Twelfth placed Fremantle face 9th placed West Coast in the 46th Carlton Draught Derby at Domain Stadium on Sunday.
Here are some of the key stats and stories heading into the game.
Freo’s faster starts
The last derby was virtually over by quarter time as West Coast raced out to a six-goal lead, continuing Freo’s trend of slow starts in 2017. Heading into the round 12 bye, Fremantle were outscored 24.24 (168) to 48.39 (327) in opening terms. During the three games since the bye, Fremantle have reversed the trend by outscoring opponents 9.7 (61) to 4.7 (31).
Youth v Experience
Sunday’s clash pits two sides with different narratives as Fremantle rebuilds their list with youth and West Coast push for a premiership with experience. Fremantle fielded the third youngest starting 22 in round 16, with an average age of 23.66 years and an average of 68.2 games experience. West Coast fielded the oldest starting 22 in round 16 at 26.82 years and was the most experienced with an average of 128.5 career matches.
Kennedy v Hamling?
Coming off back-to-back Ross Glendinning medals, Eagles forward Josh Kennedy may be returning at just the right time. Kennedy, who has missed the past five games with a calf injury, told 6PR on Tuesday morning that he was “pretty confident” about returning to face Fremantle after he kicked 6.2 in the round six derby. Kennedy’s likely opponent, Joel Hamling, is facing his own injury concerns after hurting his hip against North Melbourne. Hamling isn’t listed on Fremantle’s injury list however, the defender was on light duties at training on Wednesday.
Forward entries
Fremantle greatly improved their marks per inside 50 against North Melbourne, marking 26.1 per cent of forward 50 entries compared to their season average of 17.1. West Coast have maintained their strong marking inside 50 since Kennedy’s injury, making 20.4 per cent of entries without Kennedy compared to 21.2 per cent of entries with Kennedy. Both Fremantle and West Coast deliver the ball forward less than the average AFL side, with West Coast averaging 50.5 inside 50s per game (13th in the AFL) and Fremantle averaging 47.9 inside 50s per game (16th in the AFL). Michael Walters leads Freo for inside 50s, averaging 4.1 per game while Luke Shuey leads the Eagles, averaging 4.3 per game.
Where to for Nyhuis?
After four goals on debut against North Melbourne, Ryan Nyhuis seems a lock to retain his spot against West Coast. Usually a defender, Nyhuis excelled in an unfamiliar defensive forward role coming in as an emergency replacement for David Mundy. With the likely return of Mundy and defender Lee Spurr into Freo’s lineup, Ross Lyon faces a tough decision about where to fit Nyhuis. In his post-match media conference, Lyon suggested he wouldn’t have any problems in keeping Nyhuis up front. “I have a view, that if you can play, you can play anywhere. So, if you can play in defence, you can play forward,” Lyon said.
Back to his best?
Nat Fyfe totalled his second lowest disposal count of the season against West Coast in round six with 19 touches (eight contested) and four clearances. Last week against North Melbourne, Fyfe equalled his season-high of 33 touches, with 19 of those contested while racking up 12 clearances.
Has Taberner earned his spot?
Key forward Matthew Taberner put his hand up for selection when playing for Peel against West Perth last Saturday, kicking six goals. The 24-year-old has kicked nine goals during three WAFL games since his omission from the Freo lineup. At AFL level this year, Taberner has kicked eight goals from five games, with four of those coming against Essendon in round 7.
