WAFL – BULLDOGS FINISH SEASON WITH A BANG

Seven goals from 14 shots wasn’t quite enough to secure Trey Ruscoe the Bernie Naylor Medal but South Fremantle got revenge on the only team it’s lost to in 2025 with the 87-point win over the West Coast Eagles.

The Bulldogs were playing their last game of the home and away season on Saturday at Lathlain’s Mineral Resources Park and they were taking on an Eagles team who had beaten them back in Round 5 of this season.

South Fremantle would go on to kick seven goals in each of the first two quarters to set up the eventual 22.12 (144) to 9.3 (57) win against the wooden spoon finishing West Coast.

The Bulldogs now finish the home and away season with a 17-1 record with a 13-game winning streak with a break in the opening week of the finals ahead of hosting the winner of this Saturday’s qualifying final between Claremont and East Perth in a second semi-final.

A lot of the focus as the game went on was if Trey Ruscoe could kick enough goals to firstly get ahead of West Perth’s Tyler Keitel in the race for the Bernie Naylor Medal, and then build up a handy lead.

He would end up having 14 scoring shots from his 16 kicks in the game including his teammates doing everything they could to get the ball to him in the last quarter.

Ruscoe ended up kicking seven goals to finish with 50 for the season but later in the day Keitel kicked six in West Perth’s loss to East Fremantle to finish on 52.

Brandon Donaldson also continued the best form of his career with another five goals for the Bulldogs with Haiden Schloithe kicking three and Chase Bourne three.

WJ Hughes Medal winner Tom Blechynden also racked up 36 possessions with Jake Florenca finishing with 32 disposals, Aaron Drage 29, Isiah Winder 25, Jamaine Jones 22, Ethan Hughes 19, Matt Ward 19 and Toby Dodds 19 with Hamish Free having 16 touches and 42 hit outs in the ruck.

It took less than three minutes for South Fremantle to open the scoring thanks to Chase Bourne before ruckman Hamish Free added another as did Brandon Donaldson for three goals already inside six minutes.

Donaldson would add another as would Aaron Drage, Matt Ward and Haiden Schloithe before quarter-time with South Fremantle leading by 31 points but Bernie Naylor Medal hopeful Trey Ruscoe had just the one behind.

Ruscoe then kicked his first goal of the day to open the second term and he’d add another before half-time with goals also to Roan O’Hehir, two more to Donaldson, and a second each to Bourne and Schloithe.

That saw the Bulldogs leading by 69 points already by half-time before another four goals in the third quarter including three to Ruscoe to give him five for the day but he kicked a couple more behinds as well.

South Fremantle kicked another four goals in the last quarter with Ruscoe becoming the focus with his teammates doing all they could to try and help him to the Bernie Naylor Medal. He kicked two goals and three behinds in the last quarter with the Bulldogs ending up winning by 87 points.

South Fremantle’s colts also finished the season in top spot to now earn the week off to start the finals like the league team. The reserves finished second at 13-3 and they will now host Swan Districts in a qualifying final this Sunday at East Fremantle’s The Good Grocer Park.

SULLIVAN LOGISTICS WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 20

SOUTH FREMANTLE                        7.2          14.4        18.7        22.12     (144)

WEST COAST EAGLES                     2.1          3.1          7.3          9.3          (57)

SOUTH FREMANTLE – Goals: Ruscoe 7; Donaldson 5; Schloithe, Bourne 3; Free, Ward, Drage, O’Hehir.

Best: Blechynden, Florenca, Drage, Donaldson, Winder, Ruscoe, Free, Schloithe.

WEST COAST – Goals: Williams 2; Petruccelle, Banfield, Datson, Edwards-Baldwin, Walsh, McCarthy, Mercer.

Best: Sparks, McCarthy, Edwards-Baldwin, Petruccelle, Williams, Walsh.