The 2007 WAFL season was the 123rd season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League. The season saw Subiaco, confounding the critics who expected them to slip after winning their second premiership in three years, win their second consecutive premiership for the first time in ninety-four seasons,[1] with injury-plagued forward Brad Smith overcoming two reconstructions that wiped out 2005 and 2006 to kick 126 goals for the season, the most in the WAFL since Warren Ralph kicked 128 for Claremont in 1983.[2] Smith also achieved the unique feat for a full-forward of winning the Simpson Medal in the Grand Final.
The top three teams between 2004 and 2006 – the Lions, Claremont and South Fremantle – maintained their tight grip in 2007, though there were notable improvements from East Fremantle, who had won a mere nineteen games between 2003 and 2006 but rose to nine victories in 2007, and East Perth, who returned to the finals for the first time in four seasons. Claremont won eighteen of nineteen matches after two opening losses before their inexperience told against the hardened Lions in the Grand Final, resulting in a short but quite steep fall in the following two seasons.
East Fremantle break a record sequence of thirteen straight losses against their derby rivals, with their previous win having been on Foundation Day of 2002.[3]
Subiaco’s 154-point win is their biggest over former rival South Fremantle and Bradley Smith’s thirteen goals a record for any Subiaco player against the Bulldogs[4]
East Perth’s thrilling come-from-behind win ends the third longest winning streak and fourth longest unbeaten streak in WAFL history.[5]
The Royals’ comeback from a 47-point half-time deficit was them the third largest in league history, though they were to break this record later in 2007.[6]
Swan Districts’ score remains the lowest kicked by any opponent against Peel, beating by one point East Perth’s 7.6 in Round 21, 2005.[7]
East Perth’s comeback from a 49-point half-time deficit is the second largest in WAFL history, behind Swan Districts’ comeback from 51 points down in the opening round of 1986.[6]
In one of the closest rounds in WAFL history with a combined margin of 21 points, Perth kick themselves out of the game with their most inaccurate score since kicking 4.22 (46) against East Fremantle in 1953.[9]
Peel Thunder kick the lowest winning score in their history, and the only time they have won with a single-figure goal tally.[10] (As of 2013, their three lowest winning scores are all against the Falcons.)
Peel record their highest aggregate score on record of 290 points, beating their previous 2000 record against Swan Districts by nineteen.[11] East Perth amazingly kick 7.11 (53) in the third quarter but 5.0 (30) in the last.
