McDonald's WAFL Round 13 PreviewFriday, June 17, 2016 - 2:00 PM - by Chris Pike

THE WAFL resumes this weekend with a massive Sunday as the top four teams all lock horns with one another and before that on Saturday, East Perth, Claremont and Perth desperately try to keep their finals hopes alive.

Following the WAFL's record 134-point state game victory over Tasmania last Saturday at Steel Blue Oval, the 2016 McDonald's Premiership Season resumes this weekend with two matches on Saturday and two more on Sunday.

The two games on Saturday see Claremont take on West Perth at the Claremont Showground and East Perth face Perth at Medibank Stadium.

The WAFL's top four teams are then all in action on Sunday with Peel Thunder playing South Fremantle at Bendigo Bank Stadium and East Fremantle hosting Subiaco at ATOM Stadium.

CLAREMONT (3-7, 7th) v WEST PERTH (7-4, 5th) – CLAREMONT SHOWGROUND, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 91.3 SportFM

Claremont's finals hopes almost go on the line on Saturday at the Claremont Showground but getting the crucial four points will be far from easy against a West Perth team on a six-game winning streak.

Claremont has won just three from 10 games so far this season and while the Tigers have been in winning positions during the fourth quarters of six of those seven losses, the facts are that they have just the three victories.

The Tigers can't afford to keep losing games if they hope to take part in a second straight finals series. Prior to the bye and state game break, Claremont did score a dominant 80-point victory over Swan Districts.

But Claremont needs to start stringing wins together and that's exactly what West Perth was able to do leading into the state match.

After losing four of the first five games of 2016, the Falcons won their last six matches before the break to now have improved to a 7-4 record.

A seventh straight win on Saturday would see them be only percentage off top spot on the ladder, and they could end the round that way if both South Fremantle and Subiaco lose on Sunday to Peel Thunder and East Fremantle respectively.

The two teams played out a thriller in Kulin back in Round 7 in yet another game that Claremont was in a winning position of, but West Perth kicked a goal and behind late to break the deadlock and win by seven points.

Interestingly, Claremont is the best starting team in the competition outscoring its opponents by an average of two goals over the course of the season while West Perth's first quarters are the third worst only behind bottom two teams Perth and Swan Districts.

But the Tigers have been outscored 35 points over the last three quarters this season while the Falcons have outscored their opponents by 53 points after quarter-time.

Claremont had three players take part in last Saturday's state game win over Tasmania with Jye Bolton best on ground winning the Simpson Medal with 46 possessions and two goals. Ryan Neates also had 25 disposals and Darcy Cameron kicked three goals.

West Perth had six representatives with Shane Nelson racking up 32 disposals, Luke Meadows 25, Jay van Berlo 23, Andrew Strijk 19, Aaron Black 19 and Nick Rodda was strong in defence.

Claremont had the bye prior to the state game following a dominant win over Swan Districts and from that team captain Jake Murphy looks set to return from injury. He missed the win over Swans but before that had been having a strong season averaging 20.1 disposals a game.

He is the obvious inclusion to replace Ryan Lim who is the only out for Claremont at this stage from the side that defeated Swan Districts.

Haydn Busher delivered another dominant performance in the reserves against Swans with 45 possessions and nine marks as he continues to bang the door down to try and cement his place in the Claremont league side.

Jared Hardisty was also dropped to the reserves three weeks ago and responded with 33 possessions and eight tackles to put himself in the mix for a recall while Ben Higgs kicked five goals to be a chance to add another goal kicking option to the Tigers' forward-line.

While West Perth's horror injury run from earlier in the season has largely subsided, the Falcons did lose a couple of players to injury two weeks ago against East Perth. As a result, both Mark Hamilton and Kody Manning go out of the line-up against Claremont on Saturday.

There are plenty of players pressing to break into the winning West Perth team though.

Captain Jay van Berlo is an automatic inclusion after missing the WA Day Derby due to work commitments, but he played for WA in last Saturday's state game and he is right to go on Saturday against the Tigers.

