| 2002 WAFL season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 9 |
| Premiers | East Perth 17th premiership |
| Minor premiers | East Perth 17th minor premiership |
| Sandover Medallist | Allistair Pickett (Peel Thunder) |
| Bernie Naylor Medallist | Zane Parsons (South Fremantle) |
| Matches played | 85 |
The 2002 WAFL season was the 118th season of the West Australian Football League. It saw East Perth, despite the end of the first host club scheme that was thought to have unfairly favoured the Royals, [1] win their third successive premiership for the first hat-trick in the WA(N)FL since Swan Districts between 1982 and 1984. The Swans themselves had a disastrous season as chronic financial troubles, which had plagued the club for almost a decade were combined with disastrous results on the field. [2] The black and whites were within two points of a winless season in the seniors and did little better in the lower grades.
Cinderella club Peel Thunder, despite going within two minutes of the first goalless score in senior WAFL football for over eighty-six years and being voted out of the competition by seven of the other eight clubs at a meeting to extend their licence on 6 May, [3] achieved their best overall record to date and their first tangible honours as diminutive on-baller Allistair Pickett won the Sandover Medal. The Thunder, remarkably, provided in Daniel Wells the joint runner-up in the Medal as well as the winner. The loss of these players, and of financial support given to prevent Peel from folding, was to see the Thunder after three years of relatively promising on-field form including wins against three finalists in 2002 [4] again hit rock-bottom the following season. The league’s most famous club, East Fremantle, aided by two lower grade premierships from 2001, rebounded from their disastrous senior record that season to make the finals aided by the only ruck division able to rival the Royals, [5] but this was to be their last finals appearance for the decade as the Sharks reached depths not experienced at any point during the twentieth century over the subsequent four seasons, winning a mere nineteen of eighty matches.
Even apart from Peel’s near-goalless score, 2002 was notable for low scoring, with the high score of 22.13 (145) the lowest in the WAFL since 1927, [6] and the average of 80.83 points the lowest since 1954, in an era when Perth received rainfall [7] much greater than under present-day greenhouse gas concentrations. [8]
| Round 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 30 March (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 7.7 (49) | def. by | South Fremantle 13.16 (94) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2384) | |
| Saturday, 30 March (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 7.9 (51) | def. by | Perth 9.15 (69) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1134) | |
| Saturday, 30 March (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 7.5 (47) | def. by | Subiaco 7.18 (60) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 2163) | |
| Monday, 1 April (2:15 pm) | East Perth 19.8 (122) | def. | West Perth 6.10 (46) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 3896) | |
| Bye Claremont | |||||
| Round 2 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 6 April (2:15 pm) | West Perth 6.10 (46) | def. by | East Fremantle 13.9 (87) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1176) | |
| Saturday, 6 April (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 13.11 (89) | def. | East Perth 13.10 (88) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 1441) | |
| Saturday, 6 April (2:15 pm) | Claremont 14.17 (101) | def. | Peel Thunder 11.3 (69) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1276) | |
| Bye Perth, South Fremantle, Swan Districts | |||||
Subiaco’s acquisition of David Sierakowski, David Haynes and Josh Wooden due to the end of the host club scheme helps it come back from five goals down to beat the two-time premiers. [1] | |||||
| Round 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 13 April (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 9.7 (61) | def. by | East Perth 13.12 (90) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 2361) | |
| Saturday, 13 April (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 9.7 (61) | def. by | Claremont 10.18 (78) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1425) | |
| Saturday, 13 April (2:15 pm) | Perth 13.10 (88) | def. by | West Perth 15.16 (106) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1540) | |
| Bye East Fremantle, Peel Thunder, Subiaco | |||||
| Round 4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 20 April (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 12.16 (88) | def. | Swan Districts 7.15 (57) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1440) | |
| Saturday, 20 April (2:15 pm) | Claremont 8.8 (56) | def. by | West Perth 12.8 (80) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1470) | |
| Saturday, 20 April (2:15 pm) | Perth 6.13 (49) | def. by | Subiaco 13.17 (95) | Jurien Bay (crowd: 1700) | |
| Saturday, 20 April (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 15.10 (100) | def. | South Fremantle 10.10 (70) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1916) | |
| Bye East Perth | |||||
| Round 5 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, 25 April (2:15 pm) | West Perth 13.13 (91) | def. | Peel Thunder 9.12 (66) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 2104) | |
