Home

WAFLW: East Fremantle make history as first team to go through a season undefeated with finals to come

Headshot of Eliza Reilly
Eliza ReillyThe West Australian
East Fremantle have made history as the first WAFLW team to go undefeated.
Camera IconEast Fremantle have made history as the first WAFLW team to go undefeated. Credit: WAFC

East Fremantle have become the first team of the WAFLW era to go through an entire season undefeated after beating South Fremantle by 52 points.

After failing to make finals last season, the Sharks have made the ultimate transformation under first-year coach Matt Templeton with the club’s league, reserves and Rogers Cup sides all finishing the home and away season as minor premiers.

But despite the enormity of their achievement, East Fremantle have quickly turned their focus to finals with the winner of Sunday’s final against Claremont set to earn direct entry into the 2022 grand final.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

“It’s cautious optimism. Everyone was really excited and we went and had a team dinner on Saturday night but we’re also wary of the fact it was a seven-day turnaround to finals,” Templeton said.

“At the start of the year I was expecting we’d improve. How far we’ve come has surprised us a bit internally as well as everyone else in the competition.

The Game AFL 2024

“We thought we were in for a good year but we weren’t going to put a limit on what we were going to do. The girls dug in during pre-season and did a lot of hard work and all of our leaders and players bought into the plan and ethics I wanted to bring into the club.

“Then 90 girls rocked up to our first training session and the ball got rolling.”

Templeton said it took until the final month of the season for the club to believe a faultless season was within reach.

Julia Teakle is East Fremantle's leading goal kicker this season.
Camera IconJulia Teakle was plucked by Port Adelaide out of the all-conquering East Fremantle side. Credit: Phil Elliott/RegionalHUB

“We had a bye and then had three games left once we got back. That’s when I started genuinely thinking there was a chance,” he said.

“Up until that point, it was a matter of trying to get as many wins as we could and qualify for finals. The philosophy was simple, just go out and try and beat the opponent in front of us.

“We want to finish the year off sticking to the values and ethics that have got us where we are. If we know we’ve left no stones unturned, we’ll accept whatever results come in finals.”

The Sharks have lost Julia Teakle for the rest of the season after the key forward signed with Port Adelaide but the Sharks still have plenty of firepower including retired Eagle Mel Caulfield who kicked five goals against the Bulldogs.

And despite going undefeated, East Fremantle believe they still have room for improvement.

“Every game is a new battle. The eight quarters we’ve played against Claremont have been really even this year,” Templeton said.

“We’ve identified a few areas of improvement that we’re still working on and then we have to bring the best version of ourselves like we’ve done all year.”

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails