# 2023 WAFL season

The 2023 WAFL season was the 139th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League (WAFL). The season commenced on 7 April and concluded with the Grand Final on 24 September.
After easily winning the minor premiership, East Fremantle won their 30th WAFL premiership breaking a 25-year drought, defeating Peel Thunder in the Grand Final at Optus Stadium.

## Ladder

* For the list of regular season results, see here
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | East Fremantle (P) | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1650 | 1118 | 147.6 | 56 | Finals series |
| 2 | Subiaco | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1536 | 1168 | 131.5 | 48 | Finals series |
| 3 | Peel Thunder | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1474 | 1133 | 130.1 | 48 | Finals series |
| 4 | East Perth | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1656 | 1275 | 129.9 | 48 | Finals series |
| 5 | Claremont | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1509 | 1225 | 123.2 | 48 | Finals series |
| 6 | West Perth | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1523 | 1271 | 119.8 | 44 | |
| 7 | Swan Districts | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1329 | 1333 | 99.7 | 32 | |
| 8 | South Fremantle | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 1190 | 1227 | 97.0 | 16 | |
| 9 | Perth | 18 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 1119 | 1725 | 64.9 | 10 | |
| 10 | West Coast | 18 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 973 | 2484 | 39.2 | 2 | |
* ↑ South Fremantle were fined $25,000 and stripped of eight premiership points after breaching the WAFL salary cap during the 2021 WAFL season.

## Finals series
### Week one – Qualifying and elimination finals

| | Qualifying final | Qualifying final | Qualifying final | |
| Saturday, 2 September (2:10 pm) | Subiaco 10.14 (74) | def. by | Peel Thunder 12.12 (84) | Leederville Oval |
| | Elimination final | Elimination final | Elimination final | |
| Sunday, 3 September (2:10 pm) | East Perth 9.6 (60) | def. by | Claremont 11.6 (72) | Leederville Oval |

### Week two – Semi-finals

| | Second semi final | Second semi final | Second semi final | |
| Saturday, 9 September (2:10 pm) | East Fremantle 9.6 (60) | def. | Peel Thunder 7.13 (55) | Fremantle Community Bank Oval |
| | First semi final | First semi final | First semi final | |
| Sunday, 10 September (2:10 pm) | Subiaco 16.12 (108) | def. | Claremont 8.1 (49) | Leederville Oval |

### Week three – Preliminary final

| | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | |
| Sunday 17, September (2:10 pm) | Peel Thunder 11.11 (77) | def. | Subiaco 7.11 (53) | Lane Group Stadium |

### Week four – Grand Final

| | 2023 WAFL Grand Final | 2023 WAFL Grand Final | 2023 WAFL Grand Final | | |
| Sunday 24 September (3:00 pm) | East Fremantle | def. | Peel Thunder | Optus Stadium, Perth (crowd: 27,104) | Stats Report |
| | 3.5 (23) 6.6 (42) 9.11 (65) 12.13 (85) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 2.0 (12) 4.4 (28) 5.7 (37) 6.10 (46) | Umpires: Gibb, Jago, McPhee, Laycock Simpson Medal: Milan Murdock (East Fremantle) Television broadcast: Seven Network | Umpires: Gibb, Jago, McPhee, Laycock Simpson Medal: Milan Murdock (East Fremantle) Television broadcast: Seven Network |
| Schoenfeld 2, McGuire 2, Murdock, English, Joyce, Marsh, McGuire, Bennett, Montauban, Dixon | Schoenfeld 2, McGuire 2, Murdock, English, Joyce, Marsh, McGuire, Bennett, Montauban, Dixon | Goals | Colyer 2, Middleton, Sears, Smith, Wemm | Colyer 2, Middleton, Sears, Smith, Wemm |
| Murdock, Turner, Eardley, Jupp, Joyce, Marsh, R McGuire, Marlin, Bailey. | Murdock, Turner, Eardley, Jupp, Joyce, Marsh, R McGuire, Marlin, Bailey. | Best | Wagner, Davies, Blight, Wilson, Hamling, Brodie, Hancock. | Wagner, Davies, Blight, Wilson, Hamling, Brodie, Hancock. |
| Nil | Nil | Injuries | Nil | Nil |
| Nil | Nil | Reports | Nil | Nil |

## Notable events

* Perth's Kristian Cary kicked for goal after the siren against West Coast in Round 13, but his kick fell short the huge pack competing on the goal line saw the ball forced through for a rushed behind. The draw ended West Coast's losing streak for the season.
* West Coast's Harry Barnett missed a shot on goal in Round 15, allowing Swan Districts to bring the ball back into their forward 50, where Tom Edwards marked and kicked truly.