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Round 20 WAFL PreviewFriday, August 25, 2023 - 11:07 AM - by Chris Pike
EVERYTHING goes on the line in the last round of the 2023 WAFL season on Saturday with East Fremantle and Subiaco battling over top spot, and Peel Thunder, Claremont and West Perth left to jostle over fourth and fifth positions.
It couldn’t be set up for a more fascinating finish to the 2023 home and away season in the WAFL with the top two teams left to fight over the minor premiership this Saturday afternoon.
That result will also determine whether or not the third placed East Perth has a chance at a top two finish as well while the Thunder and Tigers are left in must-win situations to guarantee their finals positions should the Falcons prevail in their home derby against the Royals.
The first game of the final day of the home and away season is the only contest that has no impact on the finals with the winless West Coast Eagles playing host to a South Fremantle team trying to avoid finishing with a five-match losing run. They do battle at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park from 10.30am.
There are then two matches that begin at 2.10pm on Saturday afternoon with Swan Districts at home to Peel Thunder at Steel Blue Oval.
Peel must win to guarantee a finals position but anything but a huge loss should still be enough to see the Thunder play finals for a second straight season with inspirational captain Ben Hancock also celebrating his 150th game becoming the first Peel player to reach the mark.
The other game at 2.10pm also features a modern great reach a significant milestone with Claremont's Jye Bolton reaching 150 games with the Tigers playing host to Perth at Reco Fitness Stadium.
It's a must-win game for Claremont as well against the second last placed Perth with anything but a win for the Tigers leaving the door open for West Perth later in the afternoon.
Speaking of the Falcons, the reigning premiers will be at home at Pentanet Stadium at 2.40pm on Saturday afternoon to host East Perth in a massive derby.
West Perth must win to be any chance of playing finals while then also hoping Claremont loses to Perth or Peel is annihilated by Swan Districts. However, East Perth has the chance to finish in the top two with a win as well should Subiaco lose to East Fremantle.
Speaking of that Lions and Sharks battle, they clash at 2.40pm at Leederville Oval with top spot in the WAFL going on the line. East Fremantle comes into the game in top spot and on an eight-game winning streak, and will guarantee a first minor premiership since 1998 with the win.
However, the Lions can replace them in top spot and earn the week off in the first weekend of the finals should they prevail by 33 points or more against the Sharks.
WAFL TEAM OF THE WEEK – ROUND 19
The final round of the Colts sees all four matches take place on Saturday morning with Swan Districts and Peel Thunder battling at 9.10am with both teams out of the finals hunt.
At the same time, top spot will be decided with Claremont hosting Perth at Revo Fitness Stadium with the winner to claim the minor premiership.
Then at 9.40am, Subiaco hosts East Fremantle with third position up for grabs before West Perth plays East Perth with the Falcons guaranteed of finishing fifth and the Royals two games further back.
The last round in the Reserves will also begin at 11.40am at Steel Blue Oval with Swan Districts taking on Peel Thunder with Swans having the chance to lock away second position with the victory.
Also at 11.40am, Claremont will be at home to Perth at Revo Fitness Stadium with the Tigers having the chance to lock away third spot, and even move up into second should Swans fail to beat the Thunder.
Then at 12.10pm, Subiaco will play East Fremantle at Leederville Oval with both teams gearing up for their finals campaign in the Reserves while West Perth then plays East Perth with the Falcons already locked away in top spot and the Royals out of the finals mix.
WEST COAST EAGLES v SOUTH FREMANTLE – SATURDAY 10.30AM
The final round of the 2023 WAFL season begins on Saturday morning at Mineral Resources Park with the West Coast Eagles playing host to South Fremantle.
Neither team is able to make finals still in 2023 with the Eagles winless throughout the season despite a draw with Perth back in Round 13 while the Bulldogs have now lost their past four matches coming into the clash with West Coast.
Saturday's game will be the eighth meeting in the WAFL between the two clubs with South Fremantle having won five of the previous seven contests.
The most recent was Round 1 this year at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with the Bulldogs beating the Eagles by 43 points.
In that victory, Jimmy Miller kicked four goals for South Fremantle, Brandon Donaldson three, Mackenzie Nield two and Chase Bourne two.
