ROUND 5 WAFLW PREVIEW V EAST FREMANTLE

SOUTH Fremantle is hunting its first ever win in the WAFLW competition and what better time to achieve that than a Friday night derby against East Fremantle at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

The Bulldogs are showing themselves to be vastly more competitive in the 2021 Optus WAFLW Premiership Season already and it doesn’t appear beyond them to be aiming for victory against the Sharks on Friday night.

There's few better occasions in West Australian football than a Friday night game at the port and now the women's league team has the opportunity to make history to open Round 5 of the 2021 season.

The game gets underway at Fremantle Community Bank Oval at 6.30pm before the Youth Girls are in action from 9am on Saturday morning with the Reserves to then play at 11.05am.

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South Fremantle and East Fremantle do battle in the first WAFLW derby of 2021 when they lock horns at Fremantle Community Bank Oval to open Round 5 of the season.

The teams have met just once previously in a WAFLW derby and that was Round 1 last year. That wasn’t an occasion to remember with East Fremantle winning by 88 points and holding South Fremantle scoreless.

But the Bulldogs are a vastly improved team from that occasion in what was their first ever game in the WAFLW competition. And now on Friday night they could create history by recording their first win.

South Fremantle started the 2021 season going so close to getting that elusive first victory only falling three points short against Subiaco.

The Bulldogs then lost to Swan Districts by 53 points in Round 2, to Claremont by 51 points in Round 3 and to reigning premiers Peel Thunder by 41 points last Saturday night in Mandurah.

But even last week's performance saw South Fremantle show plenty of heart and encouraging signs to bring into the derby on Friday night with them.

East Fremantle was the inaugural WAFLW premiers back in 2019 before bowing out in the preliminary final against Peel Thunder last year.

The Sharks opened the 2021 season with another loss to Peel in Mandurah before a tight loss to Claremont, a 44-point win against Subiaco and then last week a 28-point defeat at the hands of Swan Districts.

So with South Fremantle coming into Friday night's game hunting that elusive first win and East Fremantle trying to get its second on the board in 2021, it shapes as a typically tantalising derby contest.

That will take place on Friday night and then the action resumes on Saturday morning starting with the Youth Girls Rogers Cup contest between South Fremantle and East Fremantle starting at 9am.

The Bulldogs won the premiership in the Rogers Cup last year and then started off that flag defence by beating Subiaco in Round 1. They backed it up by hammering East Perth by 104 points a week later before a narrow loss to Claremont in Round 3.

But the South Fremantle Youth Girls bounced back to beat Peel Thunder last Sunday and will look to keep that going this week against East Fremantle.

Meanwhile, South Fremantle's Reserves opened up the season beating Subiaco before the bye in Round 2 and then a loss to Claremont in Round 3. 

They also went down by 33 points to Peel Thunder last Sunday but this week presents a chance for them to bounce back against East Fremantle at the port on Saturday.

ROUND 5 – WAFLW OPTUS PREMIERSHIP SEASON
SOUTH FREMANTLE v EAST FREMANTLE – FREMANTLE COMMUNITY BANK OVAL, FRIDAY MARCH 19

WAFLW LEAGUE – 6.30pm
WAFLW RESERVES – 11.05am
ROGERS CUP YOUTH GIRLS – 9.00am