Round 18 WAFL PreviewThursday, August 10, 2023 - 11:13 PM - by Chris Pike

THE WAFL season heats up further as the race for the finals hits the third last round with top spot on the line between East Fremantle and East Perth, Peel Thunder and Claremont battling to stay safe, and West Perth just trying to stay alive.

There are five matches once again in Round 18 of the WAFL this weekend split over Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and each of the five games are fascinating for different reasons, and four of them will all have an impact on the race for the finals.

Round 18 of the 2023 season gets underway on Saturday afternoon with the three matches beginning at 2.10pm including the fourth placed Peel Thunder playing host to the fifth placed Claremont at Lane Group Stadium.

Peel returned to the winner's list against West Coast last week while Claremont has now lost three straight matches for the first time since 2018. That leaves both teams coming into the contest on 10-5 records and needing a win to stay at least two games clear of West Perth.

That leads into top spot going on the line at the WACA Ground when East Fremantle takes on East Perth. The Sharks are now on a six-game winning streak to have replaced the Royals in top spot with East Perth fresh off the bye following a loss to Subiaco.

However, both teams come into the game on 11-4 records so the winner of Saturday's contest will end the round a game clear on top of the ladder with two weeks of the home and away season remaining.

The last game on Saturday afternoon is the only match of the round with no impact on the finals with Perth hosting Swan Districts at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

Perth is looking for a third win of the season while Swan Districts comes into the contest on a three-game winning streak to be finishing the year on a high note.

There are then two matches on Sunday afternoon beginning at 12.30pm with Subiaco playing host to the West Coast Eagles at Leederville Oval.

The Lions are fresh off the bye last weekend following a strong win against East Perth to now be solid in third place at 10-5 ahead of taking on an Eagles team still winless since Round 10 last year.

The final match of the round then pits South Fremantle up against West Perth at Fremantle Community Bank Oval from 2.40pm.

The Bulldogs are just looking to take a scalp in the back end of the season having lost their past couple of matches while it's a must-win game for the Falcons if the reigning premiers want to remain any chance still of playing finals in 2023.

WAFLW TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 17

ROUND 17 WAFL WRAP

The round gets underway on Saturday morning with the three Colts matches all beginning at 9.10am with Peel Thunder at home to Claremont, East Fremantle taking on East Perth at the WACA Ground, and Perth playing Swan Districts.

Then on Sunday at 9.40am, it's South Fremantle playing West Perth at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

That leads into the Reserves with the three matches on Saturday beginning at 11.40am with the Thunder hosting the Tigers, the Sharks taking on the Royals, and the Demons at home to the Swans.

Then on Sunday, the Bulldogs host the Falcons at 12.10pm at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

 

PEEL THUNDER v CLAREMONT – SATURDAY 2.10PM

One of Peel Thunder or Claremont will all but guarantee themselves a finals berth in 2023 on Saturday but the loser will leave themselves vulnerable with two rounds remaining. 

Peel comes into Saturday's contest at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium in fourth position and Claremont is fifth with both teams sitting on 10-5 records.

With three rounds remaining, a win on Saturday will keep that team at least two games clear of the sixth placed West Perth and with a superior percentage so a finals spot will be all but secured.

However, the losing team will face a nervous final two rounds especially if West Perth is able to beat South Fremantle on Sunday.

Peel comes into the game fresh off returning to the winner's list last week beating West Coast by 98 points while Claremont has now lost its past three matches and is trying to avoid losing four straight for the first time since 2018.

Saturday's game will be the second match up between the teams this season with Claremont storming home in a remarkable finish to overrun Peel back in Round 9 to win 9.8 (62) to 8.12 (60) at Revo Fitness Stadium.

In that game, Talon Delacey played the hero for Claremont with the winning goal and finished with three for the day while Jye Bolton amassed 36 possessions, Ben Elliott 25, Declan Mountford 24, Lachlan Martinis 24, Teia Miles 23, Jack Lewsey 22 and Oliver Eastland 22 to go with 37 hit outs.

For Peel, Sebit Kuek kicked two goals for the day while Neil Erasmus amassed 27 touches, Blair Bell 25, Nathan Wilson 23, Brady Grey 22, Corey Wagner 22, Ben Hancock 21 and Karl Worner 21. 

That made it three straight wins for Claremont against Peel with the Thunder's last win against the Tigers coming in Round 6 last year.

