McDonald's WAFL Round 18 PreviewFriday, July 24, 2015 - 5:45 PM - by Chris Pike

ROUND 18 of the WAFL season is again split over Saturday and Sunday as things really heat up with six teams continuing to fight over the last four positions in the top five.

With Subiaco secure on top of the WAFL ladder, West Perth, Peel Thunder, Swan Districts and South Fremantle occupy the other four positions in the top five but Claremont and East Perth remain right in contention and could be in the top five again with wins in Round 18.

The action begins with three matches on Saturday with West Perth taking on Claremont at HBF Arena, South Fremantle taking on East Perth at Fremantle Oval and Subiaco facing Perth at Medibank Stadium.

Then on Sunday at 11.40am, Peel Thunder takes on Swan Districts in a battle between third and fourth at Bendigo Bank Stadium.

WEST PERTH (9-5, 2nd) v CLAREMONT (7-7, 6th) – HBF ARENA, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 

West Perth and Claremont meet at HBF Arena on Saturday in a clash with plenty at stake for both teams.

The Falcons currently sit in second position on the ladder with a 9-5 record but a narrow two-point loss to Swan Districts last Saturday at Steel Blue Oval means that suddenly they are not quite as secure in their spot.

West Perth does need to win against Claremont on Saturday to remain second or the winner of Peel-Swan Districts game on Sunday will likely replace them in second position, but a win could see the Falcons remain a game clear in that second spot.

Claremont, meanwhile, has still done well to win seven of its last nine games but a defeat at the hands of Peel Thunder at the Showground last Saturday has meant that the Tigers lost their place in the top five to slip to a 7-7 record.

Claremont now could finish the weekend in fourth position with a win over West Perth and if other results go their way, but a loss for the Tigers could see them potentially fall a game behind the team in fifth position, and two behind whichever teams ends the round fourth and above.

West Perth's first Sandover Medallist since 1993, and 2013 premiership player Aaron Black will celebrate his 100th game for the Falcons on Saturday as well.

While of interest is the return of Kepler Bradley to play with Claremont at HBF Arena for the first time since electing to sign with Claremont for 2015 after originally agreeing to return to West Perth at the end of his AFL career.

The two teams have met just the once so far this season and going into that Claremont had yet to record a victory in 2015, but the Tigers beat West Perth by 20 points at the Showground and that began their run of five straight wins.

They will now meet twice over the last five rounds of the season with the two teams to also do battle at HBF Arena in Round 23.

West Perth again loses some important players to injury but on the positive side does regain premiership player Andrew Strijk who missed last week's game with Swan Districts due to tightness in his calf.

Corey Chalmers should return after a week out injured and then a week in the reserves against Swans to further strengthen West Perth's mid-size forward stocks.

Tim Sutherland is a chance to make his debut to give West Perth some extra height to try and counter Claremont's big men department while Tyson Moulton continues to play well in the reserves to put himself in the mix to make his league debut.

Blake Wilhelm is the other in calculations to come into the West Perth team after some consistently strong form in the reserves as well.

Speedy small forward Kris Shannon has been in some terrific form during the best season of his career but he injured a hamstring last week against Swan Districts and now looks set to miss up to a month because of that while young defender Mitch van Berlo also goes out with a shoulder injury.

Claremont has an embarrassment of riches with its big men and it now appears time for Darcy Cameron to get another chance in the league team playing the role as back up ruckman to Mark Seaby and as a tall option in attack alongside Kepler Bradley and Beau Maister.

Cameron has put in some strong performances in the reserves since Andrews replaced him on the back of dominant form himself in the reserves, but Cameron had 15 disposals, eight marks, 54 hit outs and two goals last week against Peel Thunder to demand his first league appearance since Round 12.

Keegan Knott was another to demand a spot in the Claremont league side with strong reserves form, but a quiet game against Peel with just five possessions and he goes straight back out this week against West Perth.

Captain Jake Murphy has now strung together two good games in the reserves after injury sidelined him since Good Friday, and he now should come back into the league side against West Perth as well.

Defenders Lachlan Davey and Tom Willett, and exciting small forward Shane McAdam are also in the mix to come back into the Claremont line-up with the Tigers needing to win to return to the top five.

SOUTH FREMANTLE (8-7, 5th) v EAST PERTH (7-8, 7th) – FREMANTLE OVAL, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 91.3 SportFM 

SOUTH Fremantle and East Perth are two teams doing battle over a position inside the WAFL top five and it's unlikely there is room for two of them in there come the end of the season meaning a win is of vital importance at Fremantle Oval on Saturday.

The Bulldogs currently sit in fifth position and the Royals in seventh with the teams separated by just the one win but East Perth has a superior percentage to that of South Fremantle that is almost worth four points.

South Fremantle improved to an 8-7 record with an eight-point win over East Fremantle last Sunday at ATOM Stadium with the Bulldogs moving back into fifth position on the ladder as a result, but they do need to keep winning to remain there.

