Round 4 - Match Preview with Taylor Cowper

East Fremantle return to New Choice Homes Park to take on the West Coast Eagles in a rescheduled Round 4 clash. The game was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday the 7^th of May but was ultimately cancelled due to the West Coast Eagles being struck down by Covid and injury.

The Sharks head into the game with confidence after travelling to Northampton in round 3 and coming home with a solid victory over East Perth.

Cam Eardley, Matthew Jupp and Jonathon Marsh will not be playing this weekend as they have been named in the state side to play at Optus Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Club captain, Matthew Jupp, has been named Co Vice captain of the State side to take on South Australia. League Coach Bill Monaghan said it was an easy decision for the three players to choose where to play on the weekend.  “It’s great they have an opportunity to play state footy. We knew the three players wouldn’t be available. All three were conflicted and wanted to play for East Fremantle but it’s a huge honour to play state footy and we are confident if we play our best footy we will get the win”.

There will be a massive hole in the forward line for the Sharks but Monaghan is confident players will stand up. “Marsh is really good for us up forward. Dillon O’Reilly will play there (forward). We will probably throw Jarred Jansen in for a bit and Cody Leggett like we have done at times this season. It’s a good opportunity to spread the load and we think we can kick a winning score.”

East Fremantle were the driving force behind the game being rescheduled this weekend after the Eagles were forced to cancel. Bill Monaghan said, “We are pretty keen to keep the season moving forward and get the game played. There was an opportunity to play this week and had we not we would have been two full weeks without a game. We also had guys who hadn’t played for two or three weeks so we thought it was in our best interest to get the game played”.

This looks to be the last time the Sharks play at East Fremantle Oval before the redevelopment. “We are looking forward to it”, said Monaghan. “We are still training there and we know the ground. We are very keen to get to the WACA but that is still a few weeks away”.

The game is being played at East Fremantle due to light maintenance work being undertaken at the WACA this week.

League Bounce down is 2pm, Saturday the 14th at New Choice Homes Park. The game will be broadcast live through the AFL App or AFL.com.au