Interesting times in the WAFL. Think they should've just let WCE and Fremantle have their own sides; Collingwood Essendon etc don't dominate the VFL.
However great to see some colourful responses from board members and general managers stating the obvious that alignments are bad for the game.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/afl/17450972/smart-faces-ban-...
Smart faces ban over scoreboard shenanigans
John Townsend, The West AustralianJune 3, 2013, 7:30 am
Veteran football manager Phil Smart faces a suspension and two Swan Districts board members could be sanctioned over the scoreboard prank at Steel Blue Oval last month.
And in a dramatic escalation of the tensions in the WAFL over the alignments with the two local AFL clubs, West Perth president Brett Raponi has also been asked to explain an inflammatory tweet over today's WA Day derby against East Perth.
Using Twitter to promote the WAFL's official rivalry round, Raponi used the hashtag #defunctroyals to refer to West Perth's traditional rivals.
Smart is set to discover tomorrow the extent of a WA Football Commission penalty after Swans briefly used a West Coast nameplate instead of East Perth for their match in round nine.
The nameplate was removed after a few minutes following a complaint from East Perth president Bronte Howson.
The Royals made it clear that they did not want to pursue the matter.
WAFC chief executive Gary Walton asked Swans boss Tom Bottrell for an explanation and competitions director Grant Dorrington counselled Swans president David Parkinson over the affair.
The commission is understood to be under significant pressure from West Coast to take further action.
Under WAFL rules, a first offence of behaviour detrimental to football is liable to a fine of not less than $500.
The commission investigation found that Swans planned a series of protests during their game against East Perth, including using the West Coast theme song when the Royals players ran on to the field and offering half-price entry to any Eagles members.
The WAFC marketing department may consider the latter idea for next year when full AFL partnerships are introduced to the WAFL.
Smart's lengthy career includes stints as a premiership football manager at Claremont and the head of Fremantle's recruiting department.
Raponi became the subject of an East Perth complaint over his tweet last Thursday when he urged supporters to attend the match at Medibank Stadium today.
Raponi suggested it would be the second-last meeting between the arch rivals as traditional foes.
"Come along & see Falcons dismantle @EastPerthFC for just the 2nd last time in #wafl #defunctroyals," he said.
Raponi's tweet follows his revelation last week that West Perth would attempt to recruit East Perth forward Josh Smith when the AFL partnerships took effect next year.
