2007 WAFL season | |
---|---|
Teams | 9 |
Premiers | Subiaco 10th premiership |
Minor premiers | Claremont 12th minor premiership |
Sandover Medallist | Anthony Jones (Claremont) |
Bernie Naylor Medallist | Brad Smith (Subiaco) |
Matches played | 94 |
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, [1] 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. [2] Smith also achieved the unique feat for a full-forward of winning the Simpson Medal in the Grand Final.
The top three teams between 2004 and 2006 – the Lions, Claremont and South Fremantle – maintained their tight grip in 2007, though there were notable improvements from East Fremantle, who had won a mere nineteen games between 2003 and 2006 but rose to nine victories in 2007, and East Perth, who returned to the finals for the first time in four seasons. Claremont won eighteen of nineteen matches after two opening losses before their inexperience told against the hardened Lions in the Grand Final, resulting in a short but quite steep fall in the following two seasons.
Round 1 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday, 23 March (7:15 pm) | South Fremantle 13.4 (82) | def. by | East Fremantle 22.11 (143) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 3739) | |
Saturday, 24 March (2:15 pm) | Perth 18.11 (119) | def. by | Swan Districts 20.8 (128) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1982) | |
Saturday, 24 March (2:15 pm) | West Perth 14.14 (98) | def. by | East Perth 19.8 (122) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 2511) | |
Saturday, 24 March (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 13.16 (94) | def. | Claremont 6.11 (47) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1884) | |
Bye Peel Thunder | |||||
East Fremantle break a record sequence of thirteen straight losses against their derby rivals, with their previous win having been on Foundation Day of 2002. [3] |
Round 2 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday, 30 March (6:45 pm) | Subiaco 30.13 (193) | def. | South Fremantle 5.9 (39) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1776) | |
Saturday, 31 March (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 10.10 (70) | def. by | Perth 11.26 (92) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1116) | |
Saturday, 31 March (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 10.9 (69) | def. by | East Perth 16.23 (119) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 2147) | |
Sunday, 1 April (2:15 pm) | Claremont 13.15 (93) | def. by | West Perth 14.14 (98) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1864) | |
Bye East Fremantle | |||||
Subiaco’s 154-point win is their biggest over former rival South Fremantle and Bradley Smith’s thirteen goals a record for any Subiaco player against the Bulldogs [4] |
Round 3 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 7 April (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 12.23 (95) | def. | Peel Thunder 9.10 (64) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1602) | |
Saturday, 7 April (2:15 pm) | West Perth 11.9 (75) | def. by | Subiaco 16.11 (107) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1964) | |
Monday, 9 April (2:15 pm) | East Perth 12.13 (85) | def. by | Claremont 13.13 (91) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 2801) | |
Monday, 9 April (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 20.12 (132) | def. by | Swan Districts 19.20 (134) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2866) | |
Bye Perth | |||||
Round 4 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 14 April (2:15 pm) | West Perth 14.11 (95) | def. by | South Fremantle 14.20 (104) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1546) | |
Saturday, 14 April (2:15 pm) | East Perth 23.17 (155) | def. | Peel Thunder 18.6 (114) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1518) | |
Saturday, 14 April (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 8.15 (63) | def. by | Subiaco 20.9 (129) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 1878) | |
Saturday, 14 April (2:15 pm) | Perth 12.10 (82) | def. | East Fremantle 19.9 (123) | Dongara (crowd: 1850) | |
Bye Claremont | |||||
Round 5 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday, 20 April (6:45 pm) | South Fremantle 15.10 (100) | def. | East Perth 10.10 (70) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1843) | |
Saturday, 21 April (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 10.13 (73) | def. by | West Perth 10.18 (78) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1857) | |
Saturday, 21 April (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 11.13 (79) | def. by | Claremont 12.14 (86) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1274) | |
Saturday, 21 April (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 17.16 (118) | def. | Perth 11.7 (73) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 2051) | |
Bye Swan Districts | |||||
Round 6 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 28 April (2:15 pm) | Perth 13.10 (88) | def. | East Perth 11.11 (77) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1682) | |
Saturday, 28 April (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 13.15 (93) | def. | East Fremantle 9.19 (73) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 1959) | |
Saturday, 28 April (2:15 pm) | Claremont 15.7 (97) | def. | South Fremantle 14.9 (93) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1608) | |
Saturday, 28 April (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 28.14 (182) | def. | Peel Thunder 8.10 (58) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1405) | |
Bye West Perth | |||||
Round 7 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 5 May (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 19.10 (124) | def. | West Perth 14.10 (94) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 2217) | |
Saturday, 5 May (2:15 pm) | Perth 12.3 (75) | def. by | Claremont 15.11 (101) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1341) | |
Saturday, 5 May (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 10.15 (75) | def. by | Subiaco 18.13 (121) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1364) | |
Saturday, 5 May (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 12.15 (87) | def. by | South Fremantle 17.19 (121) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1140) | |
Bye East Perth | |||||
