Clutterbuck, Payne prepare for first battle against one anotherFriday, May 13, 2016 - 10:38 AM - by Chris Pike

FREDDIE Clutterbuck and Steven Payne became good friends and enjoyed playing in strong teams together at East Perth but now the wingmen are set to play on one another for the first time when Swan Districts take on the Royals at Medibank Stadium.

There might be plenty of attention on West Coast's Lewis Jetta coming back to East Perth to take on the team he played with back in 2009 before being drafted to the Sydney Swans, and facing a Swans team featuring his older brother Graham on Saturday.

But Saturday's clash at Medibank Stadium will also be the first time that Clutterbuck takes on his old Royals team this year after deciding to leave East Perth and join Swan Districts during the pre-season.

And one of Clutterbuck's closest friends at East Perth is his likely opponent on the wing at Leederville on Saturday with him likely to spend at least some of the contest going up against Payne.

Both players are in good form this season as well with Clutterbuck performing well in a Swan Districts team that has won just once in seven matches to be on the bottom of the ladder.

Despite that, Clutterbuck has done all he can averaging 23.1 possessions a game including a high of 31 in last Saturday's loss to Perth at Lathlain Park.

Payne also is having a good season with the 2014 East Perth fairest and best winner averaging 23 disposals a game with 30 twice in his past three games, including in Round 7 against East Fremantle prior to the bye last weekend.

That means the pair are in good form and both run all day, and have been two of the best wingmen in the WAFL during careers that have lasted beyond 100 games for both.

Clutterbuck is looking forward to the occasion of playing against East Perth for the first time since joining Swan Districts after 104 matches with the Royals.

Despite growing up supporting Swan Districts, Clutterbuck quickly grew to be passionate about East Perth once he joined the club and he was added to the leadership group early in his league career.

With his hard-running and ability to find the football, be consistent and provide good leadership, he became a regular in the East Perth team before a couple of injuries and spots in the Royals team became harder to come by the last couple of years.

That saw him look for a fresh start and the 25-year-old is happy with the move to Swan Districts despite not getting as many wins as he would like.

Now he is looking forward to taking on East Perth this Saturday and the inevitable time he will spend playing against Payne, and the banter that will be out on the field and coming from over the fence.

"I haven’t really put too much thought into it yet but people mention it and I do still have a lot of good friends at East Perth footy club so it comes up in conversation," Clutterbuck said.

"I'll try and take it like any other game, but I am looking forward to getting stuck into Payney if I can. I'll worry about the rest of it when I am out there."

Payne brought up his 100th game for East Perth in the Round 6 victory over Perth and while getting the win on Saturday to try and put the Royals back into the top five this Saturday is his focus, he is looking forward to catching up with Clutterbuck again out on the field.

"We are always talking on the phone before games and that, and I'm looking forward to it and I know he is looking forward to it. I don’t know what's going to happen," Payne said.

"It's going to be pretty weird I suppose seeing him in Swans colours, but I reckon he'll go alright so I will have to be careful of him.

"I definitely expect to end up playing on Freddie for most of the game probably. There'll definitely be a bit of banter from Freddie as well. He loves a bit of stirring but it should be good fun and I'm looking forward to it."