1968 WANFL season

• Perth produce a wonderful last-quarter revival, scoring 7.5 (47) to 2.0 (12) to win the replay of the 1967 Grand Final. The Royals’ preoccupation with Cable – which did reduce the champion’s effectiveness – leaves them without rovers of their own to counter Perth’s rucks.^[9]
• In their first match under former Swans coach Bunton junior, Subiaco achieve the biggest win with equal scoring shots in WA(N)FL history as “Ocker” begins his record season-to-be with thirteen goals.^[7]

Perth’s winning of the toss and gaining use of the wind with a dry ball wins the match, as a big rainstorm begins eight minutes into the second quarter and with a slippery ball no more goals are scored until the last quarter.^[13]

The Leederville Oval match, with both clubs undefeated, drew what remains Perth’s biggest home-and-away attendance.^[19] The Demons’ desire and toughness, along with West Perth’s careless shooting and the use of Farmer in defence to compensate for the loss of Brian France, ensures the black and reds stay unbeaten.^[20]

• In a magnificent match, Perth revealed its toughness by holding on in the last quarter when extremely tired.^[22]
• The extreme inaccuracy of forwards Tierney and Haughan, plus East Fremantle’s vastly superior disposal, gives the blue and whites a surprise win that makes the Royals appear doubtful finalists.^[23]

With Farmer revealing that he has lost nothing of his brilliant playmaking skill with age, West Perth crush the Maroons to overtake Perth on percentage (though then a game behind) and stake genuine premiership claims.^[5]

• With their win – achieved without Barry Cable who broke his hand^[29] – Perth surpass their 1907 and 1966 record of eleven consecutive victories. The Demons were to surpass this record in less than a season.^[30]
• After a tense opening, Subiaco’s ruck dominance ensures the Maroons run right away from East Fremantle in a match marred by excessive ineffective handballing. John Sarre and Peter Burton are dominant for the Maroons whilst “Ocker” reaches his fifty goals.^[31]

• East Perth run away from the two-time premiers after a close first half, as the absence of Cable and Greg Brehaut and a demolition job on Pat Dalton by Ken McAullay – along with an excellent effort by the Royal backline – keeps Perth to 3.3 (21) against 11.5 (71) after the long interval.^[33]
• With Bill Walker magnificent in his 150th match for the club, Swan Districts produce their best half of football during 1968 before a fade-out and the loss of fullback Downey allows Subiaco to win well after having been 27 points behind at the long interval.^[34]

• In a “fantastic” match, East Perth just fail to snatch a victory over the leaders despite a poor opening half – the Royals took the lead late in the last quarter before a fine goal from Smeath won the game.^[36]
• Barry Cable, despite having his left hand in plaster, has six kicks in as many minutes at the start and handles the ball superbly in the rain, so that Perth keep complete control apart from a three-goal Old East burst at the end of the opening quarter.^[37]

• A brilliant third quarter by East Perth lead by devastating pace from winger Chadwick, gives the Royals a vital victory to stay within a game of fourth position.^[39]
• Perth kick their highest score to that point in the WANFL, and still their third-highest on record, beating 27.25 (187) from the opening round of 1966.^[40] Gerry Iseger kicks 8.4 (52) from eighteen kicks and Greg Bennett the same score from 31 kicks.^[3]

• Replacement defender Greg Astbury gives a stunning display at centre half-back in a battle between the two top teams – both depleted by interstate calls – as he systematically defeats the Demon attack.^[42]
• In a very poor match, South Fremantle lose their place in the four, as its forward line consistently lets itself down whilst Paul Heavey kicks five as a replacement for the irrepressible “Ocker”.^[43]

• West Perth push South Fremantle to a game out of the four as John Wynne plays impressively in his new role at centre half-forward due to Astbury’s superb in his former position work the previous week, in the process adding to the already-efficient Cardinal play.^[45]
• Despite failing to break their winless season, Swan Districts officials are impressed by the players’ determination in a high-standard game.^[6]

• In heavy conditions after torrential late-morning rain,^[48] Claremont surprise East Perth thanks to Lorne Cook’s solidity at centre half-back, leaving the Tigers two wins from fourth position after three wins in succession.^[49]
• A display of sheer determination against a strengthening wind in the final quarter allows Swan Districts to record their solitary win for the season when Bill Holmes goals after the siren.^[50]

A major lapse between late in the first quarter and half-time denies Western Australia a victory that their play in the second half – when they scored ten goals to four – almost warranted.

