Round 11 Preview v West Perth

SWAN Districts is back in action this Saturday in what is undoubtedly the game of the round at Steel Blue Oval up against West Perth.

Swans come into the game in fourth position on the ladder with a 5-3 record having won their past two matches while the Falcons won also prior to the bye on WA Day to improve to a 4-4 record to sit fifth.

That sets the stage for a terrific contest on Saturday with a win to take Swan Districts into third position on the ladder after 11 rounds with them to leapfrog reigning premiers South Fremantle on percentage.

Meanwhile, West Perth could end up moving into fourth spot if they prevail and potentially ahead of Swan Districts depending on the margin of their victory.

The first meeting between the two teams this season should whet the appetite for what is to come on Saturday as well.

Back in Round 6 at Joondalup's Provident Financial Oval leading into the WAFL's State Game break, Swan Districts appeared to have West Perth on toast putting together an impressive first half.

However, with the Falcons already having lost three of their first four games of the season, they stepped up to deliver a tremendous second half performance to win by nine points on their home ground.

Since that game, West Perth has gone on to score strong wins over Peel Thunder and East Perth either side of a 10-point loss to Perth while Swan Districts also lost to Subiaco following the State Game, but since have beaten Peel Thunder and East Fremantle in impressive fashion.

Over the course of the season so far, West Perth win a lot more of the football than Swan Districts with the Falcons ranked second in disposals and the Falcons just seventh.

West Perth's accuracy has also been impressive so far in 2021. When you take out rushed behinds, the Falcons have a 70 per cent accuracy rate so far this season or 64 per cent overall, while Swans are at 62 per cent without rushed points and 58 per cent overall.

Meanwhile, the two teams are ranked first and second for their first quarters so far in 2021, with Swans outscoring their opponents by 110 points and the Falcons theirs by 75.

Things drop off from there for both teams with Swans losing their last quarters by 25 points, while the Falcons especially struggle in second terms losing those by 26 points.

There will be plenty of fascinating match ups all over the field including Swans' defence being challenged by the West Perth forward-line of Tyler Keitel, Keegan Knott, Mitch Antonio and Rudy Riddoch.

However, the West Perth back-line will also need to be watchful of Jesse Palmer and Brayden Noble especially from Swan Districts.

Swans look to have a significant advantage in the ruck thanks to Corey Gault opposed to Ben Delaporte, but the midfield battle looks even with Frank Anderson, Sam Fisher, Josh Cipro and Jesse Turner from Swan Districts, and Shane Nelson, Aaron Black, Mitch Peirce and Tristan Hobley from West Perth.

OPTUS WAFL ROUND 11

SWAN DISTRICTS v WEST PERTH – STEEL BLUE OVAL, SATURDAY 2.10PM

Livestream: Front Row Screens

Radio: SEN