1967 WANFL season

Subiaco’s star forwards Robertson – who played unsuccessfully at centre half-forward – and Johnson do not live up to their reputations and the Maroons’ sluggishness around the ground means South Fremantle are always winning.^[9]

Keith Slater, Tony Nesbit and Bill Walker team wonderfully to down the flag favourites in a thrilling match where at the start Perth – especially Graham Jenzen with 1.7 (13) – fritter away chances to get a decisive break.^[13]

• East Perth become the only undefeated club as they crush a Subiaco team minus key defender Sarre, leaving Tierney to score eleven goals off superb running by Doncon and new father Chadwick.^[16]
• Six goals from half-forward flanker Turnbull and fine roving by Bill Walker and Terry Harris ensure an end to South Fremantle’s fine beginning.^[17]

Brilliant play by Jackson – who had been shaded by Whinnen for three quarters – takes the game from West Perth via four goals in the final five minutes to inflict a third straight defeat upon the Cardinals.^[20]

28-year-old veteran Gerovich – in the reserves since August 1966 – produces a spectacular display at half-forward and with Peter Dougan equally brilliant on the other flank South Fremantle demolish a surprisingly weak Demon defence, taking an astonishing 110 marks to 44.^[24]

• A record crowd for four Saturday matches of 45,945 sees the football. The highlight and main attraction is East Perth’s superb form against Perth, that leaves the Royals with only one loss in four grades after six weeks.^[27]
• Flanker John Vukman covers West Perth’s forward weaknesses to permit the Cardinals to arrest a worrying recent slump. Without Slater, Swan Districts’ ruck was as anaemic as it proved during the following disastrous season.^[28] The Cardinals had to call on former champion Ray Schofield as runner after official runner Porter pulled a muscle early in the game.

• A brilliant display against Jackson by Gary Greer and fine marking by Graham Scott at centre half-forward allows the twice wooden-spooners to be only percentage from the top after the clubs have met each other once– inflicting on the Royals’ second loss in any grade.^[31]
• Subiaco’s lack of match fitness is exposed when they score only 3.1 (19) to 9.4 (58) with a wind during the final quarter after two good stanzas in the middle of the match.^[32]

With captain-coach Atwell dominant in his new role of ruckman, plus Cable and Jenzen gathering a combined 45 kicks and seven goals,^[36] Perth inflict what is still their biggest win over Old Easts.^[37] East Fremantle’s forward line had so little influence Demon full-back Mal Windsor had just three kicks and one mark.

• The move of full-forward “Boomer” Harvey to the ruck and centre half-forward Lorne Cook to centre half-back leaves Claremont with a crushing ruck dominance over a lamentably weak Maroon outfit that cannot counter either McIntosh’s palming or Harvey’s work around the ground – which brought him five goals – and only a casual second half by the Tigers prevented an annihilation.^[40]
• Relentless pressure allows Swan Districts to hold fourth position, as Cable and Jenzen are tagged superbly in the wet^[41] and half-forward Geoff McMurray consistently brings his fellow Swan attackers into the game.^[42]

• Bill Dempsey and three lesser lights – Ray Boyanich, John McArthur and Rod White – produce a superb wet-weather^[41] display to demolish the reigning premiers with a remarkable 8.9 (57)-to-nothing final quarter.^[44]
• East Perth, who lost star rover Doncon and wingman Chadwick early in the match, come home for a thrilling victory over bottom club Subiaco, whose youthful enthusiasm is defeated by Hay holding “Ocker” to 2.1 (13).^[45]

• Eddie Pitter’s improved mobility provides a perfect response to criticism of East Perth’s ruck – his solid marking and position play with the Royals a second successive come-from-behind thriller.^[48]
• Claremont’s superbly-skilled half-forwards Elphick and Dick Walker run over Perth during the second half to leave the Demons – whose vaunted defence had turned brittle – in the four only by 18.74 percent from the Swans and Tigers.^[49]

• Despite scoring nine behinds before their first major and 3.13 (31) to half-time, Perth produce the vigour and power of 1966 for almost the first time to maintain constant command. Newcomers Greg Bennett, Ross Millson and Kevin Wilson dominate the South Fremantle centreline.^[52]
• A surprise move of half-forward Bill Holmes on to upstart Old East full-forward Neil Dedman – who kicked six on regular full-back John O‘Neill – allows Swan Districts a hard-fought win over the bottom club to stay within percentage of the four.^[53]

A seven-goal Royal third quarter with the breeze compensates for three indifferent stanzas to leave Perth again in the four only by percentage. Chadwick’s brilliant work on the wing in his comeback from injury was decisive.^[57]

• East Perth gain revenge for their solitary loss so far as a tremendous centreline of O‘Donoghue, Chadwick and Gillespie, along with brilliant half-forward Jackson, rise along with rovers Doncon and Verstegen to brilliant heights in the last quarter when the Royals score 9.7 (61) to nothing after an even three quarters.^[60]
• John Nykyforak and Craig Baker produce a brilliant roving display to crush a strong Old East challenge by scoring 9.7 (61) to 2.4 (16) after the Cardinals did not goal in the third quarter and lost Brian France to his career-ending injury.^[61]

