SHARKS WAFL ROUND 1 PREVIEW

SHARKS WAFL PREVIEW l Round 1

The WAFL 2023 season kicks off for East Fremantle with the annual Good Friday match versus the Peel Thunder at Lane Group Stadium in Mandurah. 

The Sharks come into the season as one of the fancied sides, but will need to be at their best to defeat a strong Peel Thunder, who are likely to field 12 AFL listed players.  Last season the Sharks held the ascendancy for the majority of the match but failed to capitalise on the scoreboard before a dominant Peel over-ran the Sharks in the last quarter to come away with the 4 points. 

There are 4 players making their East Fremantle debuts on Good Friday. 

Harrison Marsh rejoined the Sharks having spent the past 4 seasons at Subiaco, where he won 2 premierships. The reunion with his younger brother, Jonathon, will need to wait, with the powerful forward missing the first 2 games through suspension. Harry will likely spend most of his time through the midfield and forward. 

Brayden Lawler is no stranger to the Mandurah facilities, having played 121 games and winning 2 premierships with the Thunder. After spending last season at North Beach, the nuggety forward was keen to continue his WAFL career and made the shift to the Sharks. 

Tom Joyce was drafted from the East Fremantle Colts and has spent the past 5 seasons on the Brisbane and West Coast Eagles lists. A highly talented junior, injury has curtailed his AFL career and he will be looking forward to playing out a full season at the Sharks.  An exceptional stoppage player, Joyce will add to the strong Sharks midfield brigade. 

Fraser Turner spent 2 seasons at Richmond where he formed a strong bond with Shark forward, Luke English, and this played a big part in his move to the West. An endurance beast, Turner is likely to share his time between the half back line and wing. 

Also returning to the side is Hugh Dixon, who played at East Fremantle in 2021 before being drafted in the SSP to West Coast last year where he played 11 AFL games. Hugh will join Dillon O’Reilly in the key forward posts. 

The midfield again shapes up as a pivotal battle in deciding the game, with Fremantle listed players Neil Erasmus, Will Brodie and Sam Sturt providing a great challenge for young guns Milan Murdock, Kyle Baskerville and Tom Bennett. Up forward, the Sharks will need to clamp down on Josh Treacy, Blair Bell and Josh Corbett. Skipper Matthew Jupp will be joined by 2020 Lynn Medallist, Jarrad Jansen in the key defensive post- supported by Lachie Bailey. 

In the Reserves, the Sharks will have a number of players making their club debuts. After a couple of strong results in the pre-season against perennial finalists West Perth and Claremont, coach Adrian Ricciardello will be looking for the team to start positively in Mandurah. Some of the new players to keep an eye on include Ben McGuire, who has made the move to the club from East Perth, Orien Kerr, a hard working half forward who played in the League trial v West Perth, Austin Ball, a smart forward who has hit the scoreboard over the trial games, Jack Walsh, a tough inside mid who pushes forward and kicks goals and Lachlan Blakiston, who at 204cm is the tallest player on the list.  Josh Cripps will also make his Reserves debut, having spent last year playing at Carlton in the VFL. Some of the graduating Colts lining up include Jayke Scott, Luke Kenny, Luke Yeo and Elijah Burrows. 

The Reserves kick off at 1.40pm and the League at 4.10pm. 

Purchase your ticket before getting to the ground via this link: BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE HERE

Our WAFLW team have a general bye and our Rogers Cup team plays in a Rogers Super Round at Revo Fintness Stadium, Claremont this Friday at 1pm, taking on Peel Thunder.