East Perth and Peel Thunder will clash in Margret River this Saturday afternoon when Round 13 of the West Australian Football League kicks off at Gloucester Park. East Perth will host the contest in their country zone as part of Country Sports Enrichment Scheme.
It is one of three country games scheduled for the season, with the first played in Albany in Round 5 (Claremont v South Fremantle), and the final game to be played at Corrigin in Round 17 (West Perth v Peel Thunder).
This Saturday’s game at Margaret River will see several WAFL players return to their roots, with former Augusta-Margaret River players set to line up for the Royals as they aim for their fourth win of the season.
Brothers Tim and Ben Noakes, Kyle Anderson and Ben Stratton, who played for the AMR Hawks as recently as last year, could all take part in the game, while Busselton brothers Jordan and Jonathan Eastwell are also likely to line up for the Royals.
Fremantle Football Club rookie and former AMR player Hamish Shepheard could also return home for the contest if he can recover from an injury sustained in last weekend’s game against Perth.
Peel Thunder’s side will also include former South West Football League players keen to impress in front of family and friends, with the likes of Mitch Green, Chris Atthowe, Ben Howlett, Anthony Morabito and Matt Brown all coming under consideration.
The weekend will also see East Perth conduct training sessions and clinics with local AMR players on the Friday evening prior to the game, as well as the Sunday morning after the game.
Other Round 13 contests this weekend will see Claremont host East Fremantle, Swan Districts play Perth at Steel Blue Oval and Subiaco and South Fremantle meet in a top-of-the-table clash at Fremantle Oval.
The big clash between the Lions and Bulldogs is expected to be a thriller, with both sides coming off convincing wins against top sides last weekend. The winner of the game could also climb four points clear at the top of the ladder, depending on other results.