WAFL Match Report: Semi Final East Perth v South Fremantle

By Liam Maher

After a strong performance in the first final, East Perth had earned a chance to play for a spot in the grand final. The challenge was to beat South Fremantle, a task which proved to be too tough of an ask. Unfortunately, the Royals did not perform to the level required on this occasion and suffered a big defeat in a disappointing result for the club (3.2 – 20) to (12.7 – 79).

The stage was set for one of the biggest games of the season, though the weather was far from friendly. Heavy winds and slippery conditions made clean ball movement difficult, particularly for East Perth, who were kicking into the breeze early. The opening passages were dominated by stoppages, creating a scrappy, contested start.

With the wind advantage, South Fremantle pressed hard and recorded 11 inside 50s to East Perth’s six. However the Royals’ backline stood tall to limit the scoreboard damage. Opportunities were scarce at the other end, though Tom Graham provided a highlight with a strong contested mark and composed set-shot conversion. At quarter time, the contest remained tight after a competitive and hard-fought opening term (1.0 – 6) to (2.2 – 14).

The second term began much like the first, with congested stoppages and scrappy play dominating the opening minutes. As both sides settled into the conditions, the game began to open, and East Perth started to see more of the ball. Despite this, the Royals struggled to generate meaningful attacking opportunities, with their slower, possession-based style proving ineffective in the wet and windy conditions.

Defensively, the Royals remained disciplined, once again restricting South Fremantle’s scoring impact for most of the quarter. However, the Royals conceded a late goal before halftime, which stretched the margin out to 20 points (1.0 – 6) to (4.2 – 26). Although the deficit wasn’t huge, East Perth would need a big improvement in its game plan to have any chance of winning.

The second half began with an improvement in the weather, easing some of the pressure on both sides. East Perth found early possessions but continued to struggle in turning it into genuine attacking impact.

South Fremantle capitalised, converting more of their dominance onto the scoreboard and opening the contest in a way they had previously been denied. Mitch Schofield provided a rare highlight for the Royals with a well-taken goal late in the term, but with the margin stretching to 40 points at three-quarter time, it was going to take a miracle for East Perth to mount a comeback (2.1 –13) to (8.5 – 53).

The final term began with South Fremantle quickly stamping out any faint hopes of a comeback, kicking two early goals to put the result beyond doubt. From there, East Perth’s mindset appeared to shift towards next week, though they did manage to produce some of their best passages of the day. Recording a game-high nine inside 50s for the quarter, the Royals showed glimpses of the ball movement and link-up play they had been searching for all afternoon.

However, their efforts were sporadic as fatigue set in, compounded by earlier injuries to Tom Graham and Jayden Peak, which left them two men down for much of the game. In the end, the siren confirmed a disappointing loss to South Fremantle, who once again proved too strong (3.2 – 20) to (12.7 – 79).

This was a tough loss to take for East Perth, with a lot of players likely looking to rectify their performances in the Pre-Liminary final next week. Liam Tedesco’s return from injury was a big positive on the day as he recorded 27 disposals, seven tackles and three marks in a strong performance. Stan Wright was busy at halfback with a season high of 33 disposals. Scott Jones (13 disposals, 47 hitouts) put in another huge effort in the ruck again, while Sam Van Diemen laid an impressive 14 tackles in another high-level performance.

The result on the weekend means the path to the Grand Final now requires one more game and one more win. For the third time in a month, East Perth will play against Claremont. This time, though, it is a sudden death game with the winner going to the Grand Final. The Royals are back at home for this one so be sure to head down early this Sunday 14^th September as the Reserves are also playing for a spot in the Grand Final against Swan Districts at 11.25 am, with the League team following behind at 2.10 pm against Claremont.