Match Preview: Sharks v Bulldogs Derby Decider

The Sharks face the Bulldogs this Sunday 19^th July in what is a Derby Decider for Season 2015 and a must win game for the Sharks.  East Fremantle desperately need a win to keep their finals hopes burning. The Bulldogs sit in 6^th on the ladder with only percentage keeping them out of the top 5, while the Sharks remain in 8^th place, 2 wins behind their cross-town rivals. Already this season the teams have met twice, with the Sharks winning the first game in Round 6 at Fremantle Oval by 17 points and in Round 10 at ATOM Stadium when the Bulldogs won on WA Day by 5 points. The sides this weekend will be competing for the Uittenbroek Ciccotosto Cup, honoring the contribution of Bob Uittenbroek and Brian Ciccotosto to their respective clubs. Bob has received an order of Australia for his service to football in WA and is also life member of the East Fremantle Football Club. Bob's commitment to East Fremantle Football Club is an inspiration, he was General manager for 32 years and  has been a director for a further 7 years. Brian Ciccotosto played 211 games for South Fremantle during the 1960s and 1970s and gave over 50 years of service to the Club as a player, coach and administrator.

The Sharks and the Bulldogs will both be wearing NAIDOC Guernsey’s to celebrate NAIDOC week.

The Sharks will play their 14^th debutant of the season this Sunday when Matthew Bannister makes his debut. Matthew hails from the Marist Junior Football club and is a great WAFL story;  he has played the last 5 years at the Scarborough Amateur Football Club. Recruit George Hampson mentioned early in the season that Matt was playing good football at Scarborough, a Club that he himself had junior ties to.  Matt kicked 4 goals in round 2 for Scarborough and joined the Sharks the following week playing his first game in the Development League in round 6, coincidentally against the Bulldogs. The 187cm rangy Bannister showed that he had clean hands at ground level and in the air.  His skills set is well developed, especially by hand.  There is every chance that Bannister would have played League by now had it not been for some minor surgery two months ago.

Jordon Dorotich unfortunately tore his ACL against Peel last week, while Andrew Stokes suffered a recurring quad injury and both will miss this Sunday's game. Joining Bannister in the 26-man squad are Dion Anthony, Josh Cuneo, Jack Fletcher, Jack Perham, and Adrian Ricciardello. South Fremantle have added 4 players to last week’s side making a 26-man squad for Sunday’s game, with no outs at this stage. The inclusions are Joshua Branchi, Josh Pullman, Shaun Bewick, and Callum Ah Chee.

Accurate goal kicking could be the key to a win for the Sharks who have been let down in recent weeks, this was particularly evident last week were they had 4 more scoring shots than Peel but kicked 8 goals 18 in the 26 point loss. Sunday’s game will kick off at 2:15pm at ATOM Stadium, East Fremantle Oval.

The Sharks Development League had an impressive 21-point victory last Saturday against Peel and have now won 2 in a row bumping them up to 4 wins for the season and just 2 wins out of the top 5. The Development League have also shared one win each in the previous derbies this year with the Sharks winning the first by 16 points and the Bulldogs winning on WA Day by 61 points. The Sharks win in round 6 is one of only two losses for the Bulldog’s Development League this season as they sit on top of the ladder.  This game starts at 11:30am.

The Sharks Colts side lost to Peel by 74 points last week and have now lost 2 in a row and have dropped to 5^th spot on the ladder. The Bulldogs sit one spot above the Sharks in 4^th spot with both on 8 wins but just percentage separating the two sides. Round 17 will be a good one for the colts as 4 of the top 5 teams play each other, which should cause some changes to the top half of the ladder. The Sharks had the better of South Fremantle’s Colts on Foundation Day winning by 52 points by lost earlier in Round 6 by 31 points. Good Luck to the Colts who will hope to turn their recent form around on Sunday with the game starting at 9am.

East Fremantle Women's Football Club takes on South Fremantle straight after the League Match, approx 5:15pm. The Sharks have won the previous 2 outings this year, but the total margin over both games is just 10 points so expect a hard fought match. The last match was played at Domain Stadium in a curtain raiser to an AFL game, Souths took an early 2-goal lead at the first break, but the Sharks came back in the second quarter edging ahead by 3 points at the main break. The second half was an even contest with the final margin just 4 points.
The SHarks will have to work hard without leading goal kicker and AFL listed player Jess Weutschner who is travelling. Keep an eye out for classy midfielder Brianna Green, the Sharks other AFL-listed player, along with Player-Coach Steph Walding and Captain Jo Beechey in defence.