Round 19 WAFL PreviewFriday, August 18, 2023 - 9:41 AM - by Chris Pike

THE race for the finals in the WAFL hits fever pitch in the penultimate round of the season this Saturday with Claremont needing a bounce back win, West Perth having to keep on winning, and East Fremantle a chance to get closer to a first minor premiership in 25 years.

All five Round 19 WAFL matches take place at 2.10pm on Saturday afternoon and every one of them has finals implications in what is the second last round of the home and away season for 2023.

Claremont takes on Swan Districts at Revo Fitness Stadium and while it's the Tigers inside the top five and the Swans on the outside, their form is the complete opposite to that.

Claremont comes into the game having lost four straight matches for the first time since 2017 while Swan Districts has won four in-a-row also for the first time since 2017. 

Swans can't make finals but they can sure put a dent in the Tigers' hopes and if Claremont loses and West Perth wins on Saturday, they will find themselves out of the top five altogether.

Perth will then play host to East Fremantle at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park with the Demons looking to cause the upset for their third win of the first season with Peter German as coach.

However, it's going to be a tall order up against a Sharks team on a seven-game winning streak and a win will keep them a game and percentage clear on top of the ladder ahead of a final round match up with Subiaco.

Speaking of Subiaco, the Lions will head to Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Saturday to take on South Fremantle and go into the contest against the out of contention Bulldogs on a three-game winning streak.

If the Lions can make it four straight wins, it sets up a battle with East Fremantle over the minor premiership in the last round of the season.

Also on Saturday afternoon, Peel Thunder will play host to West Perth at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium in another fascinating and crucial match up.

The Thunder have now won their past two matches to be in third position and still a chance to finish top two if they keep winning while the Falcons have no choice but to keep winning.

The reigning premiers have now won four straight but remain in sixth position but could sit in fifth on Saturday night with a win and if Claremont loses.

Then there is East Perth playing host to the West Coast Eagles at Leederville Oval. The Royals have now lost their past two matches after an eight-game winning streak to slip to fourth position so need a bounce back win against an Eagles team still winless in the WAFL since Round 10 last year.

WAFL TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 18

ROUND 18 WAFL WRAP

Saturday's action begins with all four Colts matches beginning at 9.10am with Claremont taking on Swan Districts at Revo Fitness Stadium, Perth playing East Fremantle at Mineral Resources Park, Peel Thunder facing West Perth at Lane Group Stadium, and South Fremantle at home to Subiaco at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

All four of the Reserves matches then begin at 11.40am as the Tigers host the Swans, the Demons are at home to the Sharks, the Thunder take on the Falcons, and the Bulldogs play host to the Lions.

 

CLAREMONT v SWAN DISTRICTS – SATURDAY 2.10PM

Claremont needs to hit back from a four-game losing streak on Saturday to remain inside the WAFL's top five but up against them is an on-fire Swan Districts team.

The Tigers play host to the Swans at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday and Claremont comes into the game having lost four straight matches while Swan Districts is on a four-game winning streak.

With those losses, Claremont is now only just clinging to fourth position with a 10-6 record and a loss on Saturday could have the Tigers fall out of the top five with a round to go should West Perth also defeat Peel Thunder.

Swan Districts comes into the game full of momentum with the four straight wins and while not being able to play finals, will be keen to continue that against the Tigers to upset their finals prospects.

Claremont is attempting to avoid losing a fifth consecutive match since early in the 2017 season with the Tigers having made the finals every year since then.

Meanwhile, Swan Districts is looking to make it five straight victories for the first time since going on an eight-match winning run back early in the 2014 season.

Despite the current form the two teams are in, it's Claremont who has had the better of recent battles between the sides including a thrilling two-point win back in Round 6 of this year at Steel Blue Oval.

In that win, Claremont came from 29 points down at three quarter-time to kick five goals to nil in the last quarter to end up winning by those two points with Zac Mainwaring kicking three goals, Talon Delacey three and Jack Buller two.

Teia Miles also collected 25 possessions for the Tigers, Jye Bolton 25, Declan Mountford 22, Callan England 21 and Olive Eastland 18 to go with 47 hit outs.

