Round 18 Preview v East Perth

SOUTH Fremantle returns to Fremantle Oval on Saturday to host East Perth looking to back up last Sunday's win over East Fremantle and a strong win over the Royals earlier in the season to consolidate a position inside the WAFL's top five.

South Fremantle and East Perth are two teams doing battle over a position inside the WAFL top five and it's unlikely there is room for two of them in there come the end of the season meaning a win is of vital importance at Fremantle Oval on Saturday.

The Bulldogs currently sit in fifth position and the Royals in seventh with the teams separated by just the one win but East Perth has a superior percentage to that of South Fremantle that is almost worth four points.

South Fremantle improved to an 8-7 record with an eight-point win over East Fremantle last Sunday at ATOM Stadium with the Bulldogs moving back into fifth position on the ladder as a result, but they do need to keep winning to remain there.

East Perth, meanwhile, kept its season alive last Saturday beating Perth by 20 points with the Royals now sitting on a 7-8 record but their percentage would likely see them end Round 18 in fourth position if they beat South Fremantle, and Claremont and Swan Districts both lose games away from home to teams placed higher than them.

South Fremantle is trying to play finals for the first time since 2011 and East Perth is looking for a fourth successive finals appearance.

The Bulldogs and Royals play one another just the two times this season and on the first occasion at Medibank Stadium back in Round 7, South Fremantle came into the clash on just a five-day break having lost to East Fremantle on the Anzac Day holiday Monday.

However, the Bulldogs came out and played a ferocious brand of football to open up a handy lead and then end up winning by 13 points with the Royals kicking some consolation goals to lessen the damage by the final siren.

The win ended a run of three straight losses for South Fremantle and began a succession of three defeats for East Perth.

South Fremantle looks set to recall experienced and quality key defender Dylan Ross who has overcome a bout of glandular fever. He has been playing in the reserves through the illness, but it did knock him about there for several weeks.

However, his form in recent weeks has been building well and he had 19 possessions and eight marks in the reserves last Sunday against East Fremantle and now looks set to return to the league side for the first time since Round 5 on Saturday against East Perth.

With Zac Strom still in the reserves for at least another week and James Sellar out of the team, Ross will reclaim his position in the defence for South Fremantle but could be pushed forward on occasion if needed.

Jacob Dragovich also played well in the reserves last week with 20 disposals and two goals against East Fremantle to show that he's overcome a knee complaint so he looks set to come back into the league side.

Anthony Collica has strung together three strong games in the reserves as well averaging over 33 possessions to put himself back in the mix while Matthew Ah Siu is another young player whose form has been impressive to give him a chance of becoming another debutant in 2015.

Sellar is the only out of the South Fremantle team at this point. He was struggling for form as a key forward and was pushed into defence last week where his form did improve, but now with Ross fully healthy he looks set to reclaim his place in the back-line.

And South Fremantle's forward-line functioned well in the win over East Fremantle last Sunday with Josh Pullman and Brock Higgins as the tall targets, and then Callum Ah Chee, Craig White, Cory Dell'Olio and Traye Bennell around them.

East Perth will lose West Coast's Liam Duggan who injured his knee in the opening minutes of last Saturday's win over Perth while defender Tom Barrass has received a call up for the Eagles to make his AFL debut after continued outstanding form for the Royals with his spoiling and intercept marking a highlight.

Jamie Bennell, Fraser McInnes and Murray Newman have all been named as emergencies for West Coast to play Sydney at Domain Stadium on Sunday, but unless the Eagles make a late change the trio should all line up for the Royals on Saturday against the Bulldogs.

Defender Callum Hart has lost his place in the Eats Perth, though, but the Royals have some big inclusions.

Scott Lycett found some form and fitness playing three quarters in the ruck in the reserves last week for East Perth against Perth, and was solid enough to come back into the league side this Saturday.

Patrick McGinnity has also overcome injury to return for East Perth with fellow West Coast-listed players Sam Butler and Brant Colledge to play with the Royals on Saturday and further strengthen the midfield.

Non-West Coast listed players Tom Omodei, Tom Shanahan, Clayton Giblett, Beau Chatley and Tom Hodgson are all in the mix to come into the East Perth side as well to tackle South Fremantle.

RESERVES SQUAD
M Banks, N Borovac, A Carter, M Carter, B Collier, M Gundry, J Laurino, B Matera, K Matera, B McPhail, P Mugambwa, S Panizza, J Parry, J Sgherza, B Sokol, T Stewart, Z Strom, N Strom, J Tartaglia, D Warrell

COLTS SQUAD
T Armstrong, M Barritt, N Bretag, A Brown, D Burke, J Collard, J Colpitts, B Corner, B Donaldson, M Dzelebdzic, J Florenca, C Foster, J Foster, M Grubelich, J Lachlan, D Maguang, J McMaster, J Mirco, J Mudge, J Musika, A Nodari, C Pearson, T Pickett, A Robinson, S Thompson