1932 WANFL season

The 1932 WANFL season was the 48th season of the Western Australian National Football League. The premiership was won by West Perth for the first time since 1905. The Cardinals’ win ended both a run of four consecutive premierships by East Fremantle, which won its fifth of seven successive minor premierships but lost both finals it played to be eliminated in the preliminary final, and West Perth's longest premiership drought in its history. West Perth's win was highlighted by the success of champion full forward Ted Tyson, who headed the goalkicking with eighty-four goals including a record eight in the Grand Final^[a]. Tyson went on to kick an unprecedented 1,203 goals during a twelve-season career with the Cardinals, but their rise from winning only six matches in 1931 was due to the development of second-year defender Max Tetley, the discovery of a third pre-war Cardinal stalwart in Norm McDiarmid,^[b] brother of star ruckman Jack, plus further outstanding youngsters Jim Morgan and Bob Dalziell.^[1]

It also saw a continuation of the first player drain from the WANFL to the VFL with the loss of Subiaco's Brighton Diggins and Bill Faul^[2] resulting in the Lions missing the finals for the first time in nine seasons, a remarkable record for scoring accuracy by Old Easts in slippery conditions, and a longtime record total of suspensions – the last of which was for twelve weeks and ended his career – to "Nails" Western, who had been recruited by Claremont-Cottesloe from East Perth to add toughness and vigour but played little because of his reports.^[3] Despite the return of Keith Hough, who set a record for the Sandover Medal with 32 votes, Claremont-Cottesloe remained on the bottom with only one extra victory.^[4] Two tragic deaths occurred – Claremont's vice captain "Boy" Morris after collapsing in the street five weeks beforehand on the Saturday of Round 18,^[5] and more significantly South Fremantle's Ron Doig after the first semi-final.