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Round 7 WAFL PreviewThursday, May 25, 2023 - 10:48 PM - by Chris Pike
THE 2023 WAFL season resumes this weekend with five fascinating match ups headlined by Claremont and East Fremantle travelling to Broome in a rematch of last year's preliminary final.
The Tigers and Sharks headline Round 7 in the WAFL with their battle in Broome in what is not only a rematch of last year's preliminary final, but pits the second and fourth placed teams of 2023 up against one another.
That's not the only intriguing match up as the WAFL season resumes following last week's break for the KIA State Game which saw Western Australia narrowly lose to the SANFL at Adelaide Oval last Friday afternoon.
The WAFL season gets back underway with four of the five Round 7 matches taking place on Saturday afternoon beginning with Claremont taking on East Fremantle in Broome.
Subiaco and Swan Districts are two teams looking for bounce back victories as well when they do battle at Leederville Oval with the Lions trying to stay inside the top five and Swans attempting to stay in touch.
It's then the current top team facing the reigning premiers in yet another mouth watering match up at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium.
That sees West Perth play host to Peel Thunder with top spot potentially going on the line while at the same time, Falcons spearhead Tyler Keitel will be reaching his 150th game for the club to earn life membership.
The last game on Saturday afternoon sees South Fremantle play host to Perth at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with both teams needing a win to stay in touch with the top five.
The round will then wrap up on Sunday at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park with West Coast playing East Perth with the Eagles looking to snap a 14-game losing streak and the Royals out to hit back from losing their past three.
WAFL TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 6
All four Reserves matches for Round 7 take place on Saturday at 11.40am with Claremont playing East Fremantle at Revo Fitness Stadium. Subiaco is also hosting Swan Districts with West Perth at home to Peel Thunder and South Fremantle taking on Perth.
Three of the four colts matches will be on Saturday morning at 9.10am with Subiaco playing Swan Districts, West Perth taking on Peel Thunder and South Fremantle facing Perth. Claremont and East Fremantle will play one another at 2.10pm at Revo Fitness Stadium.
CLAREMONT v EAST FREMANTLE – SATURDAY 2.05PM
The WAFL returns to Broome on Saturday and it looms as a crucial match up too with Claremont taking on East Fremantle in a rematch of last year's preliminary final.
On the back of playing off in last year's preliminary final, Claremont now comes into Saturday's clash in second position on the WAFL ladder with a 5-1 record while East Fremantle is fourth at 4-2.
Depending on other results this weekend, the winner of Saturday's clash could even end the round on the top of the WAFL ladder on the back of it.
Saturday's clash in Broome will be the first time the two teams have played one another since last year's preliminary final where Claremont beat East Fremantle by 28 points at East Fremantle Oval.
Prior to that and the Sharks won the first two meetings between the teams in 2022, but going back beyond that and the Tigers had beaten them 11 straight times dating back to 2016.
So coming into Saturday's match up in Broome and Claremont has beaten East Fremantle in 12 of the past 14 meetings.
Coming into the Round 7 match up in Broome, Claremont sits second on the ladder and is the fourth best attacking team in the WAFL averaging 87.0 points a game. They are placed second for defence conceding 60.7 points.
East Fremantle sits in fourth position and the Sharks are third best for attack with 90.5 points a game while placed fifth for defence conceding 65.0 points per match.
The two teams have done well winning the ball so far this season with East Fremantle averaging 42 more disposals a game than their opponents while Claremont has been collecting 38 more possession than their opposition.
Claremont is the best third quarter team in the WAFL having outscored their opponents by 37 points over the season while being ranked second in last terms, third in the second and sixth in the first.
East Fremantle is the second best second quarter team having outscored their opposition by 95 points across the season. The Sharks are ranked fourth in first quarters, seventh in the third and sixth in the fourth.
There are two changes to the Claremont team from the one that beat Swan Districts two weeks ago with Jason Carter and Declan Hardisty both returning to the Tigers line-up to face the Sharks in Broome on Saturday.
Going out of the Claremont team are the injured Bailey Rogers and the omitted Ben Elliott.
