McDonald's WAFL Round 21 PreviewFriday, August 14, 2015 - 11:49 PM - by Chris Pike

ROUND 21 of the 2015 McDonald's WAFL season sees finals positions again go on the line with West Perth, Peel Thunder and East Perth all locked in a battle over the second and third spots, while Swan Districts and Claremont are fighting over the last position in the top five.

Three of the four Round 21 matches take place on Saturday afternoon highlighted by the second place West Perth hosting the fifth place Swan Districts at Joondalup's HBF Arena.

The last place Perth hosts the reigning premiers and guaranteed minor premiers Subiaco at Lathlain Park while East Fremantle looks to end its 10-game losing streak against a Claremont team who needs to win to return to the top five at the Claremont Showground.

The round then concludes on Sunday afternoon with likely the game of the round between the third place Peel Thunder and fourth place East Perth at Mandurah's Bendigo Bank Stadium.

WEST PERTH (11-6, 2nd) v SWAN DISTRICTS (9-9, 5th) – HBF ARENA, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 720 ABC Perth

West Perth and Swan Districts have plenty at stake when the two teams clash at HBF Arena on Saturday.

With the Falcons needing to win to remain in second position on the ladder and Swans needing a victory to remain in fifth spot, both teams will be throwing everything at coming away with a victory in what has become a fierce rivalry between the two teams in recent years.

West Perth bounced back from a narrow loss to East Perth last Saturday kicking the first six goals against East Fremantle at ATOM Stadium before going on to win by 73 points.

However, the Falcons are only percentage clear in second position on the ladder and a loss to Swans on Saturday could see them fall below whoever wins Sunday's clash between Peel Thunder and East Perth, so West Perth does need to win to still sit in a good spot for a home final in that first week.

Swan Districts, meanwhile, put in an outstanding performance laying 108 tackles last week to beat the minor premier Subiaco by a point at Steel Blue Oval.

That saw Swans bounce back from losses to Peel and Claremont the previous two weeks and for them to return to fifth position on the ladder, but with a clash with the Tigers next Saturday and the final round bye, it's a must-win clash against the Falcons for the black-and-whites.

West Perth and Swan Districts have made a habit in recent seasons of playing in some of the more remarkable and memorable WAFL clashes and the two previous meetings in 2015 have certainly lived up to that billing.

West Perth won the first clash at HBF Arena on the Anzac Day holiday Monday with the Falcons storming back with the last five goals of the game in the final five minutes to overcome a 26-point deficit and score the remarkable seven-point victory.

Then back in Round 18 at Steel Blue Oval, West Perth led for much of the day but Swan Districts finished the stronger and hit the front with the last goal of the game to win by two points with the siren then sounding a split second before West Perth forward Michael Lourey took a mark that would have given him a shot on goal and a chance at kicking the match-winner.

Premiership star Rohan Kerr might have only played one game back in the reserves having put off surgery on his back to try and play out the last part of the 2015 season, but he had 17 possessions last week against East Fremantle and it could be enough for him to return against Swan Districts.

Two-time fairest and best winner Shane Nelson is also likely to come back into the Falcons midfield against Swans after missing last week's game against the Sharks with a minor ankle complaint.

Dean Munns had another 20 possessions and 11 tackles in the reserves last week to continue to press for his league debut while Brayden Antonio and Sam Rotham are both in calculations to get a call up into the side to take on the black-and-whites.

West Perth does lose two important players following last week's big win over East Fremantle and both through hamstring injuries suffered by premiership defender Laine Rasmussen, and speedster Kris Shannon.

Swan Districts put in a terrific performance, especially physically with their pressure, last Saturday to beat Subiaco and to return to the top five and the black-and-whites have pulled up well from that with no enforced changes for this Saturday's clash with West Perth at HBF Arena.

Dylan Nelson continues to work hard in the reserves in the forward-line to continue to put himself in the mix for a league call up with Josh Kirkup having 18 possessions, five marks and a goal from defence last week against Subiaco.

Logan Hughes has also been in good reserves form with the 23-year-old in the mix to make his league debut for the black-and-whites in what is shaping as a virtual must-win contest if they hope to play finals in 2015.

PERTH (2-15, 9th) v SUBIACO (14-3, 1st) – LATHLAIN PARK, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – KIX Digital

It's top against bottom when Perth takes on Subiaco at Lathlain Park but there are plenty of reasons to expect a tighter contest than that suggests.

Perth might be guaranteed of finishing with the wooden spoon again in 2015, but aside from a few slip ups, have been vastly more competitive this season despite just recording the two wins.

