# 1930 WAFL season

The 1930 WAFL season was the 46th season of the West Australian Football League in its various incarnations, and the last before it changed its name to the ‘Western Australian National Football League’. The season saw East Fremantle win the premiership for the third consecutive season, marking the second time that the club had achieved the feat; the club was never seriously challenged as the best team except during the interstate break and achieved the unusual feat of being the only club with a percentage of over 100. Jerry Dolan said in retrospect that East Fremantle's 1930 team was the greatest he had ever played in or coached – including even the unbeaten team of 1946.
As with the VFL, the 1930 WAFL season saw a major innovation with the introduction of a ‘nineteenth man’ who could replace players either injured or out of form. This was changed to a nineteenth and twentieth man in 1946 and to the current interchange system in 1978. A controversial new holding the ball rule, which required the ball to be kicked or punched when tackled, was introduced for this season, but was regarded as unsatisfactory and replaced by the old rule, where a player could kick or drop the ball when tackled, in Victoria from 14 June and throughout Australia from 5 July, with the rule being officially re-amended two weeks later
For 1930 the WAFL reconstituted the seconds competition, which had been inaugurated five seasons beforehand, as the ‘Western Australian National Football Association’ (W.A.N.F.A) and required the teams in this competition to play league players when dropped through loss of form or return of top players.

## Home-and-away season
### Round 1 (Easter weekend)

| | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | |
| Saturday, 19 April (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 16.14 (110) | def. | West Perth 12.5 (77) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 19 April (2:45 pm) | Perth 10.13 (73) | drew with | Claremont-Cottesloe 11.7 (73) | Perth Oval |
| Monday, 21 April (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 10.10 (70) | def. | South Fremantle 5.6 (36) | Subiaco Oval |
| | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | |
| Claremont-Cottesloe played its first drawn match, and as of 2014 its only one with Perth. Subiaco's win over the 1929 runners-up is marred by the controversy of their playing WANFA team captain Snashall in their league team as well as their seconds (who played on the Saturday), which was deemed to be legal at the Tuesday secretaries meeting. ||||||

### Round 2

| | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | |
| Saturday, 26 April (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 14.15 (99) | def. | Subiaco 10.11 (71) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 26 April (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 12.10 (82) | def. by | East Perth 17.14 (116) | Claremont Oval |
| Saturday, 26 April (2:45 pm) | West Perth 5.8 (38) | drew with | South Fremantle 5.8 (38) | Leederville Oval |
| | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | |
| Two draws in successive rounds is a first in the WA(N)FL repeated only in 1960. ||||||

### Round 3 (Labour Day)

| | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | |
| Saturday, 3 May (2:45 pm) | East Perth 10.4 (64) | def. by | West Perth 15.16 (106) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 3 May (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 13.14 (92) | def. | Claremont-Cottesloe 10.10 (70) | Fremantle Oval |
| Monday, 5 May (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 9.7 (61) | def. by | Perth 8.16 (64) | Subiaco Oval |
| | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | |

### Round 4

| | Round 4 | Round 4 | Round 4 | |
| Saturday, 10 May (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 8.10 (58) | def. by | East Fremantle 16.16 (112) | Claremont Oval |
| Saturday, 10 May (2:45 pm) | Perth 9.10 (64) | def. by | West Perth 12.7 (79) | WACA |
| Saturday, 10 May (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 7.15 (57) | def. | East Perth 6.9 (45) | Subiaco Oval |
| | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | |

### Round 5

| | Round 5 | Round 5 | Round 5 | |
| Saturday, 17 May (2:45 pm) | West Perth 11.14 (80) | def. | Claremont-Cottesloe 11.11 (77) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 17 May (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 13.19 (97) | def. | East Perth 12.10 (82) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 17 May (2:45 pm) | Perth 12.14 (86) | def. | East Fremantle 7.9 (51) | WACA |
| | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | |

### Round 6

| | Round 6 | Round 6 | Round 6 | |
| Saturday, 24 May (2:45 pm) | East Perth 8.7 (55) | def. by | East Fremantle 16.12 (108) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 24 May (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 9.11 (65) | def. by | Perth 13.13 (91) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 24 May (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 15.20 (110) | def. | Claremont-Cottesloe 10.8 (68) | Subiaco Oval |
| | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | |

### Round 7

| | Round 7 | Round 7 | Round 7 | |
| Saturday, 31 May (2:45 pm) | East Perth 15.17 (107) | def. | Perth 13.14 (92) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 31 May (2:45 pm) | West Perth 17.13 (115) | def. | Subiaco 15.22 (112) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 31 May (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 6.10 (46) | def. by | East Fremantle 11.15 (81) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | |
| Subiaco's 15.22 (112) was a new record for highest losing score in WAFL history; the record stood only until the following round. Despite the weather being mainly fine, the match ended in semi-darkness. ||||||

### Round 8 (Foundation Day)

| | Round 8 | Round 8 | Round 8 | |
| Monday, 2 June (2:45 pm) | East Perth 9.5 (59) | def. by | Claremont-Cottesloe 8.13 (61) | Perth Oval |
| Monday, 2 June (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 11.7 (73) | def. by | East Fremantle 14.20 (104) | Subiaco Oval |
| Monday, 2 June (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 18.9 (117) | def. | West Perth 17.12 (114) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | |
| West Perth's 17.12 (114) beat Subiaco's two-day-old record for highest losing score in WAFL history. ||||||

### Round 9

| | Round 9 | Round 9 | Round 9 | |
| Saturday, 7 June (2:45 pm) | West Perth 10.12 (72) | def. by | East Fremantle 21.18 (144) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 7 June (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 15.11 (101) | def. | Subiaco 4.15 (39) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 7 June (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 12.5 (77) | def. by | Perth 11.15 (81) | Claremont Oval |
| | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | |

### Round 10

| | Round 10 | Round 10 | Round 10 | |
| Saturday, 14 June (2:45 pm) | West Perth 14.9 (93) | def. by | East Perth 18.12 (120) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 14 June (2:45 pm) | Perth 6.16 (52) | def. by | Subiaco 7.14 (56) | WACA |
| Saturday, 14 June (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 15.18 (108) | def. | South Fremantle 12.3 (75) | Claremont Oval |
| | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | |
| A wayward second quarter of 2.12 (24) with a strong wind by Perth leaves them insecure in second position, as Subiaco manage to hold them off and enter attack at the finish. ||||||

### Round 11

| | Round 11 | Round 11 | Round 11 | |
| Saturday, 21 June (2:45 pm) | East Perth 17.13 (115) | def. | Subiaco 4.10 (34) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 21 June (2:45 pm) | West Perth 17.12 (114) | def. | Perth 10.14 (74) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 21 June (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 10.15 (75) | def. | Claremont-Cottesloe 7.9 (51) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | |

### Round 12

| | Round 12 | Round 12 | Round 12 | |
| Saturday, 28 June (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 19.15 (129) | def. | Perth 4.15 (39) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 28 June (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 11.20 (86) | def. by | West Perth 15.15 (105) | Claremont Oval |
| Saturday, 28 June (2:45 pm) | East Perth 11.6 (72) | def. | South Fremantle 8.14 (62) | Perth Oval |
| | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | |
| East Fremantle kick 15.5 (95) to 1.7 (13) in a brilliant second half, which not only avenges their only defeat to this point but also drives Perth – second two rounds ago – out of the top four. West Perth moved into second spot, but it was the club's last win for the season. Frank Hopkins and George Moloney kicked six goals each. ||||||

### Round 13

| | Round 13 | Round 13 | Round 13 | |
| Saturday, 5 July (2:45 pm) | Perth 7.16 (58) | def. | South Fremantle 3.8 (26) | WACA |
| Saturday, 5 July (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 11.10 (76) | def. | East Perth 9.14 (68) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 5 July (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 9.9 (63) | def. by | Claremont-Cottesloe 12.13 (85) | Subiaco Oval |
| | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | |
| South Fremantle lose their place in the four after kicking what remains their lowest open-age score against Perth since 1918 in extremely wet and muddy conditions. An inaccurate 2.8 (20) with a strong wind in the final quarter denies East Perth a fine win against the competition leaders, who win their eighth consecutive match to stand fourteen points clear on top. ||||||

