STROM AND DENT IN NAIDOC ROUND WAFL TEAM OF THE WEEK

WHAT a NAIDOC Round it was in the WAFL and that’s highlighted by the brilliant performances that not only earned selection in the Team of the Week, but that also missed out from the five matches on Saturday as part of Round 14.

The 2021 Optus WAFL Premiership Season resumed with NAIDOC Round with all five matches on Saturday afternoon and by the end of it, we are left with a remarkably tight battle inside the top five with only one game separating them but then there’s a three-game gap back to the chasing pack.

The last game of the round was the Grand Final rematch and traditional NAIDOC Round clash between South Fremantle and Claremont, and it was Cody Ninyette celebrating NAIDOC Week with the winning goal for the Bulldogs as they downed the Tigers 11.2 (68) to 9.13 (67).

WAFL TEAM OF THE ROUND
BACK: Tobe Watson (PT), Noah Strom (SF), Aaron Heal (S)
HALF-BACK: Zac Dent (SF) , Tony Notte (SD), Zac Guadagnin (WP)
CENTRE: Jackson Merrett (PT), Aaron Black (WP), Greg Clark (S)
HALF-FORWARD: Luke Valente (PT), Tyler Keitel (WP), Nathan Murray (WP)
FORWARD: Warrick Wilson (SD), Harry Taylor (EF), Isaac Barton (C)
RUCK: Lachlan Delahunty (S), Leigh Kitchin (S), Jye Bolton (C)
INTERCHANGE: Ryan Lim (C), Mark Hutchings (WC), Angus Schumacher (EP), Sam Fisher (SD)

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

East Fremantle’s Cam Eardley, Blaine Boekhorst and Tom Bennett.

Peel Thunder’s Michael Randall, Tyrone Thorne, Ben Hancock, James Sturrock, Taylin Duman, Jarvis Pina and Jackson Knight.

Subiaco’s Hayden Kennedy, Angus Dewar, Max Walters and Drew Rohde.

Perth’s Brady Grey, Austin Davis and Matthew Taylor.

West Perth’s Mitch Antonio, Shane Nelson, Tristan Hobley, Matthew Lloyd, Noah Pegoraro and Mark Hamilton.

East Perth’s Tom Edwards-Baldwin, Nick Robertson, Jackson Ramsay, Kye Willcocks, Rohan Kerr, Aidan Lynch, Nathan Blee and Angus Scott.

Swan District’s Frank Anderson, Jackson Beck, Jesse Turner, Jiah Reidy, Chris Jones and Brandon Erceg.

West Coast’s Jake Waterman, Connor West, Xavier O’Neill and Luke Foley.

South Fremantle’s Ben Rioli, Haiden Schloithe, Jacob Dragovich and Tom Blechynden.

Claremont’s Callan England, Jared Hardisty, Ben Edwards, Jake Patmore and Ben Elliott.

Players of the Round
Round 1 – Josh Schoenfeld (East Fremantle)
Round 2 – Sam Fisher (Swan Districts)
Round 5 – Haiden Schloithe (South Fremantle)
Round 6 – Tyrone Thorne (Peel Thunder)
Round 7 – Keegan Knott (West Perth)
Round 8 – Jye Bolton (Claremont)
Round 9 – Tyler Keitel (West Perth)
Round 10/11 – Jonathon Marsh (East Fremantle)
Round 12 – Jackson Ramsay (East Perth)
Round 14 – Warrick Wilson (Swan Districts)

CREDIT – Wednesday, July 14, 2021 – 9:49 AM – by Chris Pike WAFL Website