• Perth return to their brilliant best to score 13.12 (90) to 3.4 (22) in the second half and end Claremont’s faint finals hopes, as Pat Dalton dominates the centre with thirty kicks and Gerry Iseger scores 8.3.^[53]
• Acting Maroon skipper Robertson kicks 13.2 (80) to reach 101 goals in just thirteen matches, as East Fremantle’s short-kicking play fails to counter the Maroons’ more direct approach.^[54]
• East Perth deal a crushing blow to South Fremantle’s finals hopes by kicking 19.17 (131) to 4.6 (30) in the final three quarters, as the gamble of playing the veteran Gerovich fails and the Royal rovers run riot.^[55]

• A dazzling final quarter into the breeze allows Perth to stay within a game of West Perth at the top – with Cable consistently linking runners the Demons’ teamwork is what tells.^[57]
• West Perth win their eleventh consecutive game, breaking their ten-game streak from 1948 and still their longest winning streak on record.^[58]
• With the brilliant Walker kicking five goals and Peter Downey keeping Robertson to only 3.2 (20) on a fine day, Swans only just fail to cause a huge upset after giving Subiaco a six-goal start.^[59]

East Perth’s greater accuracy – with two brilliant goals from Bandy and Bygraves – ends West Perth’s eleven-match winning streak and leaves South looking to displace Subiaco rather than the Royals to enter the four.^[62]

• In an exciting game that determined who would secure their finals berth, East Perth are behind most of the afternoon, but stay in touch before Gary Bygraves kicks the first of three on-the-siren wins.^[65]
• With a high-speed hard-tackling game that jolts Perth off-balance to the extent their attack kicks fifteen behinds from nineteen shots in the first half, Swan Districts look like a massive upset before the return of Dalton to the centre takes control back and Perth score 13.9 (87) to 3.5 (23) in the second half.^[66]

• On a wet day,^[69] Swan Districts kick the lowest score in their history, beating 3.3 (21) against Claremont four years before.^[70] It was to be the last score of fewer than three goals in the WA(N)FL until 1995.
• Perth overhaul West Perth in a dour second semi-final preview. No WA(N)FL team was to kick so low a winning score again until 2000.^[71] An elementary defensive error from the experienced Dempsey gives Perth the only goal of the final quarter to win.
• Ten goals in the wet from Austin Robertson seals the four as South Fremantle score only four behinds with the wind during the second quarter, whilst Subiaco’s skill in keeping the ball low into the wind brings excellent rewards.^[72]

• Subiaco’s excessive use of handball in the wet conditions, and Graham Ramshaw’s superb effort keeping Robertson to two goals, ensures Perth give a fine demonstration of wet-weather football and become firm premiership favourites.^[76]
• Despite East Perth kicking 1.18 (24) after quarter-time with acting captain Phil Tierney kicking nine straight behinds, East Fremantle lose their thirteenth consecutive match, breaking their twelve-game sequence from 1898,^[77] as the Royals’ four goals during the opening nine minutes are never made up.

• Farmer’s brilliant ball skills and Subiaco’s lack of pace ensure the Cardinals jump the Maroons and maintain that club’s record of not having defeated another finalist.^[80]
• Perth become the first WANFL team for seven seasons to win eighteen home-and-away matches, crushing South Fremantle with an eighteen-goal second half. Cable was back to his best with 5.2 (32) and Iseger takes seventeen marks at full-forward for seven goals four behinds.^[81]

• Austin Robertson, kicking 15.11 (101), overhauls Bernie Naylor’s 156 goals from the 1953 season – it being said that the Subiaco players, assured of victory, would “kick it backwards” to him.^[7] He kicked 8.9 (57) in the first half as many Maroon players in better goal-scoring positions looked for him, and had fifteen of Subiaco’s first seventeen goals.^[b]
• Despite ten goals six behinds from Phil Tierney after he was cleared of charges from the previous match, East Perth are run off their legs by South Fremantle’s pace, along with much wayward Royal kicking across the face of the goals.^[84]

East Perth record a second on-the-siren victory over Subiaco, this time after the Maroons took the lead after having been forty-five points behind early in the final quarter, only to see Vic Evans produce a fine snap out of a pack.

By putting himself on the ball with Cable and Jenzen, Perth captain-coach Mal Atwell leads a superb comeback as the Demons score the final eight goals for a convincing victory in a physically tough match.

East Perth win another thriller via a late goal following an opposition comeback as West Perth kick six goals in seventeen minutes after being thirty-four points behind with only three goals on the scoreboard early in the last quarter – with the late withdrawal of regular full-forward Dennis Commetti a sore blow.

Perth, and Cable, achieve a hat-trick of wins in a solid display on a typically windy day, as the Royals suffer their fifth straight loss in Grand Finals. East Perth got within a goal midway through the final quarter before Perth’s experience told and the Demons kicked away for a comfortable if not easy win.