Jacob Dragovich also racked up 28 possessions, Tom Blechynden 25, Toby McQuilkin 25, Dylan Main 22, Brendon Ah Chee 21, Chad Pearson 21, Manfred Kelly 19 and Donaldson 19.
West Coast only had single goal scorers with Zane Trew picking up 26 disposals, Jackson Nelson 22, Isiah Winder 22, Josh Browne 22, Cooper Nitschke 21, Coby Burgiel 20 and Xavier O'Neill 20.
Prior to that and the last win West Coast has scored in the WAFL took place in Round 10 last year at Mineral Resources Park when under lights at Lathlain with Nic Naitanui leading the ruck, the Eagles handed the Bulldogs the 41-point defeat.
Before that and South Fremantle had won the previous three matches against West Coast by an average of 62.3 points and over the five wins the Bulldogs have had against the Eagles, they've come by an average of 57.8 points.
South Fremantle's defence has continued to be its great strength all season even without Chad Pearson and Jordan Boullineau at present. The Bulldogs are ranked fourth defensively conceding just 68.6 points but they are only ranked ahead of West Coast in attack kicking 61.2 points a game.
The Eagles are placed last in both attack and defence scoring only 53.7 points a game while giving up 137.4 with an average losing margin of 88.9 points.
Both teams are ranked bottom three this season in terms of collecting possessions as well with South Fremantle only averaging 315 touches a game and West Coast 295. That has the Bulldogs picking up 11 fewer disposals than their opponents on average and the Eagles 95 fewer than theirs.
Over the course of the season, South Fremantle has been reasonably good over the opening three quarters outscoring their opposition by 12 points in first quarters, nine in the second and then being outscored by 26 in the third.
However, last quarters have been the concern for the Bulldogs where they have been outscored by 121 points over the season to only be ranked ahead of the Eagles.
West Coast is ranked last in every quarter over the season except the third where they have only been outscored by an average of 12 points to be ranked ahead of Perth.
In the first quarters, the Eagles are outscored by an average of 24 points, 24 points as well in the second and then 24 as well in the last having conceded over 400 more points in each of those terms across the 17 games so far.
West Coast is hunting its first win since Round 10 last year and that ironically came also against South Fremantle at Mineral Resources Park so the Eagles will be holding out hope of avoiding a 2023 season without a win.
The Eagles have made three changes coming into Saturday's game at home to South Fremantle as well with the return from suspension of Greg Clark along with Tyler Mouritz and Xavier O'Neill coming into the team.
Going out of the West Coast line-up that lost to East Perth last Saturday are Rhett Bazzo, Ethan Sambo and Zane Sumich.
South Fremantle has made just the one change from the team that lost to Subiaco at home last Saturday with premiership winning small forward Brandon Donaldson returning at the expense of Jacob Sax.
While Donaldson returns, it means the Bulldogs remain without key players Brock Higgins, Chad Pearson, Jordan Boullineau, Brendon Ah Chee, Matthew Parker, Jake Florenca, Jordan Gallucci, Manfred Kelly, Jarrad Doney and captain Dylan Main.
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SWAN DISTRICTS v PEEL THUNDER – SATURDAY 2.10PM
Peel Thunder must either win or at least avoid a massive defeat to Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday to guarantee consecutive finals appearances.
Peel returned to finals in the WAFL last year for the first time since the back-to-back premierships of 2016 and 2017 to beat South Fremantle in an elimination final and then losing to Claremont in a semi-final.
The Thunder now have been on track to play finals again for all of 2023 but are not quite guaranteed yet coming into Saturday's contest with Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval.
Peel currently sits in fourth position with an 11-6 record and will be assured of playing finals with a win against Swans, and could even finish as high as third to earn a finals double chance should East Perth also lose to West Perth.
However, a win for Swans and the Thunder just need to limit the damage and avoid losing by a big enough margin where both Claremont and West Perth could leapfrog them on the ladder with their own victories.
Swan Districts might be out of the finals race, but having won four of the past five matches this season, the black-and-whites won't be short on motivation to finish their season on a high on home turf either.
The first time the two teams met earlier this season was back in Round 5 in Mandurah and that saw Peel defeat Swan Districts 17.16 (118) to 9.2 (56) at Lane Group Stadium.