| Saturday, 27 April (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 6.4 (40) | def. by | Perth 13.11 (89) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 1968) | |
| Sunday, 28 April (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 12.13 (85) | def. | Claremont 12.10 (82) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 1788) | |
| Sunday, 28 April (2:15 pm) | East Perth 7.13 (55) | def. | East Fremantle 7.10 (52) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 2348) | |
| Bye South Fremantle | |||||
| |||||
| Round 6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, 3 May (6:45 pm) | South Fremantle 12.9 (81) | def. by | West Perth 12.10 (82) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2392) | |
| Saturday, 4 May (2:15 pm) | Perth 9.13 (67) | def. by | East Perth 12.18 (90) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 2215) | |
| Saturday, 4 May (2:15 pm) | Claremont 16.9 (105) | def. | Swan Districts 9.10 (64) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1180) | |
| Saturday, 4 May (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 11.4 (70) | def. by | Subiaco 11.18 (84) | Rushton Park (crowd: 2068) | |
| Bye East Fremantle | |||||
| Round 7 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, 10 May (6:45 pm) | Subiaco 6.11 (47) | def. by | South Fremantle 8.6 (54) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 1584) | |
| Saturday, 11 May (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 10.14 (74) | def. | Perth 9.5 (59) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1379) | |
| Saturday, 11 May (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 15.14 (104) | def. | Peel Thunder 15.12 (102) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 1140) | |
| Sunday, 12 May (2:15 pm) | East Perth 9.15 (69) | def. | Claremont 9.11 (65) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1556) | |
| Bye West Perth | |||||
Swan Districts win their only game after a fifty-metre penalty to Craig de Corsey for an off-the ball incident not seen by the crowd gives them an easy goal. [11] | |||||
| Round 8 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 18 May (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 17.5 (107) | def. by | East Perth 18.17 (125) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1904) | |
| Saturday, 18 May (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 17.8 (110) | def. | Swan Districts 10.11 (71) | Wickepin (crowd: 1453) | |
| Saturday, 18 May (2:15 pm) | Claremont 9.17 (71) | def. | East Fremantle 9.8 (62) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1341) | |
| Saturday, 18 May (2:15 pm) | West Perth 7.10 (52) | def. by | Subiaco 9.13 (67) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1801) | |
| Bye Perth | |||||
| Round 9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 25 May (2:15 pm) | East Perth 20.14 (134) | def. | South Fremantle 11.9 (75) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 2378) | |
| Saturday, 25 May (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 20.15 (135) | def. | Peel Thunder 10.14 (74) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1121) | |
| Saturday, 25 May (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 13.9 (87) | def. by | West Perth 16.15 (111) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 2000) | |
| Saturday, 25 May (2:15 pm) | Perth 12.13 (85) | def. | Claremont 7.9 (51) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1637) | |
| Bye Subiaco | |||||
| Round 10 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 1 June (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 19.11 (125) | def. | Swan Districts 3.11 (29) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 1850) | |
| Saturday, 1 June (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 17.12 (114) | def. | Perth 17.10 (112) | Rushton Park (crowd: 3866) | |
| Monday, 3 June (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 6.10 (46) | def. by | East Fremantle 11.17 (83) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 5064) | |
| Monday, 3 June (2:15 pm) | West Perth 13.15 (93) | def. | East Perth 13.9 (87) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 3094) | |
| Bye Claremont | |||||
Swan Districts kick their lowest score against Subiaco, beating out 4.10 (34) from 1964. [14] | |||||
| Round 11 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 8 June (2:15 pm) | East Perth 20.10 (130) | def. | Subiaco 12.10 (82) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 2425) | |
| Saturday, 8 June (2:15 pm) | Perth 12.9 (81) | def. | South Fremantle 10.15 (75) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1719) | |
| Saturday, 8 June (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 12.12 (84) | def. by | West Perth 18.7 (115) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1454) | |
| Saturday, 8 June (2:15 pm) | Claremont 14.20 (104) | def. | Peel Thunder 10.10 (70) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1201) | |
| Bye Swan Districts | |||||
| Round 12 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 22 June (2:15 pm) | East Perth 22.13 (145) | def. | Swan Districts 7.10 (52) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 2569) | |
| Saturday, 22 June (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 15.17 (107) | def. | Claremont 8.15 (63) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1214) | |