### Round 14

| | Round 14 | Round 14 | Round 14 | |
| Saturday, 12 July (2:45 pm) | Perth 9.15 (69) | def. by | East Perth 12.6 (78) | WACA |
| Saturday, 12 July (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 14.19 (103) | def. by | South Fremantle 16.11 (107) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 12 July (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 12.12 (84) | def. | West Perth 8.13 (61) | Subiaco Oval |
| | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | |

### Round 15

| | Round 15 | Round 15 | Round 15 | |
| Saturday, 19 July (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 11.16 (82) | def. | West Perth 8.18 (66) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 19 July (2:45 pm) | Perth 12.10 (82) | def. by | Claremont-Cottesloe 15.12 (102) | WACA |
| Saturday, 19 July (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 8.16 (64) | def. by | South Fremantle 11.7 (73) | Subiaco Oval |
| | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | |
| George Moloney becomes the first Claremont player to kick ten goals in a match, as Perth lose their place in the four and Claremont stand half a game from advancing off bottom place. It was Claremont's first win at the W.A.C.A. and moved Moloney to the head of the goalkicking. ||||||

### Round 16

| | Round 16 | Round 16 | Round 16 | |
| Saturday, 26 July (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 14.10 (94) | def. | East Perth 13.11 (89) | Claremont Oval |
| Saturday, 26 July (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 9.16 (70) | def. | East Fremantle 8.18 (66) | Subiaco Oval |
| Saturday, 2 August (2:45 pm) | West Perth 9.10 (64) | def. by | South Fremantle 14.15 (99) | Leederville Oval |
| | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | |
| With interstate carnival players absent until the middle of August, rounds 16 and 17 were split over three weekends. ||||||

### Round 17

| | Round 17 | Round 17 | Round 17 | |
| Saturday, 2 August (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 11.16 (82) | def. by | Perth 16.11 (107) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 16 August (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 15.12 (102) | def. | West Perth 14.13 (97) | Subiaco Oval |
| Saturday, 16 August (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 13.12 (90) | def. | East Perth 10.25 (85) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | |
| Subiaco toured the Eastern States during the interstate carnival, and East Fremantle lost a match to combined Goldfields eighteen by the score of 15.13 (103) to 16.15 (111) at Kalgoorlie in rainy weather. ||||||

### Round 18

| | Round 18 | Round 18 | Round 18 | |
| Saturday, 23 August (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 12.13 (85) | drew with | Claremont-Cottesloe 13.7 (85) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 23 August (2:45 pm) | Perth 14.7 (91) | def. | Subiaco 10.10 (70) | WACA |
| Saturday, 23 August (2:45 pm) | East Perth 18.8 (116) | def. | West Perth 14.12 (96) | Perth Oval |
| | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | |
| Claremont-Cottesloe comeback produces third draw for season, an occurrence seen otherwise in the WA(N)FL only in 1937 and 1960. ||||||

### Round 19

| | Round 19 | Round 19 | Round 19 | |
| Saturday, 30 August (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 18.16 (124) | def. | Claremont-Cottesloe 8.13 (61) | Subiaco Oval |
| Saturday, 30 August (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 19.22 (136) | def. | East Perth 5.12 (42) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 30 August (2:45 pm) | Perth 8.9 (57) | def. by | South Fremantle 9.13 (67) | WACA |
| | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | |
| Claremont-Cottesloe, unbeaten since 28 June, have their finals hopes ended by a resurgent Maroon combination led by six goals from Leonard. East Fremantle, in their first competition match for a month, return to top form and leave East Perth's finals position in jeopardy with a crushing victory, despite the absence of key players Rowland and Pearce. ||||||

### Round 20

| | Round 20 | Round 20 | Round 20 | |
| Saturday, 6 September (2:45 pm) | West Perth 7.10 (52) | def. by | Subiaco 8.10 (58) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 6 September (2:45 pm) | East Perth 13.9 (87) | def. | Perth 8.12 (60) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 6 September (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 16.18 (114) | def. | South Fremantle 12.7 (79) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | |
| As a result of Subiaco's fighting win over an improved Cardinal outfit in wet conditions, the final round match will directly decide the fourth finals place should Perth defeat the Cardinals. ||||||

