Round 20 Preview v Perth

SOUTH Fremantle heads to its country zone to host Perth on Saturday in Carnarvon in a game the Bulldogs need to win to remain second on the WAFL ladder.

Carnarvon and the Gascoyne region has been a fertile breeding ground of South Fremantle players and one of those will be playing in Saturday's game as 124-game veteran Adam Guglielmana returns home for the first time in a WAFL fixture.

It will be the second time South Fremantle has hosted a WAFL game in Carnarvon as well with the first time coming in 2007 when West Perth spoiled the party winning a thriller by two points.

South Fremantle needs to win the game as well to remain in second position on the ladder so there is plenty at stake.

Following three straight losses, the Bulldogs got back on the winner's list last Saturday beating East Fremantle by 30 points at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

That improved South Fremantle to an 11-5 record on the season to remain in second position but they need to keep winning to remain there ahead of the in-form West Perth.

A loss could see the Bulldogs slip to third position by Saturday night with games to finish the home and away season against Swan Districts, East Perth and Perth.

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Perth will be no pushovers, though, and the Demons are finishing 2016 with some form to give coach Earl Spalding plenty to build upon heading towards 2017.

Perth might have fallen out of finals contention with losses to Peel and West Perth the past two weeks, but it has been an encouraging second half of the season with the Demons recording wins over Subiaco, Claremont and East Fremantle since a Round 13 loss to East Perth.

If Perth's midfield of Clint Jones, Aidan Tropiano, Julian Jacobs and Liam McKenna can get on top with the help of ruckman Angus Graham, and Spencer White and Sam Garstone can stand up in attack, the Demons could cause the upset.

They will need to do well down back, though, to avoid letting South Fremantle forwards Ben Saunders, Mason Shaw and Blaine Johnson get going.

The two teams have so far met just the once in 2016 and that was way back in Round 5 at Lathlain Park with South Fremantle running out 98-point winners.

South Fremantle coach Todd Curley is looking forward to his players getting to experience flying the day before a game and to play a country match.

"The difference for a lot of our guys is that they might not have had to get on a plane, travel and stay away the day before a game," Curley said.

"So we'll work out what they eat at the hotel the night before and what they do on the morning to fill in the time. It's a learning experience and it will be good for us."

South Fremantle returned to the winner's list over East Fremantle last Saturday following three straight losses and a big reason for that was the successful returns of Haiden Schloithe, Ashton Hams and Blaine Johnson.

That has the Bulldogs closer to what they would consider their strongest 22 heading towards the finals with only the long-term injured Adam McIntosh and Jarrod Parry currently sidelined.

As a result, spots are now tough again to find in the South Fremantle line-up but Steven Edwards, Dylan Main and Bailey Matera are doing all they can to break back into the side.

Edwards had a good game in the midfield in the reserves last week against East Fremantle for the Bulldogs finishing with 25 possessions, six inside-50 entries, five tackles and five marks.

Main continues to rack up plenty of the ball with another 35 disposals, 10 marks and a goal as well while Matera had one of his strongest performances of the season last Saturday with 25 touches.

All three are in the mix to take on Perth on Saturday in Carnarvon but at this stage nobody is out of the South Fremantle team that beat East Fremantle last week.

Corey Byrne, Brennan Stack, Kristian Cary, Cody Ninyette, Marshall Jones, Stephen Mills and Brett Wolfenden are all in the mix to come back into the Perth team for the trip to Carnarvon to take on South Fremantle.

Wolfenden returned through the reserves last week after a one-week suspension and finished with 24 possessions and a goal.

Jones impressed in the reserves up forward last week against West Perth with five goals from 17 possessions and 10 marks to put himself in the mix while Mills had 13 touches and seven marks as he looks to get a chance against the club he played for the last two years.

Stack only kicked the one goal last week against West Perth but could return to provide the Demons with another goal kicking option with Cary impressing last Saturday with three goals from 19 possessions.

Ninyette could have done enough to earn his league debut after two goals from 14 possessions while Byrne is also another potential debutant following 18 disposals and a goal.

Callum Walley and Laine Wilkins are both out of the Perth side after quiet games against West Perth on Saturday while Rowan Brookes is also out following a hard-working performance from half-forward. Teenage star Zac Fisher also won't be making the trip to Carnarvon with the Demons.

ROUND 20
SOUTH FREMANTLE (11-5, 2nd) v PERTH (6-10, 7th) – CARNARVON FESTIVAL GROUNDS, SATURDAY 1.30PM

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RESERVES TEAMS, LIVE STATS 
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