East Perth, meanwhile, kept its season alive last Saturday beating Perth by 20 points with the Royals now sitting on a 7-8 record but their percentage would likely see them end Round 18 in fourth position if they beat South Fremantle, and Claremont and Swan Districts both lose games away from home to teams placed higher than them.

South Fremantle is trying to play finals for the first time since 2011 and East Perth is looking for a fourth successive finals appearance.

The Bulldogs and Royals play one another just the two times this season and on the first occasion at Medibank Stadium back in Round 7, South Fremantle came into the clash on just a five-day break having lost to East Fremantle on the Anzac Day holiday Monday.

However, the Bulldogs came out and played a ferocious brand of football to open up a handy lead and then end up winning by 13 points with the Royals kicking some consolation goals to lessen the damage by the final siren.

The win ended a run of three straight losses for South Fremantle and began a succession of three defeats for East Perth.

South Fremantle looks set to recall experienced and quality key defender Dylan Ross who has overcome a bout of glandular fever. He has been playing in the reserves through the illness, but it did knock him about there for several weeks.

However, his form in recent weeks has been building well and he had 19 possessions and eight marks in the reserves last Sunday against East Fremantle and now looks set to return to the league side for the first time since Round 5 on Saturday against East Perth.

With Zac Strom still in the reserves for at least another week and James Sellar out of the team, Ross will reclaim his position in the defence for South Fremantle but could be pushed forward on occasion if needed.

Jacob Dragovich also played well in the reserves last week with 20 disposals and two goals against East Fremantle to show that he's overcome a knee complaint so he looks set to come back into the league side.

Anthony Collica has strung together three strong games in the reserves as well averaging over 33 possessions to put himself back in the mix while Matthew Ah Siu is another young player whose form has been impressive to give him a chance of becoming another debutant in 2015.

Sellar is the only out of the South Fremantle team at this point. He was struggling for form as a key forward and was pushed into defence last week where his form did improve, but now with Ross fully healthy he looks set to reclaim his place in the back-line.

And South Fremantle's forward-line functioned well in the win over East Fremantle last Sunday with Josh Pullman and Brock Higgins as the tall targets, and then Callum Ah Chee, Craig White, Cory Dell'Olio and Traye Bennell around them.

East Perth will lose West Coast's Liam Duggan who injured his knee in the opening minutes of last Saturday's win over Perth while defender Tom Barrass has received a call up for the Eagles to make his AFL debut after continued outstanding form for the Royals with his spoiling and intercept marking a highlight.

Jamie Bennell, Fraser McInnes and Murray Newman have all been named as emergencies for West Coast to play Sydney at Domain Stadium on Sunday, but unless the Eagles make a late change the trio should all line up for the Royals on Saturday against the Bulldogs.

Defender Callum Hart has lost his place in the Eats Perth, though, but the Royals have some big inclusions.

Scott Lycett found some form and fitness playing three quarters in the ruck in the reserves last week for East Perth against Perth, and was solid enough to come back into the league side this Saturday.

Patrick McGinnity has also overcome injury to return for East Perth with fellow West Coast-listed players Sam Butler and Brant Colledge to play with the Royals on Saturday and further strengthen the midfield.

Non-West Coast listed players Tom Omodei, Tom Shanahan, Clayton Giblett, Beau Chatley and Tom Hodgson are all in the mix to come into the East Perth side as well to tackle South Fremantle.

SUBIACO (12-2, 1st) v PERTH (1-14, 9th) – MEDIBANK STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – KIX Digital

The mismatch of the round appears to be scheduled for Medibank Stadium when the league-leading reigning premiers Subiaco takes on a Perth team heading for a second straight wooden spoon.

Perth will be just trying to find a way to make a contest out of the match up with Subiaco fresh off a bye and currently sitting three games and a huge amount of percentage on top of the WAFL ladder as the Lions hunt for back-to-back premierships.

Subiaco suffered a surprising loss to West Perth back in Round 14 but bounced back with convincing wins over Peel Thunder and East Perth to have now improved to a 12-2 record and to be three games clear on top of the ladder.

Perth, meanwhile, has now lost its last 10 games since its only win of the season against Claremont and not only have the Demons lost 10 straight, but they have won just one of 15 for the season, and going back to last year have recorded just the one victory in the last 29 matches.

The two teams have met just the once so far this season and Perth was able to restrict Subiaco to just the eight goals, but could only kick three itself with the Lions running out comfortable but not emphatic 36-point winners.

Subiaco is now fresh coming into this week's clash following the bye and the bad news for Perth is that it's the first of two clashes over the next four rounds between the Lions and Demons.

Subiaco has also now won its last four games against Perth since 2013 by an average of almost 44 points.

Subiaco does lose a couple of premiership midfielders from the team that beat East Perth two weeks ago prior to the bye last week with Brett Mahoney and Brett Robinson both out of the side, but the depth of the Lions is such that they have some top quality replacements to come in.

