Western Derby: Every Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles player ranked ahead of Saturday night’s clash

Every player in Saturday night’s western derby ranked from 1-44 based on their ability to have an impact in the big game. 1. Luke Jackson: Is set to be unleashed in the forward line and looks set to force West Coast to pick an extra tall defender. Will take the best backman and adds contested marking firepower to an underperforming forward group. They will hope for clearance dominance when he takes on the second ruck. 2. Caleb Serong: The most prolific ball-winner on either side. The Dockers are expected to shut the game down and make it scrappy. When it comes to owning the inner circle at contests, he is their man. 3. Sean Darcy: Fremantle won the midfield battle over Port Adelaide, despite being smoked in the ruck. Darcy’s looming return opens the door to more set plays and unlocks Jackson’s move forward. Will give Bailey Williams a tough day out. 4. Elliot Yeo: Last week’s performance was mind-boggling and he is back to near his best. His ground ball wins were crucial to their contest game where they lost the hit-outs. Fremantle may consider tagging him, which would be a shift from their midfield balance. 5. Alex Pearce: Has been a defensive mountain this season and the Eagles will need to find a different way to launch forward this week. Drive it long and Pearce will gobble it up. Looks more confident now carrying the ball and is on top of his game. 6. Hayden Young: His size and tackling will be critical against some big bodies in the West Coast midfield. The Dockers are nearing their first-choice forward line and they will need their best deliverer inside-50 to stand up. 7. Tim Kelly: Finally he’s not going it alone. The help of Yeo and Harley Reid means Kelly can do what he does best, get on the move at stoppages, hit the ball on the fly and impact out the front. 8. Jye Amiss: Justin Longmuir said it bluntly. We are not scoring enough. Amiss is their main attacking weapon and the eyes of the best defender — likely Tom Barrass — are set to shift to Jackson. Umpires are watching closely off-the-ball treatment he receives. 9. Harley Reid: We learnt against Richmond that 10 minutes of Harley’s best can flip a game. Fremantle were opened up by Connor Rozee’s burst away from stoppage last week and Reid has the same capabilities. So difficult to tackle and impossible to catch on the break. 10. Luke Ryan: Some of his defensive efforts this season have been remarkable in a depleted back line. His marking and rebounding is pivotal and a match-up with Jake Waterman looms. His rolling off is critical in allowing the Dockers to play Josh Draper as a second key back. 11. Jake Waterman: His contested marking in a six-goal haul at the weekend was super impressive. Kicking the ball beautifully at the moment and his work-rate in forward spacing will be important in stretching Fremantle’s backline so they can’t create two-on-ones. 12. Nat Fyfe: Don’t sleep on the importance of Fyfe’s role in drawing opponents towards him and releasing Dockers runners into space by hands. He looks confident in his body, his field kicking up the ground is on the up and he will take some serious defending around the ball. A big test for Reid and Reuben Ginbey. 13. Andrew Brayshaw: Has been a bigger outside element to his game this season and numbers are down as a result. But the Dockers are getting the ball from inside to out really nicely and he is still one of their most damaging users. Has impacted forward at times this year too. 14. Tom Barrass: Was quiet last week and may be struggling with his back injury, but is their pillar in defence. Fremantle give you enough chances to break them down and if Barrass is on, he could hurt them. 15. Josh Treacy: Three goals in five minutes last week is the best example of how he can impact games. Takes clunks, crashes packs and is so tough to defend he draws free kicks. When he’s hot, he’s hot, and he could be in line for the third-best defender, potentially Josh Rotham. 16. Liam Ryan: West Coast need skill and this guy has it in spades. If he plays, he will be their most welcome addition in some time. Played half-back in the WAFL this week but more likely to return to half-forward where his kicking up the ground and marking inside-50 will keep a number of defenders on their toes. 17. Jordan Clark: For the first three weeks of the season his direct opponents failed to kick a goal. Defensively brilliant and a key cog in transition. Ball use has been daring and efficient. 18. Jeremy McGovern: Has gone up a notch since the loss to Sydney. Fremantle have had issues working around interceptors and the game becomes a scrap, they won’t be able to afford to let McGovern roam around as a stopper. 19. Liam Duggan: Struggled with life in the midfield early in the season but looked better in a match-up with Dustin Martin. Brings more to them down back than he does on the ball and a clash with Michael Walters looms. 20. Bailey Williams: The test for Williams will be just keeping up. Will ruck large stages of this game and needs to make life as difficult as possible for Darcy around the ground, which he is capable of. Has grown again this season, but was well-beaten by Toby Nankervis last week. 21. Brandon Walker: The Dockers’ best small defender will have his hands full this week. Could be watching Liam Ryan if he plays forward. Has found himself in a couple of tough match-ups — including Jason Horne-Francis — when midfielders rest forward, which is something West Coast might try and create. 