In that win, Brody Wemm, Tom Emmett, Jonathon Ietto and Blair Bell all kicked two goals while Ben Hancock gathered 33 possessions, Liam Henry 26, Brady Grey 24, Will Brodie 24, Sam Sturt 24, Karl Worner 23 and Bell 22.
Ryan Kemp and Chris Jones kicked two goals each for Swan Districts with Jesse Turner picking up 33 touches, Jackson McLachlan 28, Josh Cipro 22, Jarvis Pina 21, Lachlan Riley 20, Mitch Bain 19 and Tobe Watson 18.
That gives Peel wins in the last two games against Swan Districts having also won by 92 points in the last round last year on the way to returning to finals action.
That was also in Mandurah but prior to that and Swans had won the previous five matches against the Thunder and at Steel Blue Oval, the black-and-whites have won six straight against Peel.
Those six wins for Swan Districts have come at an average of 19.8 points with Peel not having won at Bassendean wince a 52-point victory back in 2016. Even before that and Swans had won four straight home games so they have won 10 of the past 11 at Steel Blue Oval against the Thunder.
Coming into the last round of the season, Swan Districts is ranked seventh in scoring with 73.9 points a game while coming in eighth defensively conceding 73.5 points. Peel, on the other hand, is the third best team defensively giving up just 62.4 points while are ranked sixth offensively with 81.8 points.
Peel is only the sixth biggest ball winning team this season with 331 possessions a game to have 1.3 more than their opponents on average while Swan Districts comes in seventh with 318 touches per game which is 2.8 more than the teams they play against.
Over the course of the season, Swan Districts is the third best performing first quarter team in the competition having outscored their opponents by 83 points. However, they are placed eighth for second quarters, eighth in the third and seventh in the last.
Peel is the opposite and is the standout fourth quarter team in the competition having outscored their opponents by 178 points across the 17 games so far. The Thunder are then placed third for third quarters, fifth in the second and eighth in the first.
There are plenty of changes at Swan Districts coming into the last game of the season including the return of 2020 Sandover Medallist Sam Fisher who will play his first league match since tearing his hamstring back in Round 3 that ultimately required surgery.
He has now been back in the reserves the past two weeks and comes in to significantly boost the Swan Districts midfield against Peel on Saturday afternoon.
The other players coming into the team for the black-and-whites to face the Thunder are Mitch Bain, Max Chipper, Matthew Germs and debutant Luke Taylor.
Going out of the Swans team that lost to Claremont last Saturday are Cian Ehlers, Brayden Noble, Jesse Palmer, Jian Reidy and Tobe Watson.
That does mean that Nathan Blakely, Greg Ottaviano, Brandon Erceg and Jarrod Cameron remain sidelined for Swan Districts for the last game of the season.
Peel needs to win the game, or at the bare minimum avoid a thumping loss, to guarantee a finals appearance for the second straight season.
The Thunder have added Guy Barnes, Josh Corbett, Max Knobel, Michael Sellwood, Reece Torrent and Corey Tregenza to the squad to take on Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday.
The two players so far named out of the Thunder line-up from the team that lost to West Perth last Saturday are Fremantle Dockers pair Liam Reidy and Joel Hamling.
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CLAREMONT v PERTH – SATURDAY 2.10PM
Claremont has no choice but to beat Perth at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday or face the very real prospect of missing the finals for the first time since 2017.
Claremont has been a regular in the finals of the WAFL now for the previous five seasons including making Grand Finals in 2020 and 2022, and for all of 2023 the Tigers have appeared to be genuine premiership contenders.
That was until a four-game losing streak that the Tigers were able to snap last Saturday with a win against Swan Districts but they do need to win again against the Demons this Saturday at Tigerland.
Claremont sits in fifth position with an 11-6 record and a win will secure a finals spot, but a loss and a win for West Perth against East Perth, and the Tigers will miss out on playing finals for the sixth straight season.
Perth might not have a finals spot to play for with just two wins and a draw for the season so far, but the Demons would love to finish the season on a high and to end the finals hopes of Claremont in the process.
As if playing for their finals spot isn’t motivation enough, but Claremont will also be celebrating the 150th game of Jye Bolton on Saturday as he earns life membership of the Tigers.
