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Round 5 Preview v Subiaco

Friday, April 17, 2015 - 8:12 PM by Chris Pike

SOUTH Fremantle and Subiaco have respectively lost their only matches of the 2015 WAFL season over the past two weeks meaning there is no undefeated team left in the competition and the winner of Saturday's clash at Fremantle Oval will subsequently shoot clear on top of the ladder.

It is a big day of football at Fremantle Oval starting in the morning with the colts match starting at 9am with the reserves to follow at 11.30am and then the main event league fixture at 2.15pm. It will also be broadcast live on 91.3 SportFM.

Following the league fixture, the WAWFL season also opens its 2015 season with the South Fremantle women's team hosting the Coastal Titans with that match bouncing down at 5.15pm and will continue under lights at Fremantle Oval.

South Fremantle and Subiaco have been the two standout teams of the WAFL season to date and enter Saturday's clash at the port holding 3-1 records and the difference between going 4-1 and clear on top or dropping to 3-2 and coming back to the pack is stark.

The Bulldogs started the season under new coach Todd Curley on fire beating West Perth by 35 points, Perth by 10 points and Claremont by 38 points, but the intensity went up a notch last Saturday at Steel Blue Oval and Swan Districts handed them a 21-point defeat.

That loss was South Fremantle's first since losing to Subiaco in Round 18 of last year and ended an eight-game winning run.

The Bulldogs have won their last five home matches at Fremantle Oval, though, with the wins over Peel, Subiaco and the Thunder again to close 2014, and then West Perth and Claremont so far this year.

Subiaco, meanwhile, is coming off winning last year's premiership and then began 2015 in emphatic fashion beating Claremont by 45 points and then East Fremantle by 47, but the Lions then lost on Good Friday to East Perth by 64 points in a rematch of last year's grand final.

The Lions then failed to score in the first quarter last week against West Peth, but kicked nine of the last 11 goals of the match to win by 17 points and improve to the 3-1 record.

With South Fremantle's reserves coming off a 104-point win last week over Swan Districts and with the senior squad relatively injury free despite Haiden Schloithe and Jacob Martinez being sidelined, there are plenty of pressure on for spots at the Bulldogs.

South Fremantle might decide to add some extra height to take on Subiaco with and to provide Brock Higgins with some support in the ruck.

If the Bulldogs go that way, then Josh Branchi looks set to make his league debut and that's after showing the best form of his reserves career so far to start this season and he is coming off having 20 possessions and 24 hit outs last week against Swan Districts.

Adam Carter also continues to try and break in for his first league appearance of the season since rejoining South Fremantle after his time on the West Coast Eagles list and playing in last year's grand final for East Perth.

Ironically his last game against Subiaco was the grand final loss last year so he might be after his own measure of revenge if he earns a call up this Saturday to play at Fremantle Oval.

John Sgherza has made a strong start to the season in the forward-line in the reserves following a horror run of injuries in recent years and after kicking 16 goals in the four games so far, he could make a strong case to play his first league match with the Bulldogs since Round 20, 2013.

Jacob Dragovich has stepped up from the colts to the reserves so far in 2015 as well and been an impressive ball winner and had another 20 possessions and a goal last week against Swans while Matthew Gundry continues to put in solid performances across half-back to also be in the mix.

Two players to already make way in the South Fremantle line-up are Shaun Bewick and Traye Bennell despite Bewick still working hard for 19 possessions against Swans last week and Bennell showing some exciting signs so far in 2015 before a quiet performance last Saturday.

While Subiaco has some handy inclusions, it does lose one important premiership player with centre half-forward Lachlan Delahunty out of the side to play South Fremantle.

Delahunty has been in terrific form so far in 2015 both in attack and as a pinch-hitting ruckman and had another 18 possessions, eight inside-50 entries and a goal last week in the win over West Perth before now being forced out of the side.

Shane Yarran does return from his one-week suspension to provide a strong goalkicking option again for the Lions and he will be keen to get back to the form he was in the first three games of the season where he kicked 13 goals.

Dual premiership player and Simpson Medal winner Wayde Twomey also comes back into the Subiaco line-up after missing last week's win over West Perth and the Good Friday loss to East Perth.

Declan Jackson could make his debut with Subiaco after some solid form in the reserves with Michael Wood a likely returnee to the league side following 18 possessions and three goals after being dropped last week against West Perth.

RESERVES SQUAD
T Bairstow, M Banks, S Bewick, N Borovac, M Carter, A Gillespie, J Hall, L Harvey, J Laurino, C Luff, J Maskos, B Matera, B McPhail, S Mills, P Mugambwa, N Olds, S Panizza, B Sokol, N Strom, D Warrell

COLTS SQUAD
C Ah Chee, M Barritt, S Bolton, A Brown, D Brown, D Burke, D Cabassi, B Colbung, J Collard, B Corner, C Datson, B Donaldson, M Dzelebdzic, J Florenca, J Foster, C Foster, M Grubelich, J McComb, J McMaster, J Mirco, J Musika, A Nodari, C Pearson, K Pirangi, A Robinson, C Salmon