McDonald's WAFL Round 6 PreviewFriday, April 22, 2016 - 2:21 PM - by Chris Pike

THE Anzac Round of the 2016 McDonald's WAFL Premiership Season sees all four matches take place on Saturday afternoon with two players celebrating milestones at Lathlain Park, two teams desperate to win at Steel Blue Oval and a tantalising Fremantle Derby at ATOM Stadium.

Three matches on Saturday will bounce down at 2.15pm with Claremont taking on Peel Thunder at Medibank Stadium, Perth hosting East Perth at Lathlain Park and Swan Districts battling West Perth at Steel Blue Oval.

Then at 2.40pm at ATOM Stadium, East Fremantle hosts South Fremantle in the opening Fremantle Derby for 2016.

The unbeaten reigning premiers Subiaco have the Round 6 bye.

CLAREMONT (2-2, 3rd) v PEEL THUNDER (2-2, 5th) – MEDIBANK STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – KIX Digital

Claremont and Peel Thunder both enter Saturday's clash at Medibank Stadium with 2-2 records with the winner to further consolidate their position inside the WAFL's top five.

Both the Tigers and Thunder took part in the finals last year but ended up being bundled out without scoring a victory, so they are looking to not only qualify again in 2016 but build on those performances and go at least one step better.

A win on Saturday will certainly help that cause with the winner to 3-2 and to end the round as high as in third position.

Claremont improved to its 2-2 record with a 39-point win over East Fremantle last Saturday where the Tigers responded to kicking 10.17 the week before in a loss to Swan Districts by kicking 19.2 to beat the Sharks.

That performance in front of goal by the Tigers was the most accurate ever effort in WAFL history when a team has taken at least 15 shots.

Peel slipped to 2-2 prior to last week's bye with a 30-point loss to East Perth but before that the Thunder had done well to beat Swan Districts and East Fremantle, and only narrowly lost to Subiaco in the opening round.

The game will take place at Leederville's Medibank Stadium as well with the Claremont Showground not deemed ready for a WAFL match during the week.

That means the Tigers are yet to play a home match in the opening six rounds of 2016 but they will hope to against South Fremantle in Round 8.

Claremont has a significant out with veteran premiership defender Brandon Franz suffering a knee injury in last week's win over East Fremantle. The 125-game backman has been as good as any key defender in the WAFL the past season and five rounds so will be tough to cover for the Tigers.

But Anton Hamp does return after missing last week's clash with the Sharks while Dylan Ross has returned to Claremont from South Fremantle this season and was a late inclusion for Hamp a week ago.

With Ross and Hamp there they can help to cover the absence of Franz and Haydn Busher could be called upon to play in defence if required if Peel loads up its forward-line with talls.

Busher has been included into Claremont's squad after a couple of weeks in the reserves and 25 possessions, 11 marks and four goals last week against the Sharks. But with Darcy Cameron and Beau Maister as tall forward targets, his services might be more required down back.

Matthew Palfrey is also available for selection again for Claremont after missing last Saturday with Cameron Palmer in the mix as well after some solid reserves form.

From Peel's team that lost to East Perth a fortnight ago, Jonathon Griffin will go out having stepped up for Fremantle in the absence of Aaron Sandilands.

Hayden Crozier put in a best on ground performance against the Royals despite the loss and as a result could play with the Dockers against Carlton at Domain Stadium on Sunday.

Matt Taberner looks likely to remain with the Dockers as well after going back into the AFL side against North Melbourne last Sunday while Brady Grey is a chance to make his debut with Fremantle.

Losing Griffin, Taberner, Crozier and Grey would hurt the Thunder but they look set to have some strong inclusions as well.

Tendai Mzungu has again found himself out of the Fremantle team so will add some experience and quality through the midfield for Peel with Matt de Boer also out of the Dockers but capable of adding hardness and ball-winning ability for Peel.

