Match Preview v West Coast

It’s round 11 and Subiaco are refreshed after a well-timed bye last round, given the five day turn around the week prior, this week off came at the right time to keep pushing with the impressive season so far. Subi will host the match against West Coast this Saturday at 2:10pm in the afternoon. 

Keep an eye on Subiaco’s social media channels and app for updates across the day if you cannot make it to the game. 

FORM
Subi are soaring and haven’t showed many signs of coming down anytime soon. They are coming off outclassing Perth in round 9 in a showing of dominance with a final margin of 98. It could’ve been a bigger win had the Lions kicked straighter, but their scoring shots (29) certainly told the story as Perth only managed six. Sokol got the credit for six of the team’s ten goals for the first half and spread his influence across the ground with 19 touches too. Greg Clark is without a doubt a big contributor to Subi’s flying form at the moment and his figures for the season reflect this. His average of 30 disposals, seven tackles a game and kicked six goals for the eight games played is nothing short of remarkable, even more so coming off racking up season-high 42 touches in round nine. Clark, along with the rest of the team will look to continue on their merry way this weekend especially given their opponent is a struggling West Coast lineup. 

OPPONENTS FORM 
West Coast is yet to feature on the winners list this season, sitting bottom of the ladder. The Eagles have been outclassed when it mattered this year, but have displayed their strengths to come close to clinching the four points on multiple occasions. Their last game against Claremont would’ve been a different story had West Coast kicked straighter, given the scoring shots were only 23 - 21 in favour of the Tigers. A factor for their lacking performances could be due to a disconnected team with a number of players getting the call up to play AFL and new faces featuring every week. Their AFL team has been depleted in terms of injuries over the last few weeks so West Coast have had to fork out players from the WAFL to fill the gaping holes through their AFL lineup. However to lift their spirits in one of the better additions to the team, the Eagles will be welcoming Norm-Smith Medalist and current West Coast AFL Captain Luke Shuey with open arms as he eases his way back from injury on limited minutes.

GOAL KICKERS
Subi’s Mr. Reliable up forward, Ben Sokol (17.11) has now leapfrogged Jordan Faraone (14.11) as the team’s leading goal kicker this season after his recent six-goal game in round nine, where at one stage looked like double figures for the evening.  He sits 8th in the comp for goals kicked (17), but could be much higher up given he’s played three less games than those above him on the Bernie Naylor Leaderboard. Last time these teams clashed was in 2019 and you-know-who booted four goals for the game, followed close behind by Ryan Borchet with three. 
 
LAST TWO TIMES  
The previous two times the Lions faced West Coast was back in the 2019 season, in which Subiaco declared their 15th Premiership, as West Coast opted out of the shortened, COVID affected 2020 season. Round 16 was a home game for Subi as they further displayed what was to come a few weeks later when claiming the win by 68 in the end. Prior to this, in round 6, was the first time in both teams history to play each other as it was West Coast’s debut season in the WAFL. Took place at Leederville Oval, in this case it was again Subi to win it by 15 points, although a closer one in the end with the home team nearly falling short from their poor scoring accuracy. Given such short history to account for, this game will give an indication of where these two teams match ups against each other might play out in future

OTHER GRADES
Subiaco’s League team are the only team playing this weekend for premiership points, with the Colts and Reserves both having a bye, however will be having a scratch match prior to the league game at 11.30am. Subi Womens team are set to play in the first Semi Final of the WAFLW finals series this Sunday at 1:30pm, so be sure to head down to Revo Fitness Stadium to support the Lions in yet another finals berth.