Round 8 Preview v East Perth

SWAN Districts is back in action in the WAFL this Saturday following a three-week absence taking on East Perth at Leederville Oval.

Swans have now not played since a 13-point loss to South Fremantle back in Round 6 at Fremantle Community Bank Oval following the break for the WAFL State game's victory over South Australia and then having the bye themselves in Round 7 as the competition resumed.

Swan Districts held a 3-3 record following those opening six rounds having beaten Perth, Peel Thunder and East Fremantle, but suffered defeats at the hands of top three teams Subiaco, West Perth and South Fremantle.

Now Swans are back in action this Saturday against East Perth at Leederville Oval in the first meeting between the two clubs in 2018.

The game will bounce down at 1.40pm with it broadcast on Channel 7. The reserves will begin as a result at 10.50am and the colts at 8.20am.

Swan Districts comes into the match in fifth position on the WAFL ladder with the 3-3 record while East Perth is fourth at 4-2.

The Royals started the season with a 118-point loss to Subiaco before going on a four-game winning run defeating West Perth, Perth, Peel Thunder and East Fremantle prior to a 68-point defeat at the hands of South Fremantle last Saturday also at Leederville Oval.

The seasons of Swans and the Royals have been remarkably similar. Both have lost to Subiaco and South Fremantle while each of them has defeated the Sharks, Thunder and Demons.

A lot will now be learned on Saturday at Leederville Oval as they clash for the first time since Round 21 last year when East Perth beat Swan Districts by 54 points.

However, Swans went on to play in the finals in 2017 and the Royals didn’t just a couple of weeks later.

Swan Districts coach Adam Pickering is looking forward to the challenge against East Perth but is confident if Swans play to their potential, they can come away with a crucial four points to cement their spot in the top five and improve to a 4-3 record.

"We go in pretty confident that if we play our best we'll be right in the game," Pickering said.

"It will be a really good challenge and I think they'll have a couple of guys come back in from above as well.

"They've been in really good form up until last week against South so we are really looking forward to it. It can really shape the five and our season this game so it's a really big one for us."

Swan Districts have added Brad Fullgrabe, Jack O'Sullivan, Taryce Stewart, Jack Watson and Jacob Coniglio to the squad from the team that lost to South Fremantle three weeks ago.

Albert Dean and Jarrad Blight are the two players to make way in the Swans line-up so far.

Meanwhile, Brayden Ainsworth, Matthew Allen, Jarrod Brander and Jackson Nelson have all been added to West Coast's extended squad to play Hawthorn at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. But the reality is at least three of them will likely still play for East Perth on Saturday.

Oscar Allen, Kyle Anderson, Jaxon Cahill, Mitch Dobson, Kurt Mutimer, Jack Petruccelle, Nathan Vardy, Nelson Waite and Stan Wright are the other players also added to the East Perth squad.

The Royals do lose key position pair Asher Samelko and Will Schofield who went off injured last Saturday in the first quarter of the loss to South Fremantle.

WAFL SEASON 2018 – ROUND 8

Swan Districts v East Perth – Leederville Oval

League – 1.40pm

Reserves – 10.50am

Colts – 8.20am