Jesse Palmer and Jehb O'Donohue kicked three goals each that day for Swan Districts with Tom Edwards adding two while Jesse Turner gathered 30 disposals, Jarvis Pina 21, Josh Cipro 20, Greg Ottaviano 19, Nathan Blakely 19 and Jackson McLachlan 19.

The teams split their meetings in 2022 with a home victory over the other apiece, but prior to that and Claremont had won nine in-a-row against Swan Districts dating back to 2017.

Claremont has enjoyed hosting Swan Districts for a long time now too having won the past seven times against Swans at Revo Fitness Stadium.

The last win for Swan Districts at Tigerland was Round 17, 2013 which was before the ground was even redeveloped. 

Tony Notte is the only remaining player from that team for Swans which included Charlie Cameron, Jamie Bennell, Tim Geappen, Alex Howard, Justin Simpson, Rory Lobb, Matt Riggio, Ryan Davis, Wayde Twomey, Graham Jetta, Tallan Ames, Brett Robinson, Tom Roach and Kyle Hams.

Claremont is searching for a winning formula to remain inside the top five after the last four losses including last week against Peel in Mandurah.

From that team, the Tigers have added Jason Carter, Callan England, Morgan Davies, Kieran Gowdie, Declan Mountford, Felix Rogers and Tyron Smallwood to the squad to take on Swan Districts at Tigerland on Saturday.

Going out of the Claremont team that lost to Peel is the injured Steven Miller along with Anthony Treacy and Joel Western.

Tom Smith appears he will come into the Swan Districts team to take over the ruck duties with Matthew Germs going out of the side following last week's win against Perth with Nathan Blakely still out of the line-up.

Mitch Bain, Seb Bright, Riley Hardeman and Jarvis Pina are the other players added to the squad for Swan Districts with the black-and-whites attempting to make it five consecutive victories and to put a significant dent in the finals hopes of Claremont.

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PERTH v EAST FREMANTLE – SATURDAY 2.10PM

East Fremantle has the chance to retain its hold on top position in the WAFL on Saturday when taking on Perth at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

The Sharks come into the game on a seven-game winning streak including having beaten East Perth last Saturday to now be within striking distance of securing what would be a first minor premiership since 1998.

However, East Fremantle does need to keep winning with Saturday's clash on the road to Perth and then a game to finish at Leederville Oval against the second placed Subiaco.

Perth might be out of finals contention with two wins and a draw so far only this season, but the Demons would take great heart out of causing the upset victory at home to East Fremantle on Saturday.

East Fremantle's current seven-game winning streak is already its longest run of victories since going eight straight back to the end of 2008 and start of 2009.

East Fremantle has now won the last four matches against Perth as well including a 28-point victory in Round 4 of this season at the WACA Ground.

In that win, Hugh Dixon, Brayden Lawler and Jonathon Marsh all kicked three goals each for East Fremantle with Milan Murdock racking up 32 possessions, Tom Joyce 23, Kyle Baskerville 30, Cam Eardley 27, Josh Schoenfeld 26, Jonathon Marsh 23, Reuben McGuire 22, Jarrad Jansen 22, Harry Marsh 21 and Fraser Turner 21.

Despite the loss, Austin Davis and Sam Stubbs kicked three goals apiece for Perth, and Charlie Thompson two while Jack Avery finished with 33 touches, Corey Byrne 30, Dakota Baldwin-Wright 26 (33 hit outs), Thompson 25, Matt Taylor 24 and Trent Manzone 21.

Prior to that and the Sharks beat Perth twice last season and then in the second meeting of 2021, but before that it was the Demons who had won three straight, and five of the previous six against East Fremantle.

Perth has made four changes to its team that lost to Swan Districts last Saturday with the Demons hunting for that elusive third win of the season.

Harry Quartermaine has earned a recall into the Perth forward-line on the back of kicking six goals in the reserves last week with 105-game veteran Matt Taylor also back from injury after a week in the reserves.