Ruckman Chris Keunen has now played the last three weeks back in the reserves after fracturing his leg back in Round 2 and 42 hit outs against East Perth showed he is closer to being ready for a call up.

Max Duffy also missed the game against the Royals with a hamstring injury and is fit to return as is Joel Leeson who has been out the last three games with a hand injury.

Luke Tedesco had another solid game in the reserves against East Perth as well to remain in contention to play on Saturday in what would be his long-awaited 150th WAFL appearance.

EAST PERTH (4-7, 6th) v PERTH (3-7, 8th) – MEDIBANK STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – KIX Digital

East Perth and Perth desperately need to win on Saturday when they do battle at Medibank Stadium if they are to cling to their fading finals hopes.

The Royals have won four games and the Demons three so far in 2016 and with all teams inside the top five potentially finishing Round 13 with eight wins, a loss for either on Saturday could prove fatal to those finals hopes.

East Perth is attempting to make the finals for a fifth straight year and a win over Perth would keep the Royals in the hunt while Perth is looking to end a drought that stretches way back to 1997, and would remain unlikely even with a win on Saturday.

East Perth is currently on a three-game losing run on the back of a 91-point win against Swan Districts back in Round 9. Since then the Royals have lost Peel by 14 points, Subiaco by 99 and West Perth by 31 to slip to a 4-7 record.

Perth, meanwhile, scored a 54-point win over Swan Districts back on WA Day and now the Demons are hunting consecutive victories for the first time since Rounds 1 and 2, 2014.

Scoring has been a problem for both teams of late with Perth averaging just 63.4 points a game and East Perth 71.1 so whichever side finds a way to get to 12-plus goals will likely take out the four points.

The Royals have dominated the Demons in recent times as well winning the last eight meetings by an average of over 53 points. Perth's last win over East Perth was back in Round 7, 2013.

Both teams had one representative apiece in last week's state game win over Tasmania with East Perth ruckman Paul Johnson captaining WA to the win and dominating with 17 touches, 29 hit outs and two goals.

Perth's Clint Jones played for WA for a third time and had 20 possessions in the midfield.

East Perth had a disappointing 31-point loss to West Perth prior to the state game and the Royals have plenty of changes coming into Saturday's clash with Perth largely on the back of what is happening with the West Coast Eagles.

Tom Barrass played for the Eagles last week against Adelaide and remains in the team for Saturday's clash with the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba. Lewis Jetta and big men Fraser McInnes and Jonathan Giles will both play for West Coast in Brisbane as well.

But there are plenty of inclusions capable of having an impact for the Royals and none more so than Scott Lycett who was dropped by West Coast for disciplinary reasons. He will come back to East Perth with a point to prove both when in the ruck and up forward.

Gun Eagles defender Eric Mackenzie has also surprisingly not been picked to play for West Coast and will play his first WAFL match since lining up for Claremont in 2011.

Tom Cole and Xavier Ellis will both be back as well after being dropped out of the Eagles side over the past two weeks.

Brant Colledge and Luke Partington were two West Coast players in the East Perth reserves a fortnight ago with Colledge delivering 33 possessions and Partington 21 to put themselves in the mix for a recall.

David Roche has been a consistent performer back in the reserves for the Royals as well and he is in contention for a first league game since Round 6.

Perth would have been happy with its last up win over Swan Districts on WA Day but mindful it was against a struggling opponent.

The Demons are putting together a more stable side, though, and one that is benefitting from the likes of Dene White and Jarrad Irons finding form and fitness along with Matt Thompson, Matthew Taylor, Brent Edmonds, Lennon Marlin, Sam Garstone, Taran Etto and Cody Leggett finding their feet.

Perth's line-up could be strengthened on Saturday to take on East Perth as well with the return of key defender Brent Latch who was in strong form before getting hurt back in Round 11 against West Perth. He will likely play on whichever of East Perth's giants Paul Johnson or Scott Lycett are forward at any given time.