Round 8 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday, 11 May (6:45 pm) | South Fremantle 28.12 (180) | def. | Perth 9.9 (63) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2827) | |
Saturday, 12 May (2:15 pm) | Claremont 22.15 (147) | def. | Swan Districts 10.14 (74) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1672) | |
Saturday, 12 May (2:15 pm) | East Perth 11.8 (74) | def. | East Fremantle 8.12 (60) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1869) | |
Saturday, 12 May (2:15 pm) | West Perth 21.17 (143) | def. | Peel Thunder 12.7 (79) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1373) | |
Bye Subiaco | |||||
Round 9 | |||||
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Saturday, 19 May (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 12.11 (83) | def. by | Claremont 14.14 (98) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1339) | |
Saturday, 19 May (2:15 pm) | Perth 12.13 (85) | def. by | West Perth 18.9 (117) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1706) | |
Saturday, 19 May (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 10.16 (76) | def. | Swan Districts 6.11 (47) | Bunbury (crowd: 1500) | |
Saturday, 19 May (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 13.11 (89) | def. by | East Perth 14.8 (92) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1925) | |
Bye South Fremantle | |||||
|
Round 10 | |||||
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Saturday, 2 June (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 17.12 (114) | def. | Perth 17.8 (110) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 1854) | |
Monday, 4 June (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 13.13 (91) | def. by | South Fremantle 15.15 (105) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 9737) | |
Monday, 4 June (2:15 pm) | Claremont 10.14 (74) | def. by | Subiaco 12.8 (80) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 2950) | |
Monday, 4 June (2:15 pm) | East Perth 9.14 (68) | def. by | West Perth 17.22 (124) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 4575) | |
Bye Peel Thunder | |||||
Round 11 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 9 June (2:15 pm) | Perth 16.15 (111) | def. | Peel Thunder 11.9 (75) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 2294) | |
Saturday, 9 June (2:15 pm) | West Perth 17.6 (108) | def. by | Claremont 17.7 (109) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 2850) | |
Saturday, 9 June (2:15 pm) | East Perth 17.8 (110) | def. | Swan Districts 14.12 (96) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 2116) | |
Saturday, 9 June (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 20.14 (134) | def. | Subiaco 17.20 (122) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2149) | |
Bye East Fremantle | |||||
Round 12 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 16 June (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 10.15 (75) | def. by | East Fremantle 14.9 (93) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1289) | |
Saturday, 16 June (2:15 pm) | Claremont 14.12 (96) | def. | East Perth 12.2 (74) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 2230) | |
Saturday, 16 June (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 9.12 (66) | def. by | South Fremantle 28.9 (177) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 2922) | |
Saturday, 16 June (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 16.19 (115) | def. | West Perth 14.10 (94) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 2717) | |
Bye Perth | |||||
Round 13 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 23 June (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 13.12 (90) | def. | Perth 6.9 (45) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1190) | |
Saturday, 23 June (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 23.15 (153) | def. | Swan Districts 7.7 (49) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1801) | |
Saturday, 23 June (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 13.12 (90) | def. | East Perth 11.6 (72) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1030) | |
Saturday, 23 June (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 8.7 (55) | def. by | West Perth 7.15 (57) | Carnarvon (crowd: 2650) | |
Bye Claremont | |||||
Round 14 | |||||
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Saturday, 30 June (2:15 pm) | Claremont 18.15 (123) | def. | Peel Thunder 8.12 (60) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1117) | |
Saturday, 30 June (2:15 pm) | West Perth 14.11 (95) | def. | East Fremantle 9.21 (75) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1234) | |
Saturday, 30 June (2:15 pm) | Perth 7.12 (54) | def. by | Subiaco 23.19 (157) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1295) | |
Saturday, 30 June (2:15 pm) | East Perth 13.13 (91) | def. by | South Fremantle 18.10 (118) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1834) | |
Bye Swan Districts | |||||
Round 15 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 7 July (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 19.14 (128) | def. | Subiaco 18.12 (120) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1071) | |
Saturday, 7 July (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 13.14 (92) | def. by | Claremont 20.13 (133) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2990) | |
Saturday, 7 July (2:15 pm) | East Perth 13.14 (92) | def. | Perth 12.16 (88) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1681) | |
Saturday, 7 July (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 27.15 (177) | def. | Swan Districts 9.14 (68) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1284) | |
Bye West Perth | |||||
For the first and only time in their history, Swan Districts lose three consecutive matches by over 100 points. [8] |
Round 16 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday, 13 July (6:45 pm) | South Fremantle 14.13 (97) | def. | Peel Thunder 10.12 (72) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2804) | |
Saturday, 14 July (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 19.20 (134) | def. | East Fremantle 11.9 (75) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1845) | |
Saturday, 14 July (2:15 pm) | West Perth 13.12 (90) | def. | Swan Districts 8.17 (65) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1781) | |
Saturday, 14 July (2:15 pm) | Claremont 14.8 (92) | def. | Perth 12.13 (85) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1502) | |
Bye East Perth | |||||
