Might get a laugh out of a couple of comments here from a preview of the season for each club in 2014 before the season started.
A look at the teams – in alphabetical order.
CLAREMONT Coach: Michael Broadbridge. Captain: Jake Murphy. Last year: Third.
The Tigers have lost a load of premiership players to retirement and travel. Tom Ledger and Matt Orzel have returned. They will play home games at the Showgrounds for the next couple of years while Claremont Oval goes through a Waverley-style redevelopment.
Broadbridge (speaking at the season launch at Subiaco Oval on Tuesday 18 march): “It’s a massive year of change for us with the redevelopment of the oval. It’s important to make the transition smoothly.”
EAST FREMANTLE Coach: Steve Malaxos. Captain: Last year: Fifth.
The Sharks are probably the hardest hit by players moving to East Perth and Peel under the alignment. Jamie McNamara is back along with Brock O’Brien.
Malaxos: “We’re getting some ex-AFL players back. They have jobs and their lives are organised so they’re ready to go.”
EAST PERTH Coach: Brian Dawson. Captain: Brendan Lee & Craig Wulff. Last year: Second.
The Royals have kept their four best players Lee (out with an injured finger for the early weeks), Wulff, Paul Johnson and Josh Smith and gained a truckload of Eagles. Nathan Blee is back from Port Adelaide. Paul Seal, Aaron Sweet and Ryan Maldenis are among those who have headed off while Michael Swan has retired.
Football manager Mark Winnett: “We’ve had a positive summer. There’s a burning desire to improve.”
PEEL
Coach: Cam Shepherd. Captain James Flaherty:. Last year: Last.
For the first time the Thunder go into a season with expectations. Brendan Jones has decided not to retire and the depth of the Dockers is good news for Peel. They’ve lost last year’s fairest and best winner Viv Michie, leading goal scorer Brad Holmes and former AFL players Paul Bower and Marlon Motlop.
Shepherd: “We’re not the Freo reserves we’re Peel Thunder. We want to improve and be competitive each week.”
PERTH
Coach: Damien McMahon. Captain: Paul Bevan. Last year: Sixth. The three Morton brothers, Mitch, Jarryd and Cale will be Demons in 2014, Gerard Ugle is back from GWS and Paul Bevan and Chance Bateman are staying on. That means that Perth has three AFL premiership players on their list. Kyle Reimers and Ali Smith have gone.
McMahon: “We’ve had some losses but we’re very happy with our inclusions.”
SOUTH FREMANTLE
Coach: Paul Hasleby. Captain: Ryan Cook. Last year: Seventh.
Notable recruits include James Sellar from Melbourne and Brock Higgins from East Perth. Sean Tighe and Mitch Banner are major losses.
Hasleby: “There’s plenty of young talent coming through. Our colts system is good; they’ve made the last three grand finals winning two. I think the alignment system could be good for the WAFL – we’re getting players from other competitions.”
SUBIACO
Coach: Jarrad Schofield. Captain: Kyle Horsley. Last year: Seventh.
Shaun Hilderbrandt and Kyal Horsley are back and Wayde Twomey is a significant recruit. Aidan Parker has retired along with Antoni Grover and Mark Nicoski while Ben Randall is taking a year off.
Schofield: “I think we’ve made some inroads. I feeling a bit more relaxed going into my second season as coach. There will be gains and improvement. The alignment system is what it is, we just have to get on with it.”
SWAN DISTRICTS
Coach: Greg Harding. Captain: Tallen Ames. Last year: Fourth.
The popular tip for the wooden spoon, Swans have lost Hilderbrandt and Twomey to Sub and Charlie Cameron, Rory Lobb and Dayle Garlett to the AFL draft. They didn’t have the money to recruit players over the summer.
Harding: “We don’t have a lot of expectation but we have some serious players coming through from our zones from places like Port Hedland, Bunbury and locally.”
WEST PERTH
Coach: Bill Monaghan. Captain: Luke Tedesco & Jan Van Berlo. Last year: Premiers.
Andrew Krakouer is the big the recruit and he’ll be ready to play within a month according to the coach. The Falcons have lost Jason Salecic, Josh Mellington and Michael Pettigrew.
Monaghan: “We are looking to improve. We’ve programmed our preseason to get it right and be ready to go.”
