RD 5 PREVIEW | V WEST PERTH

SOUTH Fremantle has generally enjoyed heading north to Joondalup over 30 years and will be looking for a first win against West Perth at Pentanet Stadium since 2020 when the two teams meet on Saturday.

It’s the lone clash on Saturday afternoon in the WAFL as part of Anzac Round with the Bulldogs taking on the Falcons at Pentanet Stadium with the game getting underway at 2.10pm.

The two teams come into the contest with two wins from the opening three games of the 2024 season as well with both having been disappointed to miss finals last year and looking to get back in the mix this season.

South Fremantle started the season losing to East Perth but has since scored wins over the West Coast Eagles and Claremont.

It’s the opposite story for West Perth who beat Claremont and Perth to open its season but lost two weeks ago to Subiaco prior to both teams having the bye last weekend and returning to action this Saturday.

South Fremantle now hasn’t won a game against West Perth since the opening round of 2021 with the Falcons having won four of the five meetings since while there was a dramatic draw in 2022 at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

However, prior to those past five matches and South Fremantle enjoyed life against West Perth for quite some time having won 14 of 15 games with the only loss in that stretch being the stunning Falcons upset of the Bulldogs in the preliminary final of 2018.

It has been 30 years now that West Perth has called Joondalup home and despite not winning there over the past three years, over that history it has been a venue that the Bulldogs have enjoyed playing at.

While the Falcons have scored a win there in each of the past three seasons against South Fremantle, when the Bulldogs won by eight points in Round 2, 2020, it was almost like a second home for the Mighty Red V despite the significant journey required from Fremantle.

Overall now since 1994, South Fremantle has played West Perth 32 times at Joondalup and still won 20 of those encounters including an unbeaten run of five games between 2016 and 2020.

Both teams are coming off the bye last week and from the South Fremantle team that beat Claremont by a point the week prior to that, there are five changes to the line-up.

Jaren Carr, Riley Colborne, Brandon Donaldson, Connor McDonald and Jermaine Pickett are the players to come into the team for the Bulldogs.

Going out is the suspended Noah Strom along with Jarrod Salmeri, Jacob Sax, Manfred Kelly and Kyle Russell joining him out of the team to face the Falcons.

It’s the colts contest that will open proceedings on Saturday morning at Pentanet Stadium getting underway at 8.50am.

South Fremantle’s colts are still chasing their first win of the season after two losses so far while West Perth comes into the contest also winless with two defeats and a draw.

The reserves clash will then follow at 11.15am with South Fremantle coming off a narrow four-point loss to Claremont two weeks that left them holding a 1-1 record and sitting in fifth position coming into Round 5.