1986 WAFL season

• Swan Districts’ comeback from 52 points behind at half-time to win constitutes a WA(N)FL record and equals Collingwood’s 1970 record against St. Kilda.^[15] Former East Fremantle rover Kevin Taylor leads Swans‘ comeback with 25 kicks, 13 marks and 5.4 (34).^[16]
• Claremont record their highest score and biggest win over South Fremantle,^[17] as the Tigers’ brilliant centreline led by the returning Steve Malaxos completely decimates the Bulldogs.^[18]

• Eight goals from John Scott – who had played most of 1985 at full-back – gives Claremont a second strong victory to suggest the Tigers will rebound from a poor 1985.^[21]
• Subiaco, by scoring 12.4 (76) to 1.1 (7), achieve the largest margin at quarter-time in open-age WA(N)FL football, though it was beaten in the underage 1944 season.^[22]
• For the first time, the WAFL played a match at Rushton Park, Mandurah – from 1997 to become the home of ninth Westar Rules/WAFL club Peel Thunder.

• Despite eight goals from Rea and the loss of Phil Scott before the game and Neil Taylor after quarter-time, Subiaco’s ability to rove to the Demon rucks allows them a convincing victory.^[24]
• East Perth narrowly avoid a second fadeout defeat as they nearly fail to hold onto a 51-point lead during the middle of the second quarter, thanks to veteran Kevin Bryant’s steadiness.^[25]

After having won only 27 matches between 1980 and 1985, Perth claim a prized scalp as they exploit Claremont’s weakness at centre half-forward, whilst Craig Smith adds to his reputation as a WAFL “tagger” by shutting down Malaxos.^[5]

• Despite losing their two top rovers, East Perth, with deputy rover Keith Wynne scoring 5.2 (32) and Starcevich controlling the ruck, hold the initiative for three quarters despite six goals from Dan Foley – four in a third quarter when West Perth looked like running away with the match.^[29]
• 9.2 (56) from Chris Stainowsky allows Perth to come back from 44 points behind to a thrilling victory, after Swan Districts played almost flawless football in the first half.^[30]
• Claremont’s gamble to play David O‘Connell at centre half-forward due to the suspension of Scott and concede a ruck advantage to Subiaco pays off as the fleet-footed Mitchell, Peter Davidson and Panizza run Subiaco off their feet on the ball and O‘Connell kicks five goals to end the Lions’ unbeaten record.^[31]

• Perth, kept in the match by unheralded wingmen Joe Sanostefano and Glen Moir, come back to run over the Royals as their forward trio of Rea, Ryder and Stasinowsky take change with seven last-quarter goals between them.^[32]
• Another brilliant display by Malaxos and Mitchell drives Claremont to an outstanding victory, showing their Subiaco victory as no fluke. At one point Mitchell, being treated by a trainer for a calf injury, runs off and makes a handball that produces a goal with the next kick.^[33]

• Peter Sartori at centre half-forward leads a nine-goal last quarter that nearly produces a remarkable comeback before Warren Dean kicks the winner for Subiaco with thirty seconds remaining.^[36]
• In a last quarter that ran thirty-eight minutes, after veteran George Michalczyk is carried from the field on concussion West Perth produce an amazing comeback to steal the match with 7.4 (46) to 0.3 (3) as the Bewick brothers, Foley, Greg Evans, Peter Menaglio and John Gastev suddenly slip into action as Claremont stop to a walk.^[37]

• A second win for Subiaco over their 1985 conquerors is marred by the investigation of Shark rover David Bushell for pushing Subiaco trainer Barry Winzer. It was not reported by any umpire, but Winzer suffered major injuries to his cheek, left knee, chest and neck and Bushell was suspended for five matches on 28 May.^[41]
• The return from injury of veteran strongman Garry Sidebottom allows Swan Districts to form a combination reminiscent of their 1982/83/84 premiership days, as he and Holmes combine for fourteen goals, leaving Swans six points from fourth with a strong percentage.^[42]

Claremont’s 32 behinds is the most in a match at Claremont Oval,^[46] but it is the Tiger defence led by Guy McKenna, Larry Kickett and Geoff Miles that dominates – holding a powerful Swan attack to 2.5 (17) in the first half in perfect conditions.^[10]

• Superb tagging of Malaxos and Mitchell permits the Lions to hold Claremont to ten behinds in the second half, as the return of Scott forces Tiger forward David O‘Connell away from centre half-forward.^[50]
• East Fremantle record its biggest open-age victory over its derby rivals,^[b] surpassing a 90-point margin from 1934.^[51]

• Without Rea and with the previously problematic Tiger attack back at its best, Perth suffer a convicing defeat despite being only seven points behind late in the second quarter.^[53]
• An unexpected move of Paul Mifka onto Sartori at half-time saves West Perth from a loss that would have looked embarrassing later, as he matches the big Swan’s mobility whilst Phil Bradmore dominates at the other end.^[54]

South Fremantle produce their best effort to date in 1986, with Edwards and Bairstow outstanding – but a third-quarter lapse allows the Falcons to win and enter the four for the first time in 1986.^[57]

• Perth end a sequence of nineteen consecutive scores over 100 by East Fremantle against them, the most such consecutive scores by one club against another.^[60] The Demons’ feeling they could upset the depleted Sharks – without Brennan and Neesham as well as Bushell – is justified as the Sharks are never in the hunt apart from a third-quarter burst.^[61]
• West Perth again win a thriller over the Tigers – this time holding on after scoring 7.5 (47) 0.3 (3) in thirty minutes centres around three-quarter time.^[62] Derek Kickett and Goulding both score 1.5 (11) for the inaccurate Tigers, who lose Steve Malaxos to a knee injury for the rest of the home-and-away season.

