R6 Wrap Up with Jacob Landsmeer thanks to The Left Bank

LEAGUE REPORT WITH JACOB LANDSMEER THANKS TO LEFT BANK

Five goals from forward Cody Leggett has led East Fremantle to their most impressive win of the season, defeating Subiaco by 32 points at the WACA Ground on Saturday. 

The Sharks kicked the first four goals of the twilight contest, never headed from there as the home side took down an in form opponent, 13.10 (88) to 7.14 (56). 

Intermittent showers throughout much of the day left the famous WACA centre wicket area muddied and slippery for the start of the top five clash, Subiaco with three consecutive wins  against top five teams from 2022 heading in to the contest.

The Sharks needed to end that streak in order to solidify their spot in the top five, suffering a 15 point loss to West Perth in round five. 

With lack of speed a factor against the Falcons coach Bill Monaghan added young guns Chris Walker and Ben McGuire for some spark,the latter making his debut for the club having previously represented East Perth. 

Walker slotted the first goal from a set shot after three minutes, the Sharks midfield lifting noticeably after a rare off day against West Perth. 

Milan Murdock was in the thick of the action with great support from Kyle Baskerville and Jackson McDonald, covering for the absence of Tom Joyce and Harry Marsh due to injury. 

In the blink of an eye the Sharks had the first four goals on the board, dominating territory and field position to establish an early stranglehold on the match. 

Josh Schoenfeld, Cody Leggett and Dillon O’Reilly all hit the scoreboard, a restructured forward line working wonders for the Sharks. 

Hugh Dixon went in to the ruck to combat Lions big man Zac Clarke, Reuben McGuire sent to defence and freeing up Jarrad Jansen to return to the midfield. 

A Jack Mayo goal got the Lions on the board just before quarter time, Leggett answering quickly in the second term to maintain a four goal lead.

Mayo and Ben Sokol produced back to back majors for the visitors but the Sharks had all the answers, Leggett and O’Reilly continuing their strong starts in attack with majors. 

A 21 point half time lead was a strong reward for a largely dominant effort from East Fremantle, recording 41 inside 50’s to 14 to have firm control of the contest at the halfway point. 

When the blue and whites slammed on the first four goals of the second half the game was effectively decided, Leggett’s fifth major of an imposing performance pushing the margin out beyond 7 goals. 

While the forward line’s dominance was reflected on the scoreboard the work of the unheralded backline was also on show, Lennon Marlin blanketing Ryan Borchet on his East Fremantle debut while captain Matthew Jupp would keep Ben Sokol to just one goal. 

East Fremantle snuffed out any potential comeback with a strong final term, Fraser Turner and Brayden Lawler with majors in a comprehensive 32 point victory. 

Leggett kicked five goals straight to be the star up forward, Milan Murdock with 26 disposals and 7 tackles in midfield while Cameron Eardley had 26 touches down back. 

Marlin was outstanding in his first game for his new club, the former Demon with 18 disposals and 4 marks while keeping Ryan Borchet to five touches and no score. 

Fraser Turner rebounded strongly from illness with 24 touches and Kyle Baskerville had 21 disposals in a typically consistent display.

East Fremantle Football Operations Manager Brad Dodd lauded a much improved performance. 

“We needed to start well after a disappointing game last week and we did that and set a tone for the day in that first term,” he said. 

“Our midfield won contests and our forwards ahead of the ball had plenty of chances as a result. It’s a nice way to head in to the bye with a win against a quality opponent.” 

The win sees the Sharks head in to the state game bye with a 4-2 record, occupying fourth spot with crunch clashes to come against Claremont and South Fremantle in the next month. 

The Sharks head North for their next match, facing Claremont in Broome on May 27th. 

RESERVES

The East Fremantle Reserves found their way back on the winners list after a hard fought victory against the previously undefeated Subiaco. With 3 Colts players making their Reserves debut, the team played a committed and tough brand of football to win by 21 points in wet conditions. 

