Round 19 Preview v Subiaco

SOUTH Fremantle heads to Medibank Stadium needing to knock off the raging premiership favourites Subiaco to keep its finals hopes alive in 2015 and to celebrate Ashton Hams’ 150th WAFL game.

Subiaco remained three games clear on top of the WAFL ladder with the biggest win of the season to the tune of 133 points last Saturday against Perth with the Lions gearing up nicely for a crack at back-to-back premierships.

South Fremantle’s form was at the opposite end with a disappointing 106-point loss to East Perth at Fremantle Oval to fall outside of the top five.

That means that the Bulldogs will need to beat the Lions to be a chance of returning to the top five this weekend and to remain in the hunt altogether considering they still have a bye to come and their remaining matches are against top three teams Peel Thunder and West Perth.

South Fremantle heads into the game with an 8-8 record but is the only team in the finals race with a percentage of under 100 meaning the Bulldogs will likely need four wins to finish the season in order to play finals for the first time since 2011.

The Bulldogs will also be looking to celebrate the 150th milestone of Ashton Hams as he earns life membership at South Fremantle to go along with a career that has included two premierships, two Simpson Medals, two games for Western Australia and 39 appearances in the AFL for West Coast.

Subiaco handed South Fremantle an 89-point thumping back in Round 5 at Fremantle Oval in the first meeting between the two teams of the season, and while the Bulldogs were vastly more competitive the second time around at Medibank Stadium, the Lions still won by 22 points.

Subiaco might have lost defenders Dylan Elliott and Joel Latham to injury following last week’s thumping win over Perth, but the Lions have some more than handy replacements with five-time premiership player Darren Rumble and dual premiership player Wayde Twomey to return.

Both played in the reserves last week against Perth following injuries with Twomey racking up 30 possessions and Rumble 17 to go with seven marks to prove their fitness and find some touch.

Subiaco’s midfield could also be further strengthened with the return of Brett Robinson for him to again team up with the likes of Sam Menegola, Kyal Horsley and Chris Phelan.

Ray Daniels also continued to give himself a chance of a league call up for Subiaco with five goals from 17 possessions and nine marks last week while Chris Bryan is also again in the mix.

South Fremantle’s chances of trying to keep hold of Subiaco’s forward-line won’t be helped with the loss of key defenders Dylan Ross and Blayne Wilson following last week’s horror loss to East Perth.

Zac Strom and James Sellar both return to the Bulldogs line-up now to face the Lions and will be called upon to help out Chris Luff, Adam Guglielmana, Adam McIntosh, Marlion Pickett and Jason Maskos in the defence against Subiaco forwards Matt Boland, Shane Yarran, Kyle Halligan, Michael Wood and Chris Deluca.

South Fremantle has received another blow coming into the contest with captain Ryan Cook ruled out with a shoulder injury.

The Bulldogs could unveil another debutant with Matthew Ah Siu likely to play his first league game after some consistently strong reserves form now for several weeks.

Jarrod Parry and Anthony Collica could both come in to add some ball-winning depth to the midfield with James Laurino a chance to come in and provide some run by playing his first league game since the final round of the 2013 season after he required a knee reconstruction in 2014.