Kodie Fleay also continues to press his claims for a league berth with another 20 possessions and six marks in the reserves against Swan Districts while Todd Stevenson had 25 disposals and eight marks in just his second appearance of 2016.

PEEL THUNDER (7-4, 4th) v SOUTH FREMANTLE (8-2, 1st) – BENDIGO BANK STADIUM, SUNDAY 2.10PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – Channel 7

Peel Thunder could be just percentage off the top of the WAFL ladder with a victory over South Fremantle at Bendigo Bank Stadium on Sunday but the Bulldogs will be desperate to move two games clear of them.

South Fremantle currently holds that top position with an 8-2 record and the best percentage in the WAFL despite a last up loss to East Fremantle in the WA Day Foundation Derby.

Peel, meanwhile, won its last three matches prior to the state game break over East Perth, East Fremantle and Subiaco to improve to a 7-4 record.

The difference between a win and loss for both teams is stark on Sunday. South Fremantle will remain on top of the WAFL ladder with a win and could be a game and percentage ahead of the chasing pack, or at least percentage still ahead of Subiaco.

A loss for the Bulldogs and they could find themselves knocked off top spot by the winner of Subiaco's clash with East Fremantle.

Peel could either move to within percentage of top spot as well with a win or a loss would see the Thunder potentially slip to fifth spot and to be the team that those outside the top five are eyeing off in the hopes of keeping the finals dream alive.

The two teams met only back in Round 9 at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with South Fremantle finishing all over Peel on that occasion to end up winning by 41 points.

However, Peel hasn’t lost since then going on to score impressive victories over the Royals, Sharks and Lions while South Fremantle has beaten Swan Districts before a bye and then lost to East Fremantle leading into the state game.

Peel had one representative in last Saturday's state game victory over Tasmania and he just happened to be a former South Fremantle player, Josh Bootsma and he put in a solid performance in a scarcely needed back-line.

South Fremantle, on the other hand, sits on top of the ladder and featured five players in the WAFL team with Ashton Hams racking up 29 possessions, Tim Kelly 14, Ryan Cook 14 and Marlion Pickett 12 while Ben Saunders booted six goals to give him 11 in his two appearances for WA.

Depending on what happens with Fremantle on Saturday against Port Adelaide at Domain Stadium, the three Dockers emergencies Jack Hannath, Brady Grey and Tendai Mzungu could all end up playing with Peel on Sunday against South Fremantle.

The trio would make a significant impact as well with Hannath to carry the ruck duties in the absence of Zac Clarke while Grey and Mzungu had further firepower to a midfield brigade that includes Matt de Boer, Brad Walsh, Rory O'Brien and Ed Langdon.

Peel will be without the injured Anthony Morabito, and both Clarke and Tanner Smith who will be playing with the Dockers against the Power on Saturday.

Subiaco premiership player Shane Yarran is back from injury for the Thunder, though, to play his second game of the season. He kicked three goals in his one and only appearance so far in 2016 back in Round 7 against Perth.

Garrick Ibbotson will also return from injury through Peel on Sunday with Clancee Pearce another inclusion from the Dockers.

Calvin Thorne is back with the Thunder as well after playing in the WA State 18s with Richard Wight, Nick Merritt, Keegan Power, Michael Humble, Kieran May and Jake Dowding all in contention to play also.

South Fremantle suffered just its second loss of the season before the state game going down to East Fremantle by 39 points.

Not only did the Bulldogs lose the game, but have also lost Blaine Johnson and Haiden Schloithe to injury. Both were playing important roles at half-forward for South Fremantle with Johnson having kicked 15 goals the previous six games, and Schloithe kicking 12 goals and averaging over 18 possessions a game this season.

They will be two players tough to cover and South Fremantle could look at two debutants to do so in the form of Tyson Pickett and Brandon Donaldson. In the reserves on WA Day, Pickett kicked three goals and Donaldson two with both having proved this year they are capable small forwards.

