The West Australian Football League (WAFL) 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 March 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 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.
The Peel Thunder Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The team is based in Mandurah, Western Australia, with their home ground being Rushton Park. The club joined the WAFL as an expansion team in 1997.
Jarrad Schofield is an Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles, Port Adelaide and Fremantle in the Australian Football League (AFL) and Subiaco in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).
Zachary Samuel Dawson is a former Australian rules football player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club, St Kilda Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League. In March 2019, he was appointed as Manager of the Carlton Football Club's Next Generation Academy program.
Ben Howlett is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Sam Menegola is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He had previously been listed by Hawthorn and Fremantle, but didn't play a senior game for either club. He is related to former Swan Districts premiership winner and Richmond player, Todd Menegola.
Josh Bootsma is an Australian rules footballer currently listed with Peel Thunder in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). He previously played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), but had his contract terminated midway through the 2014 season, for breaching the club's and the AFL's codes of conduct.
Gerald Ugle is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL).
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 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 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.
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 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.
Joshua Deluca is a former professional Australian rules footballer who last played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) after being delisted.
Ryan Nyhuis is a professional Australian rules footballer who last played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
The 2020 WAFL season was the 136th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League (WAFL). The season commenced on July 18th due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced West Coast into recess for this season.
