The 1897 WAFA season was the 13th season of senior Australian rules football in Perth, Western Australia. West Perth won the premiership, their first, after remaining undefeated throughout the season. The Rovers team finished last and failed to field a team for the final rounds of the season, forfeiting several matches to their opponents. 1897 was also the final season that Imperials competed, when at the end of the season it was discovered that “many of the bills were unpaid and that creditors were clamorous”.[1]
In 1897, the WAFA competition consisted of four teams of 20 on-the-field players each with only two venues, the WACA Ground and Fremantle Oval being used to host matches. This season also saw the introduction of the rule stipulating that a mark could only be made at the distance of ten yards or more, leading to a more open game.[2]
When reporting match scores in 1897, the number of goals and behinds scored by each team is given; however, only the number of goals scored is considered when determining the result of a match. This was the final WAFA season before the introduction of the modern system of scoring, in which six points is awarded for a goal and one point is awarded for a behind.
Key players Sicily and O’Dea switched from Fremantle to Imperials during the season break and a relatively weak Fremantle team failed to score in the first half
The Inquirer and Commercial News report gives West Perth’s final score as 5.11 rather than 5.10[3]
Owing to the W.A.C.A. ground being required for the first day of the W.A. Cycling Club sports meeting, no football match was arranged by the committee of the W.A.F.A. to take place upon that ground[5]
Play started 40 minute late, leading to the Western Australian Football Association introducing a new rule to enforce more timely commencement of games
Imperials won their third straight game to take an early lead on the ladder while West Perth drew their second successive game
A successful shot from a West Perth player right on the final bell was disallowed as the umpire heard that time had been called just prior to the ball being kicked[8]
The Inquirer and Commercial News gives the final West Perth score as 6.9[8]
Fremantle won their first game of the season, Clarke scoring the only goal of the game with a kick off the ground in the second quarter
The game between Rovers and West Perth was called off when the heavy showers of rain which fell on Saturday morning left the Association Ground in an unfit state for play. West Perth wanted to play and raised a formal complaint with the association about the decision not to play.
West Perth comprehensively defeated Imperials to draw level with them at the top of the ladder
Umpire Orr, who was appointed to the West Perth-Imperials game, mistakenly travelled to Fremantle. Duff acted as umpire in his place for the first half, until Orr returned from Fremantle
Fremantle won their second straight game with a season high ten goals, Albert Thurgood scoring four goals in a best on ground display
Neither of the games scheduled for 17 July was played on that date, with matches rescheduled for 4 September
The game between Rovers and West Perth was postponed when rain left the Association Ground in an unfit state for play
The game between Fremantle and Imperials was postponed due to the funeral of Mr. Walter Bell, prominent Fremantle citizen and ex-secretary of the Fremantle Football Club[15]
Reports of the West Perth v Fremantle match record that a record crowd for the season witnessed an excellent game where “the brilliancy, the persistency, the coolness and the cleverness of the players surpassed all expectations”[18]
Albert Thurgood kicked all six goals for Fremantle but ended up on the losing side
The Inquirer and Commercial News gave the final score as 8.7 to 6.5[18]
Rovers failed to field a team in Fremantle, Imperials being awarded the game on a walkover
In what proved to be Rovers last appearance for the season, West Perth scored a season high 10 goals in an easy victory with Teddy Lockwood scoring three goals
The umpire of the Rovers v West Perth game, C. M. Scott, fell ill during the game and had to be replaced at half-time by his namesake, H. J. Scott
At Fremantle Oval, Fremantle had ten scoring shots (3.7) before Imperials registered their first score only to fall behind by four goals to three before equalising in the final term
West Perth scored five unanswered final quarter goals, coming from 2 goals behind at three-quarter time to win over Imperials with Coward scoring four goals
Rovers failed to field a team, Fremantle being awarded the game on a walkover
The draw between Fremantle and West Perth controversially ended seven minutes early when the Fremantle timekeeper called time without agreement from the West Perth timekeeper. West Perth were dominating the game at the time.
Thurgood (Fremantle) and De Coit (West Perth) both scored three goals and remained neck and neck in the goal scoring list for the season with 22 and 21 goals respectively
Rovers failed to field a team, Imperials being awarded the game on a walkover
This round was added during the season as a result of the postponement of both fixtures in round 9 (see above)
A small attendance in Fremantle saw Fremantle win a match that had no bearing on the final table, Thurgood scoring five goals to finish as the leading goalscorer for the season.
Rovers failed to field a team, West Perth being awarded the game on a walkover
