Round 8 Preview v Perth

SWAN Districts is back in action on Saturday afternoon in Round 8 of the WAFL looking to win consecutive games for the first time in 2019 up against a Perth team also looking to get back on the winner's list.

Swan Districts is coming off winning its second game of the season last Saturday against the West Coast Eagles while Perth has lost its past two matches after opening the 2019 season on a five-match winning streak.

Now the Demons and Swans open Round 8 of the 2019 Optus WAFL Premiership Season by doing battle at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park on Saturday afternoon.

The league game begins at 2.15pm with the colts match on beforehand from 11.30am and then the reserves contest will follow under lights at the redeveloped Lathlain venue from 5pm.

SWANS FINALLY WIN AT HOME AGAINST EAGLES

Saturday's clash between Swan Districts and Perth is the standalone contest in the WAFL in Round 8 and shapes as being a fascinating contest.

Perth started the season with a fairytale opening winning the first five matches with plenty of talk about the Demons qualifying for their first finals appearance since 1997.

But the Demons have since lost to West Perth and East Fremantle, two teams who were winless just three weeks ago, and now Saturday's game with Swans could tell the story about if they are genuine finals contenders or if that five-game winning streak was just a flash in the pan.

Meanwhile, Swans are coming off a solid 14-point win against the West Coast Eagles at Steel Blue Oval last Saturday with the Black Ducks responding to a disappointing defeat at the hands of East Fremantle the previous week.

Swan Districts has had a better season than its 2-5 record suggests but the difference between being 3-5 or 2-6 after Saturday's clash with Perth will be stark.

Perth and Swan Districts have already played out one thriller this season with the Demons beating Swans by nine points at Steel Blue Oval back in Round 3.

Swan Districts produced a big fightback to hit the front in the last quarter on that occasion but Perth responded with the last couple of goals in the middle of their winning streak to open the season.

Little has separated the two teams in some fascinating meetings in recent years and since Swan Districts won eight straight matches over Perth between 2013 and 2015, the Demons have won five and Swans five in the past 10 meetings.

There are plenty of changes at Perth coming into Saturday's clash coming off losing the past two matches to the Falcons and Sharks.

There is another potential debutant for Perth in the form of Austin Davis with Kasey Nicholas, Mitch Browne, Marshall Jones, Daniel Horan and Cody Ninyette all added to the squad.

At this stage, the three players who are confirmed out for Perth are Mitch Lague, Chris Bryan and Michael Bennell.

And at Swan Districts following the win against the Eagles, there are no outs at this stage with just Jiah Reidy, Jacob Coniglio and Nathan Ireland coming into the squad.
 

OPTUS WAFL ROUND 8

SWAN DISTRICTS v PERTH – MINERAL RESOURCES PARK, SATURDAY 2.15PM

LEAGUE LIVE STATS
RESERVES LIVE STATS
COLTS LIVE STATS