1969 WANFL season

• A devastating 10.5 (65) to 1.2 (8) last quarter, with rovers Doncon and Verstegen getting the ball from the centre every time, demolishes Subiaco after a fairly even three quarters and shows the Royals’ eagerness to avenge their last three Grand Final defeats.^[10]
• Claremont’s John Lewis ties a fluctuating match – highlighted by a brilliant third quarter from John Parkinson – with the last kick of the day.^[11]
• This was the first-ever draw at Claremont Oval in its fortieth season as a WA(N)FL venue,^[12] and only one draw against Subiaco in 1987 has occurred since.

East Perth’s ability to dominate Farmer ensures they defeat the depleted Cardinals more easily than the scoreboard implies – West Perth were flattered by eight final-quarter goals.^[15]

• East Perth end Perth’s longest-ever winning streak at fourteen and gain some revenge for their past three Grand Final defeats.^[17]
• West Perth’s 126-point win remains the biggest achieved by a visiting club at Bassendean Oval, breaking South Fremantle’s 112 points in 1952.^[18] Laurie Richards scored 12.7 (79) and John Wynne produces the first of many dominating performances at centre half-forward.^[19]

• Poor kicking denies Swan Districts a win – with newcomers Darryl Balchin and Neil Taylor overcoming their woeful 1968 knock ruck weakness – and leaves severe doubts about the undefeated Royals.^[21]
• Perth’s weakness around the ground – they take only 53 marks to 77 – leaves it unable to counter West and Barry Cable playing as a defensive man rather than a “stormtrooper”.^[4]

• David Dyson’s superb display in holding Robertson to one goal^[b] and Bill Valli’s fine roving ensures Subiaco’s hoodoo against the three top WANFL clubs is maintained in a dour match.^[23]
• East Perth are again poor against a weak team, as their half-forward line consistently breaks down to create doubts about their ability to erase three grand final losses.^[24]

• Subiaco respond to criticism after their West Perth defeat by countering Perth’s long-kicking game with Bunton’s short-passing skill, producing their first win against a “Perth” club since 1967.^[26]
• Winless Claremont captain-coach Dennis Marshall says he must start a rebuilding program after Swan Districts pass their 1968 win tally against a “selfish” Tiger team, where the youngsters teach lessons to Claremont’s elders.^[2]

Subiaco’s desire to play dry-weather football on the first wet day of the season costs them dearly against the Swans, as they break down at half-forward until the second half and do not hang on after taking the lead.^[28]

• Subiaco fail to take the game from the unbeaten Royals in the final minutes after scoring the only four goals of the last quarter.^[31]
• East Fremantle kick their highest score since 1966 to stand a game from fourth as “Whale” Roberts monopolises the ruck, nullifying Swans’ main strength in Walker.^[32] After Bill Holmes score 1.6 (12) in the first half, East Fremantle score 13.9 (87) to 3.6 (24).

• The Perth Oval crowd between the two fierce rivals is the biggest WANFL home-and-away crowd ever, beating the 1949 South Fremantle v West Perth record by almost two thousand.^[34] The huge crowd causes much congestion with 100 yards (90 m) queues at the gates.
• West Perth end the Royals’ unbeaten run by holding them scoreless in the last quarter, as John Wynne shows himself the WANFL’s best centre half-forward again by kicking two goals and controlling play against a Royal side minus injury-plagued number one rover Doncon.^[35]
• Subiaco kicked its highest open-age score until 1984 when it kicked 32.12 (204) against Perth,^[36] and still its highest against Claremont.^[37] The Maroons had seventy more kicks, fifty-nine more marks and an amazing seventy-seven effective handballs to just sixteen.^[38]

• Perth easily win an uninspiring match between two depleted teams – it was said most spectators were eagerly listening on the radio to the Adelaide Carnival!^[40]
• East Fremantle keep Claremont winless with a comeback from 38 points down at half-time, scoring 10.13 (73) to 3.4 (22) owing to the dominance of Fred Lewis in his first match for over a year at centre half-forward. It is the biggest comeback in the second half ever at Claremont Oval.^[12]

• Against the eventual premiers, Perth beat Claremont’s 1940 record for the biggest win with fewer scoring shots.^[41] After West Perth score six behinds from seven shots in the first ten minutes of the last quarter, Perth score 8.1 (49) to two behinds in the final twenty minutes.^[42]
• Claremont, after its worst start to a season since 1958 and third-worst winless start in its history, finally win its first match since 17 August 1968 against a South Fremantle team that cannot match the determination of the inexperienced Tigers.^[43]
• In a match affected at a critical stage by a dog entering the playing field when Robertson was shooting for goal, Subiaco held off Old Easts to have the finalists virtually sealed with ten rounds remaining.^[44]
• The dog followed play for two minutes in the last quarter, in the process spreadeagling Bunton of Subiaco and Allen Prosser of East Fremantle.^[45] The field umpire was criticised for not halting play since it was clear there was much distraction with the game close.^[46]