East Fremantle has also made two changes to the team that beat Subiaco two weeks ago at the WACA Ground.
Coming into the Sharks line-up for the Broome battle with Claremont are Corey Holmes and Tom Joyce.
Going out from the East Fremantle team that was so impressive in the win against Subiaco are Brayden Lawler and Jonathon Marsh after he took part in the State Game for the WAFL last week in Adelaide against South Australia.
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SUBIACO v SWAN DISTRICTS – SATURDAY 2.10PM
Subiaco and Swan Districts do battle on Saturday afternoon at Leederville Oval with the Lions looking to consolidate their top five position and Swans just attempting to stay in touch.
Following the State Game break, Subiaco comes into Saturday's clash in fifth position despite a last up loss to East Fremantle at the WACA Ground while Swans have just one win from six games following another heartbreaking loss to Claremont two weeks ago.
Swan Districts is looking to snap a two-game losing streak to get a second victory of the season while also attempting to make it consecutive wins against the Lions for the first time since doing so back in Round 13, 2013 and Round 7, 2014.
While Swan Districts has won two of the last three matches with Subiaco including the last meeting by 51 points in Round 10 last year, the Lions have had the better of things with Swans overall in recent times.
Prior to the Swans winning by a point in Round 12, 2021 despite Subiaco going on to win the premiership, the Lions had won 12 straight against the black-and-whites dating all the way back to 2016.
So even though Swan Districts has won two of the past three against Subiaco, it's the Lions who have won 13 of the last 15 going back further.
And at Leederville Oval, Swans did beat the Lions in their last meeting there in 2021, but Subiaco had won seven straight at home prior to that dating back to 2014.
Coming into the Round 7 match up, Swan Districts is ranked seventh for points for this season with 70.5 points a game and eighth for points conceded at 80.2. Subiaco, meanwhile, is placed sixth in both categories scoring 73.0 points and giving up 68.3.
Neither team have been big ball winning sides this season with Swans ranked ninth in disposals with 297.5 a game and Subiaco eighth with 306.7. That has seen Swan Districts average 28.8 fewer possessions than their opponents and Subiaco 22.2 less than theirs.
Swan Districts has been a good starting team so far this season ranked third in first quarters having outscored their opponents by 71 points. However, things haven’t gone as well after that with Swans ranked ninth in second quarters, sixth in the third and ninth in the last.
Subiaco, meanwhile, has been a slow starting team ranked eighth in the first quarters having been outscored by 51 points. After that, the Lions are ranked fourth in second quarters, fifth in the third and fifth in the fourth.
Swan Districts has some significant inclusions for the clash with Subiaco as well with the return of prolific on-baller Aidan Clarke who was in career-best form to start the 2023 season.
He had 38 possessions in Round 1 against East Perth but then got injured in Round 2 against East Fremantle and has been sidelined since.
However, he will be back to face Subiaco on Saturday with Ryan Kemp also returning for the black-and-whites after he missed the last up loss to Claremont by two points.
Ayden Cartwright has also been added to the squad for Swan Districts and should he be selected it will be his first game of the season and the same for ruckman Matthew Germs who might come in to try and combat Subiaco's Zac Clarke.
Brayden Spackman is the other addition to the Swan Districts squad for Saturday's clash and if selected, he will play his first league match since Round 4 against South Fremantle.
The only out at this stage from the Swans team that lost to Claremont a fortnight ago is Tarir Bayok who had 10 possessions in that match in what was the 32nd game of his league career.
Subiaco comes into Saturday's match up at home to Swan Districts attempting to bounce back from the 32-point loss to East Fremantle in the twilight clash a fortnight ago at the WACA Ground.
There are plenty of changes to the Lions team two weeks later as well with Noah Ash, Connor Faraone, Isaac Clinch, Jordan Faraone, Corey Hitchcock, Jake South, Kyle Stainsby and Koltyn Tholstrup all added to the squad for the match up with Swan Districts.
Premiership hard man Michael Braut goes out of the Subiaco team through suspension while experienced defender Aaron Heal is also out delaying what would have been his 150-game WAFL milestone.
