Round 21 Optus WAFL PreviewFriday, August 27, 2021 - 11:10 AM - by Chris Pike

IT'S the penultimate round of the WAFL season and while the teams in the top five are set, all of those positions are still yet to be decided while it will also serve as the last games of 2021 for both East Perth and East Fremantle.

Round 21 of the 2021 Optus WAFL Premiership Season is back to a full fixture with five matches and all 10 teams involved with the teams inside the finals all trying to finish as high up as they can while those out of finals contention are just as determined to end their campaigns on a high.

The afternoon's action gets underway with the earlier starting fixture between two teams trying to avoid the wooden spoon for 2021, Peel Thunder against Perth at Mandurah's David Grays Arena.

The other four matches all take place at 2.10pm with the Leederville Oval co-tenants East Perth and Subiaco locking horns with both teams fresh off losses to East Fremantle at the same venue over the past two weeks.

Two in-form teams then do battle at New Choice Homes Park with East Fremantle playing its last game of the season and looking for a third straight win against the third placed West Perth.

Then there is the only clash of the weekend featuring two finals bound teams with South Fremantle taking on Swan Districts at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with both sides still able to finish in any positions inside the top five with two games remaining.

Claremont slipped to fourth position by having the bye last weekend but the Tigers are back home at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday to take on the bottom placed West Coast Eagles.

Peel Thunder and Perth might not be able to play finals ahead of their clash on Saturday in Mandurah, but it's still an intriguing contest.

Neither team will want to finish the season with a wooden spoon and a win on Saturday will go a long way to ensuring that won't happen.

Peel already moved a game significant percentage ahead of the bottom two teams Perth and the West Coast Eagles last week with their stirring come from behind win over the Eagles on the back of eight goals in-a-row during the second half after trailing by 44 points.

That means that the only way the Thunder could now end up in bottom place at the end of next weekend is by losing their last two games to Perth and Subiaco, while both the Demons and Eagles win each of their last two matches.

The Demons come into Saturday's game after the bye in Round 19 as they prepare to finish their seasons away to Peel and at home to West Perth. Perth is currently on a nine-game losing streak but they did push Claremont impressively two weeks ago in a nine-point defeat.

From the Thunder team that beat the Eagles last Saturday, Fremantle-listed players Bailey Banfield, Mitch Crowden, Lloyd Meek, Nathan O'Driscoll, Tobe Watson and Joel Western all return to take on the Demons.

Jackson Broadbent, Reece Conca, Lachlan Cullen, Taylin Duman, Ethan Hughes and Jake Knight.

Perth does get captain Fraser McInnes back from injury just in time for the clash with Peel in Mandurah while gun midfielder Brady Grey is also back along with another former AFL-listed player Conor McPartland.

It should be a fascinating battle of the Leederville Oval co-tenants on Saturday as well even with Subiaco sitting in top position and East Perth out of the finals race.

Both teams lost at Leederville Oval to East Fremantle in their last hit outs with Subiaco going down to the Sharks in a stunning upset by 44 points two weeks ago and then the Royals losing to them in a thriller by two points last Saturday.

Subiaco had the bye following that defeat but remain in top spot on the WAFL ladder with two rounds of the season left. The Lions remain a game clear in that first position as well so all they need to do to stay there is to win these last two games against East Perth and Peel.

East Perth might be out of finals contention but after starting the season losing their first five matches and seven of the first eight, they have been vastly more competitive.

The Royals have now lost their past two matches but prior to that had won five of seven matches to genuinely be one of the form teams of the competition and still an outside shot of sneaking into the top five.

That chance ended with a loss to Swan Districts but even last week the Royals had their chances before losing in a heartstopper to East Fremantle by just the two points.

That sets the stage for a fascinating Leederville Oval co-tenant battle with Subiaco needing to win and East Perth certainly would love nothing more to spoil their rivals' hopes of the minor premiership.

Subiaco regains some handy players from their loss to East Fremantle, though, with Brandon Matera, Leigh Kitchin and Jordan Lockyer among the inclusions but they will be without Greg Clark who suffered a hamstring injury.

East Perth has added Mitch Dobson, Sebit Kuek, Shaquille McKenzie and Corey Watts to its extended squad for Saturday from the team that lost narrowly to East Fremantle last week.

Swan Districts might be fresh off a bye and in good recent form, but they do face a stern challenge on Saturday against South Fremantle at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

The Bulldogs made it 12 straight wins against East Fremantle in the last game they played at Fremantle Community Bank Oval back in Round 18 but couldn’t quite making it six straight against West Perth last Sunday at Joondalup, losing a thriller by six points.

That saw the Bulldogs miss out on a chance to sit in top position with two games of 2021 Optus WAFL Premiership Season remaining, but they do remain second and a chance to ensure they at least finish second with two home matches to finish off over the last two rounds.

The first of those takes place this Saturday with South Fremantle attempting to make it a ninth win in-a-row against Swan Districts. 

The Bulldogs haven't lost to Swans since Round 2, 2017 and not at Fremantle Community Bank Oval since Round 13, 2014, and if the reigning premiers can keep that run going then a top two finish is further locked away, and the minor premiership remains a possibility.

