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Round 17 WAFL PreviewFriday, August 4, 2023 - 9:40 AM - by Chris Pike
A MASSIVE last month of the 2023 WAFL season gets underway with four significant matches this Saturday afternoon highlighted by a preliminary final rematch between East Fremantle and Claremont at the WACA Ground with top spot potentially going on the line.
There are now just four weeks of the WAFL season remaining with each team having four games to play aside from Leederville Oval co-tenants Subiaco and East Perth.
The Lions and Royals have just three games to play after their battle with one another last Saturday and will be sitting out the Round 17 action with the bye.
However, the other eight teams will be locked into action with four fascinating matches with plenty riding on each of them.
Round 17 in the WAFL gets underway on Saturday afternoon at Steel Blue Oval with Swan Districts playing host to South Fremantle.
Swans are attempting to make it three straight wins coming off the bye with the Bulldogs trying to bounce back from a first derby loss in seven years last week.
Next up is Peel Thunder playing host to the West Coast Eagles at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium.
Both teams are coming off the bye with Peel needing a bounce back win after two losses to hold firm in the top five with West Coast still chasing that elusive first win this season despite having been in front twice in the past three games when the final siren has sounded.
East Fremantle and Claremont will then take on one another at the WACA Ground in a rematch of last year's preliminary final with the Sharks guaranteed of replacing East Perth in top spot with a win.
Claremont could also go top with a victory depending on percentage with the Tigers trying to bounce back from consecutive losses while the Sharks are on a five-match winning run including a first derby win since 2016 last Saturday.
The last game of the round will then take place at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium with West Perth hosting Perth in the first ever WAFL Pride Game hosted by the Falcons to celebrate inclusiveness and a willingness to learn.
It's a must-win game for West Perth too for the Falcons to remain any chance of keeping their premiership defence alive up against a Perth team hunting a second win only against West Perth since 2011.
WAFL TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 16
The action on Saturday morning gets underway with the three Colts matches with Swan Districts hosting South Fremantle at Steel Blue Oval from 8.40am. West Perth then plays Perth at Joondalup from 9.10am and East Fremantle takes on Claremont from 9.40am at the WACA Ground.
The Reserves matches are to follow starting at 11.10am with Swan Districts at home to South Fremantle. Next up is West Perth hosting Perth at 11.40am and then East Fremantle faces Claremont from 12.10pm at the WACA Ground.
SWAN DISTRICTS v SOUTH FREMANTLE – SATURDAY 2.10PM
Swan Districts and South Fremantle meet in a fascinating match up at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday afternoon with the Swans having won two straight and the Bulldogs coming off a derby loss.
The last month of the season begins for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Steel Blue Oval with Swan Districts looking for a third straight win and South Fremantle trying to bounce back from a rare derby defeat.
Swans come into the clash on home turf having won their last two matches prior to last week's bye in two thrillers against Subiaco and the West Coast Eagles.
That improved the black-and-whites to a 6-8 record on the season with four matches remaining as they look to keep the momentum going.
South Fremantle, meanwhile, lost a derby for the first time in 16 attempts last Saturday at home to East Fremantle and the Bulldogs would have been frustrated to lose having led by 14 points early in the last term and then conceding the game's last four goals.
The Bulldogs now come into Saturday's game at Bassendean against Swans with a 5-9 record on the season and looking to start building some momentum to finish the season on the back of premiership coach Todd Curley having signed on for 2024.
Swan Districts has now won two of the last three meetings with South Fremantle including winning by 18 points earlier this season in Round 4 at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.
That was a first win at the venue for Swans since 2014 with Jesse Palmer kicking four goals for Swan Districts, Chris Jones three and Tom Edwards two.
Tobe Watson finished with 22 touches for the black-and-whites, Jesse Turner 20, Jarvis Pina 19 and Jackson McLachlan 19 in what was also Brayden Noble's 100th game for Swans.
Dylan Main kicked three goals on that afternoon for South Fremantle with Zac Strom and Brendon Ah Chee adding two apiece.
Toby McQuilkin racked up 29 possessions, Tom Blechynden 27, Jacob Dragovich 25, Brendon Ah Chee 25 and Main 21 along with those three goals.
Prior to that and the two teams split their meetings in 2022 with a home win apiece but before that and South Fremantle had dominated proceedings against Swan Districts.
The Bulldogs won nine straight matches against Swans by an average of 34.8 points between Round 17, 2017 and Round 21, 2021.
Swan Districts escaped with the win two weeks ago with the after the siren goal from Tom Edwards and from that team, the black-and-whites have made no changes to take on South Fremantle at home this Saturday.
Mitch Bain, Ayden Cartwright, Riley Hardeman and Tom Smith are the four emergencies for the game for Swan Districts while Greg Ottaviano, Brandon Erceg, Jarrod Cameron, Sam Fisher, Will Collins and Seb Bright remain out of the team.