The two-time Sandover Medal winner, three-time fairest and best, and four-time Simpson Medallist will be playing against Perth for the 16th time in his career on Saturday with Claremont having won nine of the previous 15 meetings he's been part of.
Claremont comes into Saturday's game having now won the last five meetings with Perth by an average of 47.8 points including an 84-point victory back in Round 8 of this season at Mineral Resources Park.
In that win, Alex Manuel kicked five goals for Claremont, Max Minear three, Zac Mainwaring two, Tyron Smallwood two, Talon Delacey two and Declan Mountford two.
Callan England also finished with 33 possessions for the Tigers, Jye Bolton 27, Lachlan Martinis 26, Teia Miles 25, Mountford 24, Joel Western 23, Jack Lewsey 23, Oliver Sheldrick 23, Ronin O'Connor 22 and Anthony Davis 20.
The last win that the Demons have had over the Tigers came back in the COVID shortened season of 2020 by 17 points which also took place at Revo Fitness Park.
The only players remaining from that team for Perth are captain Michael Sinclair, ruckman Dakota Baldwin-Wright, forward Sam Stubbs, the hard running Austin Davis, small defender Jacob Coniglio and midfielder Regan Clarke.
From that Claremont team that lost the game three years ago, there's just Bailey Rogers, Jack Lewsey, Jye Bolton, Tyron Smallwood, Callan England, Oliver Eastland, Declan Hardisty and Ben Edwards who will be playing on Saturday.
Claremont has made just the one change to its team for Saturday's must-win clash with Perth at Mineral Resources Park.
Jason Carter has earned a recall for just his fifth league appearance of the season and first game since Round 7 and will come in to replace Declan Mountford who injured his hamstring early in last week's victory against Swan Districts.
Perth's midfield gets a significant boost for the last game of the season with the returns of Corey Byrne and Jack Cooley including dual fairest and best winner Byrne coming back into the line-up to play the 100th game of his career with the Demons.
Liam Dellamarta is the other player coming into the side for Perth after stringing some strong form together in the reserves.
Going out of the Perth team that lost to East Fremantle last Saturday are Ayden Cartwright, Brodie Gray and Matthew Taylor.
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SUBIACO v EAST FREMANTLE – SATURDAY 2.40PM
Top spot in the WAFL goes on the line when Subiaco plays host to East Fremantle at Leederville Oval on Saturday afternoon.
East Fremantle comes into the contest sitting in top spot a game clear with a 13-4 record having now won the past eight matches while Subiaco is also on a four-match winning run at 12-5.
A win for the Sharks and they will be guaranteed of a first minor premiership finish since 1998 which also doubles as their last flag winning campaign.
However, a win for the Lions and that's where things get interesting. Subiaco will need to not only beat East Fremantle, but win by at least 33 points in order to replace the Sharks in top position.
A loss for Subiaco could also be costly with the chance to slip below East Perth to third position on the ladder, but the significance of that is diminished given they will play their qualifying final next week at Leederville Oval no matter who finishes second and third.
East Fremantle might not have enjoyed life against Subiaco for most of this century, but coming into Saturday's clash at Leederville Oval and the Sharks have won the past four games against the Lions.
Those four victories have come at an average of 36.3 points including a 32-point win earlier this season in Round 6 at the WACA Ground.
In that win, Cody Leggett kicked five goals for East Fremantle having also kicked seven last week against Perth while Dillon O'Reilly added two with Cam Eardley finishing with 26 disposals, Milan Murdock 26, Jackson McDonald 22, Fraser Turner 22 and Luke English 21.
Jaimon Alone and Jack Mayo kicked two goals each for Subiaco with Jaxon McGowan collecting 29 possessions, Stefan Giro 25, Liam Hickmott 25, Angus Dewar 19 and Wil Hickmott 19.
Prior to this four-game winning streak for East Fremantle against Subiaco, the Lions had won the previous nine matches against the Sharks by an average of 61.4 points.
Going back further and Subiaco had won a remarkable 40 of the previous 46 games against East Fremantle dating back to the start of the 2003 season and up until this current four-game winning streak for the Sharks.