Jordan Snadden and Robert Hansen Jr also go out for the Lions from the team that lost to the Sharks two weeks ago.
FOLLOW AND WATCH THE GAME LIVE HERE THANKS TO AFL.COM.AU
WEST PERTH v PEEL THUNDER – SATURDAY 2.10PM
Top spot in the WAFL could very well go on the line between West Perth and Peel Thunder at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium on Saturday.
Following the break for the State game last week, Peel comes into Saturday's match up on top of the WAFL ladder with a 5-1 record while West Perth is third and just a game further back.
Unless something remarkable happens between Claremont and East Fremantle in Broome, the winner of Saturday's match up at Joondalup between Peel and West Perth will likely end the round in top spot.
It's also the 150th game for West Perth spearhead Tyler Keitel and it's been a remarkable ride for him since he joined the Falcons from East Perth in 2016.
Initially he found his groove in the WAFL as a high possession winning key defender, but it's been as a spearhead in attack that he's settled since and now will earn life membership at West Perth as part of a career that's seen him play in a premiership, win two Bernie Naylor Medals and play twice for WA.
Coming into Saturday's match up and West Perth is on a six-match winning streak against Peel but the last time the teams met was almost 12 months ago in Round 12 last year.
West Perth won that game by three points at Pentanet Stadium and that made it six consecutive victories for the Falcons against the Thunder. Peel's last win against West Perth was by three points in Round 1, 2019 in Mandurah.
West Perth has also won its last four home matches at Joondalup against Peel with the Thunder's last win at the venue coming in Round 16, 2017.
West Perth has been the best attacking team in the WAFL so far this season with an average score of 95.2 points a game with the Falcons ranked third defensively conceding 61.0 points a game.
Peel, meanwhile, comes into Round 7 on top of the WAFL ladder ranked second in attack with 91.5 points a game while the Thunder are best defensively conceding just 56.7 points per match.
West Perth is ranked second in first quarters over the course of the season so far while placed fifth in second quarters, second in the third and third in the fourth.
Peel is the best second quarter team in the competition having outscored their opponents by an average of 16 points. The Thunder are also the best finishing team having outscored their opposition by an average of 23 points in the last terms while they are placed ninth in opening quarters and third in the third.
There are two changes for West Perth from the team that beat Perth at Lathlain two weeks ago with Keegan Knott returning to the line-up to join his partner in crime Tyler Keitel in the forward-line for his 150th game.
Versatile premiership winning big man Sam Rotham is the other inclusion to the West Perth line-up to take on Peel on Saturday at Joondalup.
Going out of the Falcons team that beat Perth two weeks ago are Ryan Hudson and Aidan Lynch while former AFL pair Mark Hutchings and Zac Langdon will need to earn their place in the league line-up through the reserves.
There are four changes at Peel to take on West Perth with at Joondalup on Saturday with Will Brodie, Josh Corbett, Neil Erasmus and Brady Grey all coming back into the into the Thunder line-up.
Going out of the Peel team that beat the Eagles so comprehensively two weeks ago are Max Knobel, Haydn Matthews, Sam Sturt and Karl Worner.
FOLLOW AND WATCH THE GAME LIVE HERE THANKS TO AFL.COM.AU
SOUTH FREMANTLE v PERTH – SATURDAY 2.10PM
South Fremantle and Perth are looking to put themselves back in the WAFL finals hunt when they clash at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Saturday.
While the Bulldogs have won three of their six matches so far this season, they do only have four premiership points to their name and the Demons are in the same boat coming into Saturday's match up.
So with Subiaco sitting on four wins in fifth position, already South Fremantle and Perth are three games outside of a finals spot so that raises the stakes for Saturday's match up at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.
South Fremantle comes into Saturday's clash having won the last three meetings against Perth including winning the two matches in 2022 by a combined 103 points, with the 64-point victory last up in Round 20 at Mineral Resources Park.
Fascinatingly, prior to the current three-game winning streak for South Fremantle, Perth won four in-a-row against the Bulldogs including a stunning comeback victory in the last round of 2020 which saw the Demons play their one and only final this century on the back of it.
