RD 20 PREVIEW | v WEST COAST

SOUTH Fremantle will be determined to finish the 2023 WAFL season on a winning note and avoid being the only team to lose to the West Coast Eagles when they clash at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday.

Last time the two teams met at the Lathlain venue was Round 10 last year when Eagles won their last WAFL game so the Bulldogs won’t want the same to happen again this Saturday with the game beginning at 10.30am.

It’s the last game of the season for South Fremantle with the Bulldogs attempting to snap a four-game losing run and win a sixth match for the 2023 campaign.

Saturday’s game will be the eighth meeting in the WAFL between the two clubs with South Fremantle having won five of the previous seven contests.

The most recent was Round 1 this year at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with the Bulldogs beating the Eagles by 43 points.

In that victory, Jimmy Miller kicked four goals for South Fremantle, Brandon Donaldson three, Mackenzie Nield two and Chase Bourne two.

Jacob Dragovich also racked up 28 possessions, Tom Blechynden 25, Toby McQuilkin 25, Dylan Main 22, Brendon Ah Chee 21, Chad Pearson 21, Manfred Kelly 19 and Donaldson 19.

West Coast only had single goal scorers with Zane Trew picking up 26 disposals, Jackson Nelson 22, Isiah Winder 22, Josh Browne 22, Cooper Nitschke 21, Coby Burgiel 20 and Xavier O’Neill 20.

Prior to that and the last win West Coast has scored in the WAFL took place in Round 10 last year at Mineral Resources Park when under lights at Lathlain with Nic Naitanui leading the ruck, the Eagles handed the Bulldogs the 41-point defeat.

Before that and South Fremantle had won the previous three matches against West Coast by an average of 62.3 points and over the five wins the Bulldogs have had against the Eagles, they’ve come by an average of 57.8 points.

South Fremantle’s defence has continued to be its great strength all season even without Chad Pearson and Jordan Boullineau at present. The Bulldogs are ranked fourth defensively conceding just 68.6 points but they are only ranked ahead of West Coast in attack kicking 61.2 points a game.

The Eagles are placed last in both attack and defence scoring only 53.7 points a game while giving up 137.4 with an average losing margin of 88.9 points.

Both teams are ranked bottom three this season in terms of collecting possessions as well with South Fremantle only averaging 315 touches a game and West Coast 295. That has the Bulldogs picking up 11 fewer disposals than their opponents on average and the Eagles 95 fewer than theirs.

Over the course of the season, South Fremantle has been reasonably good over the opening three quarters outscoring their opposition by 12 points in first quarters, nine in the second and then being outscored by 26 in the third.

However, last quarters have been the concern for the Bulldogs where they have been outscored by 121 points over the season to only be ranked ahead of the Eagles.

West Coast is ranked last in every quarter over the season except the third where they have only been outscored by an average of 12 points to be ranked ahead of Perth.

In the first quarters, the Eagles are outscored by an average of 24 points, 24 points as well in the second and then 24 as well in the last having conceded over 400 more points in each of those terms across the 17 games so far.

South Fremantle has made just the one change from the team that lost to Subiaco at home last Saturday with premiership winning small forward Brandon Donaldson returning at the expense of Jacob Sax.

While Donaldson returns, it means the Bulldogs remain without key players Brock Higgins, Chad Pearson, Jordan Boullineau, Brendon Ah Chee, Matthew Parker, Jake Florenca, Jordan Gallucci, Manfred Kelly, Jarrad Doney and captain Dylan Main.

West Coast is hunting its first win since Round 10 last year and that ironically came also against South Fremantle at Mineral Resources Park so the Eagles will be holding out hope of avoiding a 2023 season without a win.

The Eagles have made three changes coming into Saturday’s game at home to South Fremantle as well with the return from suspension of Greg Clark along with Tyler Mouritz and Xavier O’Neill coming into the team.

Going out of the West Coast line-up that lost to East Perth last Saturday are Rhett Bazzo, Ethan Sambo and Zane Sumich.