Round 4 WAFL PreviewFriday, April 28, 2023 - 8:57 AM - by Chris Pike

EAST Perth puts its undefeated WAFL record on the line against Peel Thunder in Round 4 action on Saturday with Swan Districts, West Coast and Perth hunting their first wins, and it all will take place over five fascinating match ups.

The opening month of the 2023 WAFL season will wrap up on the week with four of the five matches on Saturday afternoon with the Royals trying to stay unbeaten, South Fremantle, East Fremantle and West Perth looking for their third wins already, Peel Thunder and Claremont trying to bounce back, and then the Swans, Eagles and Demons still attempting to break their ducks.

The round begins on Saturday at 11.40am at the WACA Ground with East Fremantle playing host to Perth. The Sharks have won their past two matches to be building some momentum against a Demons team on a five-game losing streak dating back to last year.

East Perth will then play host to Peel Thunder from 1.40pm at Leederville Oval with the Royals looking to remain the lone team yet to lose this season while the Thunder will be out to bounce back from last week's first loss of the season.

The last two matches on Saturday take place at 2.10pm with West Perth playing Subiaco at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium. Both teams are looking for their third wins of the season with the Falcons having won their last two in their quest for back-to-back flags with the Lions fresh off a strong win against Claremont.

South Fremantle will be at home to Swan Districts at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with the Bulldogs hunting a third win from four starts this season while the Swans are still searching for their first in the 100th game for Brayden Noble at a venue he's never played in a win at.

Round 4 in the WAFL will wrap up on Sunday from 12.40pm with a Claremont team determined to respond to a loss to Subiaco by taking on a West Coast Eagles team having lost their previous 11 matches in the competition by an average of 73 points.

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Meanwhile, Round 4 of the Reserves will see East Perth play Peel Thunder from 11.10am with West Perth facing Subiaco at 11.40am, South Fremantle taking on Swan Districts at 11.40am, and then East Fremantle facing Perth from 2.30pm all on Saturday.

After last week's Super Round, the Colts will have another three games at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park on Saturday starting with the Royals taking on the Thunder at 10am before the Falcons play the Lions at 12.30pm and then the Bulldogs take on Swans at 3pm.

The last game of the round will see the Sharks facing the Demons at 5.15pm at the WACA Ground.

 

EAST FREMANTLE v PERTH – SATURDAY 11.40AM

East Fremantle and Perth bring vastly contrasting form into their match up in Round 4 of the WAFL at the WACA Ground on Saturday beginning at 11.40am.

The Sharks and Demons played one another at the WACA Ground for the first time in 34 years last year and Perth will be hoping for a vastly better performance this time around after East Fremantle won that game by 96 points.

However, it's the Sharks again who come into Saturday's game in the better form having won their past two matches against Swan Districts and West Coast on the back of being the better team most of the day in Round 1 against Peel Thunder too.

Perth, on the other hand, has struggled over the opening three matches under new coach Peter German in defeats to Subiaco, Peel Thunder and East Perth.

The Demons have only managed to kick 15 goals across those three matches with an average losing margin of 53 points.

That all points to Perth needing a major turnaround to take on an East Fremantle team on Saturday playing their first home game of the season at the WACA Ground and arriving in some impressive form.

It will also be the first time that coaches Bill Monaghan and Peter German will lock horns. They enjoyed tremendous success together at Subiaco between 2003-06 which included German as the man in charge but Monaghan as his lead assistant and reserves coach.

East Fremantle has won the last three matches against Perth including a 96-point hammering in Round 15 last year at the WACA Ground with the Sharks on their way to a finals return and the Demons fading out after encouraging start to 2022.

However, prior to the current winning streak for the Sharks the Demons were doing well against them having won three straight themselves and five of the previous six games against East Fremantle.

It's East Fremantle who is on the upswing now, though, having returned to finals action last year, having now won its last two matches of 2023 and coming up against a Perth team still hunting that first victory under new coach Peter German.

East Fremantle is fresh off the 108-point win against West Coast last Sunday with Sam Collins, Cam Eardley, Lennon Marlin, Jackson McDonald, Eddie Simpson and Matt Williamson all added to the squad to take on the Demons on Saturday.

Going out from that Sharks team that thrashed the Eagles are the suspended Cody Leggett along with Max Murphy.

Perth is still hunting that first win under coach Peter German and have added Harry Quartermaine, Sam Stubbs and Matthew Taylor to the team to take on East Fremantle this Saturday.

They are three crucial players for the Demons with Taylor in brilliant form as an attacking, high possession winning defender while Stubbs and Quartermaine could very well be their best goal kicking options in attack when in form.

Going out for the Demons from the team that lost to East Perth last Saturday night are Jacques Barwick, Jack Bodle and Christian Martin.

LIVE ON CHANNEL 7 FROM 11:30AM

 

EAST PERTH v PEEL THUNDER – SATURDAY 1.40PM

East Perth puts its undefeated start to the season on the line hosting Peel Thunder on Saturday at Leederville Oval as the Royals try to beat the Thunder for the first time since 2021.