• With 45 possessions from Cable in the wet and four goals at centre half-forward from Gerry Iseger, Perth hold East Fremantle scoreless between the ten-minute mark of the opening quarter and five minutes into the last,^[63] setting several notable records:

1. Old Easts’ score remains their lowest since kicking 2.2 (14) against Perth in Round 9 of 1915.^[64]
2. It constituted the lowest score by any WA(N)FL team between Round 4, 1956 and Round 12, 1995.^[65]
3. It was the only time an open-age WA(N)FL team was scoreless in the second and third quarters between Subiaco against Perth in Round 1 of 1921 and the Demons against West Perth in Round 18 of 1998.^[a]

• In a superb match in wet, muddy conditions,^[66] East Perth prevail in a goal-for-goal last quarter as Mal Brown’s dominance at centre half-forward is exploited by the brilliant Doncon and Verstegen. Full-forward Eric Gorman is superb for Swans with 8.3 (51).^[67]
• In the Fremantle Oval match, 200-game veteran Gerovich and 100-game Maroon “Ocker” Robertson specially tossed the coin, whilst in the match South proved much too good in the rainy weather.^[68]

A top-heavy South Australian team is overwhelmed by Western Australia’s speed around the packs and skill in moving the ball at great pace.

East Perth produce a brilliant display of attacking football to confirm their flag favouritism and drop West Perth to fourth. East Perth’s pace, especially that of Jackson, was quite amazing.^[73]

• In a match affected by a malfunctioning siren that delayed half-time by thirty seconds, Subiaco produce a huge upset as their accuracy plus rookie Dearle’s dominance over Chadwick keeps them ahead all afternoon.^[76]
• West Perth put up a heroic fight against injuries but cannot cope with Perth’s manpower advantage in the final quarter, when Rowland and Nykyforak depart to permit Perth to score 8.5 (53) – which pleases Mal Atwell because of the toughness of the earlier football.^[77]

• Despite a brilliant 8.2 (50) from Gerovich, West Perth – with captain coach Spargo back, Whinnen producing his best display of 1967 and Dempsey capably filling France’s boots – produce their best display of 1967 to remain fourth.^[80]
• Claremont still fail to enter the four despite scoring 8.13 (61) to 1.1 (7) into the breeze following a very poor match apart from young Maroon defender Peter Eakins for three quarters.^[81]

• Despite losing John McIntosh after that player had moved forward to score 5.2 (32), Claremont continue a comeback from 34 points behind at half-time against the league leaders and stay in the finals race.^[84]
• After being un-nerved by an opening all-in brawl and seeing South Fremantle go to a 49-point lead early in the second quarter, Perth produce an amazing turnaround to score 16.16 (112) to 2.7 (19) for the rest of the match and gain the chance to break the red and whites’ hold on the double chance with their good percentage.^[85]
• In the opening brawl, Perth captain-coach Atwell was reported for jumping into the back of Graham Scott^[86] and suspended for three weeks,^[87] which kept him out until the Grand Final.

Bob Shields, unsuccessful in attack, does a superb job in the absence of suspended captain-coach Atwell to give the Demons a crucial win that takes them to second position by 19.9 percent – and having only to defeat bottom team Subiaco to stay there.^[91]

• 7.4 (46) in the final quarter in shocking conditions^[94] – including four goals in the final five minutes – prevents Claremont finishing in the four after they had previously entered it for the only time all season.^[95] The movement of back pocket Netherway to a wing proves a matchwinning move for Castledine during his last match as Swan captain-coach.
• East Fremantle, with a number of promising young players, cap off a solid late-season revival as Harry Neesham, Don Lang and Trevor Sprigg are too solid for the Cardinal attack, whilst Fred Lewis helps the blue and whites to six last-quarter goals after only that number had been kicked in three quarters.^[96]

South Fremantle’s strong ruck allows it to have little trouble with West Perth, as Fred Senior and Ivan Glucina beat the more experienced Boyanich and Brian Sampson in the red and whites’ first final for five seasons.^[97]

In a torrid low-scoring affair in dry but mild and windy weather, Perth hold on when East Perth wingman Gary Gillespie refuses a shot to win from 70 yards (64 m) on the boundary.^[99]

East Perth kick 14.14 (98) after half-time – including 9.4 (58) to 2.6 (18) into the wind in the final stanza – for their most convincing performance since the end of July. A switch of key forwards Tierney and Mal Brown, plus seven goals from Jackson, completely revitalises the Royals’ attack.^[100]

In the unfamiliar full-forward role after six weeks off the field due to suspension, Mal Atwell score 6.1 (37), whilst his keeping Jenzen and Cable together on the ball prove decisive in 80 °F (26.7 °C) heat.