1938 WANFL season

1937 wooden spooners Subiaco, despite Bunton still not having a clearance, beat perennial finalists East Perth, with Les Hardiman a matchwinner.

Perth lose century goalkicker Gook to a serious wrist injury as East Perth rebound from their Subiaco loss.

• George Doig is goalless for the only time in 202 games for East Fremantle,^[19] whilst rival Holdsworth kicks eight of Swans' nine, yet East Fremantle's superior on-ball division wins.
• South Fremantle kick their highest score to that point^[20] with Chandler kicking 13.7 (85) against the dual grand finalists. The score remains the second-highest against an eventual premier club in major Australian Rules leagues.^{[note 1]}
• Bunton kicks six in his first appearance for Subiaco, who become the solitary undefeated club after three weeks.

Claremont end Subiaco's unbeaten run, whilst Perth, with Grigg taking the place of Gook and kicking eight, bring South Fremantle to earth.

East Fremantle hold off Subiaco (without Hardiman) in a brilliant match to move clear at the top of the table.

For the first time in WANFL history, both teams score twenty goals in a match, and East Perth's first quarter of 10.5 (65) is enough to rebound from a poor start to the season.^{[note 2]}

• East Fremantle kick one point against three misses from deadly rival South Fremantle in their second consecutive thriller.
• West Perth win their last match before losing twenty-seven consecutively, the equal longest losing streak in WA(N)FL history and at the time beating Subiaco's 24 straight losses in 1902 and 1903.^[41]

• Swan Districts kick its highest score until 1961,^[46] with Holdsworth kicking eleven goals and Park seven. In the last three quarters Swans kicked 23.22 (160) to 9.12 (66).
• With the return of Gook, Perth jump East Perth and rebound to challenge for only their third finals berth in eighteen seasons.

• A comeback win from Swan Districts effectively places them on top of the table, with Old Easts having played two more matches due to their forthcoming tour interstate.
• With 8.1 (49) from captain-coach Robertson in a tricky wind, Perth consolidate their place in the four.

Ted Tyson kicks ten goals to begin a brilliant finish to the season, but East Fremantle just manage to overcome the struggling Cardinals.

An umpires' strike affects this round, but at one game players actually congratulate the replacements.

Handicapped by injury, St. Kilda are no match for a West Australian Second Eleven, for whom Bunton and Shea of Subiaco shows their best form and Swans' Zilko keeps Mohr quiet.

• East Fremantle's match with East Perth is moved forward to Labour Day to allow a tour of the Eastern States.
• Tyson is kept goalless for the first time in his 167th match for West Perth^[68] by Andrew Zilko of Swan Districts.^[19]
• Former Sandover winner Ted Flemming makes a comeback for the Cardinals, handicapped by injuries to key players Rainoldi, Anderson, Marinko, McDiarmid and Braun.
• A new grandstand was opened at Bassendean Oval during the half-time interval.^[69]

To allow East Fremantle to tour the Eastern States, the game with Perth is moved to Easter Monday, a week before the normal beginning of the season.

South Fremantle press for their first finals appearance since 1932 by beating Swan Districts at Fremantle for the first time since Swans entered the WANFL.

• Bert Chandler becomes the first South Fremantle player to kick 100 goals and the sixth different player in two seasons, beating Holdsworth and Tyson who finish the round with tallies of 98 and 97 respectively.
• An accurate Subiaco inflict Perth's first loss on the WACA ground to push that latter club to fifth with three rounds remaining.
• On Saturday 20 August there was a rest from WANFL football as a schoolboys' carnival used Subiaco Oval.^[82]

• South Fremantle crush Perth for a sixth straight win and suddenly have a chance of second position, being a game and three percent behind Claremont with two games to play.
• East Perth, with Lockyer holding Holdsworth goalless, record a crushing win to leave Swan Districts out of the four.
• Ted Tyson kicks his hundredth goal for the fifth straight season with seven in a valiant effort by the undermanned Cardinals, who lose their tenth game in succession.

• East Perth end South Fremantle's run with a superb last quarter, whereby veteran follower Jerry Dolan moves up forward to kick seven goals.
• In a match which determines who will drop out of the running for the finals, Swan Districts comfortably defeat Perth.

• In an extraordinary match at Leederville, Swan Districts, after being outplayed for three quarters, kick 11.4 (70) to 7.1 (43) in a last quarter described as "lacking in zest" to take South Fremantle's place in the four. At the time it was the second highest-scoring quarter in WANFL history,^[95] and it remains the highest for any quarter at Leederville.
• Ted Tyson, who displaced Chandler at the head of the goalkicking, set numerous records with his 17.5 (107):

1. The most goals for a losing side in any senior Australian Rules league, beating Frank Hopkins' record of 14 in 1930.^[96]
2. The most goals by a player who kicked all but one of his team's goals, beating Allan Evans' thirteen for Perth in 1921 against East Fremantle.
3. The most goals for West Perth in any match, beating his own record of fifteen against Claremont-Cottesloe in 1934.^[97]

• Subiaco's surprise win over South Fremantle ensures East Perth remain in the four despite just failing to catch East Fremantle.

East Perth win a thrilling final with a succession of behinds into a strong wind.^[99]

Claremont run away in the third quarter and comfortably hold off Old Easts to reach their third consecutive grand final.^[100]

In an extremely spiteful game with numerous clashes, East Fremantle kick 11.1 (67) to 1.8 (14) after half-time for a second successive showdown against Claremont.^[101]