Round 16 WAFLW Preview

IT is the penultimate round in the 2022 WAFLW season and while the top two spots are locked up, three teams are locked in a battle over third and fourth making this weekend’s match ups critical in the race for finals positions.

East Fremantle has locked up the minor premiership while remaining undefeated coming into the last two rounds of the 2022 WAFLW season while Claremont has also secured second position with their two lone losses coming against the Sharks.

That means those two teams can already begin preparing to lock horns to open the finals in a second semi-final match up at Steel Blue Oval in three weeks’ time, but the other finals spots are anything but secured.

Peel Thunder currently sits in third position at 6-6 with a percentage of 131.6. That has the reigning premier’s percentage ahead of Swan Districts who are 6-7 at 101.7. Then there is Subiaco with a 5-7 record and percentage of 85.7.

That means the three teams are locked in a fascinating fight for third and fourth position to make up those last two finals places. Peel is in the box seat with the best percentage and two games to go while Swans have the bye in the final round with those two teams playing one another this weekend.

Then there’s the Lions who do have two games to go but they have the worst percentage and those two games are against Claremont and Peel.

That all leads into what is going to be a defining Round 16 in the WAFLW competition starting on Saturday afternoon with a Grand Final rematch between Swan Districts and Peel Thunder at Bassendean’s Steel Blue Oval.

The game bounces down at 12.15pm and the winner will guarantee themselves a place in the finals. Meanwhile the loser will face a nervous wait. 

If it’s Swans, they will need Peel to beat Subiaco next week while if it’s the Thunder, they will need to beat the Lions next week to close the season in order to make finals and keep their quest for a premiership hat-trick alive.

The other two Round 16 matches take place on Sunday afternoon beginning at 12.30pm with West Perth hosting East Fremantle at Joondalup’s Pentanet Stadium.

That contest pits the winless Falcons in their inaugural WAFLW season with an average losing margin of 68.1 points up against the undefeated Sharks with an average winning margin of 37.3 points. 

However, neither team can be moved from bottom or top spot no matter what happens on Sunday or in the final round of the 2022 season.

The last game of the round then takes place at Leederville Oval and it’s a must-win affair for Subiaco up against Claremont with bounce down set for 2pm.

The Lions must win their remaining two matches against the Tigers and Thunder if they want to play finals in 2022 but the Tigers are locked into second spot and will want to ensure they maintain their good form heading into that second semi-final battle with East Fremantle.

WAFLW TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 15

ROUND 15 WAFL WRAP

Meanwhile the two matches for Round 16 in the WAFLW Reserves competition pits Swan Districts up against Peel Thunder on Saturday and Subiaco against Claremont on Sunday.

SWAN DISTRICTS v PEEL THUNDER

WEST PERTH v EAST FREMANTLE

SUBIACO v CLAREMONT