Grand Final WAFL Preview

WEST Perth has the chance of a fairytale return to Leederville Oval on Saturday with teams in the league, reserves and colts Grand Finals but the Falcons won't have it all their own way up against Claremont, Subiaco and Peel Thunder respectively.

Grand Final day in the WAFL for 2022 will take place this Saturday and it will be held at Leederville Oval, and given it is the venue that West Perth called home up until the end of 1993, it's only fitting the Falcons have teams in all three deciders.

The day gets underway with the Reserves Grand Final at 8.50am with West Perth taking on Subiaco before the Colts Grand Final bounces down at 11.40am with West Perth playing Peel Thunder.

That all leads into the League Grand Final for 2022 with West Perth taking on Claremont from 3pm.

West Perth finished the season on top of the ladder in the reserves while Subiaco has won through to the Grand Final after beating Swan Districts in an elimination final, South Fremantle in a first semi-final and then Claremont in the preliminary final.

West Perth has played just the one final having defeated Claremont in the second semi-final to set up Saturday's Grand Final.

The Falcons are attempting to win an eighth reserves premiership and first since 2019 while Subiaco has won 18 reserves flags previously including going back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.

That leads into the Colts Grand Final for 2022 and again West Perth finished as the minor premiers before booking in their spot in the decider by winning the second semi-final against Peel by four points in a thriller at Pentanet Stadium.

The Thunder beat Subiaco in a qualifying final and then won the preliminary final last week against Subiaco by 10 points to book in their position in the Grand Final against West Perth.

The Falcons have only won two colts premierships in their history and they came in 1968 and 1990 while the Thunder colts have two flags to their name too with those coming in 2004 and 2005.

West Perth and Claremont will then lock horns in the main event of the League Grand Final with the Falcons attempting to win a first premiership since 2013, and the Tigers their first since 2012.

It will be just the third time the two teams have ever met in a Grand Final with West Perth winning in 1942 and Claremont prevailing in 1993 – both those matches were held at Subiaco Oval.

It will be the first time Leederville Oval has hosted a WAFL Grand Final as well with West Perth having called the ground home up until the end of 1993, and having played 768 games there over history for 482 wins, 279 losses and seven draws.

However, only two of those matches were finals and both losses to Subiaco in 2008 and 2015.

Claremont has played at Leederville Oval 148 times over history for 55 wins and 93 losses but Saturday will be their second only final there ever after losing an elimination final to East Perth in 2015. 

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WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON 2022 – GRAND FINAL 

WEST PERTH v CLAREMONT

This era of playing groups at West Perth and Claremont have developed quite the rivalry for a number of years now and it's only fitting they get to meet in a Grand Final on Saturday afternoon at Leederville Oval.

Just a glance back over the last decade and it's a fascinating recent history between the two clubs if you go back to the 2013 second semi-final when West Perth upset a dominant Claremont team who had just earned a fourth successive minor premierships, and had won the last two WAFL flags.

From there the rivalry has only continued to build with some outstanding and heated match ups at the Claremont Showground while Claremont Oval was being rebuilt, and some of the tagging jobs of current Falcons co-captain Dean Munns on Tigers superstar Jye Bolton were especially fascinating.

In fact, 10 of the last 21 meetings between the two teams have been decided by under 10 points highlighting just how little has separated the two sides as they chase a return to premiership glory.

West Perth went on to win that 2013 premiership and ironically the only year they have missed finals since was the very next season.

This season is an eighth consecutive finals appearance for the Falcons and it's included Grand Final losses to Subiaco in 2015 and 2018 the way as they now look to win a first premiership since 2013.

Claremont is still yet to win a premiership since 2012 but this is the fifth straight year the Tigers have been knocking on the door having reached a Grand Final in 2020, preliminary finals in 2019 and 2021, and the first semi-final in 2018.

Both clubs have ended the seasons of the other in finals in recent years too with Claremont beating West Perth by 24 points in the first semi-final at Revo Fitness Stadium last year while the Falcons beat the Tigers back in the same game of 2018 by 53 points at Pentanet Stadium in Joondalup.

Saturday's Grand Final will be the first ever held at Leederville Oval while it's the third in history between West Perth and Claremont. The two teams are one-all so far with West Perth winning by 51 points back in 1942 while Claremont won by 30 points in 1993.

That 1993 season was also the last time until this year that West Perth has finished on top of the ladder and claimed the minor premiership even though Claremont went on to win the Grand Final.

West Perth finished the home and away season on top of the ladder with 13 wins four losses and a draw to earn the break in the first week of the finals. The Falcons then beat East Fremantle by 20 points in the second semi-final to earn another week off going into the Grand Final while awaiting their opponents.

