# 1929 WAFL season

The 1929 WAFL season was the 45th season of the West Australian Football League in its various incarnations.
East Fremantle proved the outstanding team, and won the second of what would become seven successive minor premierships and four successive flags. Subiaco denied a Perth club bolstered by the return as coach of Jack Leckie – who had masterminded their pre-war successes including their only premiership to that point – its first finals appearance since 1920 with a convincing last round win. Claremont-Cottesloe won more games than in its first three seasons combined and a brilliant mid-season burst looked to assure it of a finals berth before a September fade-out – but the Great Depression and the financial power of several wealthy VFL clubs prevented the Tigers sustaining this improvement.
Following the death in a truck accident of champion coach Phil Matson, an upheaval off the field during the summer, and the retirement of numerous top players of their 1920s dynasty such as Bonny Campbell, Val Sparrow (who took to coaching the club), “Paddy” Hebbard, Joe O'Meara and Jack Walsh, former powerhouse East Perth suffered its first wooden spoon since 1913 and lost a club record fifteen consecutive matches. The Royals were also affected by injuries to remaining key players Owens and Fletcher, who missed several games and were never fully fit.
Sol Lawn of South Fremantle beat the record of Bonny Campbell for most goals in a WAFL season, finishing with ninety-six.

## Home-and-away season
### Round 1

| | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | |
| Saturday, 20 April (2:45 pm) | East Perth 5.5 (35) | def. by | West Perth 15.10 (100) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 20 April (2:45 pm) | Perth 10.12 (72) | def. by | South Fremantle 11.10 (76) | WACA |
| Saturday, 20 April (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 9.14 (68) | def. by | Claremont-Cottesloe 9.15 (69) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | |
| South Fremantle come back from 31 points down to beat Perth, whilst Claremont-Cottesloe record a first-ever win over an “experimental” East Fremantle lineup ||||||

### Round 2

| | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | |
| Saturday, 27 April (2:45 pm) | Perth 11.12 (78) | def. | West Perth 6.9 (45) | WACA |
| Saturday, 27 April (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 12.10 (82) | def. by | East Fremantle 13.11 (89) | Subiaco Oval |
| Saturday, 27 April (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 12.13 (85) | def. by | East Perth 13.13 (91) | Claremont Oval |
| | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | |
| No teams had two wins after two rounds, as a succession of close finishes and the defeat of all the opening round victors suggested at this early stage that the seven clubs were very evenly matched. ||||||

### Round 3

| | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | |
| Saturday, 11 May (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 11.14 (80) | def. | Perth 9.12 (66) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 11 May (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 12.4 (76) | def. by | South Fremantle 15.18 (108) | Claremont Oval |
| Saturday, 11 May (2:45 pm) | East Perth 5.4 (34) | def. by | Subiaco 7.18 (60) | Perth Oval |
| | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | |

### Round 4

| | Round 4 | Round 4 | Round 4 | |
| Saturday, 18 May (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 14.18 (102) | def. | East Perth 9.15 (69) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 18 May (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 17.7 (109) | def. | Claremont-Cottesloe 13.10 (88) | Subiaco Oval |
| Saturday, 18 May (2:45 pm) | West Perth 15.14 (104) | def. by | East Fremantle 18.17 (125) | Leederville Oval |
| | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | |
| West Perth score a century against Old Easts for the first time, ending the longest sequence of scores under 100 by one club against another. ||||||

### Round 5

| | Round 5 | Round 5 | Round 5 | |
| Saturday, 25 May (2:45 pm) | Perth 12.16 (88) | def. | East Perth 10.4 (64) | WACA |
| Saturday, 25 May (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 13.15 (93) | def. | Subiaco 11.9 (75) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 25 May (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 9.8 (62) | def. by | West Perth 10.14 (74) | Claremont Oval |
| | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | |
| South Fremantle, with Sol Lawn maintaining an average of six goals a game despite Perth’s wettest May since 1879 win their fifth on end in a match memorable for former umpire Percy Trotter, who was a spectator, officiating in the last quarter after field umpire Frank O‘Connor had to leave the field because of a twisted knee and was replaced by boundary umpire Oakley. ||||||

