Football Department Update | June 22

by Warren Parker, Football Operations Manager and Angus Schumacher, Football Operations Manager - Women's 

WAFL Football Department Update

Sunday saw the League, Reserves and Colts travel down to Fremantle Oval - a ground we feel we have played well at over the past couple of seasons but had never come away with the four points. We set out to rectify this and that is exactly what we did in all three grades. It is the first time it has happened this season and what we hope is the first of many for the rest of the year.

South Fremantle were very good against us in Round 6. Their strength was counteracting the way we plan to play and we were unable to come up with a solution for this. Just four games later, they did the exact same thing, just as well - however, our players and coaches were able to absorb the pressure and break through the Souths line with a combination of precision kicking and pressure around the contest.

The backline is starting to get the recognition they deserve from outside the club for their composure and cohesion, particularly under pressure. Nick Robertson was again very good, Jacob Msando did an excellent job curbing the influence of the dangerous Manfred Kelly, Tom North’s ball usage was again on show and Kye Willcocks keeps growing in stature as the season goes on.

Jedd Edwards had a terrific debut game with 35 hit outs. The midfield brigade again stood tall with Angus Schumacher collecting 39 touches, Angus Scott having 34 possessions and kicking a goal, and Mitch Crowden had the ball 26 times whilst applying 8 tackles.

Sam Van Diemen and Shayne Hille provided the spark up forward with three and two goals respectively while Mitch Schofield (three goals) and Liam Tedesco (two goals) continued their impressive mid-season form to keep us atop the points-for tally.

The Reserves showed plenty of fight in their match. Recalled Tom Albertsen was terrific in the ruck, competing and importantly having an impact around the ground. He was ably joined by Adam Boules and Riley Saunders who continue to push for League selection. Tom Medhat showed his class in the forward line collecting 22 touches including 10 marks finishing with 2.3 for the match. The win keeps the Reserves in touch with the Top 5 only being six points and percentage out of fifth spot.

The Colts blew away Souths with a seven goal to nil second quarter. To the Bulldogs’ credit, they clawed their way back into the game before we ran out 17-point winners. Mitch Miller and Will Cassidy led the way with 27 and 23 possessions respectively. Bailey Harbour continued his solid season while Jacob De Santis was terrific in the forward half kicking three goals.

We will train this evening and again on Friday in preparation for Perth, at Leederville Oval on Sunday. Perth have played good football over the past month and will be wanting to end our good run of form. We have a great rivalry with Perth and it would be great to see as many Loyal Royals as we can get down to the matches on Sunday as we aim to go for five in a row.

GO ROYALS!
Warren Parker - Football Department Manager

WAFLW Football Department Update

The penultimate round of the WAFLW season has come and gone, with our WAFL Women’s team falling just short of their first win versus Peel Thunder, whilst our Rogers Cup enjoyed a well-earned bye.

Our WAFL Women were full of belief after a strong showing in their previous match against West Perth and made the trip down the highway with great confidence.
The first quarter was evenly matched, with both teams’ strength in the contest and desire to win noticeable. The back-and-forth contest saw scores level at 12 apiece heading into quarter time and a great opportunity was there to secure our first win of the season. Peel showed class with their ball movement in the second quarter and broke the dead lock with a three goal to none second quarter, heading into the main break 18 points up. Still full of belief after playing some high level footy across the first half, our girls came out firing for what was setup for a great second half contest. Similar to the first quarter, the contest was extremely evenly matched after half time, with both teams converting one goal, one behind in both quarters. Ultimately, the game was decided by Peel's 10-minute burst in the second quarter, and they ran out 18 point victors. 

The match saw an impressive two goals from Ebony Thompson, supported by a goal each to Matilda Bennett and Chloe Sauzier. All three were rewarded with awards as part of our best players alongside Tahlia Dawson-Gibbs and Melisha Hardy.

It was a spirited showing and we have demostrated plenty of growth over the past month to have some competitive matches and show great signs of improvement. We move on now to our final fixture of the season, back on our home deck up against the reigning premiers Claremont. In what shapes up to be a difficult match as Claremont look to get through the season undefeated, the vast improvements over the past month have shown we are up for the fight. Prior to the WAFL Women’s 2pm bouncedown, our Rogers Cup are on from 12pm as they look to get a win to secure themselves a spot in the 2023 finals series.

We would love to see you all down on Saturday to support our Women as they finish off what has been an exciting inaugural season, and help will our Rogers Cup across the line to ensure their spot in the finals.

GO ROYALS!
Angus Schumacher – Football Operations Manager – Women’s