And at Saturday's venue Leederville Oval, Subiaco has won 20 of the 26 match ups between the two teams dating back to 2003 when the Lions started to officially call the venue their new home. That's despite the Sharks winning on their past two visitors to Leederville Oval against the Lions.
Subiaco has made four changes coming into the top-of-the-table clash with East Fremantle on Saturday with the return of 156-game veteran defender Aaron Heal along with captain Leigh Kitchin, Jordan Snadden and Jake South.
Going out of the Subiaco line-up that beat South Fremantle last week to make it four consecutive wins are Noah Ash, Ben Golding, Luker Kentfield and Galen Savigni with premiership stars Max Walters and Jordan Lockyer again lining up in the reserves.
East Fremantle's forward-line receives a significant boost with the returns of trio Alex Montauban, Jonathon Marsh and Brayden Lawler for Saturday's battle over top spot with Subiaco despite Dillon O'Reilly still missing.
The players going out of the Sharks outfit to take on the Lions from the team that beat Perth last Saturday at Lathlain are Matthew Burton, Jamie Meade and Eddie Simpson.
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WEST PERTH v EAST PERTH – SATURDAY 2.40PM
The equation is simple for West Perth coming into Saturday's derby against East Perth at Pentanet Stadium, win and then hope things fall the way of the reigning premiers to play finals in 2023.
West Perth has made life difficult for itself by losing seven of the first 12 matches of the 2023 season on the back of winning last year's premiership, but the Falcons have now strung together five consecutive wins to remain a chance to play finals.
The Falcons now play host to a Royals team guaranteed of playing finals at Joondalup on Saturday afternoon in a fascinating match up.
Not only does West Perth need to win the game, but then also needs some luck either with Perth to beat Claremont so that the Falcons can replace the Tigers in the top five or for Swan Districts to blow Peel Thunder away for the Falcons to replace them.
There's plenty for East Perth to play for too, though, even with the Royals having guaranteed a finals position with a win against the West Coast Eagles last Saturday.
East Perth now sits in third position with a 12-5 record this season but a win for the Royals against the Falcons and they are still a chance for a top two finish should Subiaco lose to East Fremantle. A loss for East Perth and they could slip to fourth and lose the finals double chance altogether.
The last derby between the two teams took place back on WA Day this year at Leederville Oval with East Perth putting in a dominant performance as part of the eight-game winning streak the Royals were on.
East Perth won that clash by 36 points with Liam Tedesco kicking three goals against his former team with Shayne Hill also managing three majors, Hamish Brayshaw two and Sam van Diemen two.
Mitch Crowden amassed 35 possessions for the Royals, Angus Schumacher 34, Nick Robertson 31, Stan Wright 28, Angus Scott 28 and Scott Jones produced a dominant performance in the ruck with 23 touches and 51 hit outs.
Darcy Dixon, Tyler Keitel and Luke Meadows all kicked two goals each in the loss for West Perth with Meadows also ending up with 26 possessions and 14 tackles.
Aaron Black also finished with 27 touches, Koopah Todd 21 and Shane Nelson 20.
Prior to that and West Perth had won six straight derbies against East Perth by an average of 32.5 points.
That included a 70-point win in the last meeting in Round 18 last year which took place on neutral turf at East Fremantle Oval with West Perth going on to win the premiership in 2022 and East Perth missing the finals for a fourth consecutive season.
Meanwhile at Pentanet Stadium, West Perth has won five straight home matches against East Perth and going back further, nine of the past 10, and 12 of the last 14 so the Falcons will be hoping that trend continues on Saturday to keep their finals dream alive.
West Perth has opted to make no changes to its winning team with the Falcons having now strung together five consecutive wins to remain in the finals race.
That means that AFL and WAFL premiership winner Mark Hutchings still won't be able to work his way back into the team despite stringing together some form and fitness now in the reserves with the Falcons in recent weeks.
East Perth has made two changes to its team to take on West Perth in the derby on Saturday with the returns of experienced duo Shayne Hille and Nick Robertson.
Going out of the Royals side that returned to the winner's list last Saturday against the West Coast Eagles are Nathan Eaton and Ethan Regan.
FOLLOW AND WATCH THE GAME LIVE HERE THANKS TO AFL.COM.AU
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