ROUND 4 PREVIEW v SUBIACO

SOUTH Fremantle is undefeated so far this Optus WAFL Premiership Season and the Bulldogs can take a giant step towards booking in a finals spot with another win against Subiaco on Saturday.

South Fremantle sits on top of the WAFL ladder after three rounds with a perfect 3-0 record as the Bulldogs now prepare to take on the premiers of the last two years, Subiaco on Saturday afternoon at Leederville Oval.

The game gets underway from 3.05pm and will be broadcast live on Channel 7.

The two teams last met in the 2019 Grand Final with Subiaco hammering South Fremantle by 96 points, and given the fact the Lions have now played in six straight Grand Finals, won five straight minor premierships and won four of the last six premierships means they have had the wood over the Bulldogs in recent times.

Subiaco won the last three meetings between the two teams in 2019 and prior to that had won five straight, and then before that had been on another run of winning six in-a-row so the Lions have beaten the Bulldogs in 14 of the past 16 clashes between the two outfits.

South Fremantle has opened the season with a 95-point thumping of East Fremantle and then had to do it tough to beat West Perth and Claremont by eight points each while only kicking a combined 12 goals to do so.

So the Bulldogs will certainly look to get back to some more attacking football against Subiaco on Saturday and there’s no question a victory to improve to 4-0 would see them right in the box seat already for a finals appearance again in 2020.

Subiaco, meanwhile, started the new season with a surprise loss to Claremont before then beating Swan Districts by 39 points last week.

But this is a distinctly new-looking Lions line-up with Kaidyn Fullgrabe, Braden Fimmano, Jack Beverley, Nick Martin, Bailey Matera, Andrew Doyle, Jakob Atkinson, Lachlan Henderson, Liam Hickmott, Wil Hickmott, Nick Menegola and Ben Reid in the squad and not premiership players.

South Fremantle has made three changes to its team that defeated Claremont at home last Saturday with Kye Barker named to make his debut while Tom Blechynden and Brandon Donaldson also return.

Chris Luff goes out injured while Kyle Hamersley and Travis Abbott make way in the side.

Thomas Edwards-Baldwin, Lachlan Henderson, Liam Hickmott, Nick Menegola and Ben Reid have all been added to Subiaco’s squad while Harry Marsh is out injured.

South Fremantle coach Todd Curley has no interest in talking about the Grand Final rematch, but he is fully aware how significant having four wins already in a nine-game season will be.

“They’ve only played a couple of games but we’ll have a good look at them and how they are trying to play, and then come up with a plan to try and beat them,” Curley said.

“I think the old come back out and get revenge for a Grand Final is crap to be honest. You are never going to get revenge for the Grand Final, that will burn for you and the games that I played in, you could never make up for that.

“It’s a new season, a new game and we are just focused on this year. We can’t do anything about this year but we can do something about this year. It will be a forward focus.

“We are focused on trying to win six as quick as we can. If that means we go to four this week that will be fantastic.

“It’s hard to believe but after the game we’ll be halfway through our season and to have four in the bank already would be great. It would be another step towards the target of six, but we aren’t taking anything for granted that’s for sure.”

ROUND 4 – OPTUS WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON
SOUTH FREMANTLE v SUBIACO – LEEDERVILLE OVAL, SATURDAY 3.05PM

LEAGUE LIVE STATS
RESERVES LIVE STATS
COLTS LIVE STATS