McDonald's WAFL Round 1 PreviewFriday, March 18, 2016 - 9:07 AM - by Chris Pike

THE 2016 McDonald's WAFL season begins with all four matches this Saturday with two outstanding servants of two clubs celebrating significant milestones.

The Round 1 WAFL matches all take place on Saturday afternoon with South Fremantle taking on West Perth at Fremantle Community Bank® Oval, East Perth taking on Claremont at Medibank Stadium, Peel Thunder facing Subiaco at Bendigo Bank Stadium and East Fremantle playing Swan Districts at ATOM Stadium.

It will be a massive day for two of the fiercest and most loyal competitors of this century as well.

East Perth co-captain Craig Wulff will become the Royals' all-time games record holder when he runs out for appearance No. 270 against the Tigers while Swan Districts premiership star Justin Simpson will earn life membership of the black-and-whites by playing his 150th match.

COACHES HAVE THEIR SAY 
FULL WAFL SEASON PREVIEW 

SOUTH FREMANTLE v WEST PERTH – FREMANTLE COMMUNITY BANK® OVAL, SATURDAY 2.10PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 7mate

South Fremantle and West Perth meet for the first televised match on 7mate for the 2016 WAFL season when they do battle over the Garlic Munchers Cup at the newly named Fremantle Community Bank® Oval on Saturday.

The Bulldogs and Falcons also began the 2015 season at the port and it was the home team that won that clash on a Friday night by 35 points.

However, South Fremantle went on to miss the finals and finish the season in seventh position while West Perth advanced all the way to the grand final.

Now they take on one another in the season-opener once more and the winner will claim the now annual Garlic Munchers Cup for 2016.

BULLDOGS TOP UP TALENT IN QUEST TO RETURN TO FINALS 
FALCONS FOCUS WITHIN FOR IMPROVEMENT IN 2016 

South Fremantle started its 2015 season under new coach Todd Curley so impressively winning its opening three games.

However, the Bulldogs went on to lose three straight and then despite remaining in finals contention late in the piece, they lost their five matches to end up with an 8-12 record to finish in seventh position and miss the finals for a fourth successive season.

They have lost some experience over summer with the likes of Craig White, Paul Mugambwa, Kyle Hams, James Sellar, Dylan Ross and Nick Borovac moving on while Jarrod Parry will miss all of 2016 with a knee injury and so will Cory Dell'Olio through suspension.

South Fremantle has added some exciting talent, though, including welcoming back Mason Shaw (Port Adelaide), Blaine Johnson (Carlton), Dylan Main (West Coast) and Tom Vandeleur (Fremantle) from AFL clubs.

Shane Hockey is also a strong addition as an experienced, hard-bodied midfielder from the VFL with Steven Edwards and Jordan Matera two more new arrivals sure to add some excitement.

West Perth had a strong 2015 season after missing the finals in 2014 on the back of the 2013 premiership.

Having played 12 straight weeks without a bye by the time the grand final against Subiaco rolled around, they were a spent force but it had been a tremendous effort to get there and win finals at home at HBF Arena against Peel Thunder and East Perth.

The Falcons have lost powerhouse defender Marcus Adams with premiership players Marc Crisp and Ray Bartholomew retiring. Jordan Jones and Matt Johnson are two more players no longer at West Perth in 2016.

But they have added three players they expect to add some quality, depth and goal scoring ability to their forward-line in the form of Max Duffy, Joel Leeson and Keegan Knott.

Duffy arrives after time with Fremantle where he played three AFL matches and played some outstanding WAFL football as a half-forward with Peel Thunder.

Leeson played 49 games and kicked 56 goals with Perth before a year off in 2015 and he's now back in the system while Knott has played six matches for three goals with Claremont, and booted bags of seven and five (twice) in the reserves last year as a small forward.

From South Fremantle's team named for Saturday's season-opener, Hockey, Main, Shaw, Edwards and Brad McPhail are all in line to make their league debuts for the Bulldogs.

Ruckman Brock Higgins is unavailable through injury but aside from him South Fremantle has a virtual full squad to select from.

Duffy, Knott and Leeson are all set to play their first games with West Perth while Northern Territory big man Mark Hamilton could make his debut after arriving midway through 2015 and talented ruckman Seva Mozhaev (Martin) returns after missing last year with a knee reconstruction.

Shane Nelson is unavailable after undergoing wrist surgery with West Perth also without Brayden Antonio and Steven Browne for Round 1 while Steve Potente, Laine Rasmussen, Matt Fowler and Corey Chalmers will play reserves.