| Saturday, 22 June (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 11.14 (80) | def. by | East Fremantle 15.11 (101) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 1355) | |
| Saturday, 22 June (2:15 pm) | West Perth 5.12 (42) | def. by | Perth 16.9 (105) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1784) | |
| Bye Peel Thunder | |||||
| Round 13 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 29 June (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 15.16 (106) | def. | Peel Thunder 9.11 (65) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1033) | |
| Saturday, 29 June (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 9.7 (61) | def. by | East Fremantle 17.10 (112) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 1843) | |
| Saturday, 29 June (2:15 pm) | Claremont 8.7 (55) | def. by | West Perth 16.8 (104) | Newdegate (crowd: 2013) | |
| Saturday, 29 June (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 16.10 (106) | def. | Perth 13.6 (84) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 1355) | |
| Bye East Perth | |||||
Swans hit the front late in the third quarter, but waste opportunities before East Fremantle kick 8.5 (53) to nothing in the last. [15] | |||||
| Round 14 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 6 July (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 11.18 (84) | def. | East Perth 10.5 (65) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1606) | |
| Saturday, 6 July (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 10.6 (66) | def. | West Perth 7.8 (50) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1094) | |
| Saturday, 6 July (2:15 pm) | Perth 14.14 (98) | def. | Swan Districts 11.7 (73) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1871) | |
| Saturday, 6 July (2:15 pm) | Claremont 14.14 (98) | def. | Subiaco 7.6 (48) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1263) | |
| Bye South Fremantle | |||||
| Round 15 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 13 July (2:15 pm) | East Perth 15.14 (104) | def. | Perth 7.8 (50) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 2001) | |
| Saturday, 13 July (2:15 pm) | West Perth 18.15 (123) | def. | South Fremantle 14.9 (93) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1257) | |
| Saturday, 13 July (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 17.24 (126) | def. | Peel Thunder 1.10 (16) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 1117) | |
| Saturday, 13 July (2:15 pm) | Claremont 9.12 (66) | def. | Swan Districts 9.9 (63) | Newman (crowd: 2500) | |
| Bye East Fremantle | |||||
Peel went within two minutes of becoming the first senior WAFL team to score no goals in a match since West Perth did so against soon-defunct Midland Junction in the opening round of 1916. [18] Brandon Hill kicked the Thunder’s only goal from a long shot 23 minutes into the last quarter. [19] | |||||
| Round 16 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 20 July (2:15 pm) | Claremont 13.7 (85) | def. by | East Perth 18.10 (118) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1689) | |
| Saturday, 20 July (2:15 pm) | Perth 11.18 (84) | def. by | East Fremantle 18.5 (113) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1561) | |
| Saturday, 20 July (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 20.7 (127) | def. | Swan Districts 12.7 (79) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1097) | |
| Sunday, 21 July (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 14.15 (99) | def. | Subiaco 11.7 (73) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1515) | |
| Bye West Perth | |||||
Big Shark ruckmen Aaron Sandilands and Simon Eastaugh give East Fremantle a win that essentially ends Perth’s finals hopes, despite a second-half fadeout that sees them kick only 4.2 (26) to 10.11 (71). [5] | |||||
| Round 17 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 27 July (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 11.19 (85) | def. | Claremont 5.10 (40) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1363) | |
| Sunday, 28 July (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 11.9 (75) | def. | West Perth 8.9 (57) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 1721) | |
| Sunday, 28 July (2:15 pm) | East Perth 11.8 (74) | def. by | Peel Thunder 16.9 (105) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1769) | |
| Sunday, 28 July (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 11.14 (80) | def. by | South Fremantle 11.16 (82) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 1342) | |
| Bye Perth | |||||
After an appalling first half in fine weather, East Fremantle kick 5.5 (35) to 2.3 (15) into the breeze to move to second and end a second team’s finals hopes. [20] | |||||
| Round 18 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 3 August (2:15 pm) | Claremont 5.7 (37) | def. by | Perth 5.9 (39) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1029) | |
| Saturday, 3 August (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 13.17 (95) | def. | East Fremantle 13.13 (91) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1087) | |
| Sunday, 4 August (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 7.7 (49) | def. by | East Perth 10.18 (78) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1113) | |
