ROUND 17 PREVIEW | v SWAN DISTRICTS

SOUTH Fremantle remains at home on Saturday afternoon and looking for a measure of revenge on Swan Districts to string consecutive wins together to consolidate a spot in the top five.

South Fremantle returned to the WAFL winner’s list last Saturday with the 44-point win at Fremantle Community Bank Oval against Subiaco before now playing host to Swan Districts this Saturday.

The league contest gets underway at 2.10pm after the day begins with the colts match up at 8.55am and the reserves battle starts at 11.25am.

South Fremantle comes into the Round 17 match up fresh off that win against Subiaco to improve to an 8-5 record on the season and to remain in fifth position a game clear of the sixth placed Claremont.

However, it’s a different challenge ahead of the Bulldogs now this Saturday with Swan Districts arriving at Fremantle Community Bank Oval as the form team in the competition having won seven straight games to be sitting on a 9-4 record and knocking on the door of a top two spot.

It was only back in Round 11 when the two teams did last meet and that was an emotional occasion at Steel Blue Oval with the passing leading into it of John Todd and the two teams playing for the renamed John Todd Memorial Cup.

Swan Districts ended up scoring the 27-point win on that occasion and that made it three straight wins for them against South Fremantle having also won both meetings between the two teams in 2023.

The last time the two teams met at Fremantle Community Bank Oval was in Round 4 last year where Swans also beat the Bulldogs by 18 points, but prior to that and South Fremantle had won nine in-a-row at home against them.

So despite having lost three games straight now against Swans, the Bulldogs have still won nine of the last 10 home games against them and will be looking to make it 10 from 11 by Saturday evening.

South Fremantle coach Todd Curley will hope that his team learned a lot from that loss to Swan Districts six weeks ago at Bassendean and especially gets off to a better start this time around.

“Last time we played them they bullied us and pretty much beat them from the first minute,” Curley told 91.3 SportFM.

“They jumped us and got out in front and really controlled the game so we have to start better, and compete better in the midfield.

“If you get beaten in the midfield it makes it really hard to compete and we do think we’re in reasonable shape, and obviously they’re in really good form. It will be a good game and we’re looking forward to it.”

From the South Fremantle team that beat Subiaco by 44 points last Saturday also at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, the Bulldogs have made just the one change to the final 22.

Zac Strom returns to the line-up to pick up his spot as the spearhead in attack while Manfred Kelly makes room to be one of the emergencies alongside Toby McQuilkin, Caleb Datson and Callum Copeland.