AFLW: Beth Schilling and Dana East in the frame to feature as Fremantle and West Coast meet in derby opener

Two South West stars are in the frame to make their official debuts in a blockbuster AFLW derby when teams for the opening round of the season are unveiled later this week. Both Bunbury’s Beth Schilling and Manjimup’s Dana East featured for West Coast and Fremantle respectively when the two sides met in a practice match in Cockburn last month and now the pair could be set for a baptism of fire. COVID chaos sweeping the nation has forced last-minute changes to the AFLW fixture, which meant both WA clubs had round one clashes against interstate opponents rescheduled. They will instead meet at Fremantle Oval to begin the season on Saturday before hitting the road — perhaps for more than a month. The Eagles notched their first unofficial win against the Dockers in the practice match at Fremantle’s training facility, finishing nine-point victors. East spent time in the midfield for the Dockers during the practice match and with a number of Dockers already placed on the inactive list, appears a strong chance to play some role in Saturday’s season opener. The news is not so positive for former Collie Eagles player Phillipa Seth, who is set to miss the first part of the season with a syndesmosis injury. Schilling, the former Carey Park ruck, was taken with pick 24 in last year’s draft by the Eagles and is a chance to fill a role either in the ruck or down back, while East, who turned her hand to football only in the past three years, was taken by the Dockers with pick 31. After Saturday’s clash, Fremantle will head to New South Wales to play their rescheduled clash with Greater Western Sydney, while Schilling and her Eagles teammates will also hit the road and are set to face the Gold Coast Suns at Whitten Oval in Melbourne’s western suburbs. The two sides will then play a double-header at Richmond’s Punt Road base in round three and are not scheduled to play in Western Australia until Fremantle meet Carlton at Fremantle Oval on February 11. The road trip means the Eagles will not host a game in their home State until they play Richmond at Lathlain Park in round seven.