1980 WAFL season

• Mal Brown’s skill in moving rover Noel Carter to the centre and the inexperienced Ross Sweetman onto Bosustow ensures South Fremantle fight back after having had only three scoring shots to sixteen late in the opening quarter.^[7]
• In their first game after the 1979 premiership, East Fremantle suffer the worst loss to that point in their history - an ominous sign for the season but a record comprehensively beaten the following year.^[8] Craig Holden holds 1979 leading goalkicker Kevin Taylor to 0.2 (2).

• Swan Districts show their maturity by warding off two major challenges from East Perth – who take the lead during their third quarter and get within eight points halfway through the last – owing to a superb roving division led by Neesham and Mike Richardson.^[9]
• The playing of Peake at centre half-forward does not help East Fremantle as their star has only four possessions before being moved into the centre and Claremont build up a lead they easily maintain.^[10]

• A brilliant display in windy and showery weather dominated by long handballing gives Old Easts a third successive thrashing and shows a below-strength Bulldogs as already better than 1979.^[12]
• West Perth, led by Chris Stasinowsky and centre half-forward Ron Alderton, annihilate Claremont in wet conditions during the last quarter, kicking 12.2 (74) to 1.2 (8).^[13]

A fine display by the returning Wayne Cormack and improved form by Ken Judge gives East Fremantle a first win and a short-lived hope of moving back to the top.^[2] Old Easts jumped the Royals with the first five goals and, despite further injuries that leave Rod Lester-Smith crippled, are never headed.

• South Fremantle claim a behind was missed – which would have produced the league’s first draw for six seasons^[16] – but the appeal was rejected when it was seen that Claremont’s Kevin Worthington was given a free kick whilst a shot by South’s Basil Campbell hit a goalpost.^[17]
• The 32 behinds is the most Swan Districts have ever scored in a WAFL match,^[18] beating by five the previous record against East Perth from 1955.

• In front of the biggest-ever crowd at Bassendean and Swans’ biggest home-and-away attendance at any venue,^[19] Swan Districts become the second team after West Perth in 1941 to win consecutive matches by over 100 points.^[20]
• An all-in-brawl leads to four reports for Subiaco half-forward Frank Bucknall^[21] who gets six matches on one of the busiest nights for the WAFL Tribunal with seven players on report.^[22]

In winning their first match, Subiaco record their biggest win against the reigning premier club until 1993, beating 76 points from 1968^[23][a] They do this despite losing spearhead Peter Munro after kicking five in the first quarter and then Gary Buckenara.^[24]

• After being fifteen points behind at quarter-time, Swan Districts produce a devastating second half to stay unbeaten with a percentage of 179.41, as East Fremantle apply virtually no pressure.^[27]
• The aggregate of 204 points in the second half – Swan Districts 22.8 (140) and East Fremantle 10.4 (64) – constitutes a record for any half of WA(N)FL football.^[28]

The presence of the injured Peake and a return to form by their small men gives East Fremantle a desire completely lacking in other games of 1980 and allows them to overpower their Fremantle rivals in a hard-running game – producing unfulfilled hopes of a revival.^[30]

11.6 (72) from Warren Ralph puts paid to hopes of a blue and white revival and reveals a new WAFL star, as the Tigers kick 12.4 (76) to 4.0 (24) after Old Easts drew to within five points early in the final quarter.^[32]

• Swan Districts win their sixteenth match in succession as former Sandover winner and six-goal ruck-rover Graham Melrose shows leadership qualities for a team depleted by interstate calls.^[34]
• Controversial West Perth ruckman Ben Jager proves he has improved beyond his formerly criticised disposal as he proves a worthy leader for a Cardinal team minus captain Fong and vice-captain Heal.^[35]

• On a day where 45.4 millimetres (1.79 in) of rain fell in Perth,^[36] Claremont’s normally powerful attack kick the lowest WAFL score between 1969 and 1994, with Phil Krakouer kicking 3.2 of the 3.4 after Claremont, against all advice, kicked into a strong wind on winning the toss and conceded 4.3 (27) in sixteen minutes when the ground remained dry.^[37]
• This also remains Claremont’s lowest score ever against the Bulldogs.^[38]

