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WAFL 2022: East Fremantle bounces back from derby defeat to thrash Perth Demons at the WACA

Headshot of Jay Rooney
Jay RooneyThe West Australian
East Fremantle's Cameron Eardley and Perth's Brodie Gray tangle.
Camera IconEast Fremantle's Cameron Eardley and Perth's Brodie Gray tangle. Credit: Daniel Wilkins/The West Australian

East Fremantle emphatically bounced back from their 14th derby loss to crush an injury-ravaged Perth by 96 points at the WACA Ground on Saturday.

The Sharks continued their march towards the finals and heaped further misery on the Demons, handing them a 10th straight loss 23.14 (152) to 9.2 (56).

The blowout victory gave the Sharks a handy percentage boost ahead of their big clash with ladder-leaders West Perth at Pentanet Stadium next Saturday.

Sandover Medal fancy Blaine Boekhorst made an impressive return after missing the derby with soreness, racking up 32 disposals to go with two goals, while fellow on-ballers Milan Murdock (32 disposals), Josh Schoenfeld (31) and Cam Eardley (24) were also influential.

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Enigmatic forward Jon Marsh terrorized Perth’s defence with a game-high five goals.

For Perth, Sam Stubbs and Harry Quartermaine each booted three goals.

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Boekhorst marked his return with a 50m goal just 30 seconds into the game.

Sam Stubbs provided a quick response courtesy of a contested mark deep inside 50, but it would be Perth’s lone scoring shot for the opening quarter as the Sharks ran riot.

They capitalised on being allowed too much space to roam free by Perth’s midfield as the likes of Murdock, Boekhurst, Baskerville and Schonfeld did as they pleased.

The Sharks piled on six unanswered goals, including AFL draft prospect Jed Hagan’s first in his league debut, before Stubbs slotted his second major early in the second quarter.

It sparked a run of momentum for the Demons, as Harry Quartermaine imposed himself on the contest with the visitor’s next three goals.

But East Fremantle provided quick responses to maintain their healthy lead, with Jarrad Jansen’s second major on the half-time siren giving them a 35-point buffer.

The Sharks were fired up after the main break, reasserting their dominance with another streak of six unanswered goals while restricting Perth to just two behinds until late in the third quarter.

Geraldton product Hagan, 17, showed glimpses of his potential with two goals and 20 disposals.

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