EAST PERTH v CLAREMONT – MEDIBANK STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – KIX Digital

East Perth and Claremont both made finals in 2015 and even locked horns in the elimination final giving the Royals and Tigers an early chance to judge their progress over summer when they do battle at Medibank Stadium on Saturday.

East Perth finished fourth and Claremont fifth at the end of the 2015 season before they met in the elimination final also at Medibank Stadium, where the Royals prevailed in a tight contest.

They now start the 2016 season up against one another and it will be a historic day for East Perth as co-captain Craig Wulff leads out his team.

The inspirational leader has currently played 269 games with the Royals to share the club's games record tally with Derek Chadwick.

By running out on Saturday, he will reach 270 games to be the record holder in his own right and that will be a remarkable achievement for the 33-year-old who is as dedicated and loyal to the East Perth Football Club as perhaps anyone ever has been.

MURPHY LOOKS FOR SOME BETTER LUCK AS TIGERS CAPTAIN 
NEW CO-CAPTAIN, COACH SHOOT FOR ULTIMATE SUCCESS FOR ROYALS 

East Perth had another strong season in 2015 making finals for a fourth straight year. The Royals ended the home and away season in fourth spot before beating Claremont and Peel Thunder to set up a preliminary final battle with West Perth at HBF Arena.

The Royals' season came to the end with the loss and it was another year of a potential missed chance for a first flag since 2002. East Perth has now played two grand finals and a preliminary final the past three years.

East Perth has again lost some key players coming into 2016 with Brendan Lee suspended and Freddie Clutterbuck leaving for Swan Districts, but they still have strong leadership with the retention of Wulff, Kyle Anderson, Garry Moss, Steven Payne, Nathan Blee, Paul Johnson and Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls.

Claremont, meanwhile, benefitted from the WAFL's top five system for 2015 taking that last spot in the finals series having recovered from losing its opening five games of the season.

The Tigers lost the elimination final but had done well to make the finals after the slow start.

Now coming into 2016, veteran big men Kepler Bradley and Mark Seaby have retired while a season-ending knee injury to emerging midfielder Corey Yeo will hurt.

But Claremont has added some talent in the form of VFL midfielder Jye Bolton, last year's reserves fairest and best from East Perth Tom Shanahan and former AFL-listed pair Jared Hardisty and Rowen Powell.

The experienced Dylan Ross is also back after time with South Fremantle to provide some leadership and depth to the back-line that has lost Jordan McAllister.

East Perth has a strong contingent of West Coast-listed players named for Round 1 with the AFL having the bye following the NAB Challenge ahead of their season-opener over Easter.

The Eagles have released 15 players to line-up with the Royals on Saturday including first-year draftees Luke Partington, Tom Cole, and new arrivals Jonathan Giles and Jack Redden.

The likes of Dom Sheed and Mark Hutchings will be getting the run to fine tune for Round 1 with Tom Barrass, Kane Lucas, Tom Lamb, Fraser McInnes, Patrick McGinnity, Malcolm Karpany, Brant Colledge, Paddy Brophy and Corey Adamson out to impress.

Claremont, meanwhile, appears just about at full strength for Round 1 and while the Tigers have a youthful group they are still well led by the likes of Jake Murphy, Brandon Franz, Tom Ledger, Jack Bradshaw, Ian Richardson, Beau Maister, Mitch Andrews and Ryan Neates who will be there Saturday.

PEEL THUNDER v SUBIACO – BENDIGO BANK STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 

Peel Thunder and Subiaco both played finals in 2015 and will be looking to get their 2016 seasons off to the perfect start when they meet at Bendigo Bank Stadium on Saturday.

Last year proved to be a memorable one for both clubs with Peel making the finals for the first time ever while Subiaco went on to win a second straight premiership, and the Lions' sixth triumph of the past 12 years.

There's every reason to expect both the Thunder and Lions to be around the mark again in 2016 so Saturday's clash in Mandurah should provide an early insight into where both of them stand.

The teams met just the two times in 2015 with Subiaco winning by 60 points at Bendigo Bank Stadium in Round 8 and then by 55 points in Round 15 at Medibank Stadium.

NEW THUNDER SKIPPER UGLE NOT AFRAID TO AIM BIG 
NO COMPLACENCY AT SUBIACO AS LIONS HUNT ANOTHER HAT-TRICK 

Peel had its best ever season last year since joining the WAFL in 1997. The Thunder finished with a 13-7 record to book in their first ever finals appearance.