Cody Howard and Zach Moody are the other two Perth players to come into the team to take on East Fremantle.

Going out for the Demons from the line-up that lost to Swans last week are Jack Avery, Jack Cooley, Oscar Hine-Baston and Jack Poole.

East Fremantle is looking to make it eight straight wins to go a long way to locking away a first minor premiership in 25 years with Matthew Burton, Jack Cleaver, Ryan Lester-Smith, Jamie Meade, Josh Schoenfeld and Eddie Simpson all added to the squad to face Perth on Saturday.

Going out from the Sharks team that beat East Perth last week are key forward Dillon O'Reilly and young defender Kale Paton.

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PEEL THUNDER v WEST PERTH – SATURDAY 2.10PM

Plenty goes on the line on Saturday afternoon in Mandurah with Peel Thunder playing host to West Perth at Lane Group Stadium.

Peel comes into the game having now won the last two matches to be sitting in third position on the WAFL ladder with an 11-5 record and still holding out hopes of a top two finish heading into a second straight finals campaign.

West Perth, meanwhile, must win to remain a chance still of playing finals with the reigning premiers now having won the last four matches to stay in the hunt.

The Falcons remain sixth with a 9-7 record but wins against Peel and East Perth in the last two rounds will give them a shot still of sneaking into the finals, but firstly they need to take care of business in Mandurah on Saturday.

Peel did score a breakthrough win against West Perth back in Round 7 of this season with the nine-point victory at Pentanet Stadium.

That win was the first for the Thunder at the Joondalup venue since Round 16, 2017 and the first overall against the Falcons since Round 1, 2019.

In that victory, West Perth made a flying start to the game before Peel took control the rest of the way with Sebit Kuek kicking three goals, Liam Henry two and Josh Corbett two.

Corey Wagner racked up 33 possessions, Neil Erasmus 28, Ben Hancock 28, Will Brodie 27, Nathan Wilson 23, Henry 22 and Jacob Blight 20.

Tyler Keitel kicked three goals for West Perth and Shane Nelson two to go with 32 possessions and 11 inside-50 entries. Nathan Murray also had 26 touches for the Falcons, Luke Meadows 25, Zac Guadagnin 19 and Aidan Lynch 19.

Prior to that and West Perth had won six straight matches against Peel including both meetings in 2022 on the way to the premiership with both teams ending up making finals.

Peel is attempting to make it three consecutive wins to try and break into the top two over the final two rounds with Guy Barnes, Luen Colton, Max Knobel, James Sturrock, Corey Tregenza, Nathan Wilson and Taj Wyburd all added to the squad to face West Perth on Saturday.

The players going out of the Thunder line-up that beat Claremont last Saturday also in Mandurah are Bailey Banfield, Travis Colyer and Tom Emmett.

West Perth has made just the one change that made it four consecutive wins last Sunday with the win against South Fremantle.

Co-captain Aaron Black goes out of the team with a hamstring injury to be replaced by young forward Griffith Julian but that means that AFL and WAFL premiership winning midfielder Mark Hutchings will be spending another week in the reserves.

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SOUTH FREMANTLE v SUBIACO – SATURDAY 2.10PM

Subiaco has the chance to keep in the hunt for a minor premiership in 2023 when heading to Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Saturday to take on South Fremantle.

Subiaco heads to the port on a three-game winning streak to currently sit in second position on the WAFL ladder and with a game against the league-leading East Fremantle in the last round, a win from the Lions against the Bulldogs will set up that battle for top spot.

South Fremantle, meanwhile, has now lost its past three matches including going down at home to West Perth by 36 points last Sunday with a team that included debutants Ashton Ferreira, Ed Graham and Mitch Sinnott.

The game is the last home game of the season for the Bulldogs and they have the chance to end the minor premiership aspirations of Subiaco if they are able to secure the upset victory.

It has been a mixed bag between the two teams in recent times including Subiaco scoring a 12-point win against South Fremantle back in Round 5 of this season at Leederville Oval.

In that win, South Fremantle managed just the one goal in the first half and Subiaco ended up winning by 12 points with Ryan Borchet kicking three goals and Ben Sokol two.

