932 WANFL season was the 48th season of the Western Australian National Football League. The premiership was won by West Perth for the first time since 1905. The Cardinals’ win ended both a run of four consecutive premierships by East Fremantle, which won its fifth of seven successive minor premierships but lost both finals it played to be eliminated in the preliminary final, and West Perth's longest premiership drought in its history. West Perth's win was highlighted by the success of champion full forward Ted Tyson, who headed the goalkicking with eighty-four goals including a record eight in the Grand Final[a]. Tyson went on to kick an unprecedented 1,203 goals during a twelve-season career with the Cardinals, but their rise from winning only six matches in 1931 was due to the development of second-year defender Max Tetley, the discovery of a third pre-war Cardinal stalwart in Norm McDiarmid,[b] brother of star ruckman Jack, plus further outstanding youngsters Jim Morgan and Bob Dalziell.
The 1931 WANFL season was the 47th season of the Western Australian National Football League and the first under that moniker, having been called the West Australian Football League (WAFL) until 1930.
The 1930 WAFL season was the 46th season of the West Australian Football League in its various incarnations, and the last before it changed its name to the ‘Western Australian National Football League’. The season saw East Fremantle win the premiership for the third consecutive season, marking the second time that the club had achieved the feat; the club was never seriously challenged as the best team except during the interstate break and achieved the unusual feat of being the only club with a percentage of over 100.[a] Jerry Dolan said in retrospect that East Fremantle's 1930 team was the greatest he had ever played in or coached – including even the unbeaten team of 1946.
The 1935 WANFL season was the 51st season of the Western Australian National Football League. The season saw West Perth win the premiership under the coaching of Johnny Leonard; it was the only time in West Perth's history that it won consecutive premierships, preceding a brief but exceptionally steep decline that saw the Cardinals four years later suffer the equal longest losing streak in WA(N)FL history.
The 1936 WANFL season was the 52nd season of the Western Australian National Football League. The most conspicuous features were the rise of Claremont to their first finals appearance since entering the WAFL ten years beforehand after having won only forty of its first 183 games, and the thrilling finals series in which East Perth rose to their first premiership for nine years after holding on to a thrilling struggle for fourth position where all eight clubs were in the running well into August, then winning two finals by a solitary point. In the process the Royals set a record for the most losses by an eventual premiership club in major Australian Rules leagues,[a] but won their last open-age premiership until 1956. The Royals overcame much adversity to win the premiership, including a crippling injury toll and a schedule modified to allow them to tour Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania between 4 July and the first week of August.
The 1937 WANFL season was the 53rd season of the Western Australian National Football League. The season saw numerous notable highlights, including:
The 1973 WANFL season was the 89th season of the Western Australian National Football League. It is most famous for Subiaco breaking the longest premiership drought in the history of the competition, winning for the first time since 1924 after having been a chopping block for most of the middle third of the century. Under the coaching of former St Kilda champion Ross Smith, the Lions, as they became christened in July, bounced back from two disappointing seasons to lose only two of their final sixteen home-and-away games for their first minor premiership since 1935, then in a low-scoring Grand Final comfortably defeated a much more hardened West Perth team.
The 1938 WANFL season was the 54th season of the Western Australian National Football League, and saw Claremont, under champion coach Johnny Leonard who had transferred from West Perth, win its first premiership after losing two Grand Finals and drawing the first one this season. The blue and golds were to win the following two premierships before a long period near the foot of the ladder after Claremont Oval was gutted by a fire in 1944.
The 1939 WANFL season was the 55th season of the various incarnations of the Western Australian National Football League. It is best known for West Perth's record losing streak of twenty-seven matches up to the fifteenth round, an ignominy equalled by Peel Thunder in their formative years but never actually beaten. The Cardinals finished with the worst record since Midland Junction lost all twelve games in 1917, and were the first WANFL team with only one victory for twelve seasons. In their only win, champion forward Ted Tyson became the first West Australian to kick over one thousand goals and he just failed to replicate his 1938 feat of leading the goalkicking for a bottom club. Subiaco, despite a second Sandover win from Haydn Bunton won only three matches, and Swan Districts, affected by the loss of star goalkicker Ted Holdsworth to Kalgoorlie, began a long period as a cellar-dweller with a fall to sixth.
The 1940 WANFL season was the 56th season of the various incarnations of the Western Australian National Football League. It saw Claremont win its third consecutive premiership, but its last before returning to the status of cellar-dweller it occupied during its first decade in the WA(N)FL – between 1943 and 1978 Claremont played finals only five times for one premiership. South Fremantle, after a lean period in the middle 1930s, displaced perennial power clubs East Fremantle and East Perth as the Tigers’ Grand Final opponent, and established some of the basis, in spite of three disastrous wartime under-age seasons, for the club's fabled dynasty after the war.
The 1941 WANFL season was the 57th season of the various incarnations of the Western Australian National Football League. Owing to the drain of players to military service in World War II, the league was forced to suspend the reserves competition until 1946, and ultimately this was to be the last season of senior football in Perth until 1945 as the supply of available players became smaller and smaller and the Japanese military threatened northern Western Australia.
The 1969 WANFL season was the 85th season of the Western Australian National Football League. It saw continued dominance by the three Perth clubs and Subiaco, who occupied the top half of the ladder constantly from the fourth round onwards, and finished four games clear of the other four clubs, who were all in a “rebuilding” mode with varying success – late in the season both Swan Districts and Claremont fielded some of the youngest teams in the competition's history, whilst the Tigers, who fielded thirteen first-year players including Graham Moss, Russell Reynolds and Bruce Duperouzel, began disastrously but four wins in five games paved the way to impressive record from 1970 to 1972. Among the top four, Perth failed to achieve a fourth consecutive premiership[a] that at one point looked very much in their grasp due to the overwork of Barry Cable which robbed him of some brilliance, early-season injuries to key players Iseger and Page and a couple of surprising losses to lower clubs, whilst East Perth, who won consistently without being impressive for most of the season, failed for the fourth time in as many seasons in the Grand Final, this time to West Perth and in a much more decisive manner than any of their Perth defeats.
The 1942 WANFL season was the 58th season of the Western Australian National Football League. Whilst the previous two seasons had been increasingly affected by the drift of players to the services, the 1941/1942 off-season saw the Imperial Japanese Navy and air force move into the north of Western Australia, bombing many northwestern settlements.
The 1944 WANFL season was the 60th season of the various incarnations of the Western Australian National Football League. Consequent upon the improved fortunes of the Allies in the Pacific War, the league's decision to restrict football to those under nineteen as of 1 October become somewhat controversial, but the WANFL after much debate during the early weeks of the season decided it would not raise the age limit or even as West Perth suggested allow four 1943 players over the limit to play. This meant that a large number of players who had been mainstays in the 1942 and 1943 seasons were no longer eligible to play, and as in 1943 a number of players still eligible were erratically available due to service in the war.
The 1946 WANFL season was the 62nd season of senior football in Perth, Western Australia.
The 1947 WANFL season was the 63rd season of senior football in Perth, Western Australia. With the background of war completely removed, 1947 saw the WANFL begin a golden age of growth dominated by the two Fremantle clubs, West Perth and Perth, who made the league for the following nine seasons a de facto hierarchy led by South Fremantle and West Perth, who respectively won 128 and 121 of their 159 home-and-away matches between 1947 and 1954. Zones with vastly different populations and large unzoned areas allowed these more successful and financially secure clubs to monopolise the leading player talent.