1986 WAFL season

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

• Eight goals from John Scott – who had played most of 1985 at full-back – gave Claremont a second strong victory to suggest a Tigers rebound from a poor 1985.[21]
• Subiaco, by scoring 12.4 (76) to 1.1 (7), achieved 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 gave them a convincing victory.[24]
• East Perth narrowly avoided a second fadeout defeat as they nearly failed 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 claimed a prized scalp as they exploited Claremont’s weakness at centre half-forward, whilst Craig Smith added 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 paid off as the fleet-footed Mitchell, Peter Davidson and Panizza ran Subiaco off their feet on the ball and O‘Connell kicked five goals to end the Lions’ unbeaten record.[31]

• Perth, kept in the match by unheralded wingmen Joe Sanostefano and Glen Moir, came back to run over the Royals as their forward trio of Rea, Ryder and Stasinowsky took charge with seven last-quarter goals between them.[32]
• Another brilliant display by Malaxos and Mitchell drove 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, ran off and made a handball that produced 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 was carried from the field because of a concussion. West Perth came back 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 slipped into action as Claremont stopped to a walk.[37]

• A second win for Subiaco over their 1985 conquerors was 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 allowed Swan Districts to form a combination reminiscent of their 1982/83/84 premiership days, as he and Holmes combined for fourteen goals, leaving Swans six points from fourth with a strong percentage.[42]

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

• Superb tagging of Malaxos and Mitchell permitted the Lions to hold Claremont to ten behinds in the second half, as the return of Scott forced Tiger forward David O‘Connell away from centre half-forward.[50]
• East Fremantle recorded 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 suffered a convincing defeat despite being only seven points behind late in the second quarter.[53]
• An unexpected move of Paul Mifka onto Sartori at half-time saved West Perth from a loss that would have looked embarrassing later, as he matched the big Swan’s mobility whilst Phil Bradmore dominated at the other end.[54]

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

• Perth ended 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 – was justified as the Sharks were never in the hunt apart from a third-quarter burst.[61]
• West Perth again won 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 scored 1.5 (11) for the inaccurate Tigers, who lost 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 ensured it takes second position from the Sharks, whose play possessed courage but no planning or method.[66]
• Superb displays by Brian Taylor, Laurie Keene and the Lions’ defence, plus five goals by Phil Scott, placed Subiaco four wins clear at the top, and left 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 higher 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 crushed West Perth in slippery conditions[71] to be temporarily second as Wiley – in the unfamiliar role of centreman – plus Barich and Santostefano took 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 ended on a violently windy afternoon as the Lions were not able to goal against the wind until sixteen minutes into the final quarter, whilst Peake – after his State-of-Origin heroics at full-forward – and Waterson scored 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 allowed 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 led East Fremantle to a second record open-age win over South.^[b] Darren Bennett, in his first match for 1986, kicked five goals.
• Veteran Wiley, who had shown superb skills tackling and in attack, denied 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 provided 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 held the Lions out all afternoon.[85]

• Rea’s power and Ryder’s pure speed exploited deficiencies in Subiaco’s armour as the Lions did 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 – gave the Royals an easy win over a disappointing Claremont, for whom only 30-kick Daniel Panizza played to potential.[89]

• A Perth team minus Rea and Watson failed to counter East Fremantle in Peake’s three hundredth senior match. Half-forward Peter Wilson was 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 allowed Subiaco to crush Swans, scoring 14.12 (96) to 1.5 (11) in the first half. Garry Sidebottom ended his career by being crushed by Clint Brown and left the field injured with Swan Districts still goalless twelve minutes into the second quarter.[93]
• West Perth’s convincing win over Claremont was the Tigers’ fifth straight loss and left the former pacesetters in danger of losing their finals berth.
• South Fremantle equaled East Perth’s earlier-season record of conceding 100 points for twenty consecutive games; the streaker later ended 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]

• Breman, Sells and Dean combined for eighteen goals as Bunton kept all three close to the goal square. An unstoppable centreline and a powerful half-forward line of Georgiades and Langdon, Subiaco denied 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 allowed East Fremantle to crush an uncommitted Tiger outfit.[97]

Despite the return of Mitchell and Malaxos, Claremont was uncompetitive against the Demons, who rebounded from two bad losses and never lost control.[98]

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

Subiaco crushed 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.