D-LEAGUE PREVIEW - Grand Final (2017) V South Fremantle
Friday, September 22, 2017 - 10:25 AM
After a strong 2017 season, the Subiaco D-League will take on the first placed South Fremantle for the 2017 WAFL Reserves Premiership.
The Lions finished in third position on the ladder with 11 wins and a healthy percentage of 118.92. On the other hand, South Fremantle were clearly the best team in the Reserves with 16 victories and a huge percentage of 157.64.
The last time these teams met was in the Second Semi-Final when South Fremantle defeated Subiaco by 37 points at Leederville Oval, nearly two weeks ago.
Despite the nature of the loss, the Lions came out firing against Claremont in the Preliminary Final the following week, winning by 21 points.
TALKING POINTS
REID TO THE RESCUE
In the Second Semi-Final, the Lions had close to no winners on the ground, but young key defender Ben Reid could hold his head high. Lined up on the competition’s leading goalkicker Mitch Dzelebdzic, Reid did not once look nervous. He held his opponent to just the one goal, and if he does a similar job this weekend, the Lions are a serious chance.
YOUNG GUNS TO RELISH THE BIG STAGE
Throughout the 2017 season, Brayden Ainsworth and Kyron Hayden have proven why they are such highly rated prospects for this year’s draft. Ainsworth is a graceful midfielder who weaves through traffic, while Hayden has demonstrated that he is a raging bull. Expect both to relish playing on the big stage.
NELSON SQUARED
Both Dylan and Shannon Nelson are x-factors for the Lions in the grand final. Shannon, a highly skilled midfielder, who has elusive qualities that lead to plenty of attacking forays, and he can also drift forward. Dylan, a strong forward from Swan Districts, has plenty of tricks in the forward half, and finished third in the competition’s Leading Goalkicker Award. Both are key players for the Lions.
TACKLE, TACKLE, TACKLE
In the Second Semi-Final loss, Subiaco lost the tackle count 95-93 despite South Fremantle winning the possession count 407-252. Coach Andrew Lockyer will expect far more ferocious pressure from the Lions, and will look to the team’s top two tacklers Daniel Leach and McKenzie Lawrence to lead the way.
OLD FLAMES IGNITE
In the Grand Final, both Braden Fimmano and Bailey Matera will face their old side, and will be looking for redemption. In the Second Semi-Final, Fimmano gathered just 18 possessions while Matera was heavily restricted to nine, and both will be looking to have an influence against their former team.
FINAL AS IS STARTED
Subiaco's D-League season commenced way back in March when they recorded a memorable one point win over their Grand FInal foe in South Fremantle. Since that date, they have dropped both games to South Fremantle; however hopefully the omen of finishing as the season started will lead Subiaco to a memorable grand final victory.
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