BULLDOGS END SEASON WITH A BANG

SOUTH Fremantle closed a frustrating 2023 WAFL season in emphatic fashion with the biggest win and kicking the highest score of the campaign to beat the West Coast Eagles by 89 points at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday.

The Bulldogs might have been out of the finals race coming into Saturday’s last game of the season at Lathlain, but they weren’t about to hand West Coast a first win since also beating them in Round 10 last year at the same venue.

South Fremantle ended up putting on a show despite the continued absence of Chad Pearson, Dylan Main, Jake Florenca, Manfred Kelly, Jordan Gallucci, Jordan Boullineau, Matthew Parker, Brendon Ah Chee and Brock Higgins.

The signs for 2024 were encouraging in South Fremantle’s eventual 24.5 (149) to 9.6 (60) victory to finish the season with a 6-12 record.

South Fremantle might have been struggling to score for a lot of the season and hadn’t kicked more than 13 goals in a game since the Round 1 win against the Eagles nor reached more than 100 points since and only had kicked 10 or more goals in five matches since.

However, to close the season on Saturday South Fremantle’s firepower kicked into gear and ended up kicking 24 goals and the 149 points was the highest score of the campaign for the Bulldogs by 47 points more than the Round 1 score also against the Eagles.

Brandon Donaldson kicked four goals for South Fremantle to finish the season with 26 goals to his credit with Jimmy Miller also having a standout finish to 2023 with four goals from 10 kicks and six marks enjoying the chance to spend more time inside-50.

Jack Blechynden has continued to get better week after week over the past six matches of the season since settling in the league side as a target in attack, and he did well to kick three goals from eight kicks and six marks.

Ed Graham, Kaden Harbour, Noah Strom and Jacob Dragovich all kicked two goals apiece for South Fremantle as well with Dragovich adding 28 possessions, five inside 50s, eight marks and four tackles.

Strom also went forward late in the game to kick two goals which were his only two goals of the season and just the second and third of his entire 106-game WAFL career. His only other goal came in Round 20, 2018 in what was the 17th game of his career at that point.

Tom Blechynden capped off the best season of his 67-game WAFL career as well for South Fremantle with 30 possessions while fourth gamer Aaron Drage was a standout once more with 26 touches and a goal.

Ashton Ferreira also had 25 possessions in the third game of his career with Zac Strom carrying the ruck with 23 touches, 28 hit outs, seven marks, seven inside-50 entries and a goal.

Toby McQuilkin ended up with 22 disposals for South Fremantle, Roan O’Hehir 21, Jarrod Salmeri 20, Aiden Hall 19 and Glenn Byron 19.

West Coast’s season came to an end without a victory in the WAFL in 2023 but Andries Mercer finished Saturday’s game kicking two goals from 11 kicks and four marks.

Greg Clark also gathered 29 possessions for the Eagles, Zane Trew 26, Isiah Winder 23, Xavier O’Neill 23, Ethan Hansen 20, Luke Foley 19, Jordyn Baker 19 and Callum Jamieson 19 along with 36 hit outs in the ruck.

It took three and-a-half minutes for the first goal of the game and that came courtesy of South Fremantle four-game forward Ed Graham. Jack Blechynden soon added another for a perfect start for the Bulldogs.

West Coast did get on the board at the 15-minute mark of the first quarter thanks to Josh Burke before Xavier O’Neill added another, but the Bulldogs were just warming up.

South Fremantle closed the opening term with a stunning burst of five goals in just eight minutes with Jimmy Miller getting the run started before Kaden Harbour, Jacob Dragovich, Harbour again and Brandon Donaldson joined in.

That saw the Bulldogs go into the quarter-time break leading by 29 points and that advantage grew to 42 points in the second quarter with goals to Dragovich and Zac Strom.

However, the Eagles had the better of the rest of the first half with goals to Zane Trew and then two to Andries Mercer with the home team able to cut the South Fremantle lead to 24 points by the half-time interval.

West Coast was then able to make it four goals in succession with the opening goal of the second half thanks to former Bulldog Jarrod Garlett, but the Bulldogs then took charge from there.

South Fremantle went on a dominant run the rest of the third quarter to kick nine unanswered goals including three of them to Miller, a couple to Donaldson and then with Blechynden, Graham, Aiden Hall and Chase Bourne joining in the fun.

Those nine goals saw South Fremantle take a 72-point lead into three quarter-time and the Bulldogs weren’t done with yet. They made it 10 goals in succession when Donaldson opened up the fourth quarter with his fourth goal of the game.

Eventually Noah Strom went forward late in the game to close the season with the last two goals for South Fremantle with the Bulldogs ending a season of frustration in 2023 with an 89-point victory.

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON 2023 – ROUND 20

SOUTH FREMANTLE        7.2    9.3    18.4    24.5    (149)
WEST COAST EAGLES        2.3    5.3    6.4    9.6    (60)

SOUTH FREMANTLE – Goals: Donaldson, Miller 4; J Blechynden 3; N Strom, Dragovich, Harbour, Graham 2; Z Strom, Hall, Bourne, Datson, Drage.
Best: Dragovich, Z Strom, T Blechynden, Ferreira, Drage, Miller, McQuilkin, Donaldson.
WEST COAST EAGLES – Goals: Mercer 2; Winder, O’Neill, Trew, Garlett, Kemp, Burke, McCarthy.
Best: Clark, Trew, Winder, Hansen, Jamieson, Mercer, Foley, O’Neill.