| Sunday, 4 August (2:15 pm) | West Perth 15.4 (94) | def. | Swan Districts 8.15 (63) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1044) | |
| Bye Subiaco | |||||
Claremont record the third lowest aggregate score in their history and the lowest since 1966. [21] | |||||
| Round 19 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 10 August (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 10.13 (73) | def. by | South Fremantle 13.11 (89) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1723) | |
| Saturday, 10 August (2:15 pm) | Perth 11.12 (78) | def. | Peel Thunder 8.15 (63) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1544) | |
| Saturday, 10 August (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 7.5 (47) | def. by | Subiaco 10.10 (70) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 1430) | |
| Bye Claremont, East Perth, West Perth | |||||
| Round 20 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 17 August (2:15 pm) | West Perth 16.10 (106) | def. | East Fremantle 10.7 (67) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1811) | |
| Saturday, 17 August (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 13.8 (86) | def. | Claremont 7.12 (54) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1273) | |
| Sunday, 18 August (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 17.12 (114) | def. | East Perth 11.8 (74) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 2139) | |
| Sunday, 18 August (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 11.14 (80) | def. by | Perth 14.14 (98) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1346) | |
| Bye Swan Districts | |||||
| Round 21 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 24 August (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 9.10 (64) | def. by | Subiaco 15.13 (103) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1695) | |
| Saturday, 24 August (2:15 pm) | Perth 17.9 (111) | def. by | West Perth 18.11 (119) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1780) | |
| Saturday, 24 August (2:15 pm) | Claremont 13.10 (88) | def. by | South Fremantle 14.7 (91) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1234) | |
| Saturday, 24 August (2:15 pm) | East Perth 18.17 (125) | def. | Swan Districts 4.12 (36) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 2161) | |
| Bye Peel Thunder | |||||
| |||||
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Perth (P) | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1773 | 1312 | 135.1 | 52 |
| 2 | Subiaco | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1529 | 1241 | 123.2 | 52 |
| 3 | West Perth | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1517 | 1460 | 103.9 | 48 |
| 4 | East Fremantle | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1504 | 1340 | 112.2 | 40 |
| 5 | Perth | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1446 | 1433 | 100.9 | 36 |
| 6 | South Fremantle | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1462 | 1466 | 99.7 | 36 |
| 7 | Claremont | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1299 | 1386 | 93.7 | 28 |
| 8 | Peel Thunder | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1446 | 1653 | 87.5 | 28 |
| 9 | Swan Districts | 18 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 1114 | 1799 | 61.9 | 4 |
| First semi-final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 31 August (2:15 pm) | West Perth 12.15 (87) | def. | East Fremantle 12.10 (82) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 3,391) | |
Two goals each to Todd Curley and Corey Johnson snatch the game after the Falcons were nineteen points down entering time-on in the last quarter. [24] | |||||
| Second semi-final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 8 September (2:15 pm) | East Perth 17.8 (110) | def. | Subiaco 10.10 (70) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 6,431) | |
| Preliminary final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 15 September (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 10.9 (69) | def. by | West Perth 12.15 (87) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 6,378) | |
The switch of Adam Curley into attack proved decisive for the Falcons who overpowered Subiaco in the last quarter. [25] | |||||
| 2002 WAFL Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 22 September | East Perth | def. | West Perth | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 31,382) | [26] |
| 6.4 (40) 8.8 (56) 13.11 (89) 15.14 (104) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 1.2 (8) 1.6 (12) 2.11 (23) 5.14 (44) | Umpires: Luke Farmer, Craig Hendrie, Ryan Worthington Simpson Medal: Ryan Turnbull (East Perth) | ||
| Ridley 3, Laich 3, Swan 2, Wheatley, Glancy, Thompson, Symmons, Baxter, Cowell, Humm | Goals | Duckworth 2, Leithhead, Britten, Todd Curley | |||
| Marley, Holman, Turnbull, Lalich, Humm, Prior | Best | Lassock, Todd Curley, Cousins, Leithhead, Duckworth, Lecras | |||
Tony Micale wins his fourth premiership in five years (he won with East Fremantle in 1998) as West Perth are strangled completely up forward before rain affects the second half and the Royals coast. | |||||
The 1998 Westar Rules season was the second season of ‘Westar Rules’ and the 114th season of the various incarnations of senior football in Perth. The season opened on 29 March and concluded on 20 September with the 1998 Westar Rules Grand Final contested between East Fremantle and West Perth.
