WAFL R20 Wrap Up with Jacob Landsmeer - Thanks to The Left Bank

Sharks slip up in the wet to resilient Royals

East Fremantle’s winning streak has ended at five matches, suffering a three-point defeat to East Perth at Leederville Oval on Saturday.

Goals were rare on a day that saw more than 40 millimetres of rain in torrential conditions, puddles forming across large parts of the playing surface as, East Perth snuck home with the only two goals of the final quarter, 4.9 (33) to 3.12 (30).

The Sharks had led by as much as 10 points early in the final term, only for Tom North and Harrison Macreadie to break East Fremantle hearts with late goals to record East Perth’s 12th win of the season, guaranteed a top two finish with a round to play.

The battle of the Easts was a much-anticipated match up in round 20, the Royals coming off a 67-point win over West Coast while the Sharks had a strong 36-point win over fellow contenders Swan Districts at Arena Joondalup.

The teams had played out a thriller in round seven, East Perth clinging on to win by 3 points in conditions that could only be described as polar opposite to those presented on Saturday.

Premiership midfielder Tom Joyce returned for the Sharks, playing his first game since round 13 due to a chest injury having got through a reserves game unscathed against Swans.

Mitch Zadow was a late inclusion, with Chris Walker going out of the selected team while former Royal Ben McGuire was omitted from the clash after a quiet outing in round 19.

Heavy rain from mid-morning had taken its toll on the ground by the time the match started, large puddles forming at either end of the ground and on both sides of the centre square as the rain well and truly set in.

It meant goals and clean football were going to be hard to come by the Sharks hunting a top three finish with a win over the second placed Royals.

East Fremantle made a positive start, gaining early territory and registering the first two behinds through Milan Murdock and Alex Montauban.

East Perth slowly worked their way in to the game and were able to lock the ball at their end of the ground, Stan Wright mopping up (literally) many of the Sharks exits from defensive 50.

Lennon Marlin and Matthew Jupp were standing strong along with Max Murphy, while late inclusion Zadow was putting himself in the thick of the action to have an impact on the game.

Time on was reached without a goal on the board, Tom Graham receiving a free kick from what was deemed a dangerous tackle from the umpire to slot the first goal of the match for the Royals.

Dillon O’Reilly benefited from a free kick moments later, converting his set shot from 30 metres as the teams headed in to quarter time all square at 1.3 (9) apiece.

East Perth lost key midfielder Angus Schumacher to an ankle injury in the opening term, the former Carlton player taking no further part in the match.

Neither team was shirking an issue despite the conditions, tackles and desperation from both sides evident in each contest.

The Royals made a strong start to the second term as Liam Tedesco slotted another major from a free kick, Christian Ameduri missing an opportunity to extend the lead even further moments later.

The momentum started to turn though halfway through the second quarter, Kyle Baskerville and Tom Joyce lifting their team while Murdock slipped forward to impact the game, Jack Cleaver also outstanding with his clean possessions and strength in being able to break tackles.

A quick kick forward landed with Cam Eardley late in the quarter, the veteran able to slot the goal from right full forward to push the Sharks back in to the lead.

Tom Joyce produced a trademark tackle to earn another shot at goal before the half time siren but unable to get his kick on target, having to navigate a large puddle on his approach to goal and pushing his kick to the right to showcase just how tough goalscoring was on a wet afternoon.

The third term opened with East Fremantle again controlling territory thanks to a hard-working midfield, Cody Leggett crashing packs and having an impact after failing to record a disposal in the first half.

Neither side was giving much in an arm wrestle to end all arm wrestles, Milan Murdock getting under the skin of his opponents to first draw a free kick and then a 50-metre penalty to kick a major from the goal line, the first time in the match a side had kicked consecutive goals.

Just when it looked like the Sharks might be pushing away East Perth pressed again, the ball living in their forward half for the final ten minutes of the quarter as East Fremantle’s defence resisted stubbornly.

Lennon Marlin was impenetrable for the visitors, the premiership defender marking strongly on a day where ball control was extremely difficult and able to gain distance with long kicks out of the back half.

Despite East Perth’s best efforts, they could only register two behinds for the quarter, East Fremantle leading by 9 points with a massive final term to come.

With Peel in control against Swan Districts at Rushton Park the final quarter presented an opportunity for Bill Monaghan’s side to push in to the top three should they be able to close the game out, East Perth preparing for one last push in front of their home faithful.