Round 17 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 21 July (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 13.17 (95) | def. by | East Perth 15.15 (105) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1136) | |
Saturday, 21 July (2:15 pm) | Perth 4.19 (43) | def. by | South Fremantle 6.11 (47) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1270) | |
Saturday, 21 July (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 14.9 (93) | def. by | Claremont 14.14 (98) | Port Hedland (crowd: 1628) | |
Saturday, 21 July (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 8.15 (63) | def. | West Perth 8.13 (61) | Rushton Park (crowd: 920) | |
Bye Subiaco | |||||
|
Round 18 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 28 July (2:15 pm) | West Perth 7.14 (56) | def. by | East Perth 13.14 (92) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1660) | |
Sunday, 29 July (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 12.14 (86) | def. | South Fremantle 11.8 (74) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1956) | |
Bye Claremont, East Fremantle, Peel Thunder, Perth, Swan Districts | |||||
Round 19 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 4 August (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 13.12 (90) | def. | Peel Thunder 11.12 (78) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 1894) | |
Saturday, 4 August (2:15 pm) | Claremont 12.13 (85) | def. | East Fremantle 10.12 (72) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1674) | |
Saturday, 4 August (2:15 pm) | East Perth 5.8 (38) | def. by | Subiaco 22.16 (148) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 2244) | |
Saturday, 4 August (2:15 pm) | West Perth 16.7 (103) | def. | Perth 15.5 (95) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1500) | |
Bye South Fremantle | |||||
Round 20 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday, 10 August (6:45 pm) | South Fremantle 10.9 (69) | def. by | East Fremantle 12.16 (88) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2022) | |
Saturday, 11 August (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 17.9 (111) | def. by | East Perth 27.17 (179) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1124) | |
Saturday, 11 August (2:15 pm) | Claremont 14.13 (97) | def. | Subiaco 9.5 (59) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 2424) | |
Saturday, 11 August (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 15.11 (101) | def. | Perth 12.17 (89) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 2195) | |
Bye West Perth | |||||
Peel record their highest aggregate score on record of 290 points, beating their previous 2000 record against Swan Districts by nineteen. [11] East Perth amazingly kick 7.11 (53) in the third quarter but 5.0 (30) in the last. |
Round 21 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday, 17 August (6:45 pm) | South Fremantle 10.14 (74) | def. by | Swan Districts 11.15 (81) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2018) | |
Saturday, 18 August (2:15 pm) | Perth 16.7 (103) | def. by | Claremont 16.13 (109) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1468) | |
Saturday, 18 August (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 31.16 (202) | def. | Peel Thunder 12.8 (80) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1201) | |
Sunday, 19 August (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 19.7 (121) | def. | West Perth 5.7 (37) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1663) | |
Bye East Perth | |||||
|
Round 22 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 25 August (2:15 pm) | West Perth 12.11 (83) | def. by | South Fremantle 14.15 (99) | Arena Joondalup (crowd: 1423) | |
Saturday, 25 August (2:15 pm) | Peel Thunder 16.12 (108) | def. | Perth 14.7 (91) | Rushton Park (crowd: 1058) | |
Saturday, 25 August (2:15 pm) | Swan Districts 9.10 (64) | def. by | East Fremantle 11.17 (83) | Bassendean Oval (crowd: 2189) | |
Saturday, 25 August (2:15 pm) | East Perth 12.11 (83) | def. by | Claremont 24.17 (161) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1745) | |
Bye Subiaco | |||||
|
Round 23 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 1 September (2:15 pm) | East Perth 26.12 (168) | def. | Swan Districts 13.8 (86) | Leederville Oval (crowd: 1630) | |
Saturday, 1 September (2:15 pm) | Perth 11.5 (71) | def. by | Subiaco 23.11 (149) | Lathlain Park (crowd: 1795) | |
Saturday, 1 September (2:15 pm) | Claremont 21.13 (139) | def. | Peel Thunder 14.9 (93) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 1411) | |
Saturday, 1 September (2:15 pm) | East Fremantle 11.16 (82) | def. by | West Perth 14.13 (97) | East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 1816) | |
Bye South Fremantle | |||||
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Claremont | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 2076 | 1683 | 123.4 | 68 |
2 | Subiaco (P) | 20 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 2477 | 1447 | 171.2 | 64 |
3 | South Fremantle | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 1992 | 1895 | 105.1 | 44 |
4 | East Perth | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 1966 | 1978 | 99.4 | 44 |
5 | West Perth | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 1803 | 1826 | 98.7 | 40 |
6 | East Fremantle | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 1948 | 1714 | 113.7 | 36 |
7 | Swan Districts | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 1705 | 2296 | 74.3 | 32 |
8 | Peel Thunder | 20 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 1660 | 2299 | 72.2 | 20 |
9 | Perth | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 1662 | 2151 | 77.3 | 12 |
First semi-final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sunday, 9 September (2:15 pm) | South Fremantle 16.10 (106) | def. | East Perth 8.9 (57) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 3,527) | |
Second semi-final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sunday, 9 September (2:15 pm) | Claremont 16.13 (109) | def. | Subiaco 14.10 (94) | Claremont Oval (crowd: 3,722) | |
Preliminary final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sunday, 16 September (2:15 pm) | Subiaco 25.14 (164) | def. | South Fremantle 10.9 (69) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 5,511) | |
Seventeen-year-old rover Daniel Rich dominates around the ground to crush the Bulldogs, who kick only 3.5 (23) to 17.9 (111) after half-time. [13] |
This was also the last preliminary final held at Subiaco Oval From 2008 it was moved to the loser of the major semi final.
