Round 2 WAFLW Match Report

It wasn’t the home opener to the WAFLW and Rogers Cup seasons Swan Districts was hoping for against Subiaco at Steel Blue Oval on Sunday, but it still wasn’t without positives across the two games.

Swan Districts was home at Steel Blue Oval on Sunday in Round 2 of the 2023 WAFLW season with both the league and Rogers Cup teams ending up going down to the Lions on the hallowed turf at Bassendean.

Swans were playing their first home game at Steel Blue Oval for the season on Sunday and attempting to bounce back from a narrow first up loss on the road to Peel Thunder, but Subiaco arrived on a mission to make up for an opening round draw with South Fremantle.

The Lions dominated the first half away from home on Sunday with six goals in the opening half to just three behinds from the Swans.

Swan Districts' lone goal of the game came in the third quarter but the home team wasn’t quite able to mount a comeback with Subiaco going on to score the 8.9 (57) to 1.4 (10) victory for a first win of 2023.

The lone goal for Swan Districts was kicked by 17-year-old Tamzyn Beros in the third quarter.

It turned out to be a tough afternoon for Swan Districts but Jaime Henry came into the team after starting the season in the Rogers Cup team and showed why she's part of the leadership group. She finished with 19 possessions, five tackles and three marks.

Captain Jess Cox finished with another 15 possessions, six tackles, five marks and three inside 50s for Swans with Hope Ugle-Hayward gathering 13 disposals, Jasmine Ware 13, Kayley King 12, Carys D'Addario 12, Demi Liddle 12 and Isabella Edgley 12.

Sarah Wielstra also ended the game with 12 touches and 16 hit outs in the ruck.

While Swan Districts did manage a behind to both start and finish the opening quarter, in between Subiaco put its stamp on the contest with three goals courtesy of Jess Ritchie, Kelsey Patterson and Tiah Toth to head into the quarter-time break leading by 16 points.

A second goal for the Lions to Patterson at the 10-minute mark of the second term pushed the Subiaco lead out to 22 points which soon became 30 with a goal to Eva Popovsky and then 36 with another to Tarni Golisano.

Subiaco took that six-goal advantage with them into the half-time interval before Swan Districts did get on the board with their first goal of the game less than two minutes into the second half courtesy of Tamzyn Beros.

There wouldn’t be another goal in the third quarter for almost 14 minutes after a string of six Subiaco behinds. That goal came to Ritchie just before three quarter-time and her second of the game put the Lions in front by 42 points at the last change.

Subiaco kicked the only goal of the last quarter as well through Joanne Cregg to end up winning the contest by a commanding 47 points over Swans.

Meanwhile, Swan Districts' Rogers Cup team also suffered a loss to start the afternoon at Steel Blue Oval with Subiaco ending up winning 6.12 (48) to 5.4 (34).

Swans started well with two goals to one in the opening quarter but the Lions responded with three goals to one behind in the second term to head into half-time leading by 15 points.

It was a goal apiece in the third quarter with Subiaco's lead 16 points at three quarter-time before Swans did manage to outscore the Lions in the second half but could only cut the final deficit to 14 points.

Jasmyn Ihanimo kicked two goals for Swan Districts with one apiece to Riley Hall, Sarah Burke and Jemma Sly.