WA Football Commission

THE WAWFL match to kick off an exciting round takes centre stage at East Fremantle Oval TONIGHT when the fourth placed East Fremantle Sharks take on third placed Peel Thunderbirds.

After playing to extra time in the 2013 first Semi Final, the two teams have developed a strong rivalry, highlighted by an average winning margin of only five points in their last three matches.

Their latest encounter, again going down to the wire, with Peel stealing a six point win during their round one encounter.

East Fremantle will be desperate to reverse the result and a win would see them leapfrog Peel into third place on the ladder on percentage. If Peel win, it will put an eight point gap between the two and put pressure on the Sharks heading into the second half of the season.

A win for the Thunderbirds would also be the first time they have won back-to-back games since rounds one and two of the season, including their win over the Sharks, having won only two of their past four matches.

The Sharks have also lacked consistently in 2014, losing two from four, and would be looking to recapture their form at home after a disappointing 58-point loss to the Coastal Titans in Round 6.

Following the WAFL match between East Fremantle and Peel is a big stage but won’t be foreign to either side, both of who have AFL listed players in their line ups.

East Fremantle’s Melissa Caulfield and Stephanie Walding were taken at picks 4 and 16 for the Western Bulldogs in the 2014 Draft, while Peel Thunderbirds Emma Swanson was taken at pick 29 for the Dees. Joining Caulfield and Walding will join retained player Kira Phillips who was pick 32 for the Dogs in the 2013 draft.

They join 15 other WAWFL players who made their way onto AFL lists in the 2013 and 2014 drafts.

Bounce down for the WAWFL league game is at 5:15pm at Shark Park.