WAFL STATE GAME PREVIEW V SANFL

WEST Perth premiership trio Aaron Black, Shane Nelson and Andrew Strijk will be looking to lead the WAFL to a State game victory over the SANFL at Lathlain Park on Saturday.

Black, Nelson and Strijk have been the three West Perth players selected in the WA team to take on the Croweaters and all enter the State game in outstanding form.

Black is coming off winning the Sandover Medal in 2014 on the back playing in the 2013 premiership and also representing the WAFL in the State game win over the VFL, where he was one of the best afield.

He is backing that up with another outstanding season so far with the Falcons and has now been selected to play for WA again after missing out in 2014.

Nelson continues to be an in-and-under ball winning machine and clearance maestro for the Falcons.

Despite having played in the 2013 premiership, won the last two club fairest and best awards, representing WA last year and finishing runner-up in the Sandover Medal, Nelson has taken his game to another level again this year so far.

And Strijk is also back to his very best form so far this season with his running ability and damaging right boot seeing him already deliver a host of best on ground, and match-winning performances for the Falcons.

However, it was disappointing for West Perth to have ruckman Chris Keunen and defender Laine Rasmussen not make the final team after both did well for WA against the NEAFL last year while co-captain Jay van Berlo was unavailable due to work commitments.

WA and South Australia are two proud football states, the WAFL and SANFL are strong state league competitions and now they do battle in Saturday's State game at Lathlain Park with plenty on the line.

The day will begin at Lathlain Park with the opening game of 2015 NAB AFL National 18s Championships with Western Australia to play South Australia. That match will bounce-down at 11.20am and the WAFL v SANFL State match begins at 2.15pm.

Josh Rotham has been named to represent WA in the opening match of the Championships. Mitch Antonio and Clint Hinchcliffe didn’t make the side to play South Australia, but are in the WA squad and will get their chance before long.

On top of the pride that goes into representing your state and coming out victorious, and also to put your respective competition up in lights as potentially the best in the country outside the AFL, history is yet to be able to separate WA and South in State battles.

WA has played South Australia 92 times in State matches with each winning 46 times apiece meaning the winner on Saturday at Lathlain Park will move ahead of the ledger.

Last time the two met in Perth was in 2009 when WA beat South Australia for the first time since 1994 scoring a one-point win at Medibank Stadium.

That also proved to be the SANFL's last loss in a State match with them going on to beat WA in Adelaide in 2012, the NEAFL in 2013 and the VFL in 2014 since then.

Over the past seven years since the WAFL had a horror loss to the VFL in Melbourne in 2007, WA has beaten the VFL once, the SANFL once, Queensland twice and the NEAFL while suffering a loss each to Victoria and South Australia.

Since that loss to Victoria in 2007, the WAFL has done well beginning with a thumping win over Queensland in Townsville in 2008, a thrilling one-point win over the SANFL at Medibank Stadium in 2009 and then a loss to the VFL at the same ground in 2010.

It was then back to the winner's list in 2011 beating Queensland at Mandurah's Bendigo Bank Stadium and then since a 14-point loss to South Australia at Glenelg in 2012, beat the VFL in Northam by 17 points in 2013 and thumped the NEAFL in Sydney by 85 points last year.

Both state leagues are certainly putting everything into the contest as well highlighted by the coaching staffs in place with the WAFL coached by Darren Harris and assisted by Tony Micale, John Dimmer and Adam Selwood.

Meanwhile, the SANFL is coached by the legendary Graham Cornes with his assistants including Tony Bamford, Peter Caven and Michael Handby while Stephen Rowe is the chairman of selectors.

Then taking a look at the playing lists and the WAFL has a good plenty of former AFL experience with Paul Johnson, Ashton Hams, Liam Anthony and Andrew Strijk, and then some exciting emerging players like Shane Yarran and Marlon Pickett.

There is no shortage of talent and experience in the SANFL team either led by captain Paul Thomas and including Jason Porplyzia, Ian Callinan, Alex Georgiou, Zane Kirkwood, Joel Cross, Marlon Motlop, Luke Jarrad, Jace Bode, Michael Newton, Chris Schmidt and Ryan Willits.

The WAFL squad has been hurt by injuries with likely first choice players Brendan Lee, Ben Saunders, Bradd Dalziell, Andrew Stephen, Kyle Anderson, Kyal Horsley and Jay van Berlo among those unavailable, but it is a strong-looking line-up still.

East Perth's Paul Johnson has been named captain for the second time after last doing the job in WA's win over Victoria in 2013 while South Fremantle captain Ryan Cook and five-time Subiaco premiership full-back Darren Rumble are vice-captains.

Johnson will carry the ruck for WA up against Angus Kurtze from South Australia while the WAFL will have the likes of Ashton Hams, Shane Nelson, Aidan Tropiano, Leigh Kitchin and Chris Phelan winning the hard ball.

Then their job will be to get it out to those with pace and ability to run and carry the ball like Aaron Black, Liam Anthony, Ryan Cook and Ryan Neates.

Rumble will be the anchor of the defence with help from versatile State debutant Blayne Wilson and Justin Simpson with Kirk Ugle, Andrew Strijk, Wayde Twomey, Brock O'Brien and Marlon Pickett all capable of playing attacking roles from the defence.

The forward-line will be interesting in the absence of a true marking target. Tony Notte, Clancy Wheeler and Lachlan Delahunty will be called on to create a contest, and then the strength of WA's mid-size and small forwards Shane Yarran, Ryan Davis and Cory Dell'Olio can come into play.

It is a relatively inexperienced squad for WA in terms of State appearances with Rumble to become the most experienced player in the team lining up in the Black Swans jumper for a fifth time.

Cook will play a fourth time for WA in five years playing in the WAFL while Strijk will also be playing for a fourth time.

Johnson will be representing the WAFL for a third time while Twomey, Black, Nelson, Notte, Davis, Hams, Neates and Dell'Olio all will be for a second occasion.

Ugle, Wilson, Anthony, Phelan, Yarran, Tropiano, Kitchin, Delahunty, O'Brien and Pickett are also set to make their first appearances for WA.

STATE GAME 2015 – WAFL v SANFL
Tickets to the game can be purchased at the gate: Adults $15, WAFL Club members/Concession $12, Child under 16 FREE, Student Edge 2 for 1.

LIVE STREAM & STATS - CLICK HERE 
The game will also be broadcast on radio by Sport FM 91.3fm and Life FM 107.9fm in Adelaide.

WAFL TEAM (possible line-up)
B: Ugle, Rumble, Wilson
HB: Strijk, Simpson, Twomey
C: Black, Nelson, Anthony
HF: Phelan, Notte, Davis
F: Hams, Wheeler, Yarran
R: Johnson, Tropiano, Kitchin
Interchange from: Cook, Delahunty, Dell’Olio, Neates, B O’Brien, Pickett

SANFL TEAM (possible line-up) 
B: Keough, Georgiou, Motlop
HB: Jarrad, Beard, Bode
C: Summerton, Kirkwood, Cross
HF: Callinan, Eddy, Beech
F: Porplyzia, Newton, McGregor
R: Kurtze, Schmidt, Boyd
Interchange from: Willits, Thomas, Hansen, Ryswyk, Liddle, Panos