South Fremantle is looking to bounce back from a first derby defeat in seven years with the Bulldogs adding Aaron Drage, Jacob Dragovich, Ed Graham, Toby McQuilkin and Mitchell Sinnott to the squad to face Swan Districts at Bassendean on Saturday.
Going out of the South Fremantle team that lost last week's derby is Jordan Gallucci.
FOLLOW AND WATCH THE GAME LIVE HERE THANKS TO AFL.COM.AU
PEEL THUNDER v WEST COAST EAGLES – SATURDAY 2.10PM
Peel Thunder has too much at stake to afford to become the first team to lose to West Coast this season on Saturday but the Eagles have been knocking on the door of that drought breaking win.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday afternoon at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium following the bye last weekend with mixed news on the selection front for each side based on movements at the respective Fremantle and West Coast AFL teams.
Peel is coming into the game in fifth position on the WAFL ladder with a 9-5 record having lost the last two matches against top two teams East Perth and East Fremantle.
That does leave the Thunder a little vulnerable in fifth position just two games ahead of the sixth placed West Perth with four rounds to play so they can't afford another slip up to the Eagles on Saturday.
The Eagles might have still not won a game since Round 10 last year but they had been vastly improved prior to the bye and were twice in front when the siren sounded in games.
The first time was in Round 13 against Perth before a rushed behind for the Demons saw both teams walk away with the draw and they were leading Swan Districts two weeks ago before Swans forward Tom Edwards kicked a goal after the siren.
That means West Coast has had 21 losses and a draw in the last 22 WAFL games, but that breakthrough win does appear on the horizon.
The two teams have played one another seven times in the WAFL dating back to 2019 with the Eagles winning those first two meetings in that first season.
However, the Thunder have won the five meetings since by an average of 59.6 points including an 89-point victory back in Round 6 of this season.
On that day, Brody Wemm kicked four goals in the win for Peel, Sebit Kuek three, Ben Middleton two, Ben Hancock two and Sam Sturt two.
Karl Worner racked up 36 touches for the Thunder, Hancock 27, Corey Wagner 25, Liam Henry 25, Sturt 24, Jacob Blight 23, Nathan Wilson 23, Tom Emmett 22 and Traye Bennell 21.
Jack Eastough kicked two of the seven goals for the day for West Coast with Zane Trew collecting 32 possessions, Josh Browne 23, Ethan Hansen 19, Jackson Nelson 17 and Joey Deegan 16 to go with 11 tackles.
Peel is attempting to hit back from two straight losses to consolidate a finals position and from the team that lost at home to East Perth two weeks ago, there's a bevy of changes for the Thunder to take on the Eagles on Saturday.
Will Brodie, Mitchell Edwards, Ben Hancock, Nathan O'Driscoll, Michael Sellwood, Riley Smith, Ethan Stanley, Matt Taberner, Reece Torrent and Karl Worner are the players all added to the Peel squad for Saturday's game.
Going out of the Thunder team that lost to the Royals two weeks ago are Brody Wemm, Guy Barnes, Ty Anderson, Jonathon Ietto, James Sturrock and Jacob Hewitt.
West Coast suffered another heartbreaking loss two weeks ago after the siren to Swan Districts and from that team, the Eagles have made seven changes coming into Saturday's match up with Peel.
Coming into the side for West Coast are Josh Edwards, Jarrod Garlett, John Levien, Rhett Lloyd, Tyler Mouritz, Riley Pobjoy and Ethan Sambo.
Going out from that Eagles team that was so close to a breakthrough win against Swan Districts are Zane Trew, Callum Jamieson, Zane Sumich, Isiah Winder, Greg Clark, Luke Edwards and Josh Rotham.
FOLLOW AND WATCH THE GAME LIVE HERE THANKS TO AFL.COM.AU
EAST FREMANTLE v CLAREMONT – SATURDAY 2.40PM
East Fremantle and Claremont look to make a statement of their premiership credentials when they clash at the WACA Ground on Saturday afternoon.
There's every chance that the winner of Saturday's contest ends the round in top spot on the WAFL ladder as well as the Sharks and Tigers do battle in a rematch of last year's preliminary final.
After being right in the premiership hunt a year ago, both teams are in the mix once more in 2023 and Saturday's shapes as a season defining one for both.
East Fremantle comes into the game on a high having broken a seven-year derby streak by winning against South Fremantle for the first time in 16 attempts last Saturday.
That sees the Sharks now come into this Saturday's game on a five-match winning streak in second position with a 10-4 record. A win against the Tigers and East Fremantle is assured of sitting on top of the ladder at the end of Round 17.
Claremont, meanwhile, had lost back-to-back games prior to last week's bye against West Perth and East Perth with the Tigers sliding to fourth position on the ladder at 10-4.
However, a thumping win on Saturday and Claremont could return to the top of the ladder and more likely would end up second with a win against the Sharks.
Saturday's game will be the second meeting between the teams this season following last year's preliminary final that was won by Claremont at East Fremantle Oval.
