McDonald's WAFL NAIDOC Round PreviewFriday, July 10, 2015 - 8:39 PM - by Chris Pike

THE WAFL celebrates the annual NAIDOC Round this Saturday with all four matches seeing the teams wear specially designed jumpers for the occasion and with plenty at stake in each of the contests.

Claremont and South Fremantle were the teams to start the NAIDOC Week tradition and both are in the hunt for a spot in the top five when they clash at the Claremont Showground.

The Medibank Stadium co-tenants East Perth and Subiaco also do battle with Peel Thunder playing East Fremantle at Bendigo Bank Stadium, and Perth hosting West Perth at Lathlain Park.

The WAFL has celebrated a NAIDOC themed round now every year since 2009 to celebrate the contribution of Aboriginal footballers to the game, and again this Saturday all eight competing teams will wear specially designed jumpers while playing with a Burley football featuring Aboriginal artwork.

CLAREMONT (6-6, 6th) v SOUTH FREMANTLE (7-6, 5th) - CLAREMONT SHOWGROUND, SATURDAY 2.10PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – Channel 7

Claremont and South Fremantle do battle in the traditional NAIDOC Round clash at the Claremont Showground on Saturday and there is a place in the top five at stake.

Claremont and South Fremantle first played one another during NAIDOC Week back in 2007 and now the entire competition has jumped on board to honour the Aboriginal players past and present, but it's a concept created by the Tigers and Bulldogs and it's now become an annual WAFL fixture.

As well as the chance to celebrate the contribution of the Indigenous players at both clubs, the game is a crucial one for both teams as they fight over a finals position.

South Fremantle currently holds fifth position on the ladder with a 7-6 record but the Bulldogs have played one more game than the Tigers who enter the clash in sixth with a 6-6 record.

A win for South Fremantle on Saturday could see them finish the weekend as high as third position and would set up the Bulldogs well for a finals position come the end of the season.

But a loss would see them end up potentially as low as seventh and then fighting for survival next Sunday in the final Fremantle derby of the year against East Fremantle at ATOM Stadium.

Claremont, meanwhile, could also move up to third position with a win depending on other results but a loss would leave them likely two games outside of a position in the top five, and potentially down as low as seventh on the ladder.

Claremont and South Fremantle have two of the strongest history with Indigenous talent in Australia, which is why the clubs have become traditional foes on NAIDOC Round.

Both teams will again have a host of players with Aboriginal heritage playing during NAIDOC Round with Shane McAdam and Francis Watson representing the Tigers, and Marlion Pickett, Tim Kelly, Traye Bennell and Jacob Martinez to all represent the Bulldogs at league level with Kaiden Matera, Dominic Warrell and Bailey Matera in the reserves.

It was way back on a Good Friday evening at Fremantle Oval when the two teams last played one another and it was South Fremantle who continued its unbeaten start to the season downing the winless Claremont by 38 points in front of almost 3000 people.

However, on that night Claremont was without Mark Seaby, Beau Maister, Anton Hamp and Corey Yeo while Kepler Bradley was still settling into his new surroundings but it's a very different looking Tigers team this time around.

South Fremantle will also be missing ex-Claremont pair Ben Saunders and Dylan Ross who put in strong performances in that Good Friday win over the Tigers.

Shane McAdam looks set to come straight back into the Claremont team to play South Fremantle after missing the last up win against East Fremantle while Tom Swift is a chance to play his first game of the season and Darcy Cameron is again in the mix.

Swift has been limited to just the four reserves games this season but his last two games were terrific with him combining for 52 possessions to now be in the mix to add to his 54 league appearances with Claremont prior to his departure at the end of 2012 when he was delisted by West Coast.

South Fremantle loses exciting first-year player Jacob Dragovich to a sore knee that he suffered in the dying seconds of the win over Swan Districts two weeks ago, but the Bulldogs have several players in the mix to both return from injury and the reserves.