Despite a positive start where they own a fair bit of ground position, it was Subiaco who opened the goal account first, kick the first 2 goals of the match. But the young Sharks responded to kick the last 3 goals of the term and take a 5 point lead into the first break. Enrique Aiken-Featherstone, Corey Holmes and Matt Williamson were providing plenty of drive through the middle while Kale Paton, Sam Collins and Keanu Haddow were resolute in defence. 

The rain came in the 2nd quarter and turned the game into a real arm wrestle. With the WACA centre wicket turned into a mud pit, moving the ball through the corridor was tough and, despite enjoying the better of the play, Subiaco could only kick 5 points to the Sharks 1 to see the margin remain in East Fremantle’s favour by 2 points. 

A flurry of goals to the Sharks to start the 3rd quarter saw the margin extended to just under 5 goals before a late Subiaco major kept them within reach at the last change. Josh Ritchie and Tom Wallis were providing plenty of drive off half back while Lachlan Blakiston was having the better of the ruck battle and providing some valuable yardage from his hit outs. Subiaco pushed hard to start the last quarter, peppering the goals but could only manage one goal before a Tom Wallis steadier from a 100m penalty shut the door on an important win. 

Enrique Aiken-Featherstone, with 26 disposals and 7 inside 50s, and Cory Holmes, playing on a wing and collecting 28 disposals and 11 marks, were instrumental in the result while Lachlan Blakiston continued his recent run of good form with 14 disposals and 38 hit outs in the ruck. Down back, Tom Wallis, Josh Ritchie, Kale Paton, Luke Kenny and Keanu Haddow stood tall while up forward, while no stand outs, all competed and provided pressure. Congratulations also to Phoenix Knight, Will Anderson and Felix Visser for making their Reserves debuts and capping it off with a win.

The players now enjoy a week off before tackling Claremont in Round 7. 

COLTS

We headed to the WACA Saturday morning to take on a Subiaco side in an important game where third place on the ladder was up for grabs.

Excitement filled the changerooms before the game with two new players making their debut for the East Fremantle Colts. Noah Dean (Bullcreek-Leeming  JFC) and Jacob Hills (Canning Vale JFC)were rewarded for their hard work and patience over the last few weeks.

The game started well with Dante Wiseman slotting an early goal, but it wasn’t long before the Subiaco midfield started to dominate. They were very effective linking up with their forwards as they took full control of their chances by slotting six goals for the term. Our effort was there and we worked hard against them to score three goals ourselves but we had to find a way to stop Subiaco’s midfield dominance and their dangerous forward line.

The second term was much the same as the first with Subiaco holding the midfield control and their forwards once again capitalising on their chances to score a further 5 goals whilst restricting us to just the one goal for the quarter.

We faced a 39 point deficit at half time. A rev up and reminder to play our way to the team at the main break saw us come out in the third and start to find some fluency in our play aided by a lift in our intensity. We managed to kick 3 goals on the run mid-term that clawed the margin back to 24 points. It was at this point the rain arrived and washed our chances away as Subiaco adapted to the conditions better than us kicking the last couple of goals for the quarter to put the result beyond doubt at three quarter time.

Whilst we played the game out in the last quarter Subiaco finished much stronger than us to run out convincing 49-point winners.

Dante Wiseman was lively around the goals with two, Jack Cocking continues his good form with 2 goals and Noah Dean did well kicking 2 on debut.

Koen Sanchez worked tirelessly in the midfield to finish with 27 disposals, whilst James Spadanuda worked hard along with Declan Pauline who never stopped trying all day.

A disappointing result against some good opposition , but with a bye coming up this weekend , it gives the group a good chance to review and assess and set themselves for Claremont in a couple of weeks.

ATEAM AWARENESS & TBC1D24 FOUNDATION

The club were so pleased to be apart of the A Team Round, bringing awareness to the TBC1D24 Foundation and their fundraising efforts.  What a beautfiul family the Italiano are. 

Both our WAFL and WAFLW teams wore the A Team TShirts in support of the TBC1D24 Foundation and our shinning star Arianna led the way.   

Great funds were raised and profile was lifted for the foundation.  Thank you everyone who supported the cause.

WAFL UMPIRE APPRECIATION ROUND

All grades on the day paid tribute to our match day umpires and respect their role in match day.