### Round 6

| | Round 6 | Round 6 | Round 6 | |
| Saturday, 1 June (2:45 pm) | Perth 8.8 (56) | def. | Claremont-Cottesloe 7.10 (52) | WACA |
| Saturday, 1 June (2:45 pm) | West Perth 16.11 (107) | def. | Subiaco 11.8 (74) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 1 June (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 7.11 (53) | def. by | East Fremantle 8.18 (66) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | |

### Round 7 (Foundation Day)

| | Round 7 | Round 7 | Round 7 | |
| Monday, 3 June (2:45 pm) | East Perth 5.11 (41) | def. by | East Fremantle 11.15 (81) | Perth Oval |
| Monday, 3 June (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 10.8 (68) | def. by | Perth 14.21 (105) | Subiaco Oval |
| Monday, 3 June (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 9.9 (63) | def. | West Perth 7.19 (61) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | |

### Round 8

| | Round 8 | Round 8 | Round 8 | |
| Saturday, 8 June (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 9.15 (69) | def. | Perth 8.10 (58) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 8 June (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 13.11 (89) | def. | West Perth 10.6 (66) | Subiaco Oval |
| Saturday, 8 June (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 10.18 (78) | def. | East Fremantle 10.11 (71) | Claremont Oval |
| | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | |

### Round 9

| | Round 9 | Round 9 | Round 9 | |
| Saturday, 15 June (2:45 pm) | East Perth 12.16 (88) | def. by | Claremont-Cottesloe 13.14 (92) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 15 June (2:45 pm) | West Perth 12.14 (86) | def. | Perth 11.9 (75) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 15 June (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 13.11 (89) | def. | Subiaco 12.11 (83) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | |
| Claremont-Cottesloe led East Perth 7.8 (50) to 0.2 (2) at quarter-time before holding on to win by only four points; umpire Trotter was mobbed after the game ||||||

### Round 10

| | Round 10 | Round 10 | Round 10 | |
| Saturday, 22 June (2:45 pm) | West Perth 15.10 (100) | def. | East Perth 13.11 (89) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 22 June (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 19.9 (123) | def. | Perth 12.13 (85) | Claremont Oval |
| Saturday, 22 June (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 13.17 (95) | def. | South Fremantle 11.19 (85) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | |
| Claremont-Cottesloe entered the top four for the first time in their history with a skilful display of precise ball movement that leaves them the sole unbeaten team since the clubs had met each other once. ||||||

### Round 11

| | Round 11 | Round 11 | Round 11 | |
| Saturday, 29 June (2:45 pm) | East Perth 9.16 (70) | def. by | South Fremantle 13.14 (92) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 29 June (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 12.6 (78) | def. | Subiaco 11.11 (77) | Claremont Oval |
| Saturday, 29 June (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 9.7 (61) | def. by | West Perth 9.12 (66) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | |

### Round 12

| | Round 12 | Round 12 | Round 12 | |
| Saturday, 13 July (2:45 pm) | East Perth 11.7 (73) | def. by | Perth 21.14 (140) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 13 July (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 19.10 (124) | def. | South Fremantle 13.12 (90) | Subiaco Oval |
| Saturday, 13 July (2:45 pm) | West Perth 17.13 (115) | def. | Claremont-Cottesloe 15.7 (97) | Leederville Oval |
| | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | |
| Alan Evans kicked ten goals for Perth, and Frank Hopkins kicked eight goals for West Perth. East Perth lost its eighth consecutive match, breaking its club-record from 1911 record of seven consecutive losses. The streak ultimately finished at 15 matches, which remains the club record as of 2014. ||||||

### Round 13

| | Round 13 | Round 13 | Round 13 | |
| Saturday, 20 July (2:45 pm) | Perth 9.9 (63) | def. by | East Fremantle 10.13 (73) | WACA |
| Saturday, 20 July (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 7.12 (54) | def. by | Claremont-Cottesloe 12.6 (78) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 20 July (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 14.15 (99) | def. | East Perth 8.13 (61) | Subiaco Oval |
| | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | |

### Round 14

| | Round 14 | Round 14 | Round 14 | |
| Saturday, 27 July (2:45 pm) | West Perth 12.12 (84) | def. | South Fremantle 12.11 (83) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 27 July (2:45 pm) | Perth 6.12 (48) | def. by | Subiaco 8.15 (63) | WACA |
| Saturday, 27 July (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 25.16 (166) | def. | East Perth 7.12 (54) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | |
| East Perth suffered its heaviest loss until 1984, and East Fremantle kicked the highest WAFL score since 1917. Castles of South Fremantle missed with the last kick of the match, allowing West Perth achieve a narrow win after being behind almost all day. ||||||

### Round 15

| | Round 15 | Round 15 | Round 15 | |
| Saturday, 3 August (2:45 pm) | East Perth 10.13 (73) | def. by | South Fremantle 16.14 (110) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 3 August (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 9.16 (70) | def. | Subiaco 10.7 (67) | Claremont Oval |
| Saturday, 3 August (2:45 pm) | West Perth 11.13 (79) | def. by | East Fremantle 12.12 (84) | Leederville Oval |
| | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | Bye Perth | |

### Round 16

| | Round 16 | Round 16 | Round 16 | |
| Saturday, 4 May (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 17.12 (114) | def. | Perth 8.10 (58) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 17 August (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 10.7 (67) | def. by | West Perth 17.12 (114) | Subiaco Oval |
| Saturday, 17 August (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 15.22 (112) | def. | Claremont-Cottesloe 7.12 (54) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | Bye East Perth | |
| The South Fremantle versus Perth game is brought forward fourteen weeks to allow Perth to tour the eastern states during a break for interstate football, and played as the only match on the days of the King’s Cup horse race. Sol Lawn kicked eight goals. The match between Subiaco and West Perth was affected by a hailstorm at three-quarter time, which saw players and spectators seek shelter for several minutes away from the grandstand, though there was no actual interruption. ||||||

### Round 17

| | Round 17 | Round 17 | Round 17 | |
| Saturday, 24 August (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 14.16 (100) | def. | Subiaco 12.14 (86) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 24 August (2:45 pm) | East Perth 12.16 (88) | def. by | Claremont-Cottesloe 21.14 (140) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 24 August (2:45 pm) | Perth 10.15 (75) | def. by | West Perth 14.14 (98) | WACA |
| | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | Bye South Fremantle | |
| Claremont-Cottesloe kick their highest score in the WA(N)FL until 1937 and their first ever twenty-goal score, leaving West Perth as the only existing club not to have scored twenty goals in a game. The result leaves the Tigers three wins clear inside the top four. ||||||

### Round 18

| | Round 18 | Round 18 | Round 18 | |
| Saturday, 31 August (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 10.11 (71) | def. by | Perth 14.6 (90) | Claremont Oval |
| Saturday, 31 August (2:45 pm) | West Perth 16.17 (113) | def. | East Perth 10.15 (75) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 31 August (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 16.19 (115) | def. | South Fremantle 12.9 (81) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | Bye Subiaco | |

### Round 19

| | Round 19 | Round 19 | Round 19 | |
| Saturday, 7 September (2:45 pm) | West Perth 14.18 (102) | def. | Claremont-Cottesloe 10.13 (73) | Leederville Oval |
| Saturday, 7 September (2:45 pm) | Perth 11.15 (81) | def. | East Perth 8.7 (55) | WACA (crowd: 200) |
| Saturday, 7 September (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 11.9 (75) | def. by | Subiaco 14.10 (94) | Fremantle Oval |
| | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | Bye East Fremantle | |
| Subiaco’s second-half recovery to beat South Fremantle leaves the red and whites’ battle with Claremont-Cottesloe a must-win for the latter team to remain with a final chance owing to their last-round bye and poor percentage. ||||||

