Round 14 Preview v Swan Districts

SOUTH Fremantle returns from a bye this Saturday to host dual premiership player Kyle Hams and Swan Districts at Fremantle Oval with the chance for the Bulldogs to return to winning form.

South Fremantle had the bye last weekend following a disappointing loss to Subiaco by 53 points, but the Bulldogs were actually in control of that game for long periods prior to a run of nine consecutive goals from the Lions either side of three quarter-time.

Prior to that, though, South Fremantle had won two of its last three games to string some good form together with a 15-point win over Peel back in Round 9 and then an outstanding performance in the Foundation Derby to down East Fremantle by 67 points at East Fremantle Oval.

Now after a bye following the loss to Subiaco, South Fremantle gets back out onto Fremantle Oval this Saturday to host a Swan Districts team coming off two straight wins to be knocking on the door of a position inside the top-four.

South Fremantle welcomes back Ashton Hams from the West Coast Eagles with Mitch Carter and Brendan Verrier in the mix to come into the line-up as well with Reece Adams and John Sgherza going out.

Bulldogs vice-captain Craig White had a firsthand look at Swan Districts last week in its 47-point win over Subiaco and was impressed with the way the black-and-whites played, but knows that if South Fremantle sticks to its plan then it is certainly a winnable game.

"They have shown in a number of games this year that they can be pretty strong when their senior players get up and going like Geappen, Roach, Kyle Hams and guys like that. They can be as good as any team going," White said.

"Last week they seemed to kick long and their skills throughout their midfield group was really good. We are going to have to be right up on them and put pressure in their face, and try to make them turn it over and then go the other way and score ourselves."

With Ashton Hams coming back for South Fremantle, it sets up a likely match-up on his twin brother Kyle that could very well be worth the price of admission alone.

The twins played in the 2005 and 2009 premierships with South Fremantle together before Ashton was drafted by the Eagles and Kyle has since joined Swan Districts, but with Ashton now a regular forward and Kyle the best small defender for Swans, they look ideally suited as opponents for one another.

White is glad to have Ashton back into the South Fremantle line-up especially given his last outing in the Red V was a best afield display in the Foundation Derby when he had 34 possessions, seven marks, seven clearances and three goals.

"He is probably the best player who comes back into the WAFL from both the AFL teams. He performs week in and week out when he comes back," White said.

"He obviously played a lot of WAFL football before got drafted and we really enjoy when we have Ashton back. It might be a good match up this week if he gets to play on his brother."

By Chris Pike