After 10 months of pain...
The Eagles get off the mark in 2026, the Dockers go ballistic and more WAFL pre-season notes.
G’day people! What a weekend for football in the Big State!
It’s been a while since we had two wins from the WA sides in the same venue on the same weekend (we assume, this stat has not been researched…) so let’s just sit with it and enjoy it for a bit.
The AFL is in full swing, the WAFLW is back this weekend and the WAFL kicks off a week later on Good Friday. Let’s bloody go.
In today’s newsletter: The hidden gem in West Coast’s win, a veteran produces, Freo find their midfield spark, the front-half game changers, Claremont’s multi-headed monster, and a draft prospect gets a senior look.
Let’s get stuck in.
WEST COAST
West Coast 17.9 (111) def North Melbourne 15.4 (94)
What a way to bring up your first win in 10 months. The Eagles couldn’t hit a target in the first quarter and leaked goals as a result, but once they tidied that up they were humming. There’s a heap of heart in this team.
After the past few years you would be forgiven for watching Elliot Yeo with your hands over your face but his efforts were enormous. He had 19 touches and a couple of goals acting as a 1-2 punch with Harley Reid. If he can maintain the level it’s an extra 5% that West Coast missed last year.
Chris Robinson@CJKRobinsonThat's the largest quarter-time deficit (24) the Eagles have overcome to win a game in WA this century. The last time they won at home from a bigger QT hole was the famous 1998 game where they trailed the Dogs by 48 at QT... and then led at HT #AFLEaglesNorth10:23 AM · Mar 22, 2026 · 2.55K Views3 Replies · 6 Reposts · 62 LikesRebuilds are a numbers game. The more young talent you can get, the better. How much better was this team to watch with the likes of Willem Duursma and Cooper Duff-Tytler out there? (Dropping Josh Lindsay was certainly a choice…)
That was Jack Graham’s best game for the club. He had it 23 times, laid seven tackles and had four clearances. Every time he hit the contest or the loose ball, he hit it with purpose. I thought he was outstanding.
FREMANTLE
Fremantle 17.16 (118) def Melbourne 10.10 (70)
Borrowing a stat from First Crack here, but Freo are +26 in contested possessions inside 50 over the first two games which is crazy.
Shai Bolton should probably spend more time in the midfield. He went from nine centre bounce attendances in round one to 22 against Melbourne. Only Caleb Serong attended more for the Dockers. The result? His best game for the club, easily. He still got two goals, but his impact at stoppages was unmatched. Best on ground and hopefully he stays there.
Fair to say Chris Scerri exceeded expectations on debut. He’s had good moments throughout the pre-season, but his pace and dare and willingness to back it in during his first AFL game was impressive. That makes it two good SSP selections in two years, given how hot Isaiah Dudley has been in the first two games. Six goals from two games after being outside the best team all pre-season. The Dockers are amassing some real weapons forward of centre.
I know they’re trying to be quicker out of the backline but Luke Ryan showed on Saturday that he still needs to be in the 23. Especially while Brennan Cox is injured. Ryan was an All-Australian playing as a tall(ish) defender and was among the best against the Dees in a similar role.
WAFL PRE-SEASON
Bailey Williams seems like a perfect ruckman for the new rules, and he could be back in West Coast’s AFL side soon after a big performance in the WAFL pre-season. Split his time between ruck and forward and kicked 2.3.
Claremont’s forward line is looking scary good. Another three goals each to Jaiden Hunter and Kieran Gowdie in their game against Peel at the weekend. That’s 10 goals in three games for Hunter and nine for Gowdie. Sam van Rooyen also has six in three games and looks ready to make the step up to league.
Fremantle NGA prospect Lucas Robinson had a run with the South Fremantle seniors and held his own. Would love to see him get an early debut, we’ve more than seen what he can do at colts level and need to see how it translates against bigger bodies.
Subiaco look like they’ll be back in finals contention under Jarrad Schofield. They’re unbeaten in pre-season and look very solid across all lines. Oobie Doobie.
Jordan McArdle’s done a terrific wrap here if you want more detail.
WAFLW PRE-SEASON
The WAFLW kicks off this Saturday across Perth. Take a look at the fixture here and get to a game if you can. We’ll have more preview coverage of the league later this week.
Only one pre-season game this weekend, with Perth dominating against Peel. Poppy Stockwell, who impressed during a stint at Freo last season, kicked four for the Demons, who are absolutely stacked with new talent.
That’s us all caught up.
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Catch you next week.