Match Preview: Sharks v Lions

The Sharks head up to Medibank Stadium this weekend to take on Ladder leaders and last years Premiers Subiaco. The Sharks will need to bounce back quickly after losing a tight WA Day Derby by 5 points on Monday after the Sharks led for most of the afternoon. The Sharks will have just a 5 day break between games while the Lions haven’t played for 3 weeks coming off a bye last weekend and the State Game bye the weekend before, however they have showed impressive form so far this season. Despite last weeks loss, The Sharks still sit 3^rd on the ladder with 5 wins and 4 losses, with a healthy percentage important as 4 teams have the same amount of points. The Lions have only lost 1 game this season from 8 appearances and sit on top of the ladder, their only loss so far against East Perth in Round 3. With a tight ladder positions every win is crucial for the Sharks, a win could see them jump to 2^nd on the ladder while a loss could see them fall out of the top 5.

3 big outs for the Sharks won’t make the task this week any easier, Bradd Dalziell retired after Monday’s derby due to ongoing knee troubles while Brandon Ellis and Andrew Stephen will also miss. Replacing them will be Ryan Lester-Smith, and Boston Williamson in the starting 18, and Jake Schleicher, Joshua Cuneo, Jack Fletcher, and Aaron Holmes into the squad, if selected both Fletcher and Holmes will make their debut. The Lions also have named a 25-man squad for the game, which includes Daniel Jackson, Sam Menegola, and Scott Worthington into the starting team and Luke Norriss and Michael Wood into the squad. Only 2 outs at this stage for the Lions, which are Brett Mahoney and Bradley Stevenson. The last time these sides met was in Round 2 this season where the Sharks went down by 47 points at ATOM Stadium, but they will hope to turn that around this time around at Medibank Stadium, Saturdays game will kick off at 2:15pm.

Subiaco’s Development League have begun the season in similar fashion to their League side winning all but 1 of their games so far this season. The Lions sit second on the ladder being the only side who have played only 8 games, while the Sharks can be found at the other end of the ladder in second bottom place with 2 wins from 9 games. The Sharks Development League side had a tough 61-point loss to the Bulldogs on WA Day, their 3^rd loss in a row, as they continue to struggle with consistent performances this season. The Lions won comfortably by 92 points earlier this year in Round 2 at ATOM Stadium, a better performance will be needed this time around for the Sharks, who need a win to keep their hopes of a top 5 finish alive. Saturday’s game starts at 11:30am at Medibank Stadium.

The Sharks Colts side will be the only East Fremantle team going in as favorites to beat The Lions this week after Monday’s strong performance against the Bulldogs where they won by 52 points. The Sharks Colts team has now won 3 games in a row, and sits in 3^rd place on the ladder with 6 wins from 9 games. Unlike Subiaco’s League and Development League sides their Colts team have been struggling this year and sit on the bottom of the ladder having won just 1 game. The Sharks Colts side was the only East Fremantle team to beat The Lions back in Round 2 and they won convincingly that day by 69 points. The game will start at 9:00am at Medibank Stadium on Saturday.