WAFLW Team of the Week – Round 11

IT was a pivotal Round 11 in the WAFLW on Saturday and plenty of standout performances including Larissa Versaci leading East Fremantle back into the top four with Jeevna Heer starring for West Perth and then strong team efforts from the on-fire Claremont and Swan Districts.

It was always going to be a potentially season-defining round in the WAFLW with the top two teams doing battle with South Fremantle hosting Claremont, and then Subiaco and Swan Districts fighting over third place, and even West Perth and Peel Thunder just trying to stay in the finals hunt.

All four games took place across Saturday including a double-header at Leederville Oval beginning with Swan Districts snatching a thriller over Subiaco 4.3 (27) to 4.2 (26) to make it six consecutive wins with the black-and-whites rising to third position.

Next up at Leederville Oval was East Fremantle getting back to the winning list after a tough month by beating East Perth 9.14 (68) to 1.1 (7) with the Sharks getting back into the top four as a result by the end of Round 11.

It was then down to Mandurah and West Perth continued its rapid improvement this season in the WAFLW competition by beating Peel Thunder 6.2 (38) to 4.3 (27) at Lane Group Stadium.

Last up for Round 11 was the battle of the top two teams and it was Claremont who continued to go through the season without losing a game in its premiership defence.

The Tigers beat South Fremantle 8.4 (52) to 3.5 (23) at Fremantle Community Bank Oval to move further clear in top spot but the Bulldogs do still remain in second with a good buffer despite the defeat.

There were once again plenty of star performances across the four games and here's how the Round 11 Team of the Week came together.

WAFLW TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 11

BACK: Julia Uhe (EP), Jess Roper (WP)
HALF-BACK: Greta McKinley (PT), Claire Ortlepp (C), Ebony Dowson (PT)
CENTRE: Jeevna Heer (WP), Larissa Versaci (EF), Beth Beckett (EF)
HALF-FORWARD: Georgie Cleaver (EF), Hanna Dethlefsen (S), Molly O'Hehir (SF)
FORWARD: Grace Betti (WP), Rachel Ortlepp (C)
FOLLOWERS: Ariana Hetherington (SF), Jayme Harken (C), Emily Bennett (WP)
INTERCHANGE: Cassie McWilliam (SD), Ruby Mahony (SD), Zoe Huggett (SF), Olivia Wolmarans (S), Matilda Sergeant (C)

Each week of the WAFLW season during 2023, we will be selecting a Team of the Week and here's how the side for Round 11 came together from the weekend's action.

The full-back line in the Round 11 Team of the Week features East Perth's Julia Uhe once again along with West Perth's Jess Roper.

It was another tough outing for East Perth against East Fremantle at Leederville Oval on Saturday, but once again Uhe battled impressively down back. She was named to the Team of the Week for a third straight time, and fourth for the season, after finishing with 21 disposals and four marks.

West Perth had an impressive win against Peel Thunder in Mandurah and again Roper had a standout performance in the defensive unit for the Falcons. She ended up with 16 possessions, five tackles and three marks to be named to the Team of the Week for a second time.

The three players making up the half-back line are Peel Thunder pair Greta McKinley and Ebony Dowson along with Claremont's Claire Ortlepp.

McKinley was named to the Team of the Week for a third time this season and she produced a brilliant performance for the Thunder despite losing to the Falcons. She finished with 29 touches, seven tackles, five inside-50 entries and two marks.

Her teammate, and captain, Dowson is having a phenomenal season despite Peel struggling with just the two wins from 10 games. She was superb again on Saturday in the loss to West Perth with 23 disposals, six tackles and five marks to become the first player named to the Team of the Week seven times in 2023.

The other member of the half-back line is Ortlepp who continued her first-rate season defensively for Claremont while also being outstanding at setting up play with ball in hand. She was named to the Team of the Week for a sixth occasion in the win over South Fremantle with 17 touches, seven marks and three tackles.

There was once more plenty of midfielders across the four games and eight teams putting their hands up for selection too and the three on-ball positions for Round 11 went to Larissa Versaci, Jayme Harken and Emily Bennett.