Liam Hickmott gathered 30 possessions for the Lions, Wil Hickmott 26, Taj Schofield 24 and Stefan Giro 20.

Jordan Gallucci kicked three goals for South Fremantle while Chad Pearson collected 28 touches, Toby McQuilkin 26, Glenn Byron 25, Tom Blechynden 24 and Brandon Donaldson 20.

Prior to that and South Fremantle won both match ups of 2022 on the way to another finals appearance with Subiaco falling short on the back of the premiership in 2021 which included wins against the Bulldogs in both the second semi-final and the Grand Final.

Since Subiaco also beat South Fremantle in the Grand Final of 2019, the two teams have enjoyed four wins against one another in the eight encounters in that time heading into Saturday's match up at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

South Fremantle will be looking to finish the season at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on a winning note on Saturday in the last home game of 2023.

The Bulldogs do welcome back star midfielder Jake Florenca for the clash with Subiaco but will still be missing Brock Higgins, Brandon Donaldson, Brendon Ah Chee, Matt Parker, Dylan Main, Jordan Gallucci and Chad Pearson.

South Fremantle loses another key player from the back-line from last week's game too with Jordan Boullineau going out of the side for the Bulldogs injured.

Subiaco is looking to make it a four consecutive victory to maintain hopes of a minor premiership heading into that final game against East Fremantle.

Given the Lions are on a three-game winning run, there's no need for changes from coach Beau Wardman with just the addition of Kody Eaton, Corey Hitchcock, Corey Robinson and Jordan Snadden to the side that beat West Coast last Sunday.

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EAST PERTH v WEST COAST EAGLES – SATURDAY 2.10PM

East Perth can't afford another slip up when hosting the West Coast Eagles at Leederville Oval on Saturday afternoon.

Only three weeks ago and the Royals were on an eight-game winning streak and sitting clear on top of the WAFL ladder, but now with a bye and two losses, they have dropped to fourth place.

With a game against West Perth to come in the last round, East Perth is still not guaranteed of playing finals but it will be with a win against the winless West Coast at Leederville Oval on Saturday.

Since that eight-game winning streak, East Perth has now suffered defeats to top two teams Subiaco and East Fremantle while West Coast remains winless in the WAFL this season and dating back to Round 10 last year.

East Perth and West Coast have met seven times now in the WAFL with the Royals having won the past three of the meetings including by 74 points back in Round 7 of this year at Mineral Resources Park.

In that victory, Mitch Schofield kicked four goals for East Perth, Riley Saunders three, Zach Raykos three, Liam Tedesco two, Scott Jones two, Tom Medhat two and Sam van Diemen two.

Mitch Crowden also picked up 31 possessions for the Royals, Angus Scott 26, Hamish Brayshaw 26, Stan Wright 24, Tom North 24, Angus Schumacher 24, Raykos 23, Jacob Msando 21 and Alex Pearce 21.

Jarrod Garlett kicked three goals for West Coast with Zane Trew finishing with 30 touches, Harry Creasey 22, Callum Jamieson 22, Coby Burgiel 21 and Josh Browne 20.

Prior to that and East Perth also won both clashes between the two sides in 2022 but before that and the first four contests between 2019 and 2021 saw them split the match ups with four victories apiece.

East Perth will be glad to welcome back ruckman Jedd Edwards after he missed last week's game with East Fremantle through injury with Alex Pearce and Ethan Regan also coming back into the line-up for the Royals to face the Eagles.

East Perth has suffered a significant blow with the injury to gun midfielder Mitch Crowden with Shayne Hille and Nick Robertson also going out of that team that lost to East Fremantle last Saturday.

West Coast is hunting that first win since Round 10 last year still with the Eagles making three changes to the team that lost to Subiaco by 69 points last Sunday.

The Eagles are back at Leederville Oval six days later with Jarrod Garlett, Zane Sumich and Nick Watson returning to the line-up.

Going out for West Coast from the team that lost to Subiaco are Greg Clark, Cooper Nitschke and Zane Trew.

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