2007 WAFL Grand Final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sunday 23 September | Claremont | def. by | Subiaco | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 19,541) | [14] |
0.0 (0) 5.2 (32) 7.4 (46) 9.8 (62) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 4.4 (28) 8.5 (53) 13.8 (86) 15.13 (103) | Umpires: Gavin Statham, Todd Keating, Greg Bandy Simpson Medal: Brad Smith (Subiaco) | ||
Chad Jones 3, Anthony Jones 2, Rudeforth, Matson, Browne Crabb | Goals | Brad Smith 7, Pickett 2, Rich 2, Larkins 2, Nicoski, Marty smith | |||
Crabb, Browne, Wilkes, Schammer, Franz, Rudeforth | Best | Brad Smith, Pickett, Nicowski, Rumble, Rich, Webb, Hall | |||
Injuries | Broughton (hamstring) Webb (head) | ||||
Two medals in the Grand Final cap an amazing comeback for Brad Smith and give Subiaco a thoroughly deserved premiership. [2] |
The Subiaco Football Club, nicknamed the Lions and known before 1973 as the Maroons, is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). It was founded in 1896, and admitted to the WAFL in 1901, along with North Fremantle. The club is currently based at Leederville Oval, having previously played at Subiaco Oval.
Peter Bird is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the Australian Football League (AFL).
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 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 2010 WAFL season was the 126th season of the West Australian Football League in its various incarnations. It was notable for the end of the 2000s Subiaco dynasty, with the Lions missing out on the finals for the first time since 1997 and also witnessed reigning premiers South Fremantle dropping to be ahead of only perennial stragglers Peel and Perth, who continued their disastrous record of the 2000s - Peel avoided the wooden spoon with three wins but recorded the second worst average points against in WAFL history behind only Perth in 1981. In contrast, Claremont, who had not won a premiership since 1996 and had been second last in both 2008 and 2009, rose to the top with only one loss and a draw until the closing home-and-away round, whilst Swan Districts, after suffering through severe financial difficulties and a long run of poor results on the field, ultimately won its eighth senior premiership in a thrilling Grand Final.
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.[a] 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 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 2008 WAFL season was the 124th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League, and was completely dominated by Subiaco, who not only recorded their first hat-trick of premierships but achieved a dominance over the rest of the league unrivalled in a major Australian Rules league since Port Adelaide in the 1914 SAFL season. The Lions lost once to eventual Grand Final opponents Swan Districts by the narrowest possible margin, and were previously generally predicted to achieve an undefeated season, being rarely threatened in their twenty-one victories. They finished seven-and-a-half games clear of second-placed West Perth, and convincingly won the Grand Final after trailing early.
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, 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. The black and whites were within two points of a winless season in the seniors and did little better in the lower grades.
The 1991 WAFL season was the 107th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League. With the West Coast Eagles still pushing attendances down and club finances into the red, the league made further experiments. Following on from the VFL and SANFL it introduced a ‘final five’ to replace the final four in use since 1905, but this did not produce the hoped-for financial benefits and was abandoned after four seasons. A more enduring result of this chance was a ‘double-header’ system of playing finals, whereby the two senior semi-finals were played at Subiaco Oval on the same day, with the first game starting just before noon and the second at the traditional time for playing finals. As a consequence of the double-headers, reserves finals were played at Fremantle Oval and colts at Bassendean.
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 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 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 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 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 2014 WAFL season was the 130th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League (WAFL). The season began on 22 March 2014 and concluded on 21 September 2014 with the 2014 WAFL Grand Final. West Perth entered the season as reigning premiers after defeating East Perth by 49 points in the 2013 WAFL Grand Final at Patersons Stadium.