### Round 21

| | Round 21 | Round 21 | Round 21 | |
| Saturday, 13 September (2:45 pm) | East Perth 12.7 (79) | def. by | Subiaco 15.17 (107) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 13 September (2:45 pm) | West Perth 18.11 (119) | def. by | Perth 24.20 (164) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 13 September (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 14.10 (94) | def. by | East Fremantle 22.24 (156) | Claremont Oval |
| | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | |
| After East Fremantle had established a winning advantage, a shootout in the last quarter saw Claremont kick 10.4 (64) (of which George Moloney kicked eight) and East Fremantle 11.5 (71). As of 2022, the aggregate score of 21.9 (135) remains the record for a quarter in elite Australian rules football. Frank Hopkins (West Perth) kicked twelve goals for the second half to finish with fourteen, the second highest for a player on the losing side in elite Australian rules football. A record crowd (whose exact number was not quantified) sees Subiaco take the final place in the four with an impressive victory that leave critics seeing the Maroons as East Fremantle's most likely challenger. ||||||

## Ladder

1930 ladder :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts |
| 1 | East Fremantle (P) | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1828 | 1261 | 145.0 | 56 |
| 2 | South Fremantle | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1355 | 1395 | 97.1 | 40 |
| 3 | Subiaco | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1323 | 1367 | 96.8 | 36 |
| 4 | Perth | 18 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 1404 | 1443 | 97.3 | 34 |
| 5 | East Perth | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1479 | 1520 | 97.3 | 32 |
| 6 | Claremont-Cottesloe | 18 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 1434 | 1674 | 85.7 | 28 |
| 7 | West Perth | 18 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 1548 | 1711 | 90.5 | 26 |

## Finals
### First semi-final

| | First semi-final | First semi-final | First semi-final | |
| Saturday, 20 September (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 11.7 (73) | def. | Subiaco 5.14 (44) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 7,572) |
| Sol Lawn kicked eight goals as South recorded a surprise win over the in-form Maroons, whose rucks do not show their dominant recent form. ||||||

### Second semi-final

| | Second semi-final | Second semi-final | Second semi-final | |
| Saturday, 27 September (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 15.14 (104) | def. | Perth 10.14 (74) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 4,899) |
| Perth was playing in its first final since 1920. The Redlegs kicked seven of their ten goals in the second quarter to lead by four points at half time, but were outclassed afterwards. ||||||

### Grand Final

| | 1930 WAFL Grand Final | 1930 WAFL Grand Final | 1930 WAFL Grand Final | | |
| Saturday, 4 October | East Fremantle | def. | South Fremantle | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 7,564) | |
| | 0.3 (3) 9.9 (63) 9.10 (64) 12.15 (87) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 5.6 (36) 5.7 (37) 7.10 (52) 9.11 (65) | Umpires: F Collins | Umpires: F Collins |
| Bee 2, Lethbridge 2, Glass 2, Laffin 2, Butcher, Telfer, Laurie, Woods | Bee 2, Lethbridge 2, Glass 2, Laffin 2, Butcher, Telfer, Laurie, Woods | Goals | Sol Lawn 3, McGuinness 2, Smith 2, Clatworthy, E. Lawn | Sol Lawn 3, McGuinness 2, Smith 2, Clatworthy, E. Lawn |
| Reynolds (best on ground), Jarvis, Richards, Gabrielson, Laffin, Bee, Jones | Reynolds (best on ground), Jarvis, Richards, Gabrielson, Laffin, Bee, Jones | Best | Holt, Loveridge, Hicks, Sol Lawn, E. Lawn, Clatworthy | Holt, Loveridge, Hicks, Sol Lawn, E. Lawn, Clatworthy |
| On a very windy day, East Fremantle won with nine goals to none in the second quarter, after South Fremantle had established a five-goal lead in the first quarter, but failed to use the wind well in the third term. During the final quarter, East Fremantle became the first WAFL to score 2,000 points in one season. ||||||