Shaun Bewick had another big game against East Fremantle in the reserves with 31 possessions to put himself in the mix for a fourth league appearance of the season.

Jacob Martinez was named best on ground in the reserves derby as well to move closer to a third league appearance of 2016. He had 21 possessions and 10 tackles against the Sharks.

Ruckman Josh Branchi kept himself in the mix with 17 possessions, six marks and 29 hit outs while Josh Pullman should be right to go after missing the derby through injury. 

EAST FREMANTLE (7-4, 3rd) v SUBIACO (8-3, 2nd) – ATOM STADIUM, SUNDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 107.3 HFM

East Fremantle asserted itself as premiership chances back in Round 8 by thumping Subiaco and how both teams have responded to that will be fascinating to see on Sunday at ATOM Stadium.

The Sharks' season was looking shaky after two straight losses heading into their Round 7 clash with East Perth but after a slow start they came away with a dominant 37-point win.

Then the next week East Fremantle handed Subiaco its first loss of 2016 and by a massive 80 points in a result that signalled the Sharks could be the real deal.

Since then, East Fremantle did lose to Peel in Round 11, but has won four of its last five games overall to sit in third position with a 7-4 record.

After beating South Fremantle in the WA Day Foundation Derby, the Sharks could move to the top of the ladder by Sunday night with another win over Subiaco and if Peel beats the Bulldogs.

Subiaco, meanwhile, bounced back from that loss to East Fremantle by beating Claremont by 44 points before losing to West Perth by 26 points, beating East Perth by 99 and then going down to Peel by four prior to the state game.

The Lions might have lost three of their last five games but they remain in second spot at 8-3 and will likely go to the top of the table with a win over the Sharks if Peel beats South Fremantle.

East Fremantle had two players take part in the WAFL's state game win over Tasmania last Saturday with Andrew Stephen solid in his fourth appearance while Brett Peake was on debut for WA and booted seven goals.

Subiaco had two players in the side as well with Aaron Heal solid on debut for WA in defence while Leigh Kitchin played a second straight state game and having 26 possessions.

East Fremantle has lost another star following the Foundation Derby win with Liam Anthony going out of the side through injury that also cost him a place in last Saturday's state team in the win over Tasmania.

Anthony is having an outstanding season for the Sharks averaging 26.3 possessions a game. He now joins Cameron Eardley and George Hampson on the sidelines and they very well could be East Fremantle's three most important players.

But without Hampson and Eardley, and with Anthony hurt, they still managed to beat South Fremantle by 39 points so the Sharks will be confident of a strong showing without them against Subiaco on Sunday.

Jayden Schofield will be an automatic return for East Fremantle. He missed the derby but prior to that was in some of the best form of his 76-game career averaging over 23 possessions the previous three weeks.

Josh Simpson is also pushing for a recall following 20 possessions and a goal last up in the reserves against South Fremantle with Lewis Krakouer a chance to debut to provide a crumbing forward option.

Tom Marshall had 22 possessions and nine tackles in the reserves to put himself in the mix for a call up while Jake Solomon had 22 hit outs in the ruck to be a chance to offer James Bristow some support.

Subiaco might have lost three of its five games prior to the state game, but a host of premiership players were missing during that stretch and four of them return on Sunday against East Fremantle.

Dual premiership defender Jordan Lockyer is set to play his first game since Round 5 with versatile big man Lachlan Delahunty back for his first match since Round 10.

Another dual premiership player Brett Robinson will also be back for his first game since Round 9 and he will be important after averaging 22 possessions and kicking nine goals in the opening eight matches.

Three-time premiership player Wayde Twomey will also return for the Lions having missed the past two games prior to the state game break.

Ben Sokol is another player who could come back in for Subiaco having kicked 16 goals this season but he hasn’t played for some time now with the reserves not playing against Peel two weeks ago and then the state game break.

Prior to that, Sokol had 21 possessions, seven marks and two behinds in the reserves against East Perth.

Greg Clark is the only out for Subiaco at this point having so far played all 11 games of 2016 season mostly in defence