While it resulted in a loss to West Perth at HBF Arena and a defeat at home to East Perth, it was a significant achievement just to be taking part in the finals and they will be looking to build on that in 2016 now.

Peel has lost some important players from that team with Brendon Jones retiring and Leroy Jetta being suspended for 2016, but the return of Rory O'Brien is significant.

The hard-working midfielder played 92 matches and won two fairest and best awards with Peel before departing for East Fremantle where he added another 108 games, won three more fairest and bests as well as a Sandover Medal and he was captain as recently as 2015.

He provides significant quality and experience to Peel's midfield for 2016 while the return of Brad Walsh from Carlton is also encouraging. Gerald Ugle will replace Jones as captain for the season.

There have also been big changes at Subiaco with premiership players Sam Menegola and Shane Yarran drafted, and Chris Deluca, Darren Rumble, Scott Worthington and Matt Boland moving on.

However, the Lions have done well restocking their list welcoming back premiership players Greg Broughton and Adam Cockie. Former Fremantle-listed player Hamish Shepheard has also signed to provide some size and athleticism in both the ruck and up forward.

Shaquille McKenzie (East Perth), Hayden Yarran (West Perth) and Ben Sokol (South Fremantle) have arrived from other WAFL clubs to also help replace Yarran, Boland and Deluca in the forward-line.

Peel will have a big influx of Fremantle-listed players for Round 1 with up to 16 likely to line-up against the Lions.

That includes some players in the mix to play for the Dockers next week as well such as Harley Bennell, Alex Silvagni, Clancee Pearce, Zac Clarke, Matt de Boer, Lachie Weller and Hayden Crozier.

Meanwhile, McKenzie, Sokol and Shepheard are in line to play their first games with Subiaco while Cockie is unavailable through suspension.

EAST FREMANTLE v SWAN DISTRICTS – ATOM STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Selected teams 
Broadcast – 720 ABC Perth 

Neither East Fremantle nor Swan Districts played finals in 2015 but they enter 2016 with great hope and that will receive a greater boost for whoever prevails when they do battle at ATOM Stadium on Saturday.

The Sharks and Swans were both disappointed with the way their 2015 seasons finished up after both took part in finals in 2014, so getting off to a good start to open the new campaign will help in their push to return to September action.

Swans will have some added motivation heading to Shark Park with 2010 premiership centre half-forward Justin Simpson set to earn life membership of the club by playing his 150th match.

He was a forward in that premiership year and kicked five goals memorably in the preliminary final win over East Perth.

Since then, though, he has settled into a role in the back-line where his ability to read the ball coming in and take intercept marks, and then set up play going the other way is outstanding.

He has had challenges along the way including a battle with Hodgkin's Disease, but his heart and passion has been enormous and there will be no player prouder than becoming a life member at Swans than him when he achieves it on Saturday.

SHARKS LOOK FOR SPARK FROM NEW COACH, CAPTAIN, STAR RECRUIT 
SWANS TO BANK ON YOUTH; WELCOME BACK JETTA, NEWMAN 

East Fremantle had high hopes coming into 2015 following a preliminary final berth in 2014 where only poor kicking cost them making the grand final.

And things started well with the Sharks winning five of their opening seven games but they then lost their next 12 before ending off with a final round victory that ended up being the farewell appearances of Rob Young and Rory O'Brien.

The Sharks now have a new coach in 2016 in the form of the experienced Rob Wiley and he has attracted key forward Matthew Watson with him from Carlton where the pair worked together in the AFL.

Brett Peake has also been coaxed out of retirement to return for East Fremantle after sitting out 2015 while former AFL-listed players Josh Simpson and Jesse Crichton are among the other new signings along with Dylan Winton from Peel Thunder.

Swan Districts appeared on track to play finals again for most of 2015 but in the end a Round 22 win over Claremont wasn’t enough when the Tigers beat West Perth while Swans had the Round 23 bye ended those hopes and they finished agonisingly in sixth.

Ryan Davis and Nathan Broad were two of their stars in 2015 but both are now in the AFL at Gold Coast and Richmond respectively while Tim Geappen is also a significant loss to the forward-line through retirement.

The black-and-whites have made some encouraging signings, though, with Graham Jetta and Murray Newman both returning to the club while 103-game former East Perth wingman Freddie Clutterbuck is on board to play with the club he supported growing up.