Prior to that and the Tigers also had won six straight games against the Thunder so Claremont has won nine of the last 10 match ups with Peel coming into Saturday's clash in Mandurah with plenty on the line for both teams.

Peel will be looking to string consecutive wins together to consolidate a spot inside the top five but once again there will be plenty of changes for the Thunder following last week's 98-point win against West Coast.

The players coming into the Peel squad to take on Claremont on Saturday are Ty Anderson, Bailey Banfield, Luen Colton, Joel Hamling, Haydn Matthews, Reece Torrent, Corey Tregenza and Brody Wemm.

Going out from the Peel team that beat West Coast last Saturday is the injured Heath Chapman along with Michael Sellwood, Nathan Wilson and Karl Worner.

Claremont has now lost its previous three matches and can't afford to make it four, with changes to the forward-line the order of the day for Saturday's clash with Peel in Mandurah.

Regular forwards Max Minear and Tyron Smallwood go out of the team that lost to East Fremantle last Saturday for the Tigers with Talon Delacey returning after missing the last three games.

Kieran Gowdie also comes into the Claremont team for what would be his first game of 2023 along with Sam Alvarez, Jason Carter, Morgan Davies, Steven Miller and Felix Rogers.

The other player going out for the Tigers is Callan England who has been having a fine season largely in the midfield and was once again named to the Team of the Week in Round 17.

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EAST FREMANTLE v EAST PERTH – SATURDAY 2.10PM

Top spot in the WAFL goes on the line on Saturday afternoon at the WACA Ground with East Fremantle looking to make it seven straight wins up against East Perth.

It was the Royals who were sitting on top of the WAFL when on their eight-game winning streak before losing to Subiaco two weeks ago and then having the bye last weekend.

It's now the Sharks who are on a six-game winning run coming into Saturday's clash at the WACA Ground and if they can make it seven straight, then they will be a game clear in top spot and in a strong position to sew up the minor premiership.

East Fremantle is attempting to win seven consecutive matches for the first time since 2008 but East Perth will also move back to top spot and be a game clear with two rounds remaining with a victory.

The two teams played each other back in Round 9 at Leederville Oval and it was East Perth who got better the longer the game went on the way to the eventual 16.12 (108) to 11.4 (70) victory.

East Fremantle now hasn’t lost since that game while East Perth was in the middle of an eight-game winning streak when scoring that victory.

In that win for East Perth, Zach Raykos, Mitch Schofield, Christian Ameduri and Shayne Hille all kicked two goals with Angus Schumacher collecting 32 disposals, Angus Scott 28, Mitch Crowden 27, Sam van Diemen 23 and Stan Wright 22.

Dillon O'Reilly kicked four goals despite the loss for East Fremantle with Alex Montauban and Cody Leggett chipping in with two. Cam Eardley finished with 30 touches, Tom Joyce 28, Kyle Baskerville 23 and Harry Marsh 20.

Prior to that and East Fremantle had won the last four matches against East Perth winning both clashes in each of 2021 and 2022.

There's little reason for change at East Fremantle considering the six-game winning streak the Sharks are on but that also means that important players Milan Murdock and Jonathon Marsh won't be returning to take on East Perth on Saturday at the WACA Ground.

From the East Fremantle team that did beat Claremont last week to move to the top of the ladder, Ryan Lester-Smith, Jamie Meade, Josh Schoenfeld and Eddie Simpson have all been added to the extended squad for Saturday's match up with the Royals.

There are no players named out at this stage from the team that beat the Tigers last week for the Sharks.

East Perth is coming off the bye last weekend and prior to that losing to Subiaco which ultimately meant they lost top position to East Fremantle, which the Royals will be attempting to regain this Saturday at the WACA Ground.

East Perth has made four changes to the team that lost to Subiaco two weeks ago and with the loss of ruckman Jedd Edwards on top of Scott Jones being sidelined, the Royals will need to make do in the ruck.

The Royals could very well go with a combination of Nick Bonomelli and returning pair Tom Medhat and Corey Watts to share the ruck duties.

Also coming into the East Perth team are Nathan Eaton and Zach Raykos with Alex Pearce, Riley Saunders and Ethan Regan the other players going out of the team for the Royals.

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PERTH v SWAN DISTRICTS – SATURDAY 2.10PM

Perth and Swan Districts are both attempting to end their WAFL seasons on a positive note but bring differing form into their clash at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Demons have won just two games with a draw from 15 matches so far this season including losing the past three to South Fremantle, Subiaco and West Perth as they look for a third win of 2023.

