BULLDOGS BEAT PEEL TO STAY ALIVE

SOUTH Fremantle kept its WAFLW season alive with Saturday’s 11-point victory at home against Peel Thunder in the second last round of the 2024 season.

The Bulldogs knew coming into the last two rounds of the season that their only hope of still playing finals for a second straight WAFLW season was to win the final two games.

The first mission was against Peel Thunder on Saturday afternoon at Fremantle Community Bank Oval and while the Bulldogs had to battle hard, they ended up prevailing 5.6 (36) to 4.1 (25) to improve to a 6-7 record on the season.

South Fremantle will still need a bit of luck to make the finals in 2024, but all the Bulldogs can firstly worry about is beating East Fremantle in a massive derby this Saturday afternoon at Revo Fitness Stadium.

Should the Bulldogs win that game, they will hope that earlier in the day Peel Thunder were able to pull off the upset against Swan Districts so they could take the place of Swans in the top four.

Poppy Stockwell continued her standout season in attack for South Fremantle by kicking another three goals for the afternoon to go with 20 possessions, seven marks, five tackles and five entries inside the forward 50.

Liusaidh Gilchrist was outstanding also in the midfield for South Fremantle collecting another 26 disposals to go with six inside-50 entries, five tackles and a goal.

Alyssa Smogavec also gathered 19 possessions in the win for the Bulldogs, Madizen Wilkins 18, Noa McNaughton 17, Kahra Sprlyan 16 and Shannyn Pomersbach 15 to go with five inside-50 entries.

It took less than a minute into the game for South Fremantle to make the perfect start with a quick goal to Poppy Stockwell. She added another shortly later and in less than the first three minutes and all of a sudden the Bulldogs had a two-goal lead thanks to Stockwell.

Alira Fotu also kicked a first quarter goal and by the end of the opening term South Fremantle were leading by 19 points having held Peel scoreless.

There would be just one goal kicked by either side in the second quarter and that went the way of Peel at the 10-minute mark but South Fremantle were still in control leading by 13 points at half-time.

South Fremantle had the advantage of the scoring end again in the third quarter and it was Stockwell the first to take advantage with her third goal of the afternoon to push the lead for the Bulldogs out to 19 points.

Liusaidh Gilchrist then added another just before three quarter-time to see the South Fremantle lead out to 21 points.

Peel made things interesting with the first two goals of the last quarter, but the Bulldogs held firm for the 11-point victory to keep their WAFLW season alive with one game to play.

Meanwhile, Round 15 of the Rogers Cup saw South Fremantle also score the 8.9 (57) to 4.5 (29) win against Peel Thunder at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

It was five goals to one in the second half from the Bulldogs that secured the eventual 28-point victory with Nicole Taylor-Thorpe kicking three goals, Shaya Yarran two, and one each to Hope Arrowsmith, Ella Matthews and Eva Flynn.

With the victory, South Fremantle remains in fifth position on the Rogers Cup ladder but is just percentage behind the fourth placed Swan Districts with one round remaining.

A win on Saturday at Revo Fitness Stadium for the Bulldogs would give them a chance of still playing finals should Swan Districts lose to Peel Thunder also on Saturday morning.

WAFLW PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 15

SOUTH FREMANTLE        3.1    3.2    5.4    5.6    (36)
PEEL THUNDER            0.0    1.1    2.1    4.1    (25)

SOUTH FREMANTLE – Goals: Stockwell 3; Gilchrist, Fotu.
Best: Gilchrist, Stockwell, Wilkins, McNaughton, Smogavec, Sprlyan, Pomersbach.

PEEL THUNDER – Goals: Jilley, Anderson, Hill, H Bilcich.
Best: Dowson, Britton, Cowcher, Fenton, E Bilcich, Hare, H Bilcich.