Fremantle's Alex Silvagni, Connor Blakely and Ethan Hughes are all back from injury for the Thunder as well.

Nathan Fahey, Blair Bell and Jake Dowding are also in the mix to play for Peel with Mitch Gill out of the side.

SWAN DISTRICTS (1-4, 8th) v WEST PERTH (1-4, 7th) – STEEL BLUE OVAL, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 91.3 SportFM 

Swan Districts and West Perth will do battle for a fourth successive year in the Anzac Day round this Saturday with both clubs desperate to record their second wins of the 2016 season.

Swans and the Falcons have now made it an annual tradition to do battle either on Anzac Day, or the Anzac Round, and usually that has been with both teams battling for spots closer to the top of the ladder.

But this time around both clubs have been hit hard by injury early in the season and enter Saturday's clash at Steel Blue Oval with one win from five games. The loser will slip to 1-5 and it will be a long road back from there to return to being in finals contention.

The two clubs first did battle on Anzac Day in 2013 and it was a Dayle Garlett-led massive last quarter from Swan Districts that inspired a 28-point victory for the visitors at HBF Arena in front of a crowd of 2695 people.

Then in 2014 at Steel Blue Oval, Andrew Krakouer lined up for West Perth against the team he led to the 2010 premiership and it was again Swans winning a tight affair over the Falcons by seven points.

And last year, it was another classic encounter at HBF Arena in front of a crowd of 3340. Swans appeared home leading by 26 points entering time-on of the last quarter, but West Perth found a way to score the last five goals in quick succession to win by seven points.

Now both teams will be desperate to find a way to win with Swans coming off a 39-point loss at home last Sunday against Subiaco but before that they fought hard to beat Claremont by a goal also at Steel Blue Oval. Saturday will be Swans' fifth straight match at Steel Blue Oval.

West Perth has lost its last three matches against Subiaco, East Fremantle and East Perth following its only win of the season against the bottom placed Perth back in Round 2.

It's the case of the walking wounded for both teams at the moment as well.

Swan Districts loses key forward Ricky Cary (shoulder) and Jarrad Blight (ankle) from last week's loss to Subiaco with Nathan Blakely, Jake Nuich and Murray Newman already unavailable.

Meanwhile, West Perth will still be without Chris Keunen, Kody Manning, Matt Guadagnin, Brayden Antonio, Matt Fowler, Laine Rasmussen and Joe Morrow.

The absence of Cary from the forward-line for Swan Districts leaves some work to do for coach Greg Harding to find some more options in attack.

But it might require some shuffling around of his current players because the players included into the squad to take on West Perth, Griffen Logue, Jack Watson, Lindsay Murray, Warrick Wilson and Ben Whitsed aren’t likely to provide too many goals.

Tony Notte, though, could play deeper forward and Justin Simpson has kicked five goals in a preliminary final before and booted two majors on return last week against Subiaco so he could be another option for Swan Districts in attack.

The Falcons have pulled a surprise by naming dual fairest and best winning premiership on-baller Shane Nelson for the first time this season following a fractured wrist.

It is earlier than he was expected to return so he will still need to prove he is ready for before running out with the team on Steel Blue Oval on Saturday.

Max Duffy looks set to return from a hip strain, though, which kept him out of what would have been his first experience in his derby last Saturday against East Perth.

Luke Tedesco also missed last Saturday's derby due to his sister's wedding and he will return to take on Swan Districts in his 149th game this week.

Dean Munns is another potential debutant for West Perth following 25 possessions and 14 tackles in the reserves last week against East Perth.

Kris Shannon is the only player out of the West Perth side from last week at this stage.

PERTH (1-3, 9th) v EAST PERTH (2-3, 6th) – LATHLAIN PARK, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 107.3 HFM

Perth and East Perth do battle for a fourth successive year in the Anzac Round with the Demons looking to bounce back from two disappointing performances while the Royals are shooting for a third successive victory.

