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Subiaco coach Beau Wardman is confident his team will be at their best off the back of the bye in their clash with Claremont this weekend.
Both teams come into the top-of-the-table clash in good form, with the Lions having the weekend off after registering a 55-point win over West Perth two weeks ago while the Tigers are coming off a 91-point thumping of West Coast last weekend.
The bye has been a talking point at AFL level with no team this year registering a win after their break against an opponent who played the previous week, but Wardman told Sports Breakfast he was not a big believer in the trend.
“I think we certainly needed the bye. It was nice to get away for four or five days,” Wardman said.
“We got back to training on Monday and stepped up our training program early in the week to shake off any residual holiday mode. The enthusiasm around the place has been re-energised, which has been important for us.
“We demand a fair bit of the boys and they give a huge amount of investment into their football and the season, so just to have that mental refresh [is important].”
The Lions registered a 24-point win over the Tigers at Leederville Oval in round three, but Wardman said his team would not take much insight from the reverse fixture.
“I think every team on their home deck is a bit more of a challenge,” he said.
“They’re really competitive and we know what we’re going to need to bring to get a victory.
“That challenge might be a bit different to what we saw earlier in the season, but we’re up for the fight.”
Claremont star Bailey Rogers is set to return after missing the last six weeks due to an anke injury, with Wardman saying plans were in place to disrupt the 2021 Sandover Medalist.
“He’s been the best player in the WAFL competition over the last four or five years,” he said.
“We expect the best football out of him.
“We’ll wait until tomorrow to see if he’s out there, but if he’s been named I would expect he’ll play.”
The game gets underway at 2:10 pm on Saturday and is being broadcast live on 91.3 SportFM.
IMAGE: WA FOOTBALL