Josh Pullman was outstanding kicking four goals back in Round 11 against Perth but then battled some soreness the next two games in quiet performances against Subiaco and West Perth before he sat out the game against Swan Districts, but he looks right to return and provide a target in attack for the Bulldogs against the Tigers.

Traye Bennell had an exciting start to the season in his first taste of league football and now he has again built some strong form in the reserves including 18 possessions, nine tackles and a goal against Swan Districts to be a good chance of returning to celebrate NAIDOC Round.

Shaun Bewick put himself in the mix for a recall after 34 possessions and 11 marks in the reserves two weeks ago while Matthew Gundry also had 24 disposals to be back in contention.

Claremont is also hosting its Family Fun Day at the Showground on Saturday and it will include Mr Whippy, a bouncy castle, gym bus, a skills kicking test, face painters, an animal farm, pony rides and a host of giveaways.

EAST PERTH (6-7, 7th) v SUBIACO (11-2, 1st) – MEDIBANK STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 720 ABC Perth, KIX Digital

East Perth got a measure of revenge over Subiaco back on Good Friday for the Lions winning last year's grand final, but since then the reigning premiers have only gone from strength to strength while the Royals haven’t quite ever got into top gear.

After Subiaco upset East Perth in last year's grand final to win he premiership, the Royals scored a thumping win over the Lions in Good Friday but the two teams have had contrasting fortunes since then.

Subiaco went on to win its next eight matches before losing to West Perth and bouncing back last week in emphatic fashion with a 55-point win over Peel Thunder to now see them improve to an 11-2 record and to sit comfortably three games clear on top of the ladder.

East Perth, meanwhile, lost to Peel and thrashed Perth following that win over Subiaco before a horror three-game losing streak that culminated in a two-goal performance against Claremont.

However, a three-week break saw East Perth regroup and then come out and beat West Perth by 48 points on WA Day and back up beating Swan Districts before losing again to Peel, beating the struggling East Fremantle and losing to Swans last week, so they just haven’t been able to build any momentum.

With the WAFL also celebrating NAIDOC Round, both teams will be well represented by Indigenous talent with Jamie Bennell, Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, Malcolm Karpany and Murray Newman all in the East Perth squad, while Shane Yarran will represent Subiaco on the occasion.

The Medibank Stadium co-tenants haven’t played since way back on Good Friday in the first grand final rematch from last year, and it was East Perth who hammered Subiaco by 64 points in front of more than 3000 people.

However, the Lions went on to win their next eight matches after that while the Royals haven’t quite been able to rediscover that form despite showing glimpses of it at times.

And on that day East Perth had the likes of Liam Duggan, Freddie Clutterbuck, Josh Hill, Will Schofield and Simon Tunbridge who all won't be there this Saturday.

Meanwhile, Subiaco was missing Sam Menegola, Chris Deluca and Kyle Halligan in that contest and all are up and firing now at this point of the season.

From the team that lost narrowly to Swan Districts last Saturday, East Perth loses some key players with Matt Rosa earning a recall into the West Coast line-up while big man Scott Lycett also goes out.

Even though he struggled against Swans, Lycett still provides a strong presence for the Royals and was terrific in that Good Friday win over Subiaco.

Mark Hutchings also won't line up for the Royals after replacing Sam Butler in the West Coast team to play Adelaide at Domain Stadium on Saturday night, but the Eagles' other two emergencies Fraser McInnes and Kane Lucas look set to still play with the Royals.

Callum Hart is also out of the East Perth team and co-captain Brendan Lee remains in doubt after suffering a concussion during the second quarter of last Saturday's clash with Swan Districts.

East Perth will be glad to welcome back star defender Kyle Anderson after he was a late withdrawal last week delaying his return one more week.

Corey Adamson will also return from injury while some good reserves form has Malcolm Karpany, Scott Jones, Tom Shanahan, Tom Omodei and Dylan Main all in the mix to earn a recall into the East Perth league side to take on Subiaco.

