Anthony to captain Sharks against West Perth

The East Fremantle Sharks will be without captain Jamie McNamara for their clash against the West Perth Falcons this Saturday, with bouncedown at 1:45pm at ATOM Stadium.

Fellow Sharks midfielder Liam Anthony will captain with Dylan Winton coming in for his Sharks debut after 18 League appearances for Peel Thunder.

Outside of McNamara the Sharks will field a healthy side after a bye in Round 3, while the Falcons will again be without ruckman Chris Keunen and Kody Manning who sustained injuries in Round 2 against Perth.

Team List

McNamara is expected to only miss this week to get some extra rest after taking a minor leg injury into the season, and Sharks coach Rob Wiley said that the team is otherwise in great shape after their final training session on Thursday.

“History says that sides can always be a little bit scratchy after a bye – but we had a really positive training session tonight,” said Wiley.

“They were switched on and they really looked like they wanted to get back out there again which is really encouraging and pleasing.”

The Falcons have started the season on the back foot with a 1-2 record, and Wiley is wary of a side that will be desperate to avoid falling further behind.

“They’re obviously a very good side and they’ve been very good for a number of years now,” said Wiley.

“We need to be playing at our best to be able to beat West Perth. You don’t make a Grand Final for any reason other than being a really good side – and we’re looking forward to playing them as it gives us a good measure of where we’re at early in the season.”

After the Sharks controlled the game but failed to get the result against Peel a fortnight ago, Wiley said the group has worked on a few of the issues that saw Peel surge late in the game.

“There was a lot of positives that came out of Peel, their commitment and effort was just outstanding,” said Wiley.

“There was really just a couple of little things from the last couple minutes of the game that we’ve discussed and we’ve practiced. If we can play with the commitment and effort that they brought to the park for the last two games we can feel confident about going in and doing really well.”

“We do need to improve our conversion, it was 38%, and that costs you games of footy, and it probably helped us lose that game against Peel. We’ve spoken about it at training and it’s like all clubs that I’ve been with -- it’s that you practice goal kicking at every training session and I’m sure they’ll be able to turn it around.”

Even without McNnamara, Sharks midfielder Cameron Eardley is confident that under Liam Anthony they have the ability to control the game against West Perth.

“We still have got a pretty strong list going in, I’m looking forward to it,” said Eardley who leads the team in disposals (62) and is second in tackles (13).

“It can go either way can’t it, but I think the team and myself – we feel pretty fit after a weekend off and we’ve had a pretty good weekend on the track so I’m feeling really good going in.”

“[Andrew] Stoksey’s done really well against the bigger boys and we’ve held our own in the midfield against some pretty good midfields. It really helps having Liam Anthony in there, [he’s got a] big body and he’s been around for a while. He’s a smart footballer which helps a lot.”

In earlier games the Development League boys will be looking to build on a very good win against Peel Thunder a fortnight ago. 

Into the side that won by 72 points are Tom Bennett, who will play for the first time this year after recovering from a shoulder injury.  Speedy left foot wingman Coulthard returns after missing the Peel game, whilst experienced defender Crisafio also makes a return to the side.  Developing ruckman Michael Cronan and  clever small forward Ollie Parish have also been called in to the squad. 

Out of the side are Louis Cronan, who will miss one more week after concussion against Peel and Dylan Winton, who will make his debut for the seniors, whilst Bannister, Adamini, Franklin and Locantro have been added to the extended bench for the league side.

The Colts too will be looking to continue on their winning way after defeating Peel by 50 points on the Easter weekend fixture.  Key forward Luke Strnadica will miss the game as he is away with the AFL Academy, whilst Quill will miss due to PSA commitments.  Livewire small forward Alex Montauban has been rested with a slight knee complaint, but in to replace him comes another livewire in Sam Lewis.  Other inclusions in to the squad are Tom Eastaugh, Hamish Rodgers, defender Jaidyn Paradella, Ben Harding and Cody Smith. 

This games looks to be a ripper on paper with West Perth also coming off a very good win against Subiaco last week.  A reminder that this games starts at the earlier time of 8:30am.