McDonald's WAFL Round 23 PreviewFriday, August 26, 2016 - 12:57 PM - by Chris Pike

ALL eyes will be locked onto ATOM Stadium on Saturday in the final round of the 2016 McDonald's WAFL Premiership Season as East Fremantle and East Perth do battle with a finals place at stake.

With minor premier Subiaco having the bye and the second placed South Fremantle, third placed West Perth and fourth placed Peel Thunder all playing teams out of finals contention, it is the Sharks and Royals who take centre stage on Saturday.

East Fremantle takes on East Perth at ATOM Stadium and quite simply the winner will make the finals in 2016 and the loser won't.

The other three matches see one team gearing up for finals a week later and the others getting it over with to get ready for Mad Monday.

Perth takes on South Fremantle at Lathlain Park, West Perth plays Swan Districts at HBF Arena and Claremont faces Peel Thunder at the Claremont Showground.

Subiaco has the bye having guaranteed top spot with the Lions to also have the break in the first week of the finals awaiting the winner of the qualifying final between South Fremantle and West Perth at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

EAST FREMANTLE (9-10, 5th) v EAST PERTH (9-10, 6th) – ATOM STADIUM, SATURDAY 1.40PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – Channel 7

East Fremantle and East Perth put it all on the line on Saturday at ATOM Stadium with the winner to keep going into the finals and the loser to see their season end in disappointing fashion.

At different points during the season both the Sharks and Royals have not only looked on track to be playing finals, but to be genuine premiership contenders.

But at other times they have struggled and both have now had disappointing finishes to the season leading into the Round 23 clash where only one of them will make the finals.

The Sharks hit a purple patch of form winning five of six matches between Rounds 7 and 12 but they have won just twice since and those victories have only come against the bottom two teams Perth and Swan Districts.

The Royals did appear in trouble losing seven of their opening 11 matches before a five-game winning run had them steady inside the top five and looking strong.

But East Perth has now lost its past three matches to Peel Thunder, Subiaco and South Fremantle to now only make the finals by winning on Saturday against East Fremantle.

Not only will the winner on Saturday make the finals, but there is an outside chance of claiming fourth position as well and earning a home elimination final against Peel Thunder next Sunday.

That is only a possibility if Peel loses on Saturday to Claremont and if that happens, the Sharks would have to make up a 54-point differential with the Thunder and the Royals make up 66 points.

So between Peel's losing margin and either East Fremantle or East Perth's winning margin, if they can make up that difference they could earn a home final against the Thunder.

The two teams have met just the once so far in 2016 back in Round 7 at Medibank Stadium when East Perth kicked the game's opening four goals but East Fremantle dominated from there to end up winning by 37 points.

East Fremantle's hopes might very well depend on the fitness of George Hampson. The Sharks have been a significantly different side all season long when Hampson has been up and firing, and when he has been missing.

Hampson has been outstanding in games this year in Rounds 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18 and 21. It is no coincidence that East Fremantle has won every single one of those contests with the Sharks' only win without Hampson starring this year coming on WA Day against South Fremantle when he was out injured.

With his ability to play through the middle and rack up plenty of the ball and drive the ball inside-50, and also play up forward and kick goals and set up his teammates, Hampson is one of the most damaging players in the WAFL.

He was again missing last week against Claremont with a hamstring injury and the Sharks were poor. East Fremantle will now be hoping he can play and have a significant impact against East Perth on Saturday with a finals spot on the line.

Jack Perham is another player who could return and have an impact for the Sharks up forward despite finding himself back in the reserves because of poor form. But he has now kicked 14 goals the past two weeks to knock down the door to return on Saturday.

East Fremantle's back-line leaked 13 goals to Darcy Cameron and Jack Bradshaw against Claremont last week and Dylan Winton and Andrew Stephen could be two players needed in the defence on Saturday against East Perth.

Fraser Perry and Conor Regan are two more players who have done well in the reserves to earn a recall into the league side.

Captain Jamie McNamara goes out injured for the Sharks with Lewis Krakouer, Jake Schleicher and Jeff Carter also going out.

West Coast has taken its three emergencies Mitch Brown, Jack Redden and Jackson Nelson with them to Adelaide ahead of Friday night's clash with the Crows at the Adelaide Oval.

There is a chance the trio returns in time to play for East Perth on Saturday but there is just as much chance all three don't play with the Royals against the Sharks. Their presence could very well play a big part in the end result and which team ends up making finals.

The Royals will be glad to welcome back midfielder Patrick McGinnity, though, to add some grunt to the on-ball brigade.

Versatile big man Fraser McInnes could also return from a stint in the reserves last Saturday that saw him finish with 14 possessions and two goals.

Kurt Mutimer, Steven Payne, Nathan Blee, Tom Hodgson and Julian Ameduri have also continued to perform well in the reserves for East Perth to put themselves in the mix to play in the league side on Saturday.

