Maddington into A Grade top four
After spending 85 years in Perth's defunct Sunday League, Maddington have made a good fist of rising in the WA Amateur Football League ranks.
Maddington joined the WAAFL in 2009 and had to settle for starting, like several of the Sunday League clubs, in the lower grades.
But the Bulls got cracking and promptly won the C Grade premiership in their first year and made the B Grade grand final in 2010.
This qualified them for promotion to A Grade and, though they languished for two seasons, Maddington are now in the hunt for a finals place in the top grade.
They grabbed fourth place after beating Whitford by eight points at their home ground, Harmony Fields, last Saturday.
Coached by Wayne Blackwell, the Bulls were jolted in round three when they were annihilated by top team Wesley Curtin by 121 points, after losing the previous round by 48 points against Mt Lawley, and were looking at another long, fruitless season.
But they responded and have won four of their past five games, their only loss being to perennial stars North Beach by 11 points.
Maddington have made an art form of winning the close ones - four of their wins have been by eight points or less, including a stirring four-point triumph over reigning premiers University in round seven.
This week is another big test for the Bulls. They meet fifth-placed Trinity Aquinas and victory would give them a two-win break over TAs.
Round 8 results
University 14.13 d North Beach 8.9
Mt Lawley 16.11 d Collegians 11.12
Maddington 9.13 d Whitford 9.5
Swan Athletic 16.13 d Fremantle CBC 10.7
Wesley Curtin 11.6 d Trinity Aquinas 8.2
Ladder (win-loss-draw, percentage, points)
1 Wesley Curtin 7-1-0 171.3 28
2 University 6-2-0 152.3 24
3 North Beach 5-3-0 131.7 20
4 Maddington 5-3-0 80.5 20
5 Trinity Aquinas 4-4-0 107.5 16
6 Whitford 3-4-1 87.7 14
7 Swan Athletic 3-5-0 95.2 12
8 Fremantle CBC 3-5-0 92.5 12
9 Mt Lawley 2-5-1 78.7 10
10 Collegians 1-7-0 59.1 4
In B Grade, Kalamunda almost lost their undefeated status but overcame third-placed West Coast Cowan by 10 points at home.
Scores: Scarborough 13.7 d Hamersley Carine 8.5, Wembley 17.13 d Bull Creek Leeming 10.10, Kalamunda 11.14 d West Coast Cowan 10.10, North Fremantle 14.11 d Stirling 7.5, High Wycombe 16.10 d Willetton 8.12.
