LAST MINUTE HEART BREAK FOR SHARKS

LEAGUE

East Freo fall in final seconds to Perth on Saturday after a fatal ‘holding the ball’ was called to give  the Demons a set shot in dying seconds, finishing the match with East Freo 9.9 (63) to Perth’s 10.6 (66).

The Sharks held a narrow lead throughout the second half of the match, heading into halftime up by 3 points and 3-quarter time by 11.

It was Perth’s accuracy in front of goal that got them over the line, with 16 scoring shots and 10 goals compared to East Freo’s 18 scoring shots for 9 goals.

Liam Robinson kicked 3 majors while Smartt, Knight, Ball, Strnadica, Summered and Petersen kicked one a piece.

Jack Cleaver maintained his strong form this season with 24 disposals, 10 tackles and 8 inside-50’s to keep the Sharks in the contest against a strong Perth team who sit second on the ladder.

Despite East Freo’s best defensive efforts to holt the Perth come back in the last, a late holding the ball call on Austin Ball in defensive 50 gave Perth’s Oscar Hine-Baston a set shot from 40m out as Perth were down by 3 points with 30 seconds left.

While the final result was disappointing for the Sharks, they put up a good fight against a top 2 team away from home and have earnt a rest during their bye round.

The 2 debutants for East Fremantle Josh Nathan and Declan Pauline showed they were up to the task, with 12 and 10 disposals respectively – demonstrating the next wave of Sharks talent are something to look forward to.

PERTH               2.2     4.3    7.4      10.6 (66)
EAST FREMANTLE           1.3     4.7    8.9       9.9 (63)

GOALS
PERTH: 2 – J Kluske, A Clarke 1 – B Schlensog, L Paton, N Cachard, O Hine-baston, B Parfitt, J Edwards,
EAST FREMANTLE: 3 – L Robinson 1 – O Smartt, P Knight, A Ball, L Strnadica, K Summerell, Z Petersen,

BEST
PERTH: C Dean, W Tilbee, C Constable, B Parfitt, J Watson
EAST FREMANTLE: J Cleaver, C Eardley, J Marsh, A Ball, L Robinson

RESERVES

Reserves tough season continues as Perth match blows out to 122 point loss at Mineral Resources Park.

Perth set the tone early with a 5.4 opening quarter to stay ahead of the Sharks the whole day, but it was the 3rd quarter which proved decisive as East Freo scored only a point to Perth’s 36 point quarter.

Perth maintained possession of the ball for the majority of the day, keeping the sharks under 250 disposals while producing 401 themselves.

While the Reserves will be disappointed with the result, they will look forward to the bye to have a break and recoup for the back end of the season.

PERTH               1.2     2.2   2.3      4.5 (29)
EAST FREMANTLE           5.4     12.5    17.11       23.13 (151)

GOALS
PERTH: 8 – J Hewer 3 – Z Zilioli, A Luers 2 – J Glass-mccasker, N Murray, J Bodle 1 – L Mactaggart, Z Johnson, S Cameron,
EAST FREMANTLE: 1 – L Martignago, K Wilson, B Wood, C Westbrook,

BEST
PERTH: C Dean, W Tilbee, C Constable, B Parfitt, J Watson
EST FREMANTLE: L Martignago, T Phillips, C Ramsay

COLTS

The East Freo Colts continue to put together a strong 2026 campaign producing a 6.16 (52) to 3.8 (26) win over Perth Demons.

East Freo seized the momentum early and controlled the game, keeping Perth goalless for the first half of the match.

Hunter Hearn, Jett Abbott and James Artemis were dominant across the ground, with Artemis producing an outstanding 13 tackles.

Perth pulled back the momentum in the 3rd quarter to score 3 goals, but a strong East Freo side held out to keep them goalless in the final quarter whilst scoring 2 themselves.

Goal kickers for East Freo were Wall, Artemis, Abbott J, Kale, Connelly and Hannahford.

PERTH                 0.3     0.6    3.6       3.8 (26)
EAST FREMANTLE            2.5      3.8   4.12    6.16 (52)

GOALS
PERTH: 1 – D Kabelka, C Ryan, C Lee
EAST FREMANTLE: 1 – L Wall, J Artemis, J Abbott, T Kale, D Connelly, N Hannaford

BEST
PERTH: L Mammana, A Richardson, F Gunton, F Tomasini, C Lee
EAST FREMANTLE: H Hearn, J Artemis, T Kale, F Yeo, D Connelly