Perth started the season with an encouraging performance despite losing to West Perth and then beating Claremont in Round 3.

But the last two weeks has seen the Demons struggle in front of goal kicking a combined 8.33 in a 50-point loss to Subiaco and 98-point defeat at the hands of South Fremantle.

But those performances have come against the two undefeated teams in the competition so Perth will be out to bounce back against their old rivals at Lathlain Park on Saturday.

East Perth is coming off two grand finals and a preliminary final the last three years, but they had a slow start to 2016 with a 76-point loss to Claremont, 31-point defeat to Subiaco and 40-point loss to South Fremantle.

But the Royals have put together two impressive performances the past fortnight to beat Peel Thunder by 30 points and then West Perth by 60. A win on Saturday will see them improve to a 3-3 record and potentially enter the top-five for the first time in 2016.

Perth and East Perth began an annual tradition of playing on Anzac Day back in 2013, and despite the Royals going on to make the grand final that year, it was the Demons who came away with a 51-point victory in front of a crowd of 3307.

Then in 2014, it was East Perth who beat Perth the day after Anzac Day by 22 points at Medibank Stadium and last year, the Royals scored an emphatic Anzac Day victory by 103 points over the Demons at Lathlain Park.

East Perth has now won its last seven games against Perth by an average of 55 points since that Anzac Day loss in 2013.

Both teams have a milestone to celebrate as well. Perth's Brett Wolfenden will be playing his 100th WAFL match. He previously played 76 WAFL games and one in the Foxtel Cup for Swan Districts including the 2010 premiership.

He returned to the WAFL in 2015 with Perth and now on Saturday will play his 24th match for the Demons.

Meanwhile, East Perth wingman Steven Payne will notch his 100th game for the Royals as well after a career that started in 2011 and has seen him win a fairest and best award in 2014.

Perth had a day to forget last Saturday against South Fremantle and one of their strongest performers in that game, Aaron Zucconi won't be there this week against East Perth.

The 102-game defender did well keeping South Fremantle full-forward Ben Saunders to three kicks and two goals last week, but now the job of shutting down East Perth's forwards will fall to someone else.

Lively half-forward Rowan Brookes also goes out of the Demons' line-up and misses the chance to play against his former team.

Sam Garstone could come in to provide some extra height to the Perth team with Cody Leggett a chance to be recalled after 19 possessions and seven marks last week in the reserves.

Fraser Millar has been added to the Demons' squad despite just the six possessions in the reserves last week after 32, 24 and 30 in the opening three games of the season. If he is selected it will be his league debut and so it will be for Lennon Marlin following 24 disposals and nine marks last week.

East Perth has put together two impressive performances to beat Peel and West Perth the past fortnight, but will be without some key personnel that helped deliver those victories against Perth on Saturday.

Fraser McInnes has been called up to the West Coast team to replace the suspended Scott Lycett while Sharrod Wellingham goes straight in for the Eagles to play Sydney at the SCG on Saturday after one game back in the WAFL.

Kane Lucas has also travelled with the Eagles as the emergency after an outstanding start to the season in the midfield for East Perth averaging 24 possessions.

The Royals have suffered an added blow losing veteran ruckman Paul Johnson on top of McInnes leaving Jonathan Giles a big job to do to carry the ruck solo up against ex-AFL ruckman from Perth, Angus Graham.

Either Agid Gardoud or Scott Jones could come in to help out Giles and give the Royals some added height.

Gardoud is more of a forward and backup ruckman and had 17 touches and a goal last week in the reserves against West Perth. Jones, meanwhile, is more of a pure ruckman and had 44 hit outs last Saturday against the Falcons in the reserves.

Jackson Nelson has been dropped from the Eagles team and will return for East Perth for his first WAFL game of the season with Brant Colledge also coming back into the Royals' line-up.

Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls is also back after missing last week's game against West Perth with Shayne Hille, Mitch Lague and Tom Omodei also in contention for a call up following solid reserves form.

EAST FREMANTLE (2-2, 4th) v SOUTH FREMANTLE (4-0, 2nd) – ATOM STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.40PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 720 ABC Perth, Channel 7

East Fremantle and South Fremantle have made the Anzac Derby an annual tradition now since 2009 and Saturday's clash at ATOM Stadium looks set to be another classic.

The Sharks and Bulldogs both missed the finals in 2015, but have started the 2016 season in encouraging fashion and a win in the Anzac Derby would be the ideal way to really have some momentum six rounds into the new year.

South Fremantle comes into the clash undefeated after four games of the season following a 35-point win over West Perth, 50-point victory against Swan Districts, 40-point triumph over East Perth and then a 98-point thrashing of Perth last Saturday in the biggest win of the WAFL season.

The Bulldogs will now return to the top of the ladder with a win on Saturday that will see them take on the also undefeated Subiaco next Saturday at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with both on 5-0 records.

East Fremantle, meanwhile, sits in fourth position with a 2-2 record after wins over Swan Districts and West Perth, but having suffered defeats to Peel Thunder and Claremont.

The Anzac Derby has now been an annual tradition since 2009 and in that year it began in style with a thriller at Fremantle Oval when Toby Bairstow kicked the winning goal for the Bulldogs after a Rob Young deliberate out of bounds decision with 5484 people looking on.

East Fremantle scored a strong 46-point win over the reigning premier South Fremantle in 2010 before the Bulldogs answered back winning by 29 points in 2011 with 4225 watching on.

It was a thumping 85-point win for East Fremantle in 2012 at ATOM Stadium and the Sharks again won by 29 points in 2013 before the Bulldogs hit back with a 17-point victory in 2014. 

Then last year at Fremantle Oval, East Fremantle recorded a 17-point win with over 5000 fans watching on.

Remarkably, South Fremantle has won its last six matches against East Fremantle at ATOM Stadium. The Sharks' last win on their home turf in a derby came back in the Anzac clash of 2012. The visiting team has won the last 11 derbies in a fascinating run of results.

East Fremantle loses ruckman Andrew Stokes from the team that lost to Claremont last Saturday with Jack Fletcher set to take his place after 32 hit outs in the reserves last Saturday.

His job will be team with James Bristow to take on impressive South Fremantle big man Josh Branchi who continues to carry the load for the Bulldogs in the middle in the absence of Brock Higgins.

Higgins returned in the reserves last Saturday against Perth and put in a strong showing but will still need some more time at that level to return to full form and fitness.

Dangerous forward Brandon Ellis found some form in the reserves last week kicking four goals and with his previous derby history of kicking three goals in an East Fremantle win on WA Day in 2014, he could earn a call up to add some extra firepower for the Sharks.

Josh Cuneo continues to perform solidly in the reserves to keep his name in the mix at the Sharks while Miles Franklin is also in the discussion after 22 possessions and a goal in the reserves last week against Claremont.

One of the biggest factors in South Fremantle's success so far this season has been the settled team they have been able to take the field with.

Despite losing Jarrod Parry for the season and Brock Higgins suffering a calf injury, the squad has been fully fit and then Chris Luff has been the only other player missing when he was overseas travelling.

As a result, the Bulldogs have made only one change to the team over the first four games and that saw Bailey Matera replace Jacob Martinez in the 22 ahead of the Round 3 clash with East Perth.

Again this week there are no outs from South Fremantle's team at this stage from the one that beat Perth by 98 points last Saturday.

There are plenty of players pushing for selection in the reserves though, with that team also undefeated after four games of the 2016 season.

Experienced wingman Shaun Bewick continues to play well and had another 30 possessions, 12 marks and two goals last Saturday against with Perth with James Laurino also contributing 26 disposals and Jacob Dragovich 24 to put themselves in the selection mix.