Claremont finished the season in third position and then lost to East Fremantle in disappointing fashion by 48 points in the qualifying final.

However, the Tigers have bounced back tremendously to beat Peel Thunder by 59 points and East Fremantle by 28 points the past two weeks to book in their place in the Grand Final.

While West Perth finished as minor premiers, Claremont won the two meetings during the season by four points at Joondalup in Round 4 and then by 29 points at home in Round 13 having led that game at one stage by 10 goals.

The Tigers have actually won three straight against the Falcons taking in the first semi-final last year too and five of the previous six.

Playing the Grand Final at Leederville Oval provides another fascinating element to Saturday's game given the obvious connection of West Perth to the venue.

West Perth called Leederville Oval home between 1915 and 1993, playing 717 games at the venue where they won 460 of them, lost 250 and drew seven.

The Falcons have still played another 51 games at Leederville Oval since Subiaco and East Perth have called it home.

Meanwhile, Claremont has played 148 times at Leederville Oval starting in 1926 for 55 wins and 93 losses but this is the first time the Tigers have played West Perth at the ground since Round 20, 1993.

In 95 meetings between the two teams at Leederville Oval, West Perth has won 69 of them and Claremont just the 26, but considering the last was in 1993 the relevance of that is minute coming into Saturday's Grand Final.

The coaching history of both men leading their teams into battle is yet another intriguing aspects of Saturday's Grand Final.

Darren Harris returned to coach West Perth in 2022 as he looks to build on a legacy already that has him having captained in the 1995 premiership where he also won the Simpson Medal. 

He then also coached the Falcons to the 2003 flag and following time in the AFL system at West Coast and Carlton, he returned to coach in the WAFL with Claremont and took them to the 2020 Grand Final.

West Perth has a team in all three Grand Finals on Saturday for the first time and that's something Harris is especially proud of while they've all had the same preparation having finished on top, and then winning their second semi finals.

"We're pretty proud that we'll have 68 West Perth men having the chance to run out on Saturday and represent their footy club," Harris told SEN WA.

"I guess it's just a reward to be able to go out and have a crack on a day like this for all the work everyone's done. It's been an outstanding job by the footy club.

"After we finished on top it gave us that luxury to sit back and have a look, and get your prep right. That also gets you right on edge and pretty hungry to play and we played a really good East Fremantle in quite a combative game in our first final.

"We went pretty hard at each other and then to be able to go and watch last week, and get your bearings just allows you to get your prep right. We know exactly what we're in for now on Saturday."

Then there is Claremont coach Ash Prescott who is still after that first flag as coach having previously taken the Tigers to Grand Finals in 2004, 2005 and 2007. He too then entered a career as an AFL assistant coach before returning to coach Claremont in 2021 ironically to replace the departed Harris.

Prescott is in his second season back coaching Claremont and with a fourth Grand Final appearance, a strong case can be made he's the best ever WAFL coach to not yet win a premiership.

Now that Saturday's Grand Final is fast approaching, Prescott is feeling better and better about Claremont's preparation.

"We've kept our routine really normal and it's interesting as the week's gone on I've just had more and more clarity about the group, and where we sit," Prescott told SEN WA.

"So I feel really comfortable but we know it's all about 3 o'clock and bounce down and the start is going to be really important. But we feel like we're in a pretty good space and we've gone through a lot of adversity like a lot of clubs have.

"We've stayed really tight and I think we've learned a lot along the way, and we're not perfect but we've sort of refined some things and there's just a really good mix at our club at the moment."

As for the playing groups, Aaron Black and Shane Nelson are the only two remaining players from that 2013 premiership for West Perth with Mark Hutchings ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Co-captain Black has now played 240 games and four-time fairest and best winner Nelson 207 while it's a West Perth team full of terrific experience.

Tyler Keitel has played 142 games, Blake Wilhelm 123, Luke Meadows 117, Mark Hamilton 113, Aidan Lynch 108, Dean Munns 104 and Keegan Knott 101 while Mitch Peirce, Conal Lynch, Mitch Dobson, Tyson Moulton, Zac Guadagnin and Nathan Alexandre have all played 50-plus games.

There are Claremont stars everywhere with Sandover Medallists Jye Bolton and Bailey Rogers, and prime midfielders Ryan Lim, Ben Edwards, Ronin O'Connor, Jared Hardisty, Ben Elliott and Declan Mountford.

Declan Hardisty anchors the defence with Timm House proving a valuable late addition while Lachlan Martinis provides great drive. Alex Manuel leads a forward-line that includes Jack Buller, Tyron Smallwood and Callan England.

However, what this talented and experienced Claremont group is yet to achieve is a premiership which they hope all changes on Saturday at Leederville Oval.