One of those wins came two weeks ago for the Demons when they beat East Fremantle by 19 points to end an 11-game losing streak, and now they have had the bye last weekend to freshen up for their third crack at the Lions this season.

Subiaco is coming off the premiership in 2014 and is guaranteed of claiming the 2015 minor premiership with the Lions still sitting three games clear on top of the ladder, but they haven’t been able to find their best form in recent weeks or field their best team.

However, Subiaco does welcome back some key players to take on Perth this Saturday at Lathlain Park and will be looking to bounce back from a one-point loss to Swan Districts last week and avoid losing consecutive matches for the first time this season.

Subiaco has now won its last five matches against Perth by an average of almost 62 points.

The first time the two teams met this season was back in Round 7 at Lathlain Park when Perth was able to restrict Subiaco's scoring, but not do much of it itself with the Lions ending up winning 8.15 (63) to 3.9 (27).

Then more recently back in Round 18, Subiaco annihilated Perth recording a thumping 133-point victory at Medibank Stadium.

Perth is coming off its second win of the season and a bye, and the weekend off has allowed ruckman Christian Eyres to get himself right to come into the Demons side against Subiaco to play just his fifth game of the season.

Scott Moore and Mitch Browne are two players who have been working hard in the reserves for Perth to give themselves a chance of a league recall while Toby Gianatti is on track to return to finish off his strong firsts season with the Demons since crossing from Peel Thunder.

Perth does lose midfielder Michael Sinclair and he's a significant loss as well with him the most likely match up for star Subiaco on-baller Sam Menegola.

Subiaco might be on three games clear still on top of the ladder but the Lions aren’t able to keep a stable team together and again have at least four changes to its team to face Perth from the one that lost to Swan Districts by a point last week.

Premiership captain Kyal Horsley and centre half-forward Lachlan Delahunty are the two most significant players returning for Subiaco with Horsley to return after missing the game against Swans while Delahunty will play his first match since Round 15.

Ruckman David Madut will return to the Subiaco side after finding some good touch in the reserves including 14 possessions and 38 hit outs last Saturday against Swan Districts.

Will Fetherstonhaugh, Declan Jackson and Hayden Kennedy are all in contention to make a return to the Lions line-up as well with Western Australia's State 18s captain Greg Clark in the mix following 22 possessions and seven marks in the reserves last Saturday.

Ruckman Jordan Bestry as well as defenders Aaron Heal and Charles Le Fanu, and the emerging Chris Bryan all go out of the Subiaco team to take on Perth from the one that narrowly lost to Swan Districts last Saturday.

CLAREMONT (8-9, 6th) v EAST FREMANTLE (5-12, 8th) – CLAREMONT SHOWGROUND, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams
Broadcast – 91.3 SportFM 

Claremont needs to bounce back against East Fremantle at the Claremont Showground on Saturday in order to be a chance to return to the top five while the Sharks are just desperate to find a way to be competitive.

The Tigers slipped out of the top five again following a 10-point loss to East Perth last Saturday at Medibank Stadium but they can again reclaim fifth position with a win over the Sharks and if Swan Districts loses to West Perth.

Claremont then finishes the season against Swan Districts and West Perth so the clash with East Fremantle is one the Tigers just can't afford to drop if they hope to play finals in 2015 to make up for losing the first five games of the season, and missing out last year just on percentage following another slow start.

East Fremantle, meanwhile, doesn’t have finals to worry about but the Sharks need to try to find something positive to take out of the last three games of the season starting this Saturday against Claremont.

After starting the season winning five of their first seven matches, East Fremantle has now lost its last 10 games including a 73-point defeat at home to West Pert last Saturday after the Falcons booted the first six goals against the Sharks.

The two teams first met back in Round 4 this season with East Fremantle winning a thriller by three points at ATOM Stadium with the Tigers still winless at that point.

It was again on East Fremantle's turf in Round 14 but on that occasion Claremont was able to turn the tables in emphatic fashion recording a 14.9 (93) to 3.7 (25) victory with the Sharks not scoring a goal until shortly before three quarter-time.

Claremont loses one experienced tall former AFL player Kepler Bradley to a hamstring injury he suffered early in last Saturday's loss to East Perth, but there is good news for the Tigers in the big men department with the return of Mark Seaby from a knee injury.

After East Perth's Paul Johnson dominated a Seaby-less Tigers in the ruck last Saturday, the return of Seaby could be just the boost that Claremont needs through the middle to return back to the winner's list and potentially to the top five again as a result.