The teams travelled to Broome back in Round 7 for that clash and it was East Fremantle who prevailed by 18 points against Claremont.
In that victory, Cody Leggett kicked three goals for the Sharks and Dillon O'Reilly two while Fraser Turner amassed 25 possessions, Tom Joyce 20, Kyle Baskerville 20, Milan Murdock 19 and Tom Bennett 19.
Zac Mainwaring, Tyron Smallwood and Talon Delacey all kicked two goals each for Claremont with Jye Bolton amassing 33 touches, Teia Miles 26, Callan England 22, Declan Mountford 21, Lachlan Martinis 21 and Anthony Davis 21.
The win meant that the Sharks have now won three of the last four clashes against the Tigers but the one win in that stretch for Claremont was the most significant of them in last year's preliminary final.
Prior to that, though, and the Tigers had dominated proceedings against the Sharks having won 11 in-a-row between Round 22, 2016 and Round 9, 2022.
Not only has East Fremantle now won five straight matches including breaking the derby streak and has the chance to go to the top of the ladder with another win on Saturday, but the Sharks are getting some important troops back too.
Dillon O'Reilly looks set to return from a back complaint to take up his role in attack which gives the Sharks greater versatility to keep Hugh Dixon forward or to back him in to carry the ruck without costing the forward-line too much of a presence.
Tom Joyce is also set to return to further strengthen the East Fremantle midfield up against Claremont on Saturday with Kale Paton, Josh Schoenfeld and Eddie Simpson the other players in the selection mix.
The only player out at this stage for the Sharks coming off the breakthrough derby win is young defender Jack Cleaver.
Claremont has lost its past two matches and prior to the bye were disappointing in losing to West Perth with the Tigers making a host of changes to their team as a result.
Jason Carter, Ben Clarke, Daniel Curtin, Ben Elliott, Louis Passera, Felix Rogers and Joel Western are the players who have all been added to the squad for the Tigers for the clash with East Fremantle on Saturday at the WACA Ground.
The players out of the Claremont line-up that lost to West Perth a fortnight ago at this stage are Max Mumme, Menno Inverarity and injured captain Declan Mountford.
WATCH LIVE ON CHANNEL 7 FROM 2.30PM AND FOLLOW HERE
WEST PERTH v PERTH – SATURDAY 2.40PM
West Perth entered the bye with its best patch of form this season and the Falcons need to keep that going against Perth on Saturday at Pentanet Stadium.
The Falcons' premiership defence this season on the back of last year's triumph hasn’t gone to plan yet, but West Perth were able to breathe life back into their campaign before the bye last week.
West Perth produced two solid performances to beat West Coast and Claremont by a combined 77 points with the Falcons improving to a 7-7 record to be two games outside of the top five with four matches of the season remaining.
Perth, meanwhile, has just two wins and a draw from 14 matches this season so far and will be looking to put together a morale boosting performance on Saturday following a 79-point defeat at the hands of Subiaco two weeks ago prior to the bye.
Saturday's game will be the second meeting between the two teams this season with West Perth winning the encounter back in Round 6 at Mineral Resources Park by 49 points.
The Falcons dominated the first half of the game with nine goals to one in the first half, and then finished with another seven goals in the last quarter to continue their winning ways against the Demons.
Aaron Black kicked three goals in that win for West Perth with Tyler Keitel, Koopah Todd and Tom O'Donnell adding two apiece. Shane Nelson racked up 34 possessions, Luke Meadows 30, Nathan Murray 27, Mitch Peirce 23, Ben Johnson 20, Tristan Hobley 20 and Keitel 20.
Michael Sinclair kicked three goals for Perth with soon-to-be Essendon mid-season draftee Jaiden Hunter adding two. Charlie Thompson collected 32 touches, Corey Byrne 30, Regan Clarke 29, Jack Cooley 27, Jack Avery 25, Matthew Taylor 24, Daniel Hill 22 and Jacob Coniglio 21.
That win meant that the Falcons have won four straight against the Demons following Perth's breakthrough win against West Perth back in Round 8, 2021.
Before that and West Perth had won 19 in-a-row against Perth dating all the way back to 2011 so coming into Saturday's game at Joondalup and it's the Falcons having won 23 of the last 24 meetings between the two teams.
West Perth strung together two strong wins prior to the bye and following the last up win against Claremont in the grand final rematch, the Falcons have made just the one change and it's a forced one.
Nathan Alexandre goes out injured following that win against the Tigers with his place taken in the side by debutant Daniel Gathercole.
Perth is also coming off the bye following the disappointing 79-point loss at the hands of Subiaco with the Demons making two changes to that team to take on West Perth with on Saturday.
Important defender Connor Sing is set to make an earlier than expected return from injury with his return likely to be a battle on West Perth spearhead Tyler Keitel.
Ben Stubbs has also come into the Perth line-up to make his league debut while Brodie Gray and Ned Shannon are the two players to go out of the Demons side that lost to the Lions a fortnight ago.