Round 17 WAFL PreviewFriday, July 26, 2024 - 9:45 AM - by Chris Pike

FOUR games in Round 17 of the WAFL with all on Saturday afternoon sees Peel Thunder and East Perth continuing to battle over top spot, Claremont trying to break back into the top five, and South Fremantle and Swan Districts locking horns.

East Fremantle and West Perth have the bye in Round 17 while the other eight teams are in action on Saturday afternoon with plenty at stake in all four of the matches.

First up is Subiaco playing host to the West Coast Eagles at Sullivan Logistics Stadium with both teams on identical 4-9 records as the Lions attempt to hit back while the Eagles are out for consecutive wins for the second time in 2024.

Next up is a massive game for both South Fremantle and Swan Districts at Fremantle Community Bank Oval featuring two teams in top five positions.

South Fremantle consolidated fifth spot at 8-5 with last Saturday's 44-point win against Subiaco while Swans had the bye last weekend but enters the contest on a seven-game winning streak to be third at 9-4.

Swan Districts will also be celebrating another significant occasion with Tony Notte playing the 306th game of his remarkable career which will see him surpass the club's games record that he currently shares with the legendary Bill Walker.

Peel Thunder then attempt to hold onto second spot and stay in touch of top position by taking on the bottom placed Perth at Mineral Resources Park.

The Demons might be in last spot, but have been much more competitive than that suggests including kicking the last eight goals of the game in a seven-point loss to the league-leading East Perth last Saturday.

Peel had the bye last week following a loss to East Fremantle which saw them concede top spot to the Royals.

Claremont will then be playing host to East Perth at Revo Fitness Stadium with the Tigers needing the win to stay in touch with the top five and the Royals also requiring the win to guarantee they end the round still in top spot.

It's also a big milestone day on home soil for Claremont with Callan England playing his 100th WAFL game in what will be his 93rd with the Tigers and the other seven coming with East Perth while he was on West Coast's list.

Then there is Sandover Medallist Bailey Rogers reaching his 150th game to earn life membership for Claremont and while it's a big day on a personal front, he's just focused on how important the result is for the Tigers.

"We know the position that we're in and it's pretty much keep winning or go home," Rogers said.

"We know we might have to win pretty much every game from here on out and to start off with East Perth is a great challenge.

"It was a tough contest last time we played that wasn’t that long ago and we're looking forward to it but we know what they are going to bring.

"We just have to stick to our brand and what's worked over the last month or so for us. Hopefully we can come away with the win on Saturday."

SUBIACO v WEST COAST EAGLES – SULLIVAN LOGISTICS STADIUM, SATURDAY 1.00PM

SOUTH FREMANTLE v SWAN DISTRICTS – FREMANTLE COMMUNITY BANK OVAL, SATURDAY 2.10PM

CLAREMONT v EAST PERTH – REVO FITNESS STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.30PM

PERTH v PEEL THUNDER – MINERAL RESOURCES PARK, SATURDAY 2.30PM