Round 1 Women’s Recap

Subiaco has hit the ground running with a 30-point victory over West Perth in their first WAFLW match for the 2025 season. The Round 1 win at Joondalup Arena ensures the Lions start the season strong with a healthy percentage on the ladder and a top 4 placement.

“Winning the first game really sets the tone for our season,” Hayley Corlett said, who was a major link in Half Forward on the day with 18 disposals. “Every week is important, but by winning this first game against a really strong team in West Perth, it helps our confidence and ability to back up what we have been working on through pre-season.”

“We played well as a team and we all played our role. We also had a lot of debutants in this game, including many young Rogers girls who really stepped up.”

8 players wore the maroon and gold for the first time in a WAFLW match on Saturday. New recruits from the Sydney Swans’ AFLW side, Lisa Steane and Paige Sheppard proved to be incredibly worthy additions to the Lions; Steane shone as a follower with 26 disposals and an equal-game high 7 marks, while Sheppard collected 20 disposals at Half Back.

Karry Plummer, Charlotte Tompkin and Jorja Schell also officially debuted, having moved over from rival WAFLW clubs.

Sunni-Quay Peters, Ruby Hobbs and Sian Bosich graduated from Subiaco’s Rogers Cup squad to play their first match at senior league level.

The game itself was a showcase of the team’s ability to play endurance. After a strong opening quarter which included Olivia Wolmarans kicking 3 of her 4 goals for the day and West Perth being kept goalless, the two sides fought a nearly dead-even battle over the second and third terms, before Subi sealed the deal with a powerful fourth where the opposition failed to score at all.

“I think where we won the match was our ability to stay composed when the momentum shifts,” Corlett elaborated. “But also key was our ability to play the full four quarters. We focused on one quarter at a time and ensured we didn’t look too far ahead. We executed really well.”

It was also a great day out for our newly inducted leader and 2025 Best & Fairest Krstel Petrevski, who finished with a game-high and equal career-high 29 disposals, in addition to an aggressive 9 tackles.

Corlett also shared some small insights into how the club will celebrate the early victory.

“Celebrating wins usually looks like spending some time together postgame to discuss what went well, touching base with fans and loved ones and ensuring a recovery beach swim and coffee the next day,” she said.

“We’ve been cohesive as a group on-field and off-field this season, so it’s important that we celebrate team success and achievements when we can.”

Subiaco’s WAFLW campaign continues this Sunday afternoon at 2:05pm, with a home match against co-tenants East Perth at Sullivan Logistics Stadium. The Rogers Cup match will start earlier in the day at 12:05pm.