Subiaco also has some significant outs from the team that thrashed Peel last Saturday with premiership forwards Lachlan Delahunty and Matt Boland both out of the team along with promising youngster Luke Norriss.

The absence of Boland and Delahunty will open the door for 20-year-old big man Jordan Bestry to play his third league game, and first of 2015 to help give the Lions some size and presence in the forward-line.

Premiership defender Scott Worthington should also come back in for Subiaco after returning in the reserves last week and his presence is important in the absence currently of Wayde Twomey and Darren Rumble on top of Delahunty and Boland from the forward-line.

Then there are a host of players in terrific form looking for an opportunity at Subiaco with Simon Moore coming off 36 possessions and two goals in the reserves last week against Peel.

Reece Blechynden also had 33 possessions and three goals, Dylan Elliott just four touches but was strong defensively, and Craig Hoskins 29 disposals and two goals.

PEEL THUNDER (7-6, 4th) v EAST FREMANTLE (5-8, 8th) – BENDIGO BANK STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 

Peel Thunder can take another step towards a historic first finals appearance hosting an East Fremantle team at Bendigo Bank Stadium looking to find a way to rediscover the form they showed early in the season.

Peel has never seriously come close to playing finals since entering the WAFL in 1997 but 2015 continues to look like the Thunder's best chance of them doing that, but East Fremantle isn’t completely out of the reckoning either setting up an important clash in Mandurah on Saturday.

Peel remains in fourth position on the ladder with a 7-6 record despite a disappointing loss to Subiaco by 55 points last Saturday, but a win for the Thunder on Saturday over East Fremantle would see them move back up to third position on the ladder, and possibly even second with some luck.

East Fremantle, meanwhile, is in the middle of a horror six-game losing streak which has come about after a good start to the season that saw the Sharks win five of their first seven matches.

Mark McGough, Bradd Dalziell and George Hampson are now all gone either through retirement or injury, and the Sharks have fallen two games and percentage outside of the top five at the moment but a win over Peel on Saturday would keep their slim hopes of playing finals still alive.

Peel does have a strong history of Indigenous players having had the likes of Daniel Wells, Allistair Pickett, Darren Bolton, Quinton Bolton and Harley Bennell being significant parts of the club's past, and again on Saturday the likes of Brady Grey, Gerald Ugle, Leroy Jetta and possibly Jonathon Griffin will represent the club on NAIDOC Round.

Peel and East Fremantle haven’t played since Round 3 but that isn’t a good memory for the Sharks to look back on either with the Thunder having recorded a thumping 55-point victory at Bendigo Bank Stadium.

That was the start of Peel's first ever four-game winning streak in the club's history and East Fremantle also went on a four-game winning run after that, but the Sharks haven’t won since that was ended in Round 9 against West Perth.

Peel looks set to have a reasonably settled side for one of the first times this season with potentially just the one change.

Despite Fremantle pair Tendai Mzungu and Jonathon Griffin both being named as emergencies for the Dockers' clash with Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium on Saturday, they remain a chance to still play with Peel against East Fremantle on Saturday.

At this stage, Max Duffy appears the only certain out from the Peel side that struggled against Subiaco last Saturday and there are some handy players looking to come back in.

Another Docker Ed Langdon is ready to return for the Thunder and to provide another hard-runner and ball winner to the line-up.

Dylan Winton, Mitch Gill, Kieran May, Scott Ugle and Jamahl Mulholland have all been in solid reserves form as well to make a case to earn a recall with Peel.

Peel's reserves were well beaten by Subiaco last week but Winton still managed 18 possessions and six marks, Gill had 19 disposals and a goal, May 13 touches and four tackles, and Mulholland 21 possessions, six marks and four hit outs.

East Fremantle has had two weeks to stew over a horror performance against Claremont two weeks ago as the Sharks look to put together a group of 22 players who can find a way to be competitive again.

Former captain Mark McGough played his last game against Claremont and has joined Bradd Dalziell now in retirement while young forward Brandon Ellis continues to struggle for goals and goes out of the East Fremantle line-up to take on Peel.