While Peel had a slip up last Saturday against South Fremantle at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, the two teams have been in good form so far in 2023 setting up a tremendous match up at Leederville Oval on Saturday.

Despite having not played finals since 2018, East Perth has started the 2023 season on fire with wins against Swan Districts, Subiaco and Perth to be the last remaining unbeaten team in the WAFL coming into Round 4.

It's a brilliant band of midfielders including Hamish Brayshaw, Mitch Crowden, Angus Schumacher, Tom North, Angus Scott, Stan Wright and Christian Ameduri who have been leading the charge for the Royals where their services can be used off half-back, through the middle and up forward.

The Royals will now look to make it four straight wins to start the season on Saturday up against a Thunder team who won their opening two matches before losing on the road to South Fremantle a week ago for their first defeat of the 2023 season.

Peel dominated both games against East Perth in 2022 with the Thunder winning by 65 points at Lane Group Stadium in Round 9 and backing it up with a 53-point thrashing of the Royals on neutral turf at East Fremantle Oval in Round 15.

That was with Peel on the way to a return to the finals for the first time since back-to-back premierships in 2016 and 2017 while East Perth's finals drought since 2018 continued.

However, with the Royals now undefeated this season coming into Saturday's match up at Leederville Oval and the Thunder having won two of their three match ups so far in 2023, and it shapes as a terrific contest.

East Perth continued its outstanding undefeated start to the season with a big win over Perth last Saturday night. 

Now ahead of taking on Peel at home this Saturday, Adam Boules, Sandon Page, Ethan Regan and Nick Robertson have all been added to the squad.

There are no outs at this stage for the Royals but the addition of the experience and physicality of Robertson if he's healthy would be welcomed by coach Ross McQueen.

Peel will be looking to bounce back from last week's loss to South Fremantle with favourite son Blair Bell to come back into the line-up to take on East Perth on Saturday at Leederville Oval.

Brady Grey is another important and experienced inclusion for the Thunder with Aidan Hare, Jonathon Ietto, Ben Middleton, James Sturrock, Corey Tregenza-Cashell and Corey Wagner all added to the squad as well.

Going out of the Peel team that lost to South Fremantle last week are Ty Anderson, Neil Erasmus, Liam Henry, Nathan O'Driscoll and Josh Treacy.

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WEST PERTH v SUBIACO – SATURDAY 2.10PM

West Perth and Subiaco have both won two of their three matches so far this WAFL season setting up a mouth watering match up at Pentanet Stadium on Saturday.

With the Falcons and Lions having played off in two grand finals with one another over the past eight years and having won seven of the last 10 premierships between them, there's always a little bit extra when they do battle with one another.

West Perth hosts Subiaco at Joondalup on Saturday afternoon with both teams looking for their third wins of the opening four rounds of the season.

The Falcons started their premiership defence with a home loss to Claremont but have since bounced back strongly with wins against the West Coast Eagles and Swan Districts.

The Lions opened up the new season where they are attempting to return to finals beating Perth before a loss to East Perth and then a bounce back performance to hand Claremont its first loss of the season last Saturday.

West Perth and Subiaco have combined to win the last two WAFL premierships coming into their first clash of 2023 this Saturday at Joondalup.

Going back to last year and with West Perth on its way to the premiership and Subiaco as the reigning premiers, it was the Falcons who won both encounters.

The first was by 31 points in Round 3 at Leederville Oval before also winning by 47 points at Joondalup in Round 20.

However, prior to that and Subiaco had won 12 of the previous 13 clashes with West Perth including an 81-point hammering in the grand final of 2018 at Optus Stadium.

Going back further and the Lions had beaten the Falcons in 17 of the previous 19 match ups dating back to 2014 and that also included the 66-point win in the 2015 grand final at Subiaco Oval.

West Perth made it consecutive wins with the hard earned victory over Swan Districts last Sunday and now from that team, Kane Bevan, Darcy Dixon, Conal Lynch, Corey Rundle, Riley Sprigg and Koopah Todd have been added to the squad to face Subiaco this Saturday.

Going out from the Falcons team that beat Swans last Sunday are Aaron Black and Keegan Knott. 

Goal sneak Knott hurt his leg when he kicked his lone goal last week and while he soldiered on to come back onto the field, he hasn’t come up to play this Saturday while it's a rare game to miss for inspirational Falcons co-captain Black.

Subiaco will be looking to make it consecutive wins for the first time this season and coming into the squad to face West Perth on Saturday are Jordan Faraone, Stefan Giro, Jake South and Kyle Stainsby.

There are no outs at this stage from the Lions team that were so impressive in last Saturday's win against the previously undefeated Claremont.

FOLLOW AND WATCH THE GAME LIVE HERE THANKS TO AFL.COM.AU

 

SOUTH FREMANTLE v SWAN DISTRICTS – SATURDAY 2.10PM

South Fremantle remains at home to host Swan Districts at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Saturday looking to continue their hold over the black-and-whites in recent times.

The Bulldogs come into Saturday's clash at Fremantle Community Bank Oval having won 10 of the last 11 matches between the two teams including having won their last nine home games against Swan Districts dating back to 2014.

