1954 WANFL season

Australian rules football season

1954 WANFL season
Teams	8
Premiers	‹See Tfd›South Fremantle 8th premiership
Minor premiers	‹See Tfd›East Fremantle 26th minor premiership
Sandover Medallist	Merv McIntosh ‹See Tfd›Perth
Matches played	84
Highest	36,098 (Grand Final, ‹See Tfd›East Fremantle vs. ‹See Tfd›South Fremantle)
← 1953 1955 →

The 1954 WANFL season was the 70th season of the most prestigious Australian rules football state competition in Western Australia. Eight teams competed in the league, the same as the previous twelve seasons. The season began with the first home-and-away round played on Saturday, 24 April, and concluded with the 1954 WANFL Grand Final on Saturday, 9 October. ‹See Tfd›South Fremantle defeated minor premiers ‹See Tfd›East Fremantle by 78 points, marking the club's 8th premiership and third in succession.

Premiership season

Round 1


	Round 1
Saturday, 24 April (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›Swan Districts 13.12 (90)	def.	‹See Tfd›Subiaco 10.11 (71)	Bassendean Oval
Saturday, 24 April (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›Perth 12.10 (82)	def. by	‹See Tfd›South Fremantle 20.14 (134)	WACA Ground (crowd: 5,093)
Saturday, 24 April (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›East Fremantle 18.8 (116)	def.	‹See Tfd›West Perth 9.10 (64)	East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 3,875)
Saturday, 24 April (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›East Perth 10.7 (67)	def. by	‹See Tfd›Claremont 14.15 (99)	Perth Oval (crowd: 4,140)
‹See Tfd›Subiaco were hampered by the loss of captain and star rover Don Carter to an early injury, going down to ‹See Tfd›Swan Districts by 19 points. Swans ruckman Wally Sidebottom was best on ground, while captain-coach Frank Sparrow and Victorian recruit Colin Henderson also played well. Promising for the Lions was the performance of recruits Laurie Kettlewell (a future Hall of Famer) and rover Brian Burke.^[1] Reigning premiers ‹See Tfd›South Fremantle withstood three tough quarters from ‹See Tfd›Perth to run out comfortable winners at the WACA after kicking four goals to none in the last term. Star full-forward Bernie Naylor was unusually wayward in front of goal (with 5 goals 6 behinds), while Don Dixon and Tony Parentich were probably Souths' best players on the day. Dave Browning (also with 5 goals) was rated best for the Demons, with Jeff McGann, Cliff Noble and Merv McIntosh also standing out.^[2]

Round 2


	Round 2
Saturday, 1 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›West Perth 5.11 (41)	def. by	‹See Tfd›Perth 7.18 (60)	Leederville Oval (crowd: 5,585)
Saturday, 1 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›Subiaco 11.12 (78)	def. by	‹See Tfd›East Perth 15.11 (101)	Subiaco Oval (crowd: 2,029)
Saturday, 1 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›Claremont 15.12 (102)	def.	‹See Tfd›Swan Districts 11.9 (75)	Claremont Oval (crowd: 3,244)
Saturday, 1 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›South Fremantle 7.17 (59)	def. by	‹See Tfd›East Fremantle 11.7 (73)	Fremantle Oval (crowd: 8,975)
In the 174th edition of the Fremantle Derby, ‹See Tfd›South Fremantle were outmuscled and outhustled in a disciplined team performance from ‹See Tfd›East Fremantle. Losing champion rover Steve Marsh to a badly bruised leg early was a significant blow, but in general the Bulldogs were well below their best. Sharks centre-forward Ken Holt backed up his previous week's haul with five goals as the Sharks won by 14 points.^[3]

Round 3


	Round 3
Saturday, 8 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›Swan Districts 11.12 (78)	def.	‹See Tfd›South Fremantle 9.10 (64)	Bassendean Oval (crowd: 2,399)
Saturday, 8 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›East Perth 4.11 (35)	def. by	‹See Tfd›West Perth 15.10 (100)	Perth Oval (crowd: 5,869)
Saturday, 8 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›Perth 12.13 (85)	def.	‹See Tfd›Subiaco 6.11 (47)	WACA Ground (crowd: 2,286)
Saturday, 8 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›East Fremantle 21.12 (138)	def. by	‹See Tfd›Claremont 6.14 (50)	East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 8,532)

Round 4


	Round 4
Saturday, 15 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›Subiaco 10.5 (65)	def. by	‹See Tfd›South Fremantle 23.23 (161)	Subiaco Oval (crowd: 2,137)
Saturday, 15 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›Perth 6.19 (55)	def. by	‹See Tfd›Swan Districts 8.19 (67)	WACA Ground (crowd: 7,507)
Saturday, 15 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›Claremont 5.19 (49)	def. by	‹See Tfd›West Perth 15.16 (106)	Claremont Oval (crowd: 4,751)
Saturday, 15 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›East Fremantle 10.13 (73)	def.	‹See Tfd›East Perth 10.9 (69)	East Fremantle Oval (crowd: 3,765)

Round 5


	Round 5
Saturday, 22 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›West Perth 17.17 (119)	def.	‹See Tfd›Subiaco 6.8 (44)	Leederville Oval (crowd: 1,378)
Saturday, 22 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›East Perth 16.12 (108)	def.	‹See Tfd›Perth 16.4 (100)	Subiaco Oval (crowd: 2,103)
Saturday, 22 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›South Fremantle 23.18 (156)	def.	‹See Tfd›Claremont 5.6 (36)	Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2,185)
Saturday, 22 May (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›Swan Districts 5.13 (43)	def. by	‹See Tfd›East Fremantle 7.12 (54)	Bassendean Oval (crowd: 3,826)

Ladder

1954 ladder
Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PP	Pts
1	‹See Tfd›East Fremantle	20	15	5	1642	1119	146.7	60
2	‹See Tfd›West Perth	20	15	5	1676	1258	133.2	60
3	‹See Tfd›South Fremantle (P)	20	14	6	2056	1396	147.3	56
4	‹See Tfd›Perth	20	10	10	1609	1545	104.1	40
5	‹See Tfd›East Perth	20	8	12	1556	1785	87.2	32
6	‹See Tfd›Claremont	20	8	12	1506	1859	81.0	32
7	‹See Tfd›Swan Districts	20	6	14	1294	1796	72.0	24
8	‹See Tfd›Subiaco	20	4	16	1237	1818	68.0	16

Source: WAFL Footy Facts
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Grand final


	1954 WANFL Grand Final
Saturday, 9 October (12:00 pm)	‹See Tfd›East Fremantle	def. by	‹See Tfd›South Fremantle	Subiaco Oval (crowd: 36,098)
	6.3 7.4 8.5 9.8 (62)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	3.1 8.7 15.11 21.14 (140)	Umpires: Frank Wood Simpson Medal: Charlie Tyson (‹See Tfd›South Fremantle)

References

^ "Loss Of Top Rover Tells Against Side". The West Australian. Vol. 70, no. 21, 141. Western Australia. 26 April 1954. p. 19. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "South Fremantle Shows Attack Strength". The West Australian. Vol. 70, no. 21, 141. Western Australia. 26 April 1954. p. 19. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Forward (3 May 1954). "East Fremantle Triumph Repays Clever Planning". The West Australian. Vol. 70, no. 21, 147. Western Australia. p. 20. Retrieved 24 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.