Then going back further and before those four consecutive wins for Perth, South Fremantle had won nine of the previous 10 matches against the Demons so it's been quite the rollercoaster ride between the two sides over the past decade.
At Fremantle Community Bank Oval, South Fremantle has won the last two clashes with Perth and five of the previous six. Those five wins have come at an average winning margin of 59.8 points with the lone win for the Demons at the port in that stretch coming in 2019.
After the opening seven rounds, South Fremantle might only be ranked eighth in attack scoring 68.3 points a game but they are fourth best defensively conceding 62.0 points. Perth, meanwhile, is only ranked ahead of West Coast with points for (63.3) and against (86.5).
Perth is the most prolific ball winning team in the competition averaging 373 possessions a game while South Fremantle averages just 329 to be ranked seventh. The Demons average 22.5 more disposals than their opponents and the Bulldogs 11.5 more than theirs.
South Fremantle has generally got better as games have gone on this season being outscored by five points in first quarters but then outscoring their opponents by two points in second quarters, 30 in the third and 24 in the fourth.
Perth, however, is ranked seventh in both the first and second quarters across the opening six rounds, and then eighth in both the third and fourth terms.
Jake Florenca has been named to return for South Fremantle for what would be his first league appearance since Round 8 last year as he attempts to resume his 60-game WAFL career to boost the Bulldogs' midfield.
Chase Bourne, Riley Colborne, Jacob Sax and Robbie Turnbull have also been added to the South Fremantle squad to face Perth at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Saturday.
The only out at this stage for the Bulldogs from the team that beat East Perth two weeks ago is Brendon Ah Chee.
Perth has made just the one change from the team that lost to West Perth by 49 points two weeks ago with Regan Hill coming into the team at the expense of key forward target Harry Quartermaine.
FOLLOW AND WATCH THE GAME LIVE HERE THANKS TO AFL.COM.AU
WEST COAST EAGLES v EAST PERTH – SUNDAY 2.10PM
Sunday's match up to conclude Round 7 is a fascinating one for a whole host of reasons with the West Coast Eagles playing East Perth at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.
The Eagles have lost their past 14 matches in the WAFL and things have been bleak so far this season but they've had two weeks to try and put some things in place to be more competitive on Sunday.
However, the Royals just can't afford a slip up as they look to snap a three-game losing streak after opening the season winning the first three matches under new coach Ross McQueen.
Sunday will be the seventh match up in the WAFL between the two teams and the first since Round 12 last year where East Perth beat West Coast by 23 points.
The Royals have won four of the six match ups including the past two with a 78-point win in Round 6 last year at Leederville Oval.
The numbers aren’t pretty for West Coast with them averaging just 47.0 points a game this season and giving up 149.8. The Eagles' average losing margin is 102.8 points over the six matches but it leaps to 114.8 over the last five.
East Perth, meanwhile, is ranked fifth for scoring with 68.3 points a game while giving up 62.0 to be ranked fourth defensively.
The Eagles are also averaging a monstrous 129 fewer possessions than their opponents each week including at least 140 less than the team they are playing over the past five weeks. East Perth is averaging 9.3 disposals than their opponents.
Across the four quarters this season so far, West Coast has been outscored by 131 points in first quarters, 212 in the second, 69 in the third and 205 in the fourth.
East Perth is by far the best starting team in the competition averaging to outscore their opponents by 21 points in first quarters while they are struggling from there ranked eighth in second terms, ninth in the third and seventh in the last.
West Coast will be just trying to find a way to be competitive before anything else.
To help in that quest, Coby Burgiel, Tyler Collins, Jack Downsborough, Elijah Hewett, Jack Stevens, Zane Sumich, Alec Waterman and Jack Williams have all been added to squad to face East Perth on Sunday.
Going out of the Eagles team that lost to Peel in Mandurah two weeks ago are Josh Burke, Campbell Chesser, John Levien and Zane Trew.
East Perth is attempting to snap a three-game losing streak with just the one change made at selection after the last up loss to South Fremantle.
Sandon Page comes back into the East Perth line-up with tall forward target and pinch hit ruckman Nick Bonomelli going out.