1979 WANFL season

• Perth just fail to clinch game after being behind almost all match against the Bulldogs.
• West Perth produce a brilliant third quarter burst to win after looking out of the match at half-time.^[8]

• A record East Fremantle Oval crowd sees Old Easts come from behind as defenders Crouch and Green along with the following division take complete control.^[9]
• East Perth record their biggest win in open-age WANFL football, narrowly beating their 147-point win over Claremont^[10]
• Perth coach Ken Armstrong complains about the tactics of rival John Todd after Ron Boucher shatters the jaw of key Demon ruckman and former Simpson Medallist Wim Rosbender without any penalty.^[11]
• With Phil Krakouer kicking eight goals including Claremont’s first five, and West Perth’s forward line decrepit, the Cardinals enter a severe crisis with a number of injuries.^[12]

With skipper Stan Nowotny and the Narkle brothers killing Subiaco (who had lost their last four matches by 446 points) and their reserves winning equally easily, Swan Districts confirm they would be much more formidable than in 1978 and 1977.^[13]

• The recruitment from the Sunday League of former East Fremantle players Alan Rose and Glen Durnthaler, along with coach Douge blanketing Tiger centre half-back Ken Hunter, toughens Subiaco after their recent disasters to a thrilling first victory.^[14]
• Injured ruck-rover Gerard Neesham shows courage to lead a final Swan fightback in a fluctuating match.^[15]

• Moving himself to centre half-forward, Claremont’s champion ruckman and captain-coach Graham Moss dominates but Perth’s inexperience ruck leads critics to question the viability of the move.^[16]
• Archie Duda returns for his first game to combine with Paul Arnold for eleven goals and complement a dominating midfield performance by the previously uncertain reigning premiers.^[17]

• Claremont confirm East Perth’s popular premiership favouritism as misplaced via a convincing win with Moss continuing to dominate at centre-half forward and former defender Barry Beecroft doing all that was required in the ruck.^[18]
• Swan Districts lose despite a 9.10 (64) second quarter and kick their highest losing score until 1982^[19]
• The return of defender John Dimmer and Dennis Blair allows a still-understrength Subiaco to drop the aging Cardinals to last position.^[20]

• South Fremantle dominate over an inept Cardinal team setting numerous records:^[21]
  • West Perth’s worst loss, beating 112 points against Perth from 1977.
  • The Cardinals’ biggest loss at Leederville Oval, beating 89 points against Swan Districts on 12 July 1965
  • The club sacked its coach the following Monday in favour of old mentor Campbell.

High-scoring Foundation Day derby sees inaccurate Bulldogs come from behind to win with 11.7 (73) to 5.4 (34) last quarter and acquire premiership favouritism in front of a record Fremantle Oval attendance – despite East Fremantle being seriously affected by injuries.^[22]

• West Perth record their tenth consecutive loss, their worst sequence since their record 27-game streak in 1938 and 1939.^[23]
• Despite a comfortable win with Ray Bauskis kicking 13-4 (82), South Fremantle coach Mal Brown becomes very upset at a “gutless” final quarter where South kicks only 2.0 (12) to Subiaco’s 7.8 (50).^[24]
• An unexpected move of brilliant rover-forward Phil Krakouer to defence shuts out the young Swan Districts centreline after Swans get within eight points of the Tigers. Krakouer has an amazing 32 kicks and eight handballs.^[25]

• Former coach Campbell’s emphasis on hard work and dedication allows West Perth to end their worst losing run for 40 years and second-worst ever.^[27]
• East Perth consolidate their place in the top four with a convincing wet-weather repeat of the 1978 Grand Final.^[28]

• Imaginative use of handball by East Perth’s defenders blunts a South Fremantle attack that had averaged 136 points per match and also set up most Royal goals in an impressive victory for the 1978 premiers.^[29]
• Rod Alderton, West Perth’s leading goalkicker in 1978, kicks three of seven last-quarter goals in a twenty-minute burst to pip an inaccurate Swan Districts who had led all day but just failed with a late comeback.^[30]

• Although the establish a three-game gap between fourth and fifth, poor defence nearly costs South Fremantle the match, as previously out-of-sorts Simon Beasley kicks nine after being dropped but recalled when Mark Olsen is declared unfit with a calf strain.^[31]
• Moss returns to the ruck to drive Claremont form 31 points down at half-time to a superb win, with Jimmy Krakouer superb in support.^[32]
• East Perth kick 3.1 to 2.3 into the breeze to deny Cardinals a third straight victory.

• East Fremantle return to their early-season form by crushing Swans on a windy day, finishing with 6.4 (40) to 1.3 (9) into a strong breeze.^[33]
• Claremont show that the traditional “college boy” tag^[34] with a fighting win – again led by Moss and the Krakouers – after East Perth score 9.3 (57) with the wind in the third quarter.^[35]

1976 leading goalkicker Norm Uncle returns after a long period of disappointment to kick nine goals three behinds as Claremont, after losing Moss and Jimmy Krakouer, run over Old Easts in the second half.^[36]

Subiaco record upset win with 8.8 (56) to 1.1 (7) opening quarter, and hold on despite kicking 5.11 (41) in the third.

• East Perth set a record for the highest score against East Fremantle, kicking 18.4 (112) in the first half as the celebration of Barry Cable’s 400th game seems to arrive a week too soon as their centreline led by Larry Kickett overwhelms the blue and whites.^[37]
• Old Easts had only three goalkickers (Thomson 6, Taylor 5, Buhagiar 2).

• Record aggregate score at Bassendean, with Mark Olsen kicking thirteen and Gary Buckenara nine from an amazing 27 kicks and 17 marks^[38] for Subiaco^[39]
• Aggregate score at East Fremantle third highest on record, with eight more scoring shots than at Bassendean. Taylor kicked nine for Old Easts.^[39]
• Barry Cable plays his 400th senior game and celebrates with a win over his former club.

• Bulldogs secure double chance via an efficient display with the wind in the first quarter^[40] in the wettest and lowest-scoring game of the season^[41]
• Subiaco’s failure to hold on in an exceptional quality game against Claremont assures that team of the double chance and the Lions of the wooden spoon.^[42]

• Jimmy Krakouer, cleared of fighting with Lion Durnthaler during the previous game, kicks nine goals and leads a devastating midfield that clinches the minor premiership.^[43]
• Injuries to Noel Carter and Basil Campbell show up the jitters that had derailed several recent South Fremantle premiership attempts.^[44]

East Fremantle coach Bradley Smith makes a number of surprise moves that overhaul his former club in Cable’s last senior match.^[45]

Noel Carter makes an unexpected comeback from injury, and with Michael beating Moss, South Fremantle make a surprising rebound from their Swan Districts loss,^[46] leaving Claremont as the team with injury worries.^[47]

• Six goals in the first quarter into the wind ensure East Fremantle make the Grand Final and Claremont become the first minor premier to miss the Grand Final since Perth in 1963.^[48]
• Claremont’s attempt to improve its forward line by displacing Old Easts’ Doug Green fails.^[49]