WAFL Round 5 PreviewFriday, April 17, 2015 - 3:31 PM - by Chris Pike

ROUND 5 of the 2015 WAFL season again sees all four matches take place on Saturday afternoon with an all-time great of his club reaching 250 games while the two top teams fight over first spot, and the two winless sides look to open their account.

The action begins at 1.40pm at Medibank Stadium with East Perth hosting Peel Thunder with that match broadcast live on 7mate.

The other three fixtures are all in the traditional 2.15pm time slot with South Fremantle playing Subiaco at Fremantle Oval, Claremont hosting Perth at the Claremont Showground and Swan Districts facing East Fremantle at Steel Blue Oval.

EAST PERTH (2-1, 6th) v PEEL THUNDER (2-1, 3rd) – MEDIBANK STADIUM, SATURDAY 1.40PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 7mate

East Perth and Peel Thunder meet in a clash with plenty of interest on Saturday at Medibank Stadium to see what West Coast and Fremantle are doing with selection ahead of the Western Derby, with Craig Wulff celebrating his 250th WAFL match and with both teams looking for a third win in 2015.

The Royals and Thunder meet just 24 hours before their AFL partnered clubs West Coast and Fremantle meet in Sunday's Western Derby meaning there is plenty of interest in who lines up for both teams and how that will affect the AFL clash at Domain Stadium the next day.

However, it's also a crucial WAFL game for both East Perth and Peel.

Both teams come into the game having won two of their three matches so far in 2015 with Peel only in front on the ladder courtesy of a superior percentage helped by a big win over East Fremantle while East Perth's was hurt with its big opening round loss to East Fremantle.

Then there is also the fact that the game is the 250th appearance in an East Perth jumper for co-captain Wulff.

The 32-year-old becomes just the third player in the history of the Royals to reach the mark and the achievement adds to a career that has already seen him win a fairest and best award, play for and captain Western Australia, and now be in his fourth season as the skipper of East Perth.

The other good omen from that for the Royals is that they have won in Wulff's 100th, 150th and 200th milestones previously.

From the East Perth team that beat Subiaco so emphatically on Good Friday, Liam Duggan, Murray Newman, Brant Colledge, Josh Hill, Agid Gardoud, Jamie Bennell, Will Schofield, Fraser McInnes, Simon Tunbridge and Malcolm Karpany all go out of the side.

Duggan got the call up to play for West Coast in last Friday's AFL win over Carlton as did Bennell, Schofield and Tunbridge. Each of them looks set to hold their place for Sunday's Western Derby except for Tunbridge who is now going to miss several weeks with an ankle injury.

And now Colledge, Hill and McInnes have been called up by the Eagles and added to the squad for the derby on Sunday.

McInnes looks set to play after strong form with East Perth and to add some extra height for the Eagles while Colledge could have earned himself a chance thanks to his outstanding form with the Royals so far in 2015 including a best on ground performance on Good Friday against Subiaco where he had 36 possessions, nine marks, eight tackles and three goals.

That leaves plenty of room for changes with Tom Barrass, Alec Waterman, Kane Lucas, Tom Lamb, Callum Sinclair, Paul Johnson, Mitch Howlett, Damian Lee, Clayton Giblett, Tom Hodgson, Lewis Wilson, Rowen Powell and Tom Shanahan all coming into the squad to face Peel.

Lee put in a performance hard to ignore in the reserves back on Good Friday with 35 possessions, 10 marks, 10 tackles and two goals so that could earn the 21-year-old his league debut to take on Peel on Saturday.

Howlett (23 possessions, 12 tackles) and Shanahan (23 disposals, two goals) were also particularly impressive to make a strong case to get a call up this week while Barrass, Wilson, Hodgson and Giblett have been in solid enough form.

Johnson returns to lead the ruck after missing the game against Subiaco after copping a heavy hit in the Round 2 win over Swan Districts while Sinclair is back for his first game of the season. Johnson and Sinclair will form a dangerous ruck and forward duo for the Royals against the Thunder.