• Subiaco’s short game and Robertson’s weakness in “one-out” contests means the Maroons are cut to ribbons after a goalless first quarter, as West Perth’s speed yields 11.7 (73) to 3.10 (28) in the second and third stanzas.^[48]
• The switching of centre-half-forward Ian Miller and full-forward Richard Peel drives Perth to a brilliant final quarter of 11.3 (69) with Miller scoring five as Perth’s disposal to him reaches remarkable levels of precision.^[49]

Bill Walker, despite suffering a bad back injury early in the match, constantly brings the ball into the open to have Swans running over Claremont after the Tigers obtained a four-goal quarter-time lead.^[51]

• East Fremantle come from six goals behind at half-time for a surprise victory over the powerful Cardinals – Eric Sarich’s complete reorganisation blots out the centreline dominance of Whinnen that had previous strangled Old Easts’ forwards.^[53]
• Ruck-rover Tony Nesbit and centreman Peter Manning show brilliant form to deal a shattering blow to Subiaco’s chances of playing in their first open-age second semi-final since 1935.^[c] Despite their weak ruck, Swans’ drop kicking to Nesbit is deadly accurate and he consistently found Manning playing on and moving forward.^[54]

Swan Districts move to fifth by kicking 7.9 (51) to 2.4 (16) into a fading wind in the final quarter, as Old Easts’ backline degenerates into a “shamble”.^[57]

• The draw with West Perth, on one of only two wet Saturdays all year,^[58] was East Perth’s last until the third round of 1993, a 518-game gap that became the most by any WA(N)FL team until beaten by East Fremantle in 2014.^[59] It also produced the last season until 2009 with multiple drawn matches.^[60]
• In a match where only 1.4 (10) was scored into a violent wind, East Perth’s determination allows it to hold the Cardinals for the thrilling final eight minutes after Farmer had led them to equalise earlier in the final quarter.^[61]
• By positioning Cable on a half-back flank as an extra defender, Perth score 2.4 (16) to 2.0 (12) into an almost hurricane-force wind to take second position, as Cable’s eleven last-quarter possessions are all moved precisely to running teammates.^[62]
• Subiaco full-back Peter Easkins’ constant strong marking in the goalmouth forces Claremont into errors and wide play on its forward line in a strong crosswind and means the Tigers fail to capitalise upon a dominant midfield.^[63]

Perth again shows themselves the best-equipped WANFL team for wars of attrition as they overcome East Perth in a hard, tough games after the Royals came within ten points midway through the last quarter.^[66]

Minus Atwell, Graham Jenzen and Greg Brehaut, Perth’s fanaticism has them snatch the match from West Perth after being thirty-one points down at half-time – giving the Demons the box seat for four consecutive premierships.^[70]

• Subiaco’s elimination of needless short play and Robertson’s eleven goals has the Maroons surprisingly winning the expected first semi-final preview.^[73]
• East Fremantle gain revenge for the 1967 Lathlain Park debacle and record their first win over Perth since 1966, breaking a record sequence of eight losses.^[74]

Perth’s hardness at the ball allows them to score 9.6 (60) to 1.2 (8) in a brilliant last quarter after an even struggle – in the process keepign ahead of West Perth’s despite the latter’s huge win over an inept South Fremantle.^[77]

• Claremont win their fourth match out of five to avoid the wooden spoon and deprive Perth of the double chance. Their young ruck division of Moss, McIntosh (in his last match before shifting to St. Kilda) “Boomer” Harvey and Reynolds crushes the Demons at ball-ups and around the ground.^[80]
• South Fremantle suffer their fourth wooden spoon of the 1960s as they lose consecutive matches by over 100 points for the only time in open-age football,^[81] as the injury-plagued Keith Doncon returns from a severe back injury to kick five goals, whilst Grand Dorrington scores 9.0 (54) and Phil Tierney on a half-forward flank 6.5 (41).^[82]

After Subiaco led 5.2 (32) to 1.3 (9) into the wind with Robert Kitchin compensating for Ramshaw‘s eclipse of Robertson, Cable and Graham Jenzen lead Perth to a fine win as the Maroons’ excessive handball in defence costs them dearly.^[84]

West Perth’s unexpected physical strength jolts and undisciplined East Perth team, who made the error of kicking into the wind after winning the toss.

• The use of former ruckman Pletner on a wing exposed East Perth’s lack of size there, and Keith Doncon again suffered a season-ending injury, this time a major knee strain during the second quarter.^[86]

• East Perth break Perth’s Round 11 record for the biggest win with fewer scoring shots and derail Perth’s dream of four successive premierships.^[41]
• The Royals’ policy of using seven ruckmen and rotating all in the forward line exploits the Demons’ ruck weakness and ensures East Perth a fourth chance at the premiership^[87]

Under the captain-coaching of former Royal “Polly” Farmer, West Perth win their first premiership since 1960 in brilliant fashion, setting records for highest Grand Final score and biggest win, which they broke in 1975.