Last week in the reserves against South Fremantle, Mutimer finished with 30 possessions and seven tackles, Payne 38 disposals and nine marks, Blee 23 touches, Hodgson 27 possessions and 11 marks, and Ameduri 27 disposals, eight marks, six tackles and a goal.

Two more West Coast players Matthew Allen and Brant Colledge will be out of East Perth's league side on Saturday.

CLAREMONT (7-12, 7th) v PEEL THUNDER (10-9, 4th) – CLAREMONT SHOWGROUND, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – KIX Digital

Claremont might not be playing finals and Peel Thunder will be but the Tigers could very well enter Saturday's clash at the Claremont Showground as favourites given their form.

Claremont has been out of finals contention now for most of the year due to its amount of losses, but certainly not because of not being capable.

The Tigers have lost 12 matches but eight of those have been by eight points or less and again last week they showed just how dangerous a team they are when everyone clicks.

Up against an East Fremantle team playing for its finals lives, Claremont put in a remarkably dominant performance hammering the Sharks by 99 points at ATOM Stadium.

Highlighting Claremont's ability this year is a percentage that is the third best in the competition, well above the four teams above them on the ladder and only slightly behind that of the second placed South Fremantle.

There's little doubt that if Claremont had made finals in 2016 the Tigers could have a real impact, but that won't be happening.

However, the Thunder will be there in the finals next week for the second straight year no matter what happens on Saturday against the Tigers.

Peel played finals for the first time last year losing the qualifying final to West Perth and first semi-final to East Perth, but the Thunder will be looking to improve on that in 2016 by earning a home elimination final next Sunday against either East Fremantle or East Perth.

A win for the Thunder on Saturday will see them guaranteed of playing host to that elimination final and they likely still will even with a loss unless they lose significantly, and whoever wins out of the Royals and Sharks does so emphatically.

Claremont and Peel have met twice already so far in 2016 with the Thunder overrunning the Tigers to win by 21 points at Medibank Stadium in Round 6. Then in Round 19 at Bendigo Bank Stadium, Claremont scored an emphatic 45-point victory.

Beau Maister is right to return for Claremont to add some further goal kicking power to the forward-line after he missed last week's win over East Fremantle following his heavy fall and concussion suffered late in the game against West Perth the previous Saturday.

After Jack Bradshaw kicked eight goals and Darcy Cameron five last week against the Sharks, having Maister back in the mix will leave Peel's back-line with its hands well and truly full.

Jack Beeck could come back in after missing against East Fremantle while Jack Richardson and Gerrick Weedon are also a chance to finish the season with another league appearance after some good form in the reserves.

Last week against East Fremantle, Richardson kicked two goals from 16 possessions and six tackles while Weedon had 20 disposals, seven marks, seven tackles and two goals.

Young forward Jake Waterman is the only out for Claremont at this stage for their final game of 2016.

Helping Peel's cause down back in combatting Cameron and Maister will be the return of Sam Collins from Fremantle. He has played some good AFL football for the Dockers in the second half of 2016, but will back with the Thunder on Saturday and in the finals.

Peel will also get a boost in the return of ruckman Zac Clarke who is the man to make room for the returning Aaron Sandilands at Fremantle.

Peel will be sweating on Fremantle selection this week as well to find out whether or not they lose Matt de Boer and Tendai Mzungu from the team that lost to Subiaco last Saturday.

The Thunder will be without another Docker Clancee Pearce while youngster Noah Hura also is out of the line-up.

Along with Clarke and Collins, fellow Dockers Harley Balic and Nick Suban are set to play for Peel as well. Balic was impressive last week in the reserves with 30 possessions to put his hand up for a league debut while Suban is back after being out of the Peel side last Saturday.

Brad McGowan and Josh Mathers are two more Thunder players who took part in a rare reserves win last Saturday that have put themselves in contention to play Claremont this Saturday at the Showground. 

PERTH (7-12, 8th) v SOUTH FREMANTLE (14-5, 2nd) – LATHLAIN PARK, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 91.3 SportFM

South Fremantle has scored two impressive wins over Perth already in 2016 and will be looking for a third to enter the finals full of confidence but the Demons will want to signal how far they have improved this year as well.

South Fremantle will be finishing in second position on the WAFL ladder no matter the result on Saturday with a qualifying final next Saturday against West Perth at Fremantle Community Bank Oval locked away.

However, the Bulldogs will be determined to remain in good form entering that first finals appearance since 2011 and South Fremantle comes into Saturday's clash with Perth at Lathlain Park on the back of four straight victories.

Perth might be extending its finals drought again in 2016 that dates back to 1997, but the Demons have shown improvement and another good performance on Saturday could further emphasise that.

The Demons came into the 2016 having won just two of its past 34 matches and that stretched to just four wins in 43 games by halfway through the season. But since then Perth has played some good football scoring wins over East Fremantle, Claremont, Subiaco and Swan Districts twice.

The two teams first met at Lathlain Park in Round 5 of this season with South Fremantle beating Perth by 98 points. More recently they did battle in Carnarvon in Round 20 with Perth in control at half-time, but South Fremantle dominating the second half to end up winning by 38 points.

