The Numbers Game
1,678,278 – Number of fans that have attended the Freo v West Coast game since 1995.
39,959 – Average attendance in the 42 meetings between Freo and West Coast
100 – Ross Lyon coaches his 100th game for Freo on Saturday
58 – Nat Fyfe’s career clearances against West Coast, he had 22 in the two games in 2015.
43 – Saturday marks the 43rd meeting in one of the greatest rivalries in Australian sport.
10 – Career goals by David Mundy against West Coast, his highest return against any team.
2 – The win-loss difference in the 42 meetings between the two clubs. Since 1995, Freo have won 20 games while West Coast have won 22.
1 - The first female derby will be played as a curtain raiser prior to Saturday's game and will be broadcast at 3.05pm on Fox Footy.
Countdown to Freo's first female derby
Last time we met
Fremantle (11.14.80) def by West Coast (15.14.104) at in Rd 20, 2015
In similar fashion to the previous meeting in round three, this game was decided in the first quarter as West Coast got the jump on Freo with a seven goal to one first term.
Nat Fyfe and David Mundy were prolific in the midfield, combining for 54 disposals and 22 clearances.
Michael Walters was at his efficient best, kicking four goals from 14 disposals.
Aaron Sandilands dominated a Naitanui-less Eagles outfit, finishing the day 51 hit outs. Freo won the overall hit out count 68 to 17.
Tale of two quarters
Both Carlton Draught derby encounters in 2015 were decided in the first quarter, with two greatly differing results.
In round three, Fremantle jumped out of the blocks with a nine-goal first quarter and kicked eight for the remainer of the game to coast to a 30-point win over West Coast.
In round 20, the Eagles kicked seven goals to one in the first quarter – and like Freo – only eight for the remainder of the game as they registered a 24-point victory.
Curtailing Kennedy
After an eight goal haul against Brisbane in round one, Kennedy had a quiet week against Hawthorn which showed on the scoreboard with West Coast only scoring 53 points. One of the game’s premier forwards, Kennedy will look to exploit a Freo defence who had their hands full with Gold Coast big man Tom Lynch, who kicked five in last weeks loss to the Suns.
While the Eagles possess a bevy of tall talent, restricting the reigning Coleman medallist will be crucial come game day.
Unleash Lachie
Lachie Neale has been a bright spot so far in 2016 for Freo, averaging close to 30 disposals over the first two rounds of the season. He’ll look to continue his good form against the West Coast, having won Ross Glendinning Medal’s in both 2014 and 2015. Neale had a career best 42 disposals against the Eagles in round three last season.
Also, in somewhat of a statistical anomaly, the 176cm Neale registered his only career ruck hit out against the Eagles in 2014.