Isaac Baum has been in good form since being dropped to the reserves and had another 25 possessions, six marks, six tackles, four inside 50s and a goal last week against East Perth to now be a good chance to be back into the league side for the Tigers on Saturday against the Sharks.

Steven Edwards is still waiting to be picked for his first league appearance of the season and he remains in contention to face East Fremantle with Tom Willett also a chance to return while Bailey Rogers could make his debut following another 23 possessions in the colts last Saturday.

Matthew Palfrey joins Bradley out of the Claremont side to take on East Fremantle at the Showground on Saturday.

East Fremantle needs to continue to try and field a team that can be competitive and give the Sharks a chance to end their horror losing streak.

James Bristow kicked five goals last Saturday in the reserves against West Perth to give himself a chance to return to the league side this week and to provide an option in attack for East Fremantle.

Likely draftee Jack Cripps was impressive with 25 possessions so is in line for a debut while prolific midfielder Cameron Eardley should return after missing last week's clash with the Falcons through injury.

Carl Green has been in lively form as a small forward for the Sharks so could also come in and make his debut against the Tigers with forward Jack Perham and defender Sam Read two other players who are a chance to come in and take on Claremont.

Josef Hebiton, Fraser Perry and Adrian Ricciardello are three players to lose their place in the East Fremantle to take on Claremont following last week's disappointing loss at home to West Perth.

PEEL THUNDER (11-6, 3rd) v EAST PERTH (10-8, 4th) – BENDIGO BANK STADIUM, SATURDAY 11.35AM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – Channel 7

There is plenty at stake on Sunday at Bendigo Bank Stadium when Peel Thunder and East Perth both do battle to further entrench their finals position and each looking to improve to a five-match winning streak.

Peel and East Perth have now both won their last four matches to all but guarantee a position in the finals, but a top three spot is up for grabs and could be crucial to the hopes of either side going a long way come September.

With the top three spots guaranteeing a double chance in the finals that's where each side will be hoping to finish at the end of the home and away season, and second position is potentially still up for grabs and that would mean a home final in the first week of the finals.

Peel currently holds third position on the ladder having now won four games on the trot for the second time this season, and a win on Sunday would give the Thunder the club's first ever five-match winning streak since entering the WAFL in 1997.

East Perth, meanwhile, is now in its best form of the season as well having won four consecutive matches to improve to a 10-8 record and to be a chance to possibly sit in second spot by Sunday afternoon if West Perth loses on Saturday as well.

Peel has scored two impressive wins over East Perth so far this season with the first one to the tune of 23 points in Round 5 at Medibank Stadium and then in Round 12 at Bendigo Bank Stadium, it was a terrific contest but it was the Thunder who kicked away in the finish to win a high-scoring battle by 22 points.

The two final line-ups for both Peel and East Perth could still depend on whether or not Fremantle and/or West Coast make any late changes to their teams for the Western Derby at Domain Stadium on Sunday.

At this stage, Peel looks set to regain versatile big man Zac Clarke as he continues to be overlooked at Fremantle with midfielder Lachie Weller to return to the Thunder after his first two games in the AFL.

Defender Alex Silvagni has been dropped by Fremantle after just the one AFL match and now looks set to line-up for Peel on Sunday to further strengthen an already strong back-line.

Clancee Pearce should also return for Peel after again losing his place in the Fremantle side while Connor Blakely is both a chance to still play for the Thunder or make his AFL debut with the Dockers, but he's likely to be playing somewhere at least on Sunday.

Mitch Gill was one player to perform well in the reserves last week for Peel in a 130-point loss to South Fremantle and he had 23 possessions with Kieran May also in contention for a call up along with teenager Josh Schoenfeld who could make his league debut coming up from the colts.

East Perth will regain Freddie Clutterbuck with the 103-game wingman having dominated in the reserves last week with 37 possessions, nine marks and three goals in his first game since Round 13.

The Royals might not get any players back from the Eagles for the clash on Sunday but Tom Omodei, Shayne Hille, Beau Chatley, Rowen Powell, Callum Hart, Julian Ameduri and Agid Gardoud have all been in good form in the reserves to give themselves a chance of a call up to face Peel.

Jamie Bennell was outstanding off half-back last week in East Perth's win over Claremont and that has seen him earn a recall by West Coast for the derby.

Tom Barrass, Brant Colledge and Kane Lucas have all been named emergencies for the Eagles on Sunday but two of them are still more than likely starters for East Perth on Sunday against Peel at Bendigo Bank Stadium.