ROUND 2 PREVIEW V PEEL THUNDER

WEST Perth had a tough start to its 2015 season losing to South Fremantle last Friday night and now the challenge is ahead of the Falcons this Saturday in their home opener against Peel Thunder at HBF Arena.

West Perth came into the 2015 season with high hopes of a rejuvenated year after a disappointing 2014 following the 2013 premiership, but the result was a 35-point loss to South Fremantle at Fremantle Oval under lights on Friday night.

Not only did the Falcons lose the match, but the way they used the ball in particular was disappointing for coach Bill Monaghan and those in attendance, and then on top of it they lost premiership star Jordan Jones to a hamstring injury as well.

West Perth will be confident of bouncing back quickly on Saturday against Peel at HBF Arena, but it won't be easy with the Thunder team to possess up to 17 Fremantle-listed players and then some top quality WAFL talent led by Brendon Jones, Gerald Ugle and Eddie Dann.

Peel had the opening round bye so will be making their first appearance of the 2015 season and the Thunder will be determined to start off on a winning note, and to try and make up for last year's heartbreaking loss to West Perth at the same venue when Anthony Tsalikis kicked the match-winning goal on the siren after Peel earlier led by 42 points at half-time. 

From the West Perth team that lost to South Fremantle last Friday night, Jordan Jones goes out with a hamstring tear that looks set to sideline him for up to a month.

Key position player Marcus Adams is also battling a foot complaint but has been named in the selected side.

Following the retirement of Dan Hunt at the end of last season, with Michael Pettigrew unlikely to now return in 2015 and Nick Rodda playing forward, Jones and possibly Adams are two players West Perth couldn’t afford to lose from its back-line early in the season.

It will likely mean that Rodda will have to play back to try and ensure that the Falcons can match up on Peel's bevy of tall players they will likely have in their forward-line.

Tim Sutherland is also a chance to make his league debut to provide some more height to West Perth's line-up.

That will mean a restructured forward-line for the Falcons with Michael Lourey likely to play as the marking option with Matt Fowler to come into the side as a leading target.

Drew Rohde showed good signs last week across half-forward so will remain and then Kody Manning and Steve Potente will supply some support at ground level, and Brayden Antonio, Matt Johnson, Kris Shannon and Callum Papertalk are all in contention to come into the team and are goalkicking options.

League premiership duo from 2013 Ray Bartholomew and Marc Crisp join Jones out of the West Perth team at this stage along with reserves premiership player from last year Trent Manzone.

Fremantle have been granted permission by the AFL to have Michael Barlow, Paul Duffield, Garrick Ibbotson, Danyle Pearce, Max Duffy, Connor Blakely, Jack Hannath, Jonathon Griffin, Michael Apeness and Lachie Weller play with Peel this Saturday if they so choose.

Of those, Duffield, Barlow, Blakely, Apeness, Duffy, Weller, Hannath, Griffin and Pearce have all been named to play.

On top of that, fellow Dockers listed players Alex Pearce, Tanner Smith, Brady Grey, Josh Deluca, Colin Sylvia, Jacob Ballard, Ethan Hughes and Ed Langdon have all been named to play for the Thunder.

That leaves Peel with only Eddie Dann, Josh Bootsma, Gerald Ugle, Brayden Lawler, Josh Mathers, Brennan Gillam and Mitch Gill as WAFL players in the initial squad of 25.

And of those, Jones is the captain and a multiple fairest and best winner at two clubs, and Bootsma and Ugle have played in the AFL.

That is a strong Peel line-up and with a host of the Fremantle players looking to push for selection in Round 1 of the AFL season, the Thunder will be tough opposition for a West Perth team desperate to bounce back from their season-opening loss last Friday night.

RESERVES SQUAD
M Ashfield, R Bartholomew, J Batterham, C Chalmers, M Crisp, M Douglas, B Fotheringham, C Franklin, K Fullgrabe, M Geraghty, J Kirwen, A Lynch, T Manzone, B McGillivray, S Money, T Moulton, D Munns, B O'Regan, S Rotham, Z Saunders, B Walton, B Wilhelm, C Yarran, H Yarran

COLTS SQUAD
A Allen, M Antonio, L Baker, A Charlie, K Coleman, R Dolman, Z Guadagnin, E Hills, K Hindmarsh, J Horgan, E Larmett, C Lynch, T Manners, N Marinovich, J Moore, B Mountford, S Nelson, T O'Brien, M Peirce, G Popzeleff, D Robertson, J Rotham, T Smith, J Turner, M Walley, B Zanon