However, Saturday's game shapes as being the best battle between South Fremantle and Swan Districts in some time as both teams are gearing up for the finals, and both are still attempting to finish as high up as possible so have plenty to play for.

South Fremantle has enjoyed life in recent times against Swan Districts with the Bulldogs having won eight consecutive matches against the black-and-whites, including by 36 points at Steel Blue Oval back in Round 15 this season.

Those eight straight wins for South Fremantle have come at an average of 38.5 points as well including a couple of wins over 80 points along the way.

The last time Swan Districts played finals saw them eliminated by South Fremantle as well with the Bulldogs winning the first semi-final in 2017 by 80 points at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

The last win for Swans against the Bulldogs was Round 2, 2017 when they won by 21 points at Steel Blue Oval. Their last win at the port was way back on Round 13, 2014 with South Fremantle having won the last seven homes matches against them by an average of 39.3 points.

South Fremantle has made just the one change from the team that lost narrowly to West Perth last Sunday with Glenn Byron coming back into the team at the expense of Regan Spooner.

From the Swan Districts team that beat East Perth two weeks ago, Lewis Jetta returns for the black-and-whites with Jacob Sideris, Jack O'Sullivan, Callum Garcia and Tom Edwards added to the squad while Matt Riggio is the only out from the squad at this stage.

East Fremantle has put together two of its better performances of the season in back-to-back weeks as they prepare to finish their campaign on a high up against West Perth at New Choice Homes Park.

It will be an emotional day for the Sharks too as they say goodbye to their home ground in its current state ahead of the $25-million redevelopment that will be taking place over the next 12 to 18 months.

The Sharks might have fallen out of the race to play finals when a derby loss to South Fremantle back in Round 18, but their response the past two weeks has been impressive with Leederville Oval victories against Subiaco and East Perth.

That means that East Fremantle have good momentum coming into Saturday's clash with West Perth, but that is a Falcons team that throughout the second half of the season has been the form team of the WAFL and is fresh off beating reigning premiers South Fremantle last Sunday.

West Perth has now won eight of their last nine matches after starting the season winning just three of the opening seven, and if the Falcons can keep winning they are every chance of booking in a top three finish and a finals double chance, and a place in the qualifying final.

If the Falcons can finish off with wins against East Fremantle and Perth, they still could even finish in second position and earn hosting rights for that qualifying final. However, two losses and they could still finish in fifth spot and be the away team for the elimination final.

The game takes on extra fascination based on their last meeting when West Perth managed to snatch a five-point win from East Fremantle back in Round 15 at Joondalup. 

The Sharks won't be short on motivation to earn a measure of revenge for that and to finish their season on the high with this their final match of 2021.

East Fremantle welcomes back Cam Eardley and Tom Monaghan for the clash with West Perth while Finn Gorringe and Jordan Snadden go out of the team.

Meanwhile, West Perth has made no changes to the team that beat South Fremantle on Sunday meaning prolific ball winning wingman Trent Manzone will spend at least one more week back in the reserves on return from a long injury layoff.

Claremont and West Coast then clash at Revo Fitness Stadium with the Tigers needing to win to try and rise back up the ladder while the Eagles are still trying to escape the wooden spoon.

After such a terrific start to the season for Claremont which saw them win eight of the opening nine matches, the Tigers have now lost four of their last seven to have slipped down to fourth position with two games remaining.

Right now they are in place of hosting the elimination final without a finals double chance, but last year's Grand Finalists will be hoping for still at least a top three finish and to get that they need to win their last two games against West Coast and Swan Districts.

West Coast missed a golden chance to get off the bottom of the ladder when leading by 44 points against Peel early in the third quarter. But the Thunder kicked the next eight goals of the game and West Coast lost by two points in the finish to remain in bottom spot with the four wins.

Claremont welcomes back co-captain Jared Hardisty for the clash with the Eagles but are still without ruckman Oliver Eastland, and star veterans Anton Hamp and Kane Mitchell just two weeks out from finals.

From the West Coast team that blew a 44-point lead last week against Peel, Daniel Borgogno, Lachlan Feeney and Chris Paunich come into the side to face the Tigers while Ben Fitzgerald, Ty Sears and Bailey Williams go out.
 

OPTUS WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 21

PEEL THUNDER (5-11, 8th) v PERTH (4-12, 9th) – DAVID GRAYS ARENA, SATURDAY 12.40PM
Live scores, stats

EAST PERTH (6-11, 7th) v SUBIACO (12-4, 1st) – LEEDERVILLE OVAL, SATURDAY 2.10PM
Live scores, stats

EAST FREMANTLE (7-10, 6th) v WEST PERTH (11-5, 3rd) – NEW CHOICE HOMES PARK, SATURDAY 2.10PM
Live scores, stats
Livestream: The West Australian
Radio: SEN

SOUTH FREMANTLE (11-5, 2nd) v SWAN DISTRICTS (10-6, 5th) – FREMANTLE COMMUNITY BANK OVAL, SATURDAY 2.10PM
Live scores, stats ???????
Livestream: Front Row Screens
Radio: 91.3 SportFM

CLAREMONT (11-5, 4th) v WEST COAST EAGLES (4-12, 10th) – REVO FITNESS STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.10PM
Live scores, stats ???????
Livestream: The West Australian