1999 Westar Rules season

• Seven straight majors in the final quarter ensure East Fremantle win their seventeenth consecutive match, after a seemingly depleted South Fremantle scores 6.5 (41) to 1.4 (10) in the third quarter.^[11]
• In the first night match at Arena Joondalup, the troubled Royals start well but fade severely, not goalling between the seven-minute mark of the second quarter and the fifteen-minute mark of the last.

• In a match billed as the “battle of the centenarians”^[c], Perth are completely outplayed in the first and final quarters as South Fremantle’s Brad Bootsma stars with thirty-two kicks from a half-back flank.^[12]
• Tiger coach Don Pyke uses the first host club scheme to create a seemingly perfect blend with Claremont’s abundant supply of local juniors so that East Perth again fail against a powerful centreline.^[13]

• South Fremantle record the second-biggest win in open-age WAFL football, behind only West Perth’s 210-point win over the Bulldogs in 1987.^[14] After the red and whites fail to goal in the first fifteen minutes, the remained of the match is an embarrassment for Peel.^[15]
• Perth end East Fremantle’s run of seventeen straight victories, the equal fifth-longest in open-age Westar/WAFL/WANFL football,^[8] as the injury-plagued Darren Rigby – who had played only seventeen matches in four seasons due to leg fractures – dominates returning AFL star Shaun McManus.^[16]

East Perth suffer their biggest loss to Subiaco.^[19] The Royals record the fewest scoring shots in a WANFL/WAFL/Westar match since Claremont in 1945 against Perth and their fewest since 1913.^[20]

• Subiaco become the first WAFL/WANFL/WASFL/Westar club to hold consecutive opponents to three or fewer goals since East Perth in Rounds 13 and 14 of 1919. The Lions’ experience, especially in defence, completely decimates Claremont as Ryan O'Connor and Andrew Donnelly consistently keep the ball from the Tigers’ forward line.^[21]
• West Perth failed to catch South Fremantle after coach Tony Micale rested his top backmen and the Bulldogs get two key goals after fifteen goalless minutes at the star of the final quarter.^[22]

After long-serving ground disputes and modification of the draw, East Perth play their first home game for the season, but are thwarted by the return of former Eagle champion Chris Mainwaring, whose solid, injury-free display suggests he is ready for an AFL recall.^[26]

• South Fremantle gain revenge for a thrashing in the pre-season Grand Final as their exceptional discipline shuts down a Lion team whose ability to deal with close tagging is questioned.^[28]
• Seventeen-year-old Andrew Embley stars for Claremont, who are unsettled by Peel‘s tactic of using goalkicker Scott Simister and vice-captain Wayne Barden on the ball – Embley shuts both down after quarter-time when Peel had gained a surprise lead.^[29]
• East Perth break a run of ten straight losses, their fourth-longest losing streak on record.^[30]

• Troy Wilson’s brilliant defensive marking and robust physical work in free play smashes the Tiger attack to make the four look already sealed with two-thirds of the season still to be played.^[32]
• Despite having played only twenty Westar Rules games between them, youngsters Leon Davis, Chance Bateman, Darren Glass, Richard Kelly and Matt Shaw show Perth have a big AFL-ready talent pool with dominant displays in an unexpected narrow win for the Demons.^[33]

The Foundation Day derby saw the last Westar Rules/WAFL home-and-away attendance of over 10,000 until 2009 and the second last to date.^[38] The Bulldogs win a high-standard thriller as the Sharks’ run proves too late – a special win in their centenary year.

• Peel Thunder become the first WANFL/WAFL/WASFL/Westar Rules club to fail to score in the first half since Claremont against Perth in 1945.
• Perth’s enthusiasm has them leading South Fremantle for over two quarters before Tony Delaney wrests control of the centre from Bateman and leads the Bulldogs to a ninth consecutive victory – equalling their 1998 win tally.^[40]

• Swan Districts’ inexperience has them thrashed despite having four more kicks and only two fewer scoring shots,^[d] which lead to undisciplined frustration among the Swans’ players.^[42]
• East Perth are predictably outclassed by the top-of-the-table Bulldogs after being three goals ahead entering time-on of the opening quarter, as the Royals’ initial desire and especially their forward line (which does not goal again until well into the last quarter) disintegrate.^[43]