The 1997 Westar Rules season was the 113th season of senior football in Perth, Western Australia. It featured a number of dramatic changes to a competition whose popularity had been dramatically reduced by the drain of players to the Eagles and Dockers of the AFL. The competition's name was changed from the prosaic ‘West Australian Football League’ to ‘Westar Rules’ in an attempt to update the local competition for a more sophisticated audience. However, this change became regarded as unsuccessful and was reversed as per recommendations of the “Fong Report” after four seasons. West Perth also changed their name to Joondalup to recognise their location in Perth's growing northwestern suburbs, but changed back after the ninth round.
The 1996 WAFL season was the 112th season of the West Australian Football League in its various incarnations.
The 1995 WAFL season was the 111th season of the West Australian Football League in its various incarnations. Already depleted in strength by the rise of the West Coast Eagles, the WAFL suffered a further blow to its popularity and standard when the AFL, to counter the Eagles’ dominance of the early 1990s with a champion defence and vast player depth, introduced the Fremantle Dockers as a second Western Australian club.
The 1999 Westar Rules season was the 115th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League and the third as “Westar Rules”. It is most notable for the first winless season in open-age Western Australian football since Midland Junction in their final 1917 season lost all twelve of their games, although South Fremantle in the under-19 1944 competition lost all nineteen of their games. Peel Thunder, who at the completion of the season had won only two of their first sixty Westar Rules matches, achieved the equal second-longest winless season in a major Australian Rules league behind SANFL club Sturt in 1995. Although beforehand most critics thought the Thunder would improve on what they did in their first two seasons, late in the season none of the major Westar Rules writers gave them a chance to win even against second-last East Perth at Rushton Park.
The 1994 WAFL season was the 110th season of the West Australian Football League in its various incarnations.
The 1988 WAFL season was the 104th season of the West Australian Football League in its various incarnations.
The 2000 Westar Rules season was the fourth season of ‘Westar Rules’ and the 116th season of the various incarnations of senior football in Perth. It was the last season before the competition's name was changed back to the traditional ‘WAFL’ as it was clear the public had not been attracted by the change. Owing to the Sydney Olympics, Westar Rules shortened the 2000 season from twenty to eighteen matches per club, and retained this eighteen-match season in 2001 and 2002 before going back to the current twenty-match season.
The 1989 WAFL season was the 105th season of senior football in Perth. It saw Claremont continue its dominance of the competition with a third successive minor premiership under Gerard Neesham, despite having lost most of their top players of previous seasons to the VFL, and their 1988 conquerors Subiaco fall to third last with a mere six wins – their worst performance since the dark days of 1983 when the club had not played in the finals for nine years and had been wooden spooners four times in eight seasons. Coach Bunton had to promote many young players and knew 1989 was to be a year of rebuilding, though only a second Colts premiership under Eddie Pitter showed Subiaco did possess much resilience.
The 2001 WAFL season was the 117th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League. Following the off-season “Fong Report” by WAFC President Neale Fong which was written as a response to the problems then faced on-and off-field by AFL and domestic football in Western Australia, the league reverted to calling itself the ‘WAFL’ because it was acknowledged ‘Westar Rules’ was painfully contrived and did not reflect the history or traditions of the local game.