22. Michael Frederick: Is a welcome return from a minor hamstring injury because he stabilises both their wings. Dangerous too when he is playing forward, getting up and beating opponents back. Their midfielders have been great at shifting the ball out and getting him on his way this year. 23. Jamie Cripps: Still kicks the ball as well as anyone in the competition and remains a really dangerous option for them. 24. Jack Petruccelle: Has finally become the wildcard the Eagles hoped he would in his first couple of years. Is finding avenues to goal as a forward and brings a really exciting spark to their midfield when he is thrown on-ball. Something they could turn to even more. 25. Reuben Ginbey: Has taken somewhat of a back seat with the return of more experienced teammates this season but has still played an important role, particularly tackling and forcing stoppages. Adds some weight to a midfield that will need it, without having to take on more than his age dictates. 26. Jeremy Sharp: His run is right at the pointy end of the competition. Just gets within a disposal of so many contests and is always a nice outlet option for them. 27. Tyler Brockman: A bit of a joker in the pack for the Eagles in his maiden derby. Could really light the game up if he gets in the right spots, but also a very real chance he goes missing. Big game for him. 28. James Aish: Settling in to a role down back after being thrown around in recent years. Will take a role against one of the Eagles’ fleet of smalls. His kicking was wasteful last week, but he can normally open up the field for them with his kicking. 29. Josh Draper: Has done some outstanding jobs in the opening games of his young career. Relies on a bit of help from other backman but knows where to be and is becoming a nice back-shoulder defender. A silky mover and looks assured with the ball too. 30. Jayden Hunt: Has had a quiet couple of weeks running the fat side wing and is set for a lung-busting test against Jeremy Sharp. Important he goes with the Dockers runner so they can’t use him to overload. 31. Bailey Banfield: Had his fair share of opportunities last week and will want a few back, but is putting together his most consistent yet and is getting to the right spots. Super dangerous when he gets the ball on the ground or fed out to him. 32. Tom Cole: Has been nice and proactive down back and done some good things pushing back. Will be able to do the same, particularly if his team at least splits the midfield battle. 33. Jack Darling: West Coast believe their big key forward has turned a corner in the last two weeks and is competing better. He took four marks and booted one goal from his seven kicks last week, but they would love a bit more out of him close to home. Can’t leave too much for Williams to do. 34. Michael Walters: Was barely sighted on a tough night at Adelaide Oval last week but has otherwise been pretty efficient up forward for them. Is one of the players they need more out of as Justin Longmuir tries to solve their woes turning looks into scores. 35. Brady Hough: Is an emerging small defender and has been trusted as one of their distributors this year. Less conservative as he grows into the role with his kicking, but has been exposed defensively a couple of times in recent weeks. 36. Josh Rotham: Played his best game in some time against the Tigers and was able to push off and be proactive in his defence. Took eight marks. Will really have to take a man in a taller forward line and will likely be tested by Treacy in the air. 37. Tom Emmett: The least experienced member of the Dockers’ side. The pressure and heat he brings is super important to them creating forward-50 turnovers and breaking opposition transition down. Even more so without Switkowski, but needs to find a way to get his hands on the ball more. 38. Jack Williams: Creating a contest and not allowing defensive marks will be priority No.1 for Williams. His aerial marking has improved out of sight, the Eagles have big wraps on him and his blocking work has been highlighted in recent weeks. 39. Jaeger O’Meara: Has been playing an interesting defensive wing role coming on and off as a sub in recent weeks. Experience in big games counts for plenty. 40. Ethan Hughes: Is a battler down back and has done some nice roles for the Dockers this season. Beaten to the ball in some critical moments last week. Will find it tough if the Eagles can find some clean entries. 41. Ryan Maric: West Coast scored so often from stoppage against the Tigers they basically bypassed Maric after he came on as a sub. Could be an option for the vest again after eight touches but seven handballs and only one mark. 42. Noah Long: Will be tasked with breaking down some of the Dockers’ work in transition and defending the corridor. The kind of youngster that seems to thrive on a stage like this. 43. Campbell Chesser: Really is still settling into his wing role. Has had some nice moments, especially when pushing forward recently. 44. Matthew Johnson: Has struggled to really break into their midfield mix and was forced outside last week with Frederick out. Could be looking at a similar role, where he has struggled to get his hands on it. 45. Neil Erasmus: On the fringes for the Dockers and hasn’t benefited from a stop-start first month of the season. Debuted in a western derby two seasons ago. 46. Alex Witherden: Looked off the pace last week after a stint in the WAFL and his skills under pressure have been an issue. Could be replaced in the side.