Versaci produced a best on ground performance for East Fremantle in the win over East Perth that returned them to the top four. She finished the afternoon with 26 possessions, nine tackles, six marks and six entries inside the forward 50.

Harken was another brilliant performer in the Claremont midfield with the Tigers locking away top spot. She earned a place in the Team of the Week for a sixth time this season thanks to 24 touches, four marks and four tackles in the win against the Bulldogs.

Bennett kept her strong form going for the improving West Perth and in the win against Peel, she had 22 touches, 11 tackles, five marks and a goal to earn a place in the Team of the Week for a third straight week, and fourth overall this season.

Named outside them were Jeevna Heer and Beth Beckett while the ruck position once again went to South Fremantle's Ariana Hetherington.

Another West Perth player finding their groove now this season is Heer. She booked in a place in the Team of the Week for the first time on the back of a superb performance against Peel with 22 disposals, five tackles, three marks and two inside 50s.

Beckett was another of the players to produce a first-class showing in East Fremantle's bounce back win and she delivered 19 possessions, five marks, four inside 50s, three tackles and a goal to earn a place in the Team of the Week for a third time.

The crossover success from basketball to football from Hetherington continues to be one of the standout stories of this WAFLW season. She clearly now has an AFLW future too having successfully moved to South Fremantle after being captain at her Rockingham Flames NBL1 team.

Hetherington was again tremendous despite Saturday's loss for the Bulldogs to Claremont with 14 touches, 27 hit outs, five tackles, three marks and three inside 50s.

East Fremantle's Georgie Cleaver had a standout performance to be named as part of the half-forward line along with Subiaco's Hanna Dethlefsen and South Fremantle's Molly O'Hehir.

Cleaver is one of the brightest young stars in the WAFLW competition this season and she showed her potential and versatility in the big win against East Perth. She split her time between playing forward and in the ruck to end the afternoon with two goals from 11 kicks, 14 hit outs, five inside-50 entries and four marks.

Dethlefsen continues to thrive in her move forward for Subiaco and as a result was named to the Team of the Week for a third time in the past five matches. She kicked three goals for the Lions against Swan Districts from her eight kicks.

South Fremantle might have suffered a loss to Claremont but it wasn’t an afternoon without positives still and O'Hehir was among them. She was named to the Team of the Week for a first time thanks to two goals to go with 11 touches and three tackles.

The full-forward line then featured West Perth's Grace Betti and Rachel Ortlepp.

West Perth did well to beat Peel comprehensively in Mandurah on Saturday and Betti was at the front of that for what she did in the forward 50. She ended up with 16 touches, five marks, three tackles, three inside 50s and two goals.

Claremont was looking for some new avenues to goal in the top-of-the-table clash with South Fremantle and Rachel Ortlepp went forward to great effect. Having spent most of the season off half-back, she revelled in the move forward to kick two goals from 12 disposals and five marks.

The interchange players for Round 11 are Swan Districts pair Cassie McWilliam and Ruby Mahony, South Fremantle's Zoe Huggett, Subiaco's Olivia Wolmarans and Claremont's Matilda Sergeant.

Not only McWilliam kick the winning behind to break the deadlock late in the game for Swan Districts against Subiaco, but she had another strong showing all afternoon in the forward-line. She kicked a goal from 15 possessions, four marks and four inside-50 entries.

Her teammate Mahony is now one of the form midfielders of the competition and was named to the Team of the Week for a fourth time this season, and third time in the past month. She delivered a performance made up of 14 touches, three tackles, two marks and a goal.

Another South Fremantle player to stand up well in the clash with Claremont was Huggett who ended up with 12 possessions, nine hit outs, four marks and a goal to earn a place in the Team of the Week for a second time in 2023.

Wolmarans is another player in the best form of her season in recent weeks as part of the Subiaco forward-line. Despite the one-point loss to Swan Districts, she had an impressive showing with 16 possessions and a goal.

The Claremont midfield did well to get on top of South Fremantle's in Saturday's win to see the Tigers move clear further in top spot. Sergeant was again a feature of that with 20 possessions, five marks, four tackles and three inside 50s to make her fifth Team of the Week appearance.