Versatile big man James Bristow and Ryan Lester-Smith are both in the mix to replace Ellis in the forward-line with Bristow to come back from injury, and Lester-Smith a chance to get a recall despite going scoreless in the reserves two weeks ago against Claremont.

Jacob Green has been in outstanding reserves form and had another 33 possessions and two goals against Claremont to now be in line to make his league debut against Peel on Saturday with Jayden Schofield and Andrew Stokes in the mix to come back into the team as well.

PERTH (1-12, 9th) v WEST PERTH (8-4, 2nd) – LATHLAIN PARK, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 91.3 SportFM 

Perth and West Perth appears the mismatch of the NAIDOC Round on paper, but the Demons have been competitive for the most part in 2015 and they now look to upset a Falcons team that was in strong form prior to the bye last week.

Perth has won just the once this season to appear set for a second straight wooden spoon but the Demons have been much more competitive than that suggests as they prepare to take on the second placed West Perth who is on a three-game winning run including a win over Subiaco two weeks ago.

Perth's one win in 2015 came against Claremont back in Round 5 and the Demons have lost eight straight matches since, but the defeats in that time to East Fremantle, Swan Districts and South Fremantle saw them not without their chances of a second win.

West Perth, though, scored strong wins over Peel Thunder, South Fremantle and Subiaco prior to its last bye of the season to have now improved to an 8-4 record on the season to be a game clear in second position, and a chance to further consolidate that spot with a win over the Demons.

The Falcons have also won their last seven games against Perth so will be looking to continue that recent domination over the Demons.

Perth has a strong history of Indigenous stars including the likes of Barry Cable, Troy Cook, Leon Davis and Michael Johnson, and again on Saturday the likes of Brennan Stack and Kelvin Lawrence are a chance to represent the Demons for NAIDOC Round.

West Perth has also had some legendary Aboriginal players in the past including Graham 'Polly' Farmer and Bill Dempsey, and Callum Papertalk could fittingly make his Falcons debut this Saturday against Perth as part of NAIDOC Round.

Perth and West Perth haven’t played one another since Round 3 at HBF Arena and it was the Falcons who dominated that contest, especially after half-time, running out 79-point winners on the back 13 goals to four in the second half, and nine goals to two in the final quarter.

Perth suffered a disappointing loss to Peel two weeks ago before last week's bye but has some key players returning to take on West Perth including one at each end with experienced defender Chris Billings back as is Jarryd Morton who kicked seven goals against Claremont before being suspended.

Reid Polak is in line to debut for Perth with the 18-year-old moving up from the colts this year to play the last four weeks in the reserves and now be in contention to play in the league team.

Lawrence is also a chance to play his first game for Perth after crossing from Peel over summer, and he played his best game in the reserves two weeks ago with 19 possessions, six inside-50 entries and a goal.

Marshall Jones, Todd Stevenson, Brent Edmonds and Sam McGillivray are the other players pressing claims to be included in the Perth team to take on West Perth.

Callum Collard, Rowan Brookes, Sam Garstone, Dene White and Kieran Hug are all out for the Demons following their loss a fortnight ago to the Thunder.

West Perth loses two important premiership players to injury following the win over Subiaco two weeks ago with co-captain Luke Tedesco and hard nut Kody Manning both out for the Falcons along with dangerous forward Corey Chalmers.

Brayden Antonio had some bad luck early in the season but he has now been back playing some terrific football in the reserves and had another 19 possessions and three goals two weeks ago against Subiaco to now be in the mix for his first league game of 2015.

Another premiership player Ray Bartholomew is a chance to come back in for West Perth after 22 possessions in the reserves against Subiaco with Trent Manzone, Drew Rohde and Mitch van Berlo also in calculations for a call up.

Former West Coast and East Fremantle player Callum Papertalk has joined West Perth this season and has been building some form nicely after two years out of playing top-level football.

He has now kicked 15 goals the last four games to be a chance of playing not only his first league game with West Perth, but of his career.