Premiership full-forward Matt Boland returns to play his third league game of the season while dual premiership star defender, and Simpson Medallist Wayde Twomey also is set to come back to play his first game for the Lions since Round 13.

West Australian State 18s captain Greg Clark is also in line to make his league debut to gain some extra experience against men before his expected drafting into the AFL at the end of the year.

Another premiership player, tenacious small forward Chris Deluca will come back in for Subiaco after being a late withdrawal a fortnight ago against East Perth while Chris Bryan has been putting together some solid form in the reserves to come into calculations for a spot in the league side.

As if Perth's job wasn’t already a daunting one, the Demons will be without three important players from the side that lost to East Perth last Saturday at the same venue.

Cody Leggett did get hurt early against East Perth so he was always likely to miss the clash with Subiaco but it's the loss of former AFL pair Mitch Morton and Brennan Stack that really hurts.

Stack has been working hard in his latest recall into the league side for Perth and appeared to be building some momentum as a target in attack, but he now again goes out of the side while Mitch Morton is also out having been playing some strong football forward and in stints in the midfield.

Perth coach Earl Spalding has no choice but to take the chance to look at some more young players and as a result Hayden Tanner, Sam Garstone, Ashley Boyes, Kayle Phillips, Scott Moore and Kurtis Chester all come into the mix to get a league chance against the best side in the competition, Subiaco.

PEEL THUNDER (9-6, 3rd) v SWAN DISTRICTS (8-7, 4th) – BENDIGO BANK STADIUM, SUNDAY 11.40AM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – Channel 7

Peel Thunder and Swan Districts meet in the standalone WAFL clash on Sunday with third position on the WAFL ladder up for grabs, and with the winner to all but sew up a place in the finals for 2015.

The two teams meet in an earlier than usual starting match with bounce down scheduled for 11.40am and the game will be shown live on Channel 7, and there is plenty at stake for both teams.

Peel currently sits two games clear of the sixth placed Claremont with Swan Districts also a game ahead of the teams outside the top five so the winner of Sunday's clash could either move two or three games clear inside the top five with just five rounds to go and be all but guaranteed of playing finals.

For Peel, that would be a historic achievement with the Thunder never having previously made the finals since entering the competition in 1997.

Peel has now won four of its last five games with the only hiccup a loss to Subiaco to now have improve to a 9-6 record.

It already is the first time Peel has ever won nine games in a season and now the Thunder turns their attention to making the finals for the first time, and a win over Swans will just about lock that away and could even improve them to second position if West Perth loses to Claremont on Saturday.

Swan Districts has also done well to win four of its last five games, with the only loss in that time a narrow defeat to South Fremantle at Fremantle Oval, and the black-and-whites now sit in fourth position and also could improve to second with a win over Peel and a West Perth loss on Saturday.

Peel and Swan Districts have met just the once so far this season and now Sunday's clash will be their second and last meeting unless they meet during finals.

Back in Round 7, Swan Districts put in a terrific performance to beat Peel 18.16 (124) to 11.11 (77) at Steel Blue Oval with that result bringing to an end the Thunder's first ever four-game winning streak in the club's history.

Lachie Weller, Zac Clarke and Zac Dawson have all been named as emergencies for Fremantle in the team to take on Richmond at the MCG on Saturday but they could all, or at least two of them, still line-up for Peel on Sunday against Swan Districts.

Peel does lose Clancee Pearce for sure, though, from the team that beat Claremont at the Showground after he had 40 possessions and 11 marks after being a somewhat surprising omission from the Fremantle team that went on to beat Carlton at Domain Stadium on Saturday night.

Laine Wilkins, Corey Morris, Dylan Winton, Brayden Lawler, Mitch Gill, Kieran May and Scott Ugle are all among the players from Peel's reserves who are a chance to get an opportunity in the league side against the black-and-whites on Sunday.

Swan Districts does regain Aaron Elari after he had one game back in the reserves last Saturday against West Perth where he had 34 possessions on return from injury.

His return game on Sunday in the league side will see him make his 100th appearance in the WAFL with him having made his debut with Perth in 2010 and playing 49 games with the Demons before joining Swans ahead of the 2013 season, and now being set to play his 51st match with the black-and-whites on Sunday.

Another important player Kirk Ugle is ready to play his first game back with Swan Districts since being sidelined after getting hurt in the Round 14 loss against South Fremantle at Fremantle Oval.

Ruckman Jake Nuich did well in a role up forward in the reserves last Saturday against West Perth kicking four goals to put himself in the mix to return for Swans on Sunday against Peel with goalkicker Dylan Nelson and midfielder David McKay remaining a chance for a call with consistently strong form.

Swan Districts does look a couple of important players with defender Alex Howard and former Brisbane Lions small forward Todd Banfield to not take their place in the team against Peel in Mandurah on Sunday.