Round 19 Preview v Peel Thunder

SWAN Districts runs out onto Steel Blue Oval for the last time in 2019 on Saturday afternoon against Peel Thunder and the black-and-whites have the chance to both hold out hope of avoiding the wooden spoon and ending Peel's season in the process.

Swans are back to Steel Blue Oval on Saturday afternoon and while it might appear there's not a lot to play for, there's plenty of motivation for the black-and-whites players especially to try and send off the home fans on a pleasing note and to continue to try and finish off the season with momentum.

Swan Districts could also avoid the wooden spoon for 2019 by winning its last two matches so while that remains a possibility, it's worth aiming for.

Meanwhile, it's a must-win game for Peel too if the Thunder want to play stay in the finals hunt for 2019 so ending those hopes for the Mandurah-based team could be used as added motivation if needed for Swan Districts.

On Saturday afternoon, Swan Districts hosts Peel Thunder at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval in the last home game of the season for the black-and-whites.

Swans might appear anchored to the bottom of the ladder or 2019 but with two wins to close the season starting on Saturday against Peel and then in the final round against Claremont, they could still avoid the wooden spoon.

Saturday's game will also be the last for 2019 at Steel Blue Oval for Swans and while they will want to send their home fans off for the year on a winning note, it hasn’t been their happiest hunting ground in recent times.

Even though Swans did beat the West Coast Eagles back in Round 17 in their previous home match, they had lost three in-a-row prior to that and in the bigger picture had only won once in the last 13 games at Steel Blue Oval.

However against Peel, Swan Districts has won the last two games they've played at home against the Thunder while winning 21 of the 27 games at the Bassendean venue over the last 22 years.

It's a must-win game on Saturday for Peel, though, if the Thunder hope to stay any chance of playing finals still in 2019.

Peel is coming off losses to South Fremantle and Claremont the past two weeks, but if the Thunder win their last two matches starting against Swans and then Perth, then there is still a hope of them returning to finals action for 2019 after a year out of it in 2018 following the 2016 and 2017 premierships.

From the Swan Districts team that put in a spirited second half showing against Subiaco but still lost by 62 points on the back of kicking just the one goal in the first half, there is likely several changes to take on Peel on Saturday at Steel Blue Oval.

Mitchell Bain, Patrick Italiano, Denzel More, Jake Pasini, Jiah Reidy and potential debutant Jak Watson come into the squad for Swan Districts while at this stage, Brayden Hackett, Seb Bright and Mitch Howlett are the players to go out.

Meanwhile at Peel, Scott Jones, Matt Bogensperger, Oliver Walton, Corey Morris, Tobe Watson, Tyrone Thorne, all come into the side at the expense of Gerald Ugle, Dillon O'Reilly, Hayden Ballantyne, Cam McCarthy, Billy Chambers and Brett Bewley.

OPTUS WAFL ROUND 19

SWAN DISTRICTS v PEEL THUNDER – STEEL BLUE OVAL, SATURDAY 2.15PM

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