WAFL Team of the Week – Round 15

FOUR matches in Round 15 of the 2022 WAFL season saw no shortage of excitement and drama, and once more the sports in the Team of the Week were hotly sought after across the board.

All four Round 15 WAFL matches took place on Saturday afternoon with Claremont improving to third position as a result of a 10.12 (72) to 9.9 (63) win against Swan Districts who got knocked out of the top five in the process.

Peel Thunder then moved into fifth position on the WAFL ladder as a result of their 13.15 (93) to 6.4 (40) victory at East Fremantle's New Choice Homes Park.

East Fremantle put a hammering on the injury-ravaged Perth with the 23.14 (152) to 9.2 (56) win the best possible response to their disappointing derby loss last week also at the WACA Ground.

South Fremantle and West Perth couldn’t be separated at Fremantle Community Bank Oval as they played out a draw 9.11 (65) apiece for the first time between the two clubs since 1984.

Once again across the four matches in Round 15 of the WAFL, plenty of players put themselves in the hunt for selection in the Team of the Week.

That included key defenders Matthew Jupp, Blake Schlensog, Mark Hamilton and Noah Pegoraro along with fellow backmen Toby McQuilkin, Matt Taylor, Traye Bennell, Jehb O'Donohue and Jack Lewsey.

Attacking defenders Lachlan Martinis, Kye Willcocks, Nathan Wilson, Cam Eardley and Glenn Byron all put themselves in calculations as well with their performances.

The conditions weren’t quite ideal for the forwards again on Saturday but still Jack Buller, Nick Robertson, Sam Sturt, Jonathon Marsh, Jed Hagan, Sam Stubbs, Harry Quartermaine and Brandon Donaldson were among those the put in eye-catching displays.

It was a day cut out for inside midfielders and as a result among those to shine were Ben Edwards, Jared Hardisty, Josh Cipro, Hamish Brayshaw, Angus Schumacher, Connor Blakely, Haydn Matthews, Mitch Crowden, Kyle Baskerville, Milan Murdock, Josh Schoenfeld, Corey Byrne, Tom Blechynden, Shane Nelson, Aidan Lynch and Mitch Peirce.

Some of the players on the outside to star were Bailey Rogers, Ryan Lim, Declan Mountford, Jarvis Pina, Angus Scott, Neil Erasmus and Luke English.

Other midfielders to catch the eye were Jye Bolton, Chris Mayne, Aidan Clarke, Christian Ameduri, Darcy Tucker, Tyrone Thorne, Matt Johnson, Blaine Boekhorst, Austin Davis, Haiden Schloithe, Brendon Ah Chee and Luke Meadows.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND – DARCY TUCKER (PEEL THUNDER)

For the second straight week, Darcy Tucker delivered a best on ground performance to lead Peel Thunder to an important WAFL victory and now into fifth position on the ladder as a result.

Already a WAFL premiership player with Peel from 2016, the 105-game AFL midfielder is in some impressive form right now for the Thunder as he attempts to break into the Dockers team ahead of the finals.

However, should be unable to break back into that Fremantle AFL team to add to his 105 matches this year, he is going to remain a key part of Peel's charge to attempt to play in their first finals series since winning back-to-back premierships in 2016 and 2017.

Now 25, Tucker was just 19 years of age when he played in a premiership with the Thunder in 2016 and there's no reason he couldn’t help put Peel in the mix for a third flag this year if he keeps his form up, and so do the team.

He has played 11 matches this AFL season, but his last two performances in the WAFL for Peel have been eye-catching with him widely regarded as the clear best on ground firstly against Perth last week and then against East Perth on Saturday at East Fremantle's New Choice Homes Park.

After he delivered 32 possessions and two goals in the win last week over the Demons, Tucker went up another level again against the Royals finishing the afternoon with 38 possessions, nine marks, seven tackles, six inside-50 entries and three goals.

It was quite the remarkable individual performance to ensure he is in good touch heading towards the finals this year whether it's in the WAFL with Peel or the AFL with Fremantle.

Players of the Round
Round 1 – Jake Florenca (South Fremantle)
Round 2 – Ryan Lim (Claremont)
Round 3 – Luke Meadows (West Perth)
Round 4 – Jesse Turner (Swan Districts)
Round 5 – Leigh Kitchin (Subiaco)
Round 6 – Blair Bell (Peel Thunder)
Round 7 – Oliver Eastland (Claremont)
Round 8 – Matthew Jupp (East Fremantle)
Round 9 – Toby McQuilkin (South Fremantle)
Round 10 – Aaron Black (West Perth) 
Round 12 – Blaine Boekhorst (East Fremantle)
Round 13 – Noah Strom (South Fremantle)
Round 14 – Brandon Erceg (Swan Districts)
Round 15 – Darcy Tucker (Peel Thunder)

WAFL TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 15
BACK: Mark Hamilton (WP), Matthew Jupp (EF), Toby McQuilkin (SF)
HALF-BACK: Cam Eardley (EF), Blake Schlensog (SF), Lachlan Martinis (C)
CENTRE: Darcy Tucker (PT), Connor Blakely (PT), Blaine Boekhorst (EF)
HALF-FORWARD: Aidan Clarke (SD), Sam Sturt (PT), Haiden Schloithe (SF)
FORWARD: Bailey Rogers (C), Jonathon Marsh (EF), Jed Hagan (EF)
RUCK: Hamish Free (SF), Shane Nelson (WP), Jye Bolton (C)
INTERCHANGE: Josh Schoenfeld (EF), Tom Blechynden (SF), Declan Mountford (C), Aidan Lynch (WP)

UNLUCKY BUNCH

There were plenty of players who delivered tremendous performances across Round 15 but couldn’t quite fit into the Team of the Round, including:

Claremont's Jack Buller, Ben Edwards, Ryan Lim, Jack Lewsey and Jared Hardisty.

Swan Districts' Jehb O'Donohue, Josh Cipro and Jarvis Pina.

East Perth's Nick Robertson, Angus Scott, Hamish Brayshaw, Angus Schumacher, Kye Willcocks and Christian Ameduri.

Peel Thunder's Neil Erasmus, Tyrone Thorne, Matt Johnson, Haydn Matthews, Mitch Crowden, Nathan Wilson and Traye Bennell.

East Fremantle's Luke English, Kyle Baskerville and Milan Murdock.

Perth's Sam Stubbs, Harry Quartermaine, Corey Byrne, Chris Mayne, Matt Taylor and Austin Davis.

South Fremantle's Glenn Byron, Brendon Ah Chee and Brandon Donaldson.

West Perth's Luke Meadows, Noah Pegoraro and Mitch Peirce.