After swapping Shark Park for the Lillee-Marsh Stand, East Fremantle are coming in off the long run as they seek to turn their home away from home into a fortress.

The Sharks begin their two-year sojourn at the WACA Ground when they host Subiaco on Saturday in their first WAFL game at the venue the 1994 qualifying final against West Perth.

With East Fremantle Oval preparing to go renovations, the Sharks’ temporary stomping ground is a world away from their spiritual home - not just geographically, but also dimensions-wise.

While the ground’s grass banks have been excavated to lengthen the field of play for football, the WACA is roughly 25m shorter than Shark Park, but also approximately 20m wider.

However, East Fremantle captain Matthew Jupp said the squad was excited to play at the historic venue and they were confident of adapting to the size.

“It’s quite a small oval, but it’s really fast and hard and firm underfoot. I think when when grounds tend to be firm and hard underfoot, you usually see a fast-paced and vibrant game,” Jupp said.

“Shark Park is a massive venue and I think it’s the biggest in the competition, whereas the WACA will probably be the smallest ground in the competition. They’re poles apart in terms of ground dimensions, and we’re prepared for that.

“It’s only two or three kicks to go the length of field, as opposed to probably most other grounds where you need four or five, so that’ll be a huge change and I think it’ll suit the way we play.”

After a barren few years, East Fremantle have won four on the trot and occupy second spot on the ladder, but Jupp insisted there was no complacency within the team, pointing out all four of their wins had come against teams outside the top five.

“I certainly think the competition’s evened out this year, there’s no dominant team in the competition,” he said.

“You’d be silly to say you’re not buoyed by the fact that you’re sitting 4-1 on the table, but you have to quickly check yourself.

“We’re not putting a dampener on things. We are super pumped about the way we have started, but there’s plenty of room for improvement and we’re going to face some really tough opponents.”

One such tough opponent is a Subiaco side who have won two on the trot after a slow start to the season and Jupp was wary of the wounded Lions.

“I’ve been at the at the mercy of the dominant Subi teams for a lot of my career, so it’s not lost on me that while we may be sitting ahead of them on the ladder, that doesn’t take away from the fact they are a super strong outfit,” he said.