They come up against a Swan Districts team who has now won its past three matches and now attempting to win four straight for the first time since 2017, and to make it seven straight against the Demons in the process.

Saturday's game will be the second time the two teams have faced off in 2023 with Swan Districts winning a heartstopper back in Round 9 at Steel Blue Oval.

Just before the siren, Swan Districts small forward Jarrod Cameron received a free-kick and went back to slot the goal after the siren had sounded. That saw Swans score the 9.11 (65) to 9.5 (59) victory to break the hearts of the Demons.

In that game, Chris Jones, Aidan Clarke and Jesse Palmer kicked two goals each for Swan Districts while Jackson McLachlan racked up 35 possessions, Jarvis Pina 28, Jesse Turner 28, Jehb O'Donohue 19, Lawson Humphries 19, Tobe Watson 18 and Josh Cipro 18.

Sam Stubbs kicked three goals for Perth and Michael Sinclair two with Jack Cooley collecting 34 touches, Charlie Thompson 23, Jack Avery 20 and Jye Clark 20.

That victory for Swans made it six in-a-row against the Demons dating back to 2020. Swan Districts has won those six matches at an average of 21.5 points.

Only two of those games have taken place at Mineral Resources Park, though, with Swans winning at the Lathlain venue over the Demons by five points in Round 3 last year and then by 50 points back in Round 2 of 2021.

The last win for Perth against Swan Districts came in Round 8, 2019 and that was the third victory in-a-row at the time for the Demons against the black-and-whites.

Perth is attempting to bounce back from a 40-point loss to West Perth last week but the Demons did finish that game well with the only six goals of the final quarter to now look to bring that momentum into Saturday's match up with Swan Districts.

From that team, Perth regains Regan Clarke for Saturday's game with Brodie Gray earning a recall and then Oscar Hine-Baston coming in to make his WAFL debut.

Going out of the Demons line-up to face Swans at home on Saturday are Deklyn Grocott, Daniel Hill and last week's debutant Ben Stubbs.

Swan Districts is looking to stretch its winning run to four up against Perth on Saturday at Lathlain with Mitch Bain, Ayden Cartwright, Max Chipper, Matthew Germs, Riley Hardeman and Tom Smith all added to squad.

Germs comes into the team to carry the ruck in the absence of Nathan Blakely while if selected, Bain will play his first league game since Round 13, Cartwright his first since Round 9, Chipper his first since Round 11 and Hardeman a first since Round 1.

Smith could then make his WAFL debut as well and the 19-year-old would be a chance to fill the ruck void as well in the absence of Blakely.

The only other out at this stage is hard running defender Jarvis Pina coming out of last week's victory against South Fremantle at Steel Blue Oval for Swan Districts.

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SUBIACO v WEST COAST EAGLES – SUNDAY 12.30PM

Subiaco is fresh off the bye and will be looking to continue its momentum to remain solid inside the top five up against the winless West Coast Eagles at Leederville Oval on Sunday afternoon.

Subiaco had the bye last weekend following an impressive win against East Perth and a win prior to that against Perth with the Lions consolidating themselves in the top five in the process to currently sit third with a 10-5 record.

However, with West Perth still hoping to unseat one of the teams inside the top five, Subiaco does need to keep winning and can't afford a slip up at home to the bottom placed West Coast on Sunday who is still yet to win a game in the WAFL since Round 10 last year.

Subiaco has won six of the seven meetings between the two teams dating back to 2019 with the lone win for West Coast being a five-point triumph back in Round 11, 2021.

Subiaco has won the other six encounters by an average of 47.2 points which included the 129-point hammering the Lions handed the Eagles back in Round 9 of this season.

On that day at Mineral Resources Park, Ben Sokol kicked eight goals for Subiaco, Jack Mayo six, Ben Golding three, Ryan Borchet two, Max Walters two and Zac Clarke two along with 17 possessions and 46 hit outs.

Liam Hickmott amassed 32 disposals for the Lions, Jaimon Alone 28, Stefan Giro 22, Leigh Kitchin 21, Walters 21, Rylie Morgan 20 and Wil Hickmott 19.

It was a tough outing for West Coast with Jackson Nelson kicking two of the five goals while Josh Browne compiled 29 possessions, Darby McCarthy 28, Andries Mercer 19 and Cooper Nitschke 18.

