WAFL 2025: South Fremantle secure minor premiership with 47-point win over East Perth
The Bulldogs have earned the rights to host the second semifinal a month before it will be played, sitting two-and-a-half wins ahead of Claremont with only two rounds to go.
A six-goal to none first half set up the 11.9 (75) to 4.4 (28) victory for South Fremantle at Sullivan Logistics Stadium – their 11th consecutive.
Sandover Medal fancy Matt Parker (23 disposals, five inside 50s and five clearances) continued his stellar season, with the silky Bulldog relishing the tough conditions.
The bigger bodies at the Bulldogs of Jake Florenca (25 disposals, eight clearances and 10 tackles) and 100-gamer Tom Blechynden (29 disposals and seven clearances) outmuscled the home side around the contest frequently.
To make matters worse for the Royals, co-captain and Sandover medallist Hamish Brayshaw is set for a stint on the sidelines with what looked to be a quad injury.
The rain had eased by the first bounce, but the ground was a mess of mud and pools of water which made skill execution tricky.
It took more than 17 minutes for the first goal to be scored, with South Fremantle champion Haiden Schloithe slotting a set shot from the right forward pocket.
The Bulldogs had clearly been instructed to play direct football, playing on at every opportunity and driving the ball long to put the Royals' backline under pressure.
Meanwhile, East Perth tried to switch and finesse their way across the tough surface which meant their forwards were unable to get too many one-on-one opportunities.
South Fremantle had clearly got the style of play for the conditions right when at half-time they led by 40 points, while East Perth were held to their lowest first half score in six years.
East Perth finally broke through for a major five minutes into the third term when third-gamer Tyler Lindberg ran into an open goal.
But they were unable to make a significant dent in the Bulldogs' lead by the final break and were going to need an incredible last term if they were going to cause a boil over.
Any hopes of a comeback were dashed in the opening minute when former Fremantle defender Ethan Hughes kicked his first goal for the Bulldogs, ensuring they'd claim a 15th win for the season.
SOUTH FREMANTLE 2.3, 6.5, 7.7, 11.9 (75)
EAST PERTH 0.1, 0.1, 2.4, 4.4 (28)
Goals – SOUTH FREMANTLE: A Drage 2 T Ruscoe 2 Z Strom 2 J Artemis E Hughes R O'Hehir K Russell H Schloithe. EAST PERTH: T Lindberg M Schofield L Tedesco S van Diemen.
Best – SOUTH FREMANTLE: J Florenca M Parker T Blechynden L Rayson C Pearson N Strom. EAST PERTH: S Wright K Willcocks S Jones S van Diemen A Scott C Watts.
Injuries – EAST PERTH: J Msando (hamstring) S Wright (head) R Saunders (head) H Brayshaw (quad).
Umpires: M Adams T McPhee G Simmonds B Laycock. Crowd: About 700 at Sullivan Logistics Stadium.
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