• Claremont’s ability to absorb East Fremantle’s physical pressure ensures it takes second position from the Sharks, whose play possesses courage but no planning or method.^[66]
• Superb displays by Brian Taylor, Laurie Keene and the Lions’ defence, plus five goals by Phil Scott, place Subiaco four wins clear at the top, and leave West Perth a game from fourth.
• This was the first WAFL match in Kalgoorlie, and the attendance, given the showery weather during travel to the game by rail,^[67] was hgiher than any previous figure for a football match in rural WA and produced a gate of $30,500 or $3,500 higher than the WAFL target.^[68]

• Despite Perth coach Brown being charged with misconduct, the Demons crush West Perth in slippery conditions^[71] to be temporarily second as Wiley – in the unfamiliar role of centreman – plus Barich and Santostefano take advantage of the Falcons’ lack of commitment.^[72]
• East Perth end a sequence of twenty games conceding over 100 points, which broke Perth’s previous record of nineteen in 1982 and 1983 and still stands.^[73]
• Subiaco’s run of eight wins ends on a violently windy afternoon as the Lions cannot goal against the wind until sixteen minutes into the final quarter, whilst Peake – after his State-of-Origin heroics at full-forward – and Waterson score eleven between them.^[74]

This match has often been regarded as the greatest State of Origin match ever played.^[76]

Returns to form by Taylor and Kimberley allow Swans to grasp an exciting last-minute victory after having been fifteen points behind with ten minutes remaining in an always-close match.^[79]

• 33 kicks, sixteen handballs and four goals by Gerard Neesham was regarded as the finest individual performance of the season, and leads East Fremantle to a second record open-age win over South.^[b] Darren Bennett, in his first match for 1986, kicks five goals.
• Veteran Wiley, who had shown superb skills tackling and in attack, denies lowly Swan Districts a late victory in a brilliant match via an amazing low smother where he dived onto a boot, and then a similar tackle on a Swan defender to allow a crucial goal.^[82]

South Fremantle provide a huge upset to move off the bottom as the brilliant Bairstow and erratic Winmar (who had been in the reserves during June) plus a surprisingly solid defence hold the Lions out all afternoon.^[85]

• Rea’s power and Ryder’s pure speed exploid deficiencies in Subiaco’s armour as the Lions do not run hard enough to compete without key defenders Wilkinson and Crutchfield.^[88]
• A 12.3 (75) third quarter – East Perth’s highest single-quarter score since 1974 – gives the Royals an easy win over a disappointing Claremont, for whom only 30-kick Daniel Panizza plays to potential.^[89]

• A Perth team minus Rea and Watson fails completely to counter East Fremantle in Peake’s three hundredth senior match. It is half-forward Peter Wilson, however, who is the star with four goals and numerous electrifying bursts, whilst George Christie was superb in a back pocket.^[92]
• 34 kicks from Neil Taylor and seven goals each from Sells and Breman allows Subiaco to crush Swans, scoring 14.12 (96) to 1.5 (11) in the first half. Garry Sidebottom ends his career by being crushed by Clint Brown and leaving the field injured with Swan Districts still goalless twelve minutes into the second quarter.^[93]
• West Perth’s convincing win over Claremont is the Tigers’ fifth straight loss and leaves the former pacesetters in danger of losign their finals berth should the Falcons defeat Subiaco.
• South Fremantle equal East Perth’s earlier-season record of conceding 100 points for twenty consecutive games; they would end the sequence in the last round.^[73]
• At the East Perth versus South Fremantle match the East Perth banner remained on the ground early in the match and produced confusion whereby John Worsfold kicked the ball through the East Perth goal and it was initially registered as a goal to the Royals, then to the Bulldogs – before the correct score of a behind to East Perth was added.^[94]

• With Breman, Sells and Dean combining for eighteen goals as Bunton keeps all three close to the goal square, along with an unstoppable centreline and a powerful half-forward line of Georgiades and Langdon, Subiaco deny West Perth’s dream of a finals berth in crushing style.^[96]
• A powerhouse display with Bennett scoring 11.6 (72) after missing more than a season with injury allows East Fremantle to crush an uncommitted Tiger outfit.^[97]

Despite the return of Mitchell and Malaxos, Claremont are uncompetitive against the Demons, who rebound from two bad losses to never lose control.^[98]

East Fremantle’s Darren Bennett becomes the first player to kick ten or more goals in a WA(N)FL final,^[100] and makes the Sharks red-hot favourites to equal Port Adelaide’s 27 flags in the major Australian Rules leagues.

Subiaco crush a powerful East Fremantle side to complete a rags-to-riches story over three seasons under Haydn Bunton, Jr., going from one win in 1982^[c] and four in 1983 to premiers.