Rd 13 - Match Preview with Taylor Cowper

East Fremantle plays away this weekend taking on the West Coast Eagles at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday afternoon.

The 2^nd placed Sharks came off a great win against reigning premiers Subiaco in a wet and windy encounter at Leederville Oval last weekend.

The Eagles, who have been struggling this year, have only been on the winners list once this year, knocking off South Fremantle in Round 9.

League Coach Bill Monaghan says he is looking forward to another challenge this weekend. “It was a real slog last week. We had a relatively light week on the track but mentally and physically we are ready to go. It’s another great opportunity to hopefully get another win and cement our spot in the top 5”.

The last time the Sharks played the Eagles was in round 4 this year with the Sharks victors by more than 120 points.

Monaghan said the Eagles will be more of a challenge in this weekend’s encounter. “They will be significantly stronger than last time we played them. They had 3 AFL players in that game and this week they will be 8 or 9. They had a great crack last time we played but they couldn’t compete with us over 4 quarters. We got on top of them comfortably last time but we are expecting them to be firing on Saturday. I am confident our guys will play great footy and hopefully come away with the win”.

Kyle Baskerville and Milan Murdock are notable omission, missing through illness. Into the side come Cody Smith and Max Murphy. 

“Cody has been a regular contributor this year but missed through COVID against Peel and had the fight his way back into the League after the bye. Max has also returned through the Reserves after hurting his hamstring against Subiaco in May. While it’s disappointing to lose Milan and Kyle, it’s a positive Max and Cody return” said Monaghan. 

The League game starts at 12.10pm against the West Coast Eagles at Mineral Resources Park. You can stream the game via the AFL App and AFL.com.au