With Hayden Ballantyne suspended from Fremantle, there is a small forward position open with the Dockers and Max Duffy and Hayden Crozier look to be the two players vying to take his place for Sunday's Western Derby.

Duffy has been spending a little more time up the ground with the Thunder and had another 22 possessions last week in the win over Peel, but that could still be enough to earn him a recall while Crozier was held over as an emergency last week and didn’t play with the Thunder.

Jack Hannath could also play with Peel with Zac Clarke in doubt after hurting his knee last Sunday in Fremantle's win over Geelong. Hannath has been in solid form with Peel and had another 17 possessions, seven marks, 12 hit outs and two goals last week against Perth.

Hannath and Duffy could go out of the Peel team as a result of Fremantle selections while two more Dockers key position players Michael Apeness and Tanner Smith have also been named out of the Thunder team to take on East Perth on Saturday.

That does open up some spots for some other Fremantle players to come into the Peel side and Irishman Sean Hurley and Tom Vandeleur look to be two that will come in while there are a host of Thunder players who are looking for their opportunity at league level.

Ben Hancock, Stephen Kane, Nathan Fahey and Mitch Gill have all been in solid form in the reserves for Peel and come into the mix to play on Saturday as does Dylan Winton who has continued to put in starring performances in the colts for the Thunder.

SOUTH FREMANTLE (3-1, 1st) v SUBIACO (3-1, 2nd) – FREMANTLE OVAL, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 91.3 SportFM 

South Fremantle and Subiaco have respectively lost their only matches of the 2015 WAFL season over the past two weeks meaning there is no undefeated team left in the competition and the winner of Saturday's clash at Fremantle Oval will subsequently shoot clear on top of the ladder.

South Fremantle and Subiaco have been the two standout teams of the WAFL season to date and enter Saturday's clash at the port holding 3-1 records and the difference between going 4-1 and clear on top or dropping to 3-2 and coming back to the pack is stark.

The Bulldogs started the season under new coach Todd Curley on fire beating West Perth by 35 points, Perth by 10 points and Claremont by 38 points, but the intensity went up a notch last Saturday at Steel Blue Oval and Swan Districts handed them a 21-point defeat.

That loss was South Fremantle's first since losing to Subiaco in Round 18 of last year and ended an eight-game winning run.

The Bulldogs have won their last five home matches at Fremantle Oval, though, with the wins over Peel, Subiaco and the Thunder again to close 2014, and then West Perth and Claremont so far this year.

Subiaco, meanwhile, is coming off winning last year's premiership and then began 2015 in emphatic fashion beating Claremont by 45 points and then East Fremantle by 47, but the Lions then lost on Good Friday to East Perth by 64 points in a rematch of last year's grand final.

The Lions then failed to score in the first quarter last week against West Peth, but kicked nine of the last 11 goals of the match to win by 17 points and improve to the 3-1 record.

With South Fremantle's reserves coming off a 104-point win last week over Swan Districts and with the senior squad relatively injury free despite Haiden Schloithe and Jacob Martinez being sidelined, there are plenty of pressure on for spots at the Bulldogs.

South Fremantle might decide to add some extra height to take on Subiaco with and to provide Brock Higgins with some support in the ruck.

If the Bulldogs go that way, then Josh Branchi looks set to make his league debut and that's after showing the best form of his reserves career so far to start this season and he is coming off having 20 possessions and 24 hit outs last week against Swan Districts.

Adam Carter also continues to try and break in for his first league appearance of the season since rejoining South Fremantle after his time on the West Coast Eagles list and playing in last year's grand final for East Perth.

Ironically his last game against Subiaco was the grand final loss last year so he might be after his own measure of revenge if he earns a call up this Saturday to play at Fremantle Oval.

John Sgherza has made a strong start to the season in the forward-line in the reserves following a horror run of injuries in recent years and after kicking 16 goals in the four games so far, he could make a strong case to play his first league match with the Bulldogs since Round 20, 2013.

