1997 Westar Rules Grand Final
| 1997 Westar Rules Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 21 September 1997 | ||||
| Stadium | Subiaco Oval | ||||
| Attendance | 32,371 | ||||
| Accolades | |||||
| Simpson Medal | David Hynes (South Fremantle) | ||||
The 1997 Westar Rules Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the South Fremantle Football Club and the East Fremantle Football Club, on 21 September 1997 at Subiaco Oval, to determine the premier team of the Westar Rules (known previously and since as the West Australian Football League, WAFL) for the 1997 season. South Fremantle won the game by 6 points, 13.7 (85) to 11.13 (79), with David Hynes of South Fremantle winning the Simpson Medal as best on ground.
The season started with the introduction of a ninth team, the Peel Thunder Football Club. They were the first new team admitted to the league for over 60 years. The league also was rebranded from the West Australian Football League to Westar Rules. A new prize was also created to be given to the premiership winning team, the Drivesafe Cup.
South Fremantle finished the home and away season on top of the ladder, a game and a half ahead of East Fremantle, who were celebrating their 100th season in the league, and Perth, with East Perth finishing in fourth position. Swan Districts started the season with six wins, but faded in the second half of the season to miss the finals, along with the 1996 Premiers, Claremont who finished second last. Peel struggled to compete with the more established teams, winning only one game for the season, against the reigning premiers Claremont by 3 points in Round 7.
In the finals, Perth easily beat East Perth in the First Semi Final. In the Second Semi Final, East Fremantle upset South Fremantle by 10 points with Damian Condon keeping South's key forward Jon Dorotich to only one goal. South Fremantle bounced back in the preliminary final, beating Perth by 37 points.
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