Subiaco had won its last two matches heading into the bye last weekend including an impressive performance to beat Leederville Oval co-tenants East Perth.

The Lions remain at Leederville Oval on Sunday to play host to the winless West Coast and have made just the one change from that team that beat the Royals two weeks ago.

Rylie Morgan has had the best season at league level of his career over his time at Claremont and Subiaco, and returns to the Lions midfield while 156-game four-time premiership winning defender Aaron Heal goes out.

West Coast will be attempting to put in a more competitive performance than last week's 98-point defeat at the hands of Peel Thunder, and will have plenty of changes to their line-up once more.

Jack Eastough, Daniel Frost, Jarrod Garlett, Mitch Henderson, Rhett Lloyd, Zane Trew and Isiah Winder are the Eagles players who have been added to the squad to take on the Lions on Saturday at Leederville Oval.

Going out of the West Coast team that lost to Peel last Saturday are Joey Deegan, Luke Foley and Nick Watson.

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SOUTH FREMANTLE v WEST PERTH – SUNDAY 2.40PM

South Fremantle and West Perth are no strangers to playing some thrilling contests and there's every reason to expect more of the same on Sunday afternoon at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

South Fremantle might be out of finals contention with three rounds of the 2023 season remaining, but the Bulldogs do have the chance to deliver a dagger blow to their premiership defence at home on Sunday afternoon.

The Bulldogs are attempting to bounce back from losing their past two matches to East Fremantle and Swan Districts where again they have been in a good position at three quarter-time but been unable to complete the deal.

West Perth, meanwhile, has no choice but to leave Fremantle Community Bank Oval with a win if it wants to remain any chance of playing finals as the reigning premiers.

The Falcons have now won their last three matches to keep their season alive but with three games to go, they remain two matches behind the fifth placed Claremont so West Perth must keep winning and hope a team inside the top five keeps losing.

The two teams have already met once so far this season and that was back in Round 9 at Pentanet Stadium with West Perth dominating the finish to come from behind with six goals to nil in the final quarter to claim the 12.14 (86) to 9.5 (59) victory.

West Perth's co-captain Aaron Black kicked three goals in that win with Joe Hinder chipping in with two goals as did Noah Pegoraro as he began to show what he was capable as a forward target alongside Tyler Keitel.

Shane Nelson also racked up 33 possessions for the Falcons, Zac Guadagnin 26, Nathan Murray 25, Luke Meadows 23, Hinder 23 and Koopah Todd 22.

Zac Strom kicked three goals on the day for South Fremantle with Brandon Donaldson and Manfred Kelly both adding two. 

Jake Florenca finished up with 30 touches to go with 10 tackles for the Bulldogs with Tom Blechynden compiling 28 disposals, Dylan Main 26, George Wessels 21, Chad Pearson 21 and Toby McQuilkin 19. 

Prior to that clash back in Round 9, the two teams played out a thrilling draw in Round 15 last year with both sides on the way to another finals campaign with West Perth eventually ending the season as premiers.

West Perth had also won the two games prior to that in Round 20, 2021 and Round 4, 2022 so the Bulldogs now have not defeated the Falcons since Round 1, 2021 when they prevailed by 21 points as reigning premiers at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

With three rounds of the season to go, West Perth is the third best attacking team in the competition with 83.5 points a game but the Falcons come eighth defensively conceding 70.6.

It's the opposite case with South Fremantle with the Bulldogs still strong defensively conceding only 65.5 points to be ranked fourth, but they are only ahead of West Coast in attack with 61.5 points a game.

West Perth is the sixth best ball winning team in the competition with 330.3 disposals to have 3.5 more than their opponents. South Fremantle is only ahead of Subiaco and West Coast with 312.4 possessions which is 10.3 fewer than the teams they play against.

Over the course of the season, South Fremantle has been ranked seventh across each of the first three quarters outscoring their opponents by 21 points in opening stanzas, 17 in the second and 11 in the third.

However, last quarters have been a concern for the Bulldogs where they are only performing better than West Coast. They have been outscored by 109 points in final terms so far this season including a goalless effort last week against Swan Districts.

West Perth is the fourth best starting team across the WAFL having outscored their opponents by 60 points so far this season while also coming fourth in second terms having outscored their opposition by 76 points.

The Falcons are then sixth in second halves having outscored their opponents by 30 points in the third stanzas and 27 in the fourth.

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