South Fremantle comes into this Saturday's clash fresh off a strong win at the same venue against Peel Thunder last Saturday which saw the Bulldogs bounce back from a Round 2 loss to Claremont following an opening round win against the West Coast Eagles.

Swan Districts, meanwhile, is still chasing a first win for the season but strangely enough, they actually are in quite good form after tight losses to East Perth, East Fremantle and West Perth only by a combined 12 points.

However, Swans can't afford to now start the season 0-4 and will be determined to win at a venue traditionally they have struggled at. 

Brayden Noble will play his 100th game for Swan Districts on Saturday and he's lost all seven attempts for a win at Fremantle Community Bank Oval for his career.

South Fremantle has now won two games this season to get back to even pegging on the ladder, so the Bulldogs are also looking to open their account officially for 2023 with a win on Saturday against Swan Districts.

Swan Districts did breakthrough for a rare recent win over South Fremantle in Round 6 last year in a tight contest by nine points at Steel Blue Oval.

However, the Bulldogs hit back with their own heart stopping one-point triumph in the return clash in 2022 at Fremantle Community Bank Oval in Round 13.

Going back beyond last year and South Fremantle has dominated proceedings with Swan Districts in recent times and were on a nine-game winning streak with an average margin of 34.8 points.

Prior to that win in Round 6 last year, Swans hadn’t beaten the Bulldogs since Round 2, 2017 which was also at Bassendean.

South Fremantle's dominance recently over Swans has been even more significant at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with the Bulldogs winning the previous nine clashes between the two teams at the venue.

Swans' last win down at the port came in Round 13, 2014 which actually continued a run of six straight wins at the ground for the black-and-whites.

However, since then South Fremantle has won nine straight by an average of 31.2 points but the last two have just been by a combined six points over the past two years.

South Fremantle was tremendous in last Saturday's win at home over Peel and the Bulldogs will be looking to back that up on Saturday back at Fremantle Community Bank Oval against Swans.

Coming into the squad for the Bulldogs for the clash with Swans are Toby Dodds, Kaiden Harbour, Jarrod Salmeri, Lachlan Taylor, Robbie Turnbull and George Wessels.

There are two significant outs for South Fremantle with off-season recruits Jordan Gallucci and Mackenzie Nield out from the side that beat the Thunder with both having become important parts in the forward-line in the first three games of the 2023 season.

There's further good news in the reserves for South Fremantle with Jake Florenca and Matthew Parker both coming in for their first appearances of the season with emerging ruckman Solomon James also returning.

From the Swan Districts team that lost narrowly to West Perth last Sunday, Mitch Bain, Max Chipper, Matthew Germs, Riley Hardeman, Jiah Reidy and Tobe Watson have been added to the squad to take on South Fremantle this Saturday.

Going out for the black-and-whites are the injured Sam Fisher and suspended Jehb O'Donohue.

There will be plenty of eyes on the reserves contest earlier in the day at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with Tony Notte playing his second game back from a knee reconstruction for Swan Districts.

The 279-game Swans great had nine possessions and three marks in his first game back last Sunday against West Perth.

FOLLOW AND WATCH THE GAME LIVE HERE THANKS TO AFL.COM.AU

 

CLAREMONT v WEST COAST EAGLES – SUNDAY 12.40PM

It's another big job ahead of the West Coast Eagles on Sunday as they come up against a Claremont team high on motivation for a bounce back performance.

It's been rough going for the Eagles so far this WAFL season. Coming off wooden spoon finishes in both the last two seasons, they have lost their first three matches of 2023 to South Fremantle, West Perth and East Fremantle by an average of 107 points.

West Coast has suffered consecutive 100-plus point losses with the Eagles now coming up against a motivated Claremont team at Revo Fitness Stadium on Sunday.

Coming off playing in two of the past three WAFL grand finals, Claremont started the season well with wins against West Perth and South Fremantle, the two teams they lost those deciders to, but had a bit of a slip up last week against Subiaco.

That means West Coast likely get Claremont at the worst possible time with the Tigers looking to hit back strongly this Sunday and the Eagles coming into the contest having lost their past 11 WAFL matches dating back to last year.

This will be the eighth meeting between the Tigers and the Eagles in the WAFL with Claremont now looking to make it seven straight wins against West Coast.

The Eagles won the first clash between the two teams back in 2019 by two points in a thriller at Revo Fitness Stadium.

They would end up meeting twice more in 2019 with Claremont winning by 31 points at Optus Stadium and then by six points in the first semi-final also at Tigerland.

As it turned out that was the last final the Eagles have played in the WAFL with Claremont having dominated the clashes between the two teams over the past two seasons.

The Tigers won the two games in 2021 by 27 and 96 points respectively, and then by 38 points and 23 points in 2022.

Claremont is now on a six-game winning streak against West Coast with an average margin of 36.8 points, and it does appear the Eagles will need to produce something special to not see that built upon further this coming Sunday at Revo Fitness Stadium. 

FOLLOW AND WATCH THE GAME LIVE HERE THANKS TO AFL.COM.AU