WAFL Grand Final: Peel Thunder vs Subiaco Lions live scores, blog

Not at all. Subi were the cellar dwellers of the AFL forever until the Eagles started and the commercial benefits around Subi then enabled them to buy AFL rejects and poach WAFL stars from other clubs. When they were "per$auded" by the WA Footy Commission to vacate Subi and take over Leederville, they were drowned in dollar$ and have continued to buy success. They have hardly any of their own developed youth in the side. Your whinge would be valid if you spoke of Claremont, Swans or East Freo...but you don't. Subi has made the last 4 GFs only because of purchasing power. So, now explain where Freo's second tier players play if it is not in the WAFL. That's the next level down. Remember, if Sandilands, Bennell, Ballantyne, Walters, Blakely, Balic, Langdon, Grey, Clarke, Spurr or Apeness were not out injured, some of those young GF players would have played no AFL games. They are fill ins. Then players like Dawson, Pearce, Sheridan, Suban and Sutcliffe are not first 22 players...just fill ins also. None of them were or are dominant at WAFL level so they were hardly an advantage. Subi just choked. Shepherd has the wood on Schofield as a coach.

the fact Subi has the agreement at Domain has stuff all to do with the playing field. While all the subi players will be back at work this week , being only part time footballers, the freo mob will still be celebrating thinking they are actually the winners when in fact as we all know it's the AFL v's the WAFL. Well done Subi for making to another GF and in my book you won it for the WAFL comp . The alignment is pathetic, unfair and unjust.

CodMan, these are the players who are not in Freo's top side. Some were at the end only because of the Freo injury toll. They are the level below AFL and guess what that is? That's right, their current level, WAFL. It is their right to play WAFL if they are good enough. What should Dawson, Pearce, Ibbotson, Sheridan, Sutcliffe, Suban do? Retire because Jarrod Schofield doesn't like being beaten? They are doing exactly what we require of veterans whose AFL careers are over or teetering. They put in at the level below? Are you counting Nyhuis, DeLuca, Collins, Duman, Cox as AFL players? How many games do you think they played for Freo? How many for Peel? They were Peel players this year. Logue, Ryan and Darcy were the only AFL level performers in that side and each played only half a season or lessfor Freo. Now, how many Subi players came up through their juniors? More than half the team is bought from Victoria or former AFL players lured away from their original club with cash from the Subi Oval deals. Subi should have been equalized years ago.

And so do you

For the Thunder Ugle, Bell, Bennell, Lawler, Jetta, Obrien, Hancock are not AFL players and don't get the $$ Duman, Nyhuis, Deluca are rookies on $35.5k salary, so most likely they are supplementing their wage with work Players like Luke Ryan, Sean Darcy, Sam Collins, Cox etc are probably on about $65k, while Logue as a first round pick might be on $80k, so would be able to be full time AFL this year So sure, there might be a few players on some good coin in Pearce, Dawson, Ibbo, but none are the mega bucks players earning over $300k I think a senior WAFL player might earn about $1000 a game, so the best Subi players get around a rookie wage. Teams like Swan Districts and Perth have done it tough for years, and Pell Thunder pre the alignment. Maybe Subi can just suck it up for a change

Agree. The biggest danger is that the average Joe doesn't bother turning up on grand final day (because of the alignment). The WAFL may come out and say yesterday was a success as 18,000 people turned up and it was a wet day. Sure, it's an increase of 3,000 on last year, but the game was heavily promoted as the last Aussie Rules game at Subi Oval and adult tickets were only $15 and kids free. Another observation I made yesterday was that the crowd was mainly people aged over 50. Where will the WAFL be in 25 years? An unfair WAFL comp does nothing to attract younger people to the WAFL. I fear for it's future.

DC the fact that Subiaco still holds the licence to the bar a Domain has nought to do with it. That is commercial nouse. Peel received $450, 000 from the Commission to take on the Dockers. whether the Dockers are in transition has with respect nothing to do with it. i feel sorry for those Peel players who worked all season to assist the Club reach a Grand Final to be cast aside at the moment of defining glory by the inclusion of the Docker players. You can't excuse away what is a silly stupid and unfair system . Other WAFL clubs will look at this situation and see that even if they make the GF under the current scheme they will have to be extremely lucky to win. So what then for the WAFL ? This grassroots competition has given this State and the AFL some fine players. Will it disappear so that all we have is AFL? If so we will finish up like the IPL in England . A competition for elites from all over the world where the average "joe blow" can attend because it is too exppensive and the local competition is virtually dying.

You what? Subi are congestion specialists. Peel are all about the outside run. First half of the game, when it was raining, Subi got on top; when it was sunny, Peel were away with it. Second half was an "ugly defensive" arm wrestle, largely because Subi were trying hard to force Peel to play on their terms. I like "ugly defensive footy" anyway. Today's game was far more entertaining than the blow outs that each of the AFL finals have been so far (though Port-Eagles was the worst, obviously, because Port let WC win).

Exactly. That last point makes a mockery of all the sooking about the unfairness of Peel having so many Freo players. The comp has is hardly being played on a level field to begin with.

It'll swing around again as Freo's priorities change. It's actually been quite annoying as a Freo supporter, for such a large number of players to be tied up in a WAFL finals campaign. I'd say they've got so many in there due to the transitioning of their squad with the older players retiring etc and young players benefiting from the finals experience. It won't be the case in years to come and many more players would be withdrawn from such a campaign in different types of years. I have little sympathy for Subi, as they've been big beneficiaries from Subiaco Oval being a cash cow and are the best resourced WAFL club for years.

Fremantle Dockers win the WAFL Grand Final.

You see what you want to see.

I hope on Tuesday when the Peel players are out celebrating they spare a thought for the Subiaco players who will be back at their day jobs. I was at the game, about my thirtieth WAFL grand final, but don't support either club. However, I was barracking for Subi as I hate the alignment - it is so unfair. Just not an even playing field. Peel got a couple of dubious free kicks in the last quarter that resulted in goals. Quite frustrating for that to happen as already have a massive advantage. Let's hope that common sense prevails and the alignments are scrapped for next season. It is ruining the integrity of the WAFL. Ridiculous that a side can only lose one game in the home and away season yet not win the flag. Judging from the paltry crowd today, a majority of the the footy community agrees with me.

Couldn't agree more.Having fifteen Dockers players running around for Peel and they only win because Subi didn't kick straight. To go with that you have Rosich suggesting that Subiaco's recent dominance and Perth's mediocrity are bigger deals than equalisation is arrogant and typical,along with him claiming that it was Fremantle's right to play the first AFL game at the new stadium. At least the Dockers/Peel players will have some medals to show their kids

I understand that in general it was a wet day, but Peel play a very ugly defensive Ross Lyon brand of football that is hard to watch. If Subi kicked straight or even had AFL fulltime skills and fitness training they would have smashed Peel. For mine it shows that Ross Lyon football is not premiership material at the highest level.