The WAFL implemented two rule changes for the 2011 season, to conform with similar rules changes in the Australian Football League (AFL):[1]
The advantage rule was altered to put the onus on the player rather than the umpire to decide whether they can take the advantage from a free kick.
The rough conduct rule was altered to make any player who makes forceful contact to the head of another player while bumping is liable to suspension, unless the player was (a) contesting the ball and did not have a reasonable alternative way to contest the ball or (b) the contact was caused by circumstances outside the control of the player that could not reasonably be foreseen.
Round 12 was the highest-attended round of the season, with 18,138 attending the four games held. The attendance between East Fremantle and South Fremantle at East Fremantle Oval (7,531 people) was also the highest of the home-and-away season.[2]
The match between Subiaco and South Fremantle at Ports Oval was the first match at the venue, and the fourth overall in Esperance, with the other three being played at Esperance Oval.[4]