• Swan Districts win their eighteenth consecutive match dating back to late 1979, the best opening to a WAFL season since East Perth won the first seventeen in 1959^[39]
• West Perth suffer the first of three heartbreaking losses for that cost them a finals berth, as Swans’ superb fighting qualities see them win after being behind all afternoon.^[40]
• Despite East Fremantle kicking 9.10 (64) in the final quarter, Perth’s wingers Cam Shepherd and Alan Johnson had inflicted too much damage for the reigning premiers.^[41]

South Fremantle’s supremacy in the wet, with wingman Geoff O‘Brien and Maurice Rioli superb, virtually seals the top two and ends Swans’ hopes of an unbeaten season.^[42]

Subiaco gain their second and last win in a game with no score for twenty minutes in the last quarter - remarkable in such a high-scoring era in fine, if windy, weather.^[43]

Despite a stirring fightback after losing Adamson, Ellen and Logan before the game, West Perth lose by one point for the second successive match and East Perth move within a narrow percentage gap of claiming their place in the four.^[44]

A return to form with 7.6 (48) by Warren Ralph – who had been hopeless in the wet – and the dominance of Moss and Hunter ensure Claremont of a win that puts West Perth out of the four for the first time during 1980.^[45]

Despite having Moss, Jim and Phil Krakouer and Ralph all well held, Claremont are only one point behind early in the last quarter before Swans show their ability under pressure and win well.^[46]

• With Alan Watling kicking an equal career-best seven goals in this 250th match, West Perth run over hapless East Fremantle with 10.7 (67) to 2.3 (15) in the third quarter, but poor second and final quarters question their finals hopes in critics’ eyes.^[47]
• Subiaco, after being 86 points behind at half-time, kick 17.8 (110) to 10.3 (63) in the second half to reveal a question mark upon most of their football during 1980. Despite playing most of the second half at centre-half-forward with Stan Nowotny at full-forward, Simon Beasley kicks nine for Swans.^[48]

• Don Haddow, the last remaining player from South’s 1970 premiership team, kick 7.4 (46) and leads well to fill the unfamiliar role of full-forward that had caused the Bulldogs trouble.^[49]
• East Perth made a late charge from 41 points behind, led by Paul Arnold, that fails owing to weaknesses on the flanks and young ruckman Ironmonger’s immobility around the ground.
• With Ralph equaling his best performance of 11.6 (72) and Phil Krakouer unstoppable with his superb disposal, Claremont kick 18.9 (117) to 5.2 (32) after a promising first half by the Lions.^[50]

• West Perth produce a superb team effort that sees them in the four early in the last quarter before several goals from Murray Couper reduce the margin and re-establish East Perth’s place.^[51]
• East Fremantle equal the second highest number of behinds in a senior WAFL match^[52]
• Subiaco’s colts kicked the embarrassing score of 1.16 (22), but scored 12.7 (79) against the same opponent the following weekend.

Despite the loss of decorated centreman Phil Kelly, Steve Curtis’ blanketing of Phil Krakouer after the first fifteen minutes and the dominance of key forward Paul Arnold and Grant Campbell gives East Perth a clear win.^[53]

In a fiery match, South Fremantle show they remained Western Australia’s wet-weather specialists by keeping Swan Districts to 2.9 (21) after half-time as rain began and the pressure intensified.^[54]

• Record attendance for a WA(N)FL Preliminary Final^[55]
• Swans beat Subiaco’s 1959 record for the highest score in a WA(N)FL final by two points, showing the gap between the top two and the rest. East Perth cannot counter the centreline of Keith and Phil Narkle and Mike Smith, nor Graham Melrose and Beasley who finish with 16.1 between them.^[56]

South Fremantle, on a winning streak dating back to Round 10, give what is often regarded as the finest display in any WAFL Grand Final to thrash Swan Districts, playing in their first Grand Final since 1965.