[20] 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.
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] 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.
[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.
a Central District in 1964 and several VFA/VFL clubs share the Thunder's ignominy of a 20-game winless season: Sandringham in 1941, Box Hill in 1951, and the Bendigo Diggers in 2001 and 2002. b The only other winless VFL, SANFL or WAFL clubs whose narrowest loss was to the minor premier have been St. Kilda in 1902, whose closest shave was against premiers Collingwood, also by seven points, and Sturt in 1995, whose narrowest loss was to Central District by 24 points.c Both South Fremantle and Perth were formed in 1899, though South Fremantle's ancestry can be traced back to the older Fremantle Football Club.d The WA(N)FL/Westar record win with fewer shots is 53 points (with two fewer shots) by Claremont against Perth in 1994, whilst with equal shots the record is fifty points – also by Subiaco against Swan Districts – in 1968.