Early signs pointed to the Sharks being able to navigate both the conditions and the best punches East Perth could throw at them, pushing the lead out to ten points.

Jack Cleaver and Blaine Boekhorst were standing up in several pivotal contests, while Kyle Baskerville and Harry Marsh were showing their poise in the clinches as was the indefatigable Murdock.

However East Perth weren’t giving up without a fight, big ruckman Scott Jones controlling the stoppages and former Docker Mitch Crowden involved in just about everything.

A stoppage goal from Tom North gave East Perth a sniff, the former Fremantle listed player able to float a snap from a ball up that found the target and reduced East Fremantle’s lead to four points.

Harrison Macreadie had been swung forward by Royals coach Ross McQueen having stymied Cody Leggett for most of the afternoon, taking a mark at left half forward before launching a long kick to an open forward 50, the ball skidding across the wet Leederville turf to evade Matthew Jupp’s best efforts running back towards the goal line.

It would prove to be the winning goal in a low scoring struggle, East Fremantle attacking with desperation in the final minutes of the match but only able to muster a rushed behind from a Cody Legget shot from long range.

The siren rang out with East Perth having conjured a miraculous victory having trailed by the best part of two goals in tough conditions, the Royals two goals the most any team managed in any quarter for the match.

To showcase the tight nature of the game both teams laid 130 tackles, no one laying more than Sharks vice-captain Baskerville, who finished with 20 tackles and 28 disposals an outstanding game from one of the club’s leaders.

Milan Murdock (27 disposals and 11 tackles) had an impact too for the reigning premiers, kicking 1.2 to be one of the most dangerous players on the ground.

Cleaver (24 disposals and 7 tackles) was immense for four quarter while Marlin gave all of himself down back with 20 disposals and 6 marks, a game high in a match that only saw 70 marks in aggregate.

East Fremantle General Manager of Football Brad Dodd lamented the little moments that mattered in a wet weather slog.

“It was a tough scrap all day where the team who took their opportunities would come out on top and unfortunately it didn’t go our way,” he said.

“The Tom North goal in the last quarter was pivotal in giving East Perth a chance to win and you just can’t afford those lapses to give him space to get the kick away.”

Dodd turned his focus to a round 21 clash with the West Coast Eagles at Mineral Resources Park, needing a victory to make sure of finals.

“We did a lot of things right and have given ourselves the opportunity to play finals if we win next week, which is what every team sets out to do at the start of the season.”

The news was better earlier in the day, the Reserves finishing their home and away season with a strong 10.10 (70) to 3.4 (22) win over East Perth.

The Sharks kicked 6.8 in the opening half while keeping their opponents to just 1.2, that lead essentially enough as the worst of the weather arrived to wash away any chance of an East Perth comeback.

Griffin Vladich continued his push for a league debut with 3.4 from 18 disposals, while Noah Dean (25 touches) and Jackson McDonald (20) both revelled in the wet conditions.

Jack Cocking and Ethan Paholski each kicked two goals in East Fremantle’s 11th win of the season, currently occupying second spot with third placed Subiaco just trailing on percentage.

The Lions can jump the Sharks to second spot if they topple ladder leaders Claremont in the final round, but East Fremantle are assured of a top three finish regardless of that result.

The Colts broke a nine-game losing drought with an 11.8 (74) to 7.7 (49) win over the Royals, finishing their season on a positive note.

The match featured a delay due to lightning, but not even the weather was going to stop the Sharks push to end their losing run which had stretched back to late May.

Elijah Stockden completed a superb season with 29 disposals and 2 goals, the son of former premiership player Marshall Stockden looking like a player of the future for the club.

Oliver McManus had 26 touches, the son of Fremantle Dockers and Sharks great Shaun while Ashton Warner (brother of Chad and Corey) had 22 kicks in a strong performance.

Jaxon Graham kicked three goals while Kadyn Wilson finished with two, the Sharks completing their Colts season with a 5-11 record, hit hard by injury with five players suffering season ending ACL knee injuries across the year.

Only the League team will feature in round 21, East Fremantle facing West Coast at Mineral Resources Park at 1:00 PM in what looms as a must win clash for the reigning premiers, who can finish anywhere from third to sixth in an absorbing finish to the 2024 WAFL season.