Jacob Dragovich has stepped up from the colts to the reserves so far in 2015 as well and been an impressive ball winner and had another 20 possessions and a goal last week against Swans while Matthew Gundry continues to put in solid performances across half-back to also be in the mix.

Two players to already make way in the South Fremantle line-up are Shaun Bewick and Traye Bennell despite Bewick still working hard for 19 possessions against Swans last week and Bennell showing some exciting signs so far in 2015 before a quiet performance last Saturday.

While Subiaco has some handy inclusions, it does lose one important premiership player with centre half-forward Lachlan Delahunty out of the side to play South Fremantle.

Delahunty has been in terrific form so far in 2015 both in attack and as a pinch-hitting ruckman and had another 18 possessions, eight inside-50 entries and a goal last week in the win over West Perth before now being forced out of the side.

Shane Yarran does return from his one-week suspension to provide a strong goalkicking option again for the Lions and he will be keen to get back to the form he was in the first three games of the season where he kicked 13 goals.

Dual premiership player and Simpson Medal winner Wayde Twomey also comes back into the Subiaco line-up after missing last week's win over West Perth and the Good Friday loss to East Perth.

Declan Jackson could make his debut with Subiaco after some solid form in the reserves with Michael Wood a likely returnee to the league side following 18 possessions and three goals after being dropped last week against West Perth.

SWAN DISTRICTS (2-1, 3rd) v EAST FREMANTLE (2-2, 7th) – STEEL BLUE OVAL, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 720 ABC Perth

Swan Districts and East Fremantle last met in the first semi-final of last year and now repeat that showdown this Saturday at Steel Blue Oval with both teams looking to make a statement of their finals credentials for 2015.

East Fremantle won that first semi-final clash by 23 points last year to move into the preliminary final and then only narrowly miss beating Subiaco to qualify for the grand final, but Swan Districts had done a tremendous job just to make the finals against the odds.

Now early in 2015 the black-and-whites have made a strong start to the season with good wins at Steel Blue Oval against Perth and South Fremantle. Swans' only loss came at the ends of East Perth by 13 points at Medibank Stadium.

East Fremantle, meanwhile, started its season in superb fashion thumping East Perth by 55 points in Round 1 at Domain Stadium but the Sharks then suffered disappointing losses to Subiaco and Peel Thunder before just escaping with the three-point win over Claremont last Saturday at home.

Both teams have shown good signs this season but again like the other games this round, the difference between a loss and win at this point of the year can be significant. Swans can either improve to 3-1 or sip to 2-2 while the Sharks will either be 2-3 or 3-2.

Swan Districts was impressive in its win over South Fremantle last week coming off the bye and without any injuries resulting from the hard fought contest, there's little reason for coach Greg Harding to look to make any chance to face East Fremantle this week.

With ruckman Nathan Blakely and small forward Todd Banfield still sidelined through injury and with Swans' reserves suffering a 104-point loss last week to South Fremantle, Harding will likely go with the same 22 that beat the Bulldogs against the Sharks on Saturday.

However, Simon Donovan, Nelson Ansey and David McKay have been added to the Swans' squad to face East Fremantle. If Donovan ends up making the cut, it will be his first game with Swan Districts after previously playing 22 matches with Perth and kicking 41 goals.

Last week was his first reserves game with Swans after not playing WAFL at all in 2014, and he picked up 12 possessions on his debut in black-and-white.

George Hampson and Brock O'Brien will both return to the East Fremantle line-up to add their combination of talent, skill, hardness and experience either as a WAFL premiership player or from the AFL.

Hampson hasn’t played since making his East Fremantle debut in Round 1 against East Perth after making the move from Subiaco to the Sharks over summer on the back of starring in the Lions' premiership win of 2015.

However, he is now set to return from injury and make a significant impact with the Sharks for the first time while the experienced and versatile Brock O'Brien will be back as well after missing just the one week with an injury suffered in the Round 3 loss to Peel Thunder.

Then there are players who are pushing for selection from the reserves for East Fremantle with Barry Barone, Aaron Holmes and Andrew Stokes all in the mix.

