WAFLW RD 9 PREVIEW

RD 9 WAFLW PREVIEW | v EAST FREO

South Fremantle will finally be back in action in the WAFLW competition on Friday night with a WA Day weekend derby against East Fremantle on Friday night.

The Bulldogs last played in the WAFLW back on Saturday May 9 with a win against Peel Thunder prior to the State game break and then a bye last weekend so this Friday night has been a long time coming.

South Fremantle will take on East Fremantle in a derby to open the WA Day long weekend with the match up taking place on Friday starting at 7:25pm at The Good Grocer Park.

With that win three weeks ago against Peel, the Bulldogs improved to a 3-3 record on the season with a draw to now sit in sixth position coming into Round 9 of the 2026 season.

The Sharks did play last weekend and scored a five-point win against Subiaco on the back of a one-point win against the reigning premiers Claremont prior to the State game to improve to a 5-2 record to sit in third position.

That sets the stage nicely for the WA Day weekend derby on Friday night and it’s the second time the old rivals have already done battle this season.

The first meeting opened the season back in Round 1 at Fremantle Community Bank Oval and on that occasion it was a dominant 7.11 (53) to 0.4 (4) win for South Fremantle.

In that victory, Pippa Sideris and Annalie Polimeno kicked two goals each with Ash Gomes gathering 20 possessions, Mikayla Hyde 20, Tash Entwistle 20, Madi Evans 19, Tara Stribley 19, Hunter Cronin 16, Brianna Cleggett 15 and Charlie Vandenberg 24 hit outs in the ruck.

South Fremantle senior assistant coach Nat Szelid is looking forward to the Bulldogs now starting to build some momentum following the break.

“You’d definitely say it’s been a bit of a variety pack with wins, losses and a draw so far and we’ve got the whole, but in saying that I think it’s been really valuable for the group to experience the different game situations and scenarios so early on in the season,” Szelid said on The Kennel on 91.3 SportFM.

“The trust this group has not only in each other but also our processes is really now evident and I believe the best of us is still to come.”

It will have been almost three full weeks since South Fremantle last played and scored a win over Peel and from that team, Kelli Ellis and Liusaidh Gilchrist will be coming into the team for the Friday night derby.

Going out for the Bulldogs are Marie Polimeno and Ash Gomes.

East Fremantle are fresh off a narrow win against Subiaco and from that team last Saturday, Kai Clucas, Lana Fitzgerald and Cienna Leslie are into the side for the Sharks.

Going out for East Fremantle are Clotilde Decaux, Waverley Jones and Tessa Lynch.

The Friday night action will get underway with the Rogers Cup derby between South Fremantle and East Fremantle starting at 5:25pm at The Good Grocer Park.

South Fremantle last played in the Rogers Cup back on Saturday May 9 when they beat Peel Thunder by 30 points at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

That improved the Bulldogs to a 2-5 record on the season coming into the Friday night match up with East Fremantle sitting in top spot of the Rogers Cup with a 6-1 record.

The two teams opened the 2026 season with a Round 1 clash at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with East Fremantle scoring the 7.8 (50) to 5.7 (37) victory over South Fremantle with the Bulldogs now looking for revenge on Friday to keep in touch of a finals position.