### Round 20

| | Round 20 | Round 20 | Round 20 | |
| Saturday, 14 September (2:45 pm) | Claremont-Cottesloe 8.15 (63) | def. by | South Fremantle 11.16 (82) | Claremont Oval |
| Saturday, 14 September (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 12.19 (91) | def. | East Perth 10.5 (65) | Subiaco Oval |
| Saturday, 14 September (2:45 pm) | Perth 11.16 (82) | def. | East Fremantle 8.5 (53) | WACA |
| | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | Bye West Perth | |
| Claremont-Cottesloe dropped out of the running for the finals, but Perth kept its chances of playing major round football alive by easily beating East Fremantle, who were resting players for the finals. ||||||

### Round 21

| | Round 21 | Round 21 | Round 21 | |
| Saturday, 21 September (2:45 pm) | South Fremantle 17.15 (117) | def. | West Perth 13.12 (90) | Fremantle Oval |
| Saturday, 21 September (2:45 pm) | East Perth 12.15 (87) | def. | East Fremantle 12.10 (82) | Perth Oval |
| Saturday, 21 September (2:45 pm) | Subiaco 17.11 (113) | def. | Perth 10.15 (75) | Subiaco Oval |
| | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | Bye Claremont-Cottesloe | |
| Sol Lawn kicked thirteen goals to finish with ninety for the home-and-away season, in the process beating Bonny Campbell’s 1926 record of 82 for the home-and-away season and 89 for a full season with finals to come. East Perth ended its fifteen-match losing streak with a thrilling comeback win over minor premiers East Fremantle. Subiaco played Perth in a match which directly determined which club finished fourth. Subiaco won convincingly, and with Faul dominating they kicked 11.6 (72) to 1.5 (11) after half-time. ||||||

## Ladder

1929 ladder :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts |
| 1 | East Fremantle (P) | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1610 | 1313 | 122.6 | 52 |
| 2 | West Perth | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1604 | 1422 | 112.8 | 48 |
| 3 | South Fremantle | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1547 | 1421 | 108.9 | 44 |
| 4 | Subiaco | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1521 | 1447 | 105.1 | 36 |
| 5 | Perth | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1395 | 1376 | 101.4 | 32 |
| 6 | Claremont-Cottesloe | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1449 | 1537 | 94.3 | 32 |
| 7 | East Perth | 18 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 1212 | 1822 | 66.5 | 8 |

## Finals
### First semi-final

| | First semi-final | First semi-final | First semi-final | |
| Saturday, 28 September (2:45 pm) | West Perth 8.17 (65) | def. by | South Fremantle 9.13 (67) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 10,911) |
| The crowd established a record for a club match at Fremantle Oval ||||||

### Second semi-final

| | Second semi-final | Second semi-final | Second semi-final | |
| Saturday, 5 October (2:45 pm) | East Fremantle 10.15 (75) | def. | Subiaco 5.12 (42) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 5,827) |

### Grand Final

| | 1929 WAFL Grand Final | 1929 WAFL Grand Final | 1929 WAFL Grand Final | | |
| Saturday, 12 October | East Fremantle | def. | South Fremantle | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 10,729) | |
| | 5.7 (37) 5.12 (42) 6.19 (55) 8.22 (70) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 0.2 (2) 0.5 (5) 0.6 (6) 5.9 (39) | Umpires: P Trotter | Umpires: P Trotter |
| Rowlands 3, Lethridge 2, Bee, Dolan, Jones | Rowlands 3, Lethridge 2, Bee, Dolan, Jones | Goals | Ron Doig 3, White, Farrell | Ron Doig 3, White, Farrell |
| Telfer, Laffin, Richards, Buchanan, Jarvis, Woods, Reynolds, Letheridge. | Telfer, Laffin, Richards, Buchanan, Jarvis, Woods, Reynolds, Letheridge. | Best | Farrell, McGuinness, Jennings, Pearse, Shanahan, Campbell | Farrell, McGuinness, Jennings, Pearse, Shanahan, Campbell |
| On a windy day, East Fremantle set up its win by holding South Fremantle goalless in the second quarter when the latter had the aid of the wind. Sol Lawn, who entered the match with 96 goals for the season, was held scoreless by Woods. ||||||