Lions tame the Black Ducks in Round 5

Although it’s only early in the season, getting initial wins on the board have never been as important as they are in 2022. With Covid still at a high in WA, it remains an unknown to all 10 WAFL sides as to how it will impact their teams personally as the year progresses.

Unfortunately for all our three of our WAFL sides, strong starts and close quarters couldn’t see them get the job done against Subiaco over the weekend.

Check out the rundown for each of the Swan Districts WAFL games below…

WAFL League

The last time our League side met the Lions in Kalgoorlie was in 2003. Managing just 12% accuracy in front of goals on the day, the black and whites lost by 23 points after kicking 3 goals and 22 behinds. Thankfully on Saturday, this inaccuracy was not prevalent, however, the loss was just as demoralising, having led the game for most of the day.

It was an ominous sign from the opening bounce, with Subiaco marking inside 50m in the first 30 seconds of the game to kick the opening goal. In a showing of how much the Swans have grown together in recent years, the black and whites hit back… and hit back strong.  

The Swans matched the intensity of the reigning Premiers, taking away their ability to play a high possession game and forcing them to miss targets all around the ground. The black and whites also hunted the ball in packs, and backed each other up in numbers coming out of defence.

This style of play saw them respond to the Lions quick start, with four goals of their own as the quarter ticked on. Against the flow, Subiaco added another two late goals, before Mitchell Bain settled the attack, to see the Swans take a 13-point buffer into the first break.

With a highly contested start to the second, it took six minutes for the first goal of the quarter to be scored, in favour of the Lions. The Swans only managed to put a few points on the board for the next 10 minutes, while Subiaco adding another to narrow the gap to a single kick. A late goal from the Swans, before the Lions retaliated shortly after saw the black and whites with the narrowest of margins heading into the main break, with just one point the difference.

Subiaco came out in the third controlling the ball inside their forward half for the first 10 minutes of the quarter, kicking a goal to go ahead for the first time since the opening minute of the game. With an exceptional showing of maturity, the Swans turned defence into offence, going on a four-goal run to see take back the lead and build a handy margin. With a number of easy misses and out-on-the-fulls, the black and whites were unable to put their opponents to the sword in the wet, ahead by 20 going into the final term. Greg Ottaviano was crucial in the third, with a number of one-percenters that didn’t show up on the stat sheet, proving important to his side’s turnaround.

Subiaco turned the tables in the fourth, locking the ball in their forward half for 11 inside 50s to 1 in the first 10 minutes. The Swans absorbed the pressure during this time with the Lions managing just two points. Tony Notte was a notable absence in the backline in the opening stages of the term, after a heavy collision in the third put him on the sidelines with the blood rule. He returned to the ground wearing the number 47 jersey. In a bad stroke of luck, number one ruckman Matt Germs also went down, injured for some time during the fourth. Subiaco finally broke through with a major, closing the gap to 12 points. The Swans were able to get the ball back into their forward half for the next five minutes of the match but were unable to score. The Lions again pushed forward and scored to be within a kick. After Swans defender Will Collins had held key forward Ben Sokol to just five possessions and a goal for the first three quarters of the game, he not only managed to kick Subiaco in front late in the term, he added another two goals within a couple of minutes to help lead the Lions to the SL 12.10 (82) to SD 10.8 (68) victory.

Matt Germs dominated the hit outs all day with 53, Jesse Turner had a strong outing fresh from his WA State Game appearance with 33 disposals and 6 Inside 50s, Mitchell Bain filled the stat sheet in all areas but hit outs and all three of Chris Jones’ goals came from the goal square.

Goals: 3 – C Jones, 2 – L Riley, 1 – M Bain, J Palmer, B Noble, R Kemp, S Bright

Best: T Notte, W Collins, M Bain, C Ehlers, T Watson

WAFL Reserves

The Lions dominated the forward half early in the opening term at Leederville Oval on Sunday, with five scoring shots from the first seven inside 50s, taking an early 15 point lead in the game. The Swans tackling pressure and contested ball use saw them start to even up the time in their forward half, but could only manage three behinds to be down by an even two goals at the first break.

After another early Subiaco goal, it was Warrick Wilson who responded, kicking the Swans first for the day. The black and whites pressure increased as the quarter went on, with the home side only able to convert three behinds, having gone inside their forward 50m arc on 15 more occasions for a 15-point half time buffer.

The Swans kicked back in the third, kicking two goals to close the gap to just four points before the Lions responded a few minutes later. A couple of behinds between the sides saw 11 points separating the teams heading into the final term.

Held to just a single goal in the fourth, the black and whites were unable to hold off a fast finishing Subiaco side, eventually going down SL 9.12 (66) to SD 4.6 (30).

Tarir Bayok had an impressive day with 23 possessions, 8 marks and 11 tackles.

Goals: 2 – W Wilson, 1 – K Caporn, E Kane

Best: J Beck, M Chipper, T Bayok, L Tester, K Mcpartlan

WAFL Colts

It was a battle to stay off the bottom of the ladder at Leederville Oval on Saturday morning, with both Swan Districts and Subiaco having just one win to their names so far this season. A win for either team could see them push up into the top five and start chasing down West Perth, East Fremantle and East Perth sides who are already establishing themselves as the teams to beat in the 2022 Colts competition.

It was a relatively even game in the first, with both sides getting plenty of the ball in a tight contest. The home side found themselves just 7 points in front heading into the quarter time huddle.

Although the Lions started to kick away a little in the second, a confident young Swans outfit still appeared up to the challenge. A touch over four goals separated the sides at the main break.

The third quarter is affectionately named the ‘Premiership quarter’ for a reason, as it can make or break a teams finish to the game. Unfortunately for the black and whites, it was the Lions who took hold in the third, kicking eight goals to two to set up an unassailable 64-point buffer heading into the final term.

With teams putting equal scores on the board in the fourth, it was the Premiership quarter that did all the damage, with the home side taking the strong SL 17.8 (110) to 7.4 (46) victory.

Darcy Jones was impressive on the day, finishing with a game high 27 disposals and 7 inside 50s. Brayden Fawcett’s tackling pressure was also on show (7 tackles) while the Smith boys held their own in the ruck.

Goals: 2 – B Fitzgerald, D Jones, 1 – J Cahill, B Jenkin, B Fawcett

Best: D Jones, A Laurisson, R Hardeman, B Fawcett

Swan Districts WAFL Round 6, 2022

In what is sure to be a fiery encounter, Round 6 sees the black and whites return home to Steel Blue Oval, up against South Fremantle sides that currently sit above all 3 Swans men’s teams on the WAFL ladder. Will this be the round that sees League coach, Adam Pickering, get his first win against the Bulldogs? Are the Reserves able to make it two in a row after defeating them in their last encounter? Can the Colts keep their winning run going against them, having beaten them on both occasions in 2021?

Saturday 28^th May

League vs South Fremantle         2:10pm               Steel Blue Oval

Reserves vs South Fremantle      11:40am             Steel Blue Oval

Colts vs South Fremantle             9:10am               Steel Blue Oval