WAFL Round 4 Match Report

In a big round of football against Claremont sides who have been stamping their authority on the WAFL competition over the past few seasons, the Swan Districts men’s sides were able to come away with two impressive victories, and one loss.

Check out the breakdown of each game below…

WAFL League

A career record of 51 disposals for dual Sandover medallist, Jye Bolton, wasn’t enough to get his side over the line in a nail-biting game at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday afternoon. In a televised match which many doubted the Swans could overcome the previously undefeated ladder leaders, it’s the first time an Adam Pickering led side have been able to take home the four points against the Tigers.

The first quarter saw the Swans applying constricting pressure around the ground, winning the one-on-one contests and forcing Claremont into making continual uncharacteristic disposal errors. Jesse Palmer was electric early, setting up co-captain Chris Jones for the first goal of the game. Claremont hit back shortly after with a lucky dribble goal from the pocket.

Palmer hit the scoreboard himself as the black and whites continued to be at the drop of the ball, with the Tigers again kicking back to keep the game close. A purple-patch from the Swans saw them dominate the forward half, as Sam Fisher, Lachlan Riley and a handful of near misses, gave the black ducks take a 16-point lead at the first break.

The pressure lifted from both sides in the second, taking nine minutes for the first goal of the quarter to be scored… unfortunately by Claremont. The Swans intercept marking, particularly in defence was on show, taking 10 marks to 1 directly from their oppositions boot.

Will Collins and Tom Edwards provided a play of the day moment. Collins was able to get a fist in to spoil his opponent on the lead, followed up with a run outside of the defensive 50, took on three Tigers before Edwards got onto the end of his kick with a diving slips-like mark.

A goalless quarter for the Swans, however, saw them manage just four behinds, to head into halftime down by a single point. Although the visitors were the first to capitalise in the third, two straight goals from Mitchell Bain regained the lead for the black ducks. Trading goals for the remainder of the quarter saw the black and whites ahead by two points going into the final term.

Claremont started quickly in the fourth, kicking two goals to take a 10-point lead. After a number of unpaid marks that could have gone either way for Chris Jones, he was able to close the gap to a single scoring shot with a snap from the pocket sailing over the goal umpire’s head.

Moving the ball from full back, and applying pressure up the ground, the home side hit the front once more after Sam Fisher kicked truly from 40 out. Holding the ball in their forward half, a couple of missed opportunities didn’t sway the Swans confidence. A fifth goal to Jones, after a 50m penalty put him on the goal line, to extend the lead to 10.

Claremont peppered the ball inside their forward 50m in the final few minutes of the game, with the black and whites defence proving too strong for the Tigers, taking an impressive nine-point win, SD 11.14 (80) to CT 11.11 (71).

Athletic forward, Tom Edwards, was flying in the air and crashing packs all day. His exciting mark in the final term is sure to be a contender for Mark of the Year.

Jones was imperative in the Swan Districts victory, believing that they have what it takes to win in these tight games.

“We haven’t beaten Claremont for 5 years, so it is great to get the win” he said. “The first couple of rounds we lost in close games and won last week in a close one.”

“We’ve been going through some situational drills at training to make sure we come out on top in these situations.

“Hopefully we can carry this into the rest of the year.”

The win now sees the Swan Districts sitting just outside the top five, with percentage the only thing keeping them shy of pushing as high as third place.

Goals: 5 – C Jones, 2 – M Bain, S Fisher, 1 – J Palmer, L Riley

Best: T Notte, J Turner, C Jones, S Fisher, N Ireland

WAFL Reserves

It was a tough ask for the Swans coming into the game at Steel Blue on Saturday morning, lining up against a Claremont side looking to sit atop the Reserves ladder. Their confidence was up however, with a few big names who regularly play League footy, taking to the field in the seconds.

A good start for the Swans Reserves saw them in the game early, able to kick truly for two straight goals, while their opponents were a little more inaccurate, seeing the home side down by just three points at the first break.

Continuing their straight kicking, the visitors outscored the black and whites by a solitary goal in the second, heading into the main break with a nine-point deficit.

In what has plagued our Swans teams so far in 2022, the black ducks were held goalless for the third time in as many weeks in the third quarter. The Tigers were good in close, using their handball effectively to break open the Swans in congestion. Claremont built on their lead, with the black ducks requiring four unanswered goals in the final term to catch their opponents.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be on the day, with a three goal to four quarter seeing the visitors take home the SD 7.2 (44) to 11.8 (74) victory.

Max Chipper and Ayden Cartwright led the Swans disposals on the day, with 29 and 26 respectively.

Goals: 2 – R Kemp, K Caporn, 1 – T Bayok, J Cipro, A Cartwright

Best: M Chipper, A Cartwright, N Hannan, K Caporn, L Humphries

WAFL Colts

Heading into the game on Sunday morning at Steel Blue Oval without a win to their name, the Swan Districts Colts came up against a Claremont outfit also desperate for a victory.

The Colts started with extreme confidence on the day, holding their opponents to a solitary point, while kicking three goals themselves. The 21-point margin could have been greater at the first break, kicking three goals four, for their best start of the season so far.

Dominating the forward 50m in the second, the Swans piled on the scoring shots, but again couldn’t quite capitalise in front of the big sticks, with 33-points separating the sides at the half.

Outscoring the Tigers 50-37 in the final half, the young Swans took home the four points for the first time this season with the strong 13.18 (96) to 8.2 (50) win.

Riley Hardeman finished the game as the leading disposal getter on the ground with 29, while it was the ‘Jones Show’ upfront, with both Brayden and Darcy finishing with three goals apiece.

Goals: 3 – B Jones, D Jones, 2 – C Skeen, 1 – T Burgess, C Mcdonald, B Fitzgerald, D Hirst, J Newland

Best: R Hardeman, A Laurisson, D Jones, J Sullivan, J Mcelwee

With a WAFL-wide bye next week, due to the state games, sees all three men’s sides take a well-deserved break next weekend, after a big month of football.

Round 5 continues against Subiaco, with the League side travelling for their game in Kalgoorlie, while the Reserves and Colts team will stay in Perth, playing at Leederville Oval.