Steve Trewhella, whose start to 1999 was delayed by a broken wrist, plays a major role in a crucial win lifting the Falcons to clear second by tagging Fremantle-listed Luke Toia to completely reverse a 20-point half-time Lion lead that actually flattered West Perth.^[45]

• West Perth fan favourite Paul Mifka returns for his first match since a car accident in 1998, nullifying veteran Earl Spalding and keeping East Fremantle to three second-half goals after a close first half.^[47]
• Fraser Gehrig’s comeback for Perth is nearly upset by an inaccurate Thunder team^[48]

• Despite the handicap of working a one-man police station at Wyalkatchem 235 kilometres (150 mi) from Perth and training with the local team, South Fremantle veteran Marty Atkins’ solid defence leaves the Bulldogs two games clear on top as West Perth cannot convert their chances.^[50]
• East Fremantle’s targeting of Peel as needing to go for an eight-club competition does nothing inspire the Thunder, who score only 2.6 (18) to 10.6 (66) in two quarters with the wind.^[51]

• As relief for those who suffered from Cyclone Vance,^[54][55] Westar Rules play a game for the first and only time in the Pilbara town of Exmouth, and for one of only two times in Moora in Perth’s country zone.
• On a windy 29 °C (84.2 °F) day, Subiaco and East Perth are allowed a fourth interchange player (standardised the following season). Fringe Eagle Andrew Donnelly dominates as the Lions win in the trying weather.^[54]

In a thrashing described as a “farce” with the Bulldogs taking 102 marks to 36 and having 113 effective handballs to 45, South Fremantle’s Anthony Jones makes a memorable 100 metre run regarded as the best play in Westar Rules for a long time.^[55]

• Despite a broken left hand, South Fremantle’s Brad Bootsma, with 32 possessions mainly in the second half, courageously leads a win after being behind for most of the last quarter, which virtually settles the double chance in the finals.^[60]
• Swan Districts rebound from their South Fremantle thrashing to pip East Fremantle and leave Claremont in the four. The marking of West Coast Eagle discard Jason Ball and attack on the ball of Shane Beros win for Swans.^[61]

• Brendon Fewster’s size and strength leaves Claremont with no options, as does Troy Wilson in defence. Only inaccurate kicking prevents a humiliation, but East Fremantle’s thrashing keeps Claremont in the four.^[63]
• East Perth’s Ashley Hutchison is sent off after being reported twice – once for striking and once for spitting. He is one of four Westar players to suffer this ignominy.^[64]
• In a game where, despite East Perth having won only twice, no tipster gave the Thunder a chance to break their winless season,^[65] Ryan Turnbull shows the form that made him a dominating figure in the Royals’ mini-dynasty of the early 2000s.^[64]

By guarding Bootsma and the other South Fremantle on-ballers, the Sharks end a worrying slump by convincingly ending the seemingly invincible Bulldogs’ run of fifteen consecutive victories – in spite of kicking five goals fifteen behinds in the first half.^[68]

After Peel hold a narrow lead for most of the first half in wet conditions, Rhys Croxford dashed the Thunder’s hope of a win for 1999 with one goal late in the second quarter and three early in the third – and Peel did not receive another chance.^[71]

East Perth leave their home since 1910 of Perth Oval (though it was not known at the time) on a high with a win that denies Claremont a finals berth.^[6] The brilliant speed of Halls Creek recruit Brendan Thomas led the Royals to score 5.3 (33) to nothing after Claremont took the lead halfway through the last quarter in a game that had always been close to that stage.^[75]

The winless Thunder nearly cause a huge upset against the minor premiers, leading all day only to go down by seven points after the Bulldogs, looking for a “solid hit-out”, rested six top players. It was the first time in thirty-two games Peel had actually led at half-time, and at one point they led by 37 points with Scott Simister in his best form.^[78]

Subiaco exploit East Fremantle’s newfound lack of height to eliminate the reigning premiers, who score 2.10 (22) from many more opportunities in the final quarter.^[79]

• Since the two semi-finals were played at the same venue on the same day, the attendance figure is the same.
• A poor second quarter ensures West Perth are always playing catch-up football against the skill and experience of Atkins – and with Mann beating the Falcons’ danger man in Fewster.

• In wet conditions that had caused late changes to both teams, West Perth’s defence crushes the Lions.^[81]
• Subiaco were fined for playing a player who was not in their original list of 24.^[81]

West Perth jump the minor premiers unexpectedly and some brilliant play allows them to evade a Bulldog comeback to win comfortably.