Round 22 Preview v East Perth

SOUTH Fremantle will look to continue its winning momentum and good form on Saturday ahead of the Bulldogs' return to the finals up against an East Perth team that needs to win at Medibank Stadium.

Finals for a fifth straight year could very well go on the line on Saturday for East Perth at Medibank Stadium with the Royals facing a tough ask against a South Fremantle team now locked away of finishing in second position.

East Perth looked set to take part in the finals again for a fifth straight year after winning five straight matches following a Round 18 victory over Claremont.

But the Royals have now lost the last two weeks against Peel Thunder and Subiaco to slip out of the top five.

That now means that if East Perth loses to South Fremantle on Saturday and East Fremantle beats Claremont at the same time that anything but a near 100-point thrashing for the Royals over the Sharks in next week's final round would mean they miss finals.

But a win for East Perth over South Fremantle and loss for East Fremantle would put the Royals in the box seat to qualify for the finals. A win for both the Royals and Sharks sets up a cut-throat Round 23 clash.

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Either way it's a hugely important game for East Perth but South Fremantle is going to be no pushover and the Bulldogs have now won their last three matches to guarantee finishing the season in second position no matter what happens over the final two rounds.

South Fremantle has not made WAFL finals since 2011 but the Bulldogs now hold a 13-5 record and while Subiaco is out of reach in top spot, they also can't fall below second holding a one-game and huge percentage gap over West Perth.

The Falcons have the bye this week and won't be able to make up the percentage differential in their final round clash with Swan Districts.

South Fremantle coach Todd Curley is expecting a particularly strong defensive performance from East Perth so is hoping for a good effort from his midfielders to give the Bulldogs' forwards the chance to deliver a winning score.

"We know that East Perth has been a really consistently good defensive team who are hard to score against," Curley said.

"The first time against them we were able to kick enough goals to post a winning score but last time we weren’t.

"There will be a bit of pressure on our midfield to deliver some opportunities and obviously our forwards have to take the chances they get because East Perth make it pretty hard to score."

South Fremantle might not need to win in terms of its finishing position but the Bulldogs will want to ensure they remain in winning form ahead of the finals and with positions within the team right up for grabs and with plenty of pressure on them.

South Fremantle and East Perth have already met twice this season and both took place at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with the Bulldogs winning under lights in Round 3 by 40 points before the Royals prevailed more recently by 16 points in Round 15.

South Fremantle locked away second position on the WAFL ladder with a solid win last week over Swan Districts but pressure continues to be on for spots in the Bulldogs team ahead of the finals.

With Tim Kelly and Adam Guglielmana both still out of South Fremantle's side this week against East Perth and likely to return ahead of the finals, a host of Bulldogs players will be desperate to perform strongly to confirm they take part in the club's first finals appearance since 2011.

There is just the one out at this stage from the South Fremantle side that beat Swan Districts at home last Saturday with lively small forward Steven Edwards losing his place in the line-up.

Matthew Gundry, Tim Stewart, Tom Vandeleur and Jesse Mirco are all in contention to play after some strong and consistent reserves form for the Bulldogs.

Gundry returned in the reserves last Saturday against Swans with 17 possessions and seven marks while Stewart gathered 18 disposals and Vandeleur 18 touches and nine marks.

Mirco is a chance to make his debut and provide the Bulldogs with another goal scoring option in attack after another three goals from 14 possessions and seven marks last week.

A loss for the Royals on Saturday could all but end their finals hopes and there is mixed news for East Perth on the selection front coming into the must-win contest against the second placed Bulldogs.

Lewis Jetta has shown some improved form the past couple of weeks for East Perth and as a result he has earned a call up to the West Coast team to take on Hawthorn at Domain Stadium on Friday night. He replaces the suspended Simon Tunbridge.

Given the Eagles play at home on Friday night, their three emergencies Jack Redden, Eric Mackenzie and Tom Cole should all play for East Perth on Saturday against South Fremantle unless there is a late change against the Hawks.

There is some further good news for East Perth with Eagles midfielder Liam Duggan set to play on Saturday as well while reliable defender Nathan Blee will be a more than handy addition back into the side as well.

Jamie Bennell, Jordan Snadden, Tom Hodgson, Marcus Allen, Tom Omodei and Shayne Hille were all in good form in the reserves last Saturday for East Perth against Subiaco to put themselves in the mix to come into the league side this week.

Bennell found some much-needed form for the Royals booting five goals from 21 possessions and nine marks in his best performance at any level for 2016.

Meanwhile, Snadden racked up 31 possessions and 10 marks while Hodgson finished with 21 disposals and seven marks, Allen three goals from 22 touches and 10 marks, Omodei 33 possessions and Hille 21 disposals, seven marks and a goal.

ROUND 22
EAST PERTH (9-9, 6th) v SOUTH FREMANTLE (13-5, 2nd) – MEDIBANK STADIUM, SATURDAY 2.15PM
Broadcast – 91.3 SportFM

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