Stokes played the first three games of the season in the league team and could return if the Sharks want more height against Swans while Barone and Holmes have continued to be strong ball winners in the reserves to continue to press for selection.

Dion Anthony is out of the East Fremantle side that beat Claremont last Saturday after his second league match of the season with Matthew Jupp also out of the Sharks' back-line after suffering a broken jaw in last week's win over the Tigers.

CLAREMONT (0-3, 8th) v PERTH (0-4, 9th) – CLAREMONT SHOWGROUND, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – KIX Digital

Neither Claremont nor Perth have tasted victory yet in 2015 but both blew golden chances last Saturday afternoon and will be desperate to get over the line this Saturday in the first match at the Claremont Showground for the year.

Claremont finished the 2014 season on fire winning its last six matches but there has been a massive turnover of players since then and the new year hasn’t gone to plan so far.

The Tigers were competitive in Round 1 against Subiaco before ending up going down by 45 points and then following the bye in Round 2, lost to South Fremantle on Good Friday by 38 points in a disappointing performance.

Claremont then appeared set to beat East Fremantle last Saturday at ATOM Stadium when in front with only two minutes left on the clock and the advantage of the breeze, but the Sharks snatched the win with the last goal of the match to win by three points.

Perth, meanwhile, finished 2014 in the complete opposition fashion to what Claremont did losing its last 14 matches and now the Demons have failed to win so far in 2015 with their losing run stretching to 18.

However, the Demons have gone close twice at home at Lathlain Park losing to South Fremantle by 10 points and Peel Thunder by just five last Saturday in a game they led in for virtually the whole afternoon.

It has been away where Perth has been blown away so far this year losing to Swan Districts by 96 points in Round 1 at Steel Blue Oval and then to West Perth by 79 points in Round 3 at HBF Arena.

With both teams desperate to win to open their accounts for 2015 and coming off matches they should have won last week, it should be a fascinating contest.

Claremont continues to be unable to get overly close to fielding what it would deem its best 22 and that's a big reason why the Tigers enter the clash on Saturday with Perth without a win so far in 2015.

Claremont remains without captain Jake Murphy, AFL and WAFL premiership ruckman Mark Seaby and dual premiership midfielder Tom Swift, and now has again lost Simpson Medallist and premiership forward Beau Maister to a four-week suspension.

On return from St Kilda and his second stint with an AFL club, Maister was struck down with illness over the summer but finally got back into the Claremont team last week against East Fremantle after one appearance in the reserves.

He showed some good signs as well with 12 touches, six marks and a goal but now he will be out for the next four weeks through suspension.

Hugo Breakey and John Williams have also lost their positions in the Claremont team following last week's narrow loss to East Fremantle.

With Maister out of the Claremont forward-line again, Haydn Busher looks set to earn an immediate recall after racking up 36 possessions and taking six marks in the reserves last week.

It would be perfect timing for him to play his first match against Perth where he previously played 39 matches since making his debut in 2010.

Ryan Lim also racked up 36 disposals and kicked two goals in the reserves last week for Claremont so looks a good chance to come in for his second league match of the season.

Darcy Cameron, Cameron Palmer, Jack Richardson and Keegan Knott are the other Tigers players who have been performing solidly in the reserves in the mix for a league opportunity on Saturday against Perth.

Perth also can't quite get close to fielding its best 22 early in the 2015 and is winless coming into the clash with Claremont as well largely because of that.

Again Mitch and Jarryd Morton, and Jarrad Irons will remain sidelined to take on the Tigers on Saturday but another former AFL-listed player Brennan Stack has been performing better in the reserves and with 19 possessions and two goals last week against Peel could have earned a recall.

Kieran Hug looks set to also be back in the Demons midfield after 25 disposals and 10 tackles last week and the previous week in the league team against West Perth he did a good job nullifying the influence of Shane Nelson.

Callum Walley could also come back into the Perth team and just at the right time to play his former side as well.