South Fremantle will also be celebrating the 100th WAFL game of defender Blayne Wilson made up of 36 matches at Peel Thunder, 29 with East Perth and what will be his 35th with the Bulldogs.

Perth will be looking to end its improved season on a high and the Demons will have breathed a sigh of relief when ruckman Angus Graham was given the all clear at the WAFL Tribunal on Thursday night meaning he was right to take on the Bulldogs.

The Demons will also be excited to see another strong performance from key forward Spencer White. Injury has meant he hasn’t had the first season Perth was hoping, but he is finishing the year well including five goals last week and will be looking for another big haul on Saturday.

Todd Stevenson, Rowan Brookes and Brent Latch are three more players the Demons could welcome back on Saturday against South Fremantle.

Stevenson had a terrific game in the reserves last week against Swan Districts with 27 possessions, seven marks and a goal while key defender Latch and half-forward Brookes should be healthy to return to add some strength at both ends of the field.

South Fremantle might be guaranteed of finishing second no matter the result on Saturday, but the Bulldogs will want to achieve two goals against Perth – win to remain in good form ahead of their return to the finals and to avoid any injuries.

Two key players Adam Guglielmana and Tim Kelly remain sidelined with hamstring injuries but the pair are both expected to be fit to take on West Perth next Saturday in the qualifying final.

Another important player Josh Pullman won't be there to take on the Demons as well leaving the job to someone else to likely try and keep Perth full-forward Spencer White quiet.

Young ruckman Tim English is a chance to make his league debut for South Fremantle following another good game in the reserves last Saturday against East Perth with 13 possessions, 19 hit outs and a goal.

Tim Stewart, Brandon Donaldson and Tom Vandeleur are all a chance to come in and try to cement a league spot ahead of the finals as well.

Last week in the reserves, Stewart had 23 possessions and nine tackles, Donaldson kicked three goals and Vandeleur finished with 17 touches and five marks tackles as a key defender.

WEST PERTH (12-7, 3rd) v SWAN DISTRICTS (2-17, 9th) – HBF ARENA, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 107.3 HFM

West Perth and Swan Districts might have little on the line on Saturday at HBF Arena but games between the two clubs always throw up something unexpected and don't be surprised if that happens.

With West Perth guaranteed of finishing third no matter the result and Swan Districts sitting five games and percentage clear on the bottom of the ladder, there might be little at stake but that doesn’t mean both teams won't want to put in good performances.

The Falcons are coming off the bye last week on the back of a one-point win over Claremont and they are they are now assured of finishing in third position currently sitting two games clear of the fourth placed Peel Thunder.

That means West Perth will be taking part in next Saturday's WAFL qualifying final against South Fremantle at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with the winner to advance to the second semi-final against Subiaco at Medibank Stadium. The loser will host a first semi-final.

West Perth will want to put in a strong performance against Swan Districts to enter the finals in good form and full of confidence while a host of players will be fighting for their spots the following week with Shane Nelson, Steve Potente and Tyler Keitel among those who will be returning.

Swan Districts has had a horror season winning just two matches including its last seven games by an average of almost 44 points.

The Falcons and Swans have met just the once so far in 2016 back in the Anzac Day Round with West Perth winning on that occasion by 23 points at Steel Blue Oval.

There is plenty of movement at the selection table for West Perth coming off the bye and leading into the qualifying final next Saturday against South Fremantle.

Joel Leeson, Joe Morrow, Laine Rasmussen and Drew Rohde all pulled up sore with varying complaints and severity from the game at Kingsway at Subiaco and didn’t play in the win over Claremont prior to the bye.

But all four will return on Saturday against Swan Districts to get a hit out under their belts ahead of the finals beginning.

Kris Shannon and Tyson Moulton are two more players in contention to play for the Falcons after some good performances in the reserves. Against Claremont two weeks ago, Shannon had 19 possessions and four tackles in the reserves and Moulton 14 disposals, five marks and two goals.

Key defender Tyler Keitel hasn’t shaken off an ankle injury he suffered early on against Claremont and as a result won't be there to play Swan Districts on Saturday with 2013 premiership players Luke Tedesco and Steve Potente also going out of the Falcons side.

Ricky Cary is a chance to return for Swan Districts to provide the black-and-whites with a marking target and goal kicker in attack.

Josh Cipro, Jacob Ness and Aidan Clarke are three more young players who could all receive an opportunity for Swans in the final round after some good reserves form.

Last week against Perth, Cipro had 14 possessions and a goal in the reserves, Ness had 19 disposals and six marks, and Clarke two goals from 21 touches.

Kirk Ugle again loses his place in the Swan Districts team with coach Greg Harding not afraid to have some of his best and most experienced players in the reserves.

Freddie Clutterbuck, Jacob Burnham and Matthew Jukes are among them that were in the reserves last week against Perth and who will again be there this Saturday against West Perth at HBF Arena