The 1990 WASFL season was the 106th season of senior Australian rules football in Perth, Western Australia. It saw the league, already realising that the damage from the admission to the VFL of West Coast would be permanent rather than temporary as was hoped in 1986, rebrand itself as the Western Australia State Football League, but the move was unsuccessful and reversed after a single season. The refusal of WASFL clubs to permit an Eagles reserves team in the WASFL and the WAFC's refusal to accept one in the AFL's reserve grade competition led to further problems when Claremont said they would not play West Coast discards in the league team and produced a short-lived draft for such players, whilst at the same time Claremont rejected a proposed draft for the numerous young footballers who came from Perth's private schools but when not boarding lived in rural areas.
The 2007 WAFL season was the 123rd season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League. The season saw Subiaco, confounding the critics who expected them to slip after winning their second premiership in three years, win their second consecutive premiership for the first time in ninety-four seasons, with injury-plagued forward Brad Smith overcoming two reconstructions that wiped out 2005 and 2006 to kick 126 goals for the season, the most in the WAFL since Warren Ralph kicked 128 for Claremont in 1983. Smith also achieved the unique feat for a full-forward of winning the Simpson Medal in the Grand Final.
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The 2006 WAFL season was the 122nd season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League. Owing to low crowds making the city's traditional big-match venue, Subiaco Oval, uneconomic due to high overheads, the WAFL followed the AFL since 1991 by scheduling finals at the home ground of the club higher on the ladder.
The 2003 WAFL season was the 119th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League. For this season the WAFL reverted briefly to playing its semi-finals as a “double-header”, a policy abandoned for good at the end of the 2005 season, and also reverted to a twenty-game home-and-away season with three byes which has continued to this day.
The 1992 WAFL season was the 108th season of senior football in Perth, Western Australia. It is most notable for the end of the Claremont dynasty of the previous five seasons, which was pre-season an expected result of losing all but nine of the premiership side to the AFL draft or in two cases retirement. The Tigers, whose guernsey reverted from the gold sash to the CFC monogram, which they wore during their miraculous premiership success in 1964, fell from first with only two losses to avoiding the wooden spoon only by percentage, in the process using fifty-two players in the league team. East Fremantle won their first premiership for seven years after a very disappointing 1991, whilst East Perth, who had been stragglers for the preceding half-decade, made a remarkable rush from fifth position to narrowly miss their first Grand Final since winning the 1978 premiership.
The 2005 WAFL season was the 121st season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League. It saw reigning premiers Subiaco's third consecutive minor premiership, despite the loss of key forward Brad Smith to the West Coast Eagles and knee surgery. Thirty-year-old reserves spearhead Lachlan Oakley proved a perfect replacement and scored eighty goals in his only full season before moving to Victoria and playing with Parkdale Vultures in the VAFA. The Lions were widely tipped to finish the season undefeated with their perceived depth, discipline and motivation, but after suffering only two defeats in the home-and-away season, the Lions collapsed severely in the finals for South Fremantle to claim their first premiership since 1997. The premiership was a wonderful finalé for Toby McGrath, who retired for an army career after the 2004 season, but returned to WA in February and rejoined the Bulldogs to win both the Sandover and Simpson Medals.
The 2004 WAFL season was the 120th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League.
The 1993 WAFL season was the 109th of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League. It saw an extraordinarily even competition amongst all the teams except Perth, with only three and a half games separating first and seventh and the smallest dispersion of winning percentages in the WAFL since 1921. West Perth's 13 wins and a percentage marginally under 100 is the fewest wins and lowest percentage to take top position in a major Australian Rules league: indeed no team had headed the ladder with a percentage nearly so low at any stage of a season except Hawthorn during May of 1969 and Perth during June and July 1963.
Zane Parsons is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the South Fremantle Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). From Wagin, Parsons played most of his career in the forward line, and was South Fremantle's leading goalkicker in 1998, 2002, and 2003. In 2002, he kicked 65 goals to win the Bernie Naylor Medal as the competition's leading goalkicker, and additionally won South Fremantle's best and fairest award, the W. J. Hughes Medal. Parsons was hampered by injury throughout his career, playing only 74 games in ten seasons at the club, from which he kicked 179 goals. He also represented Western Australia twice in interstate matches.