Royals Wrap Up Round 15

East Perth has a lot to be proud of this round putting on hat trick against South Fremantle down at Fremantle Community Oval on Saturday.

With their finals hopes on the line the Royals put together one of their strongest starting line-ups for the season, pitting experience, class and pace against the top side in the competition. Noteworthy inclusions were; returning skipper Craig Wulff, Xavier Ellis, Eric Mackenzie, Dom Sheed and young guns Nathan Blee and Jack Redden.

Craig Wulff returned in style booting the Royals first of the afternoon, which then sparked four consecutive goals for East Perth courtesy of Brant Colledge and Kane Lucas. But Kane Lucas was quickly taken off the field with a suspected knee injury at the end of the first term, ending cutting his day short.

South Freo kicked the first goal of the second quarter but East Perth responded in spectacular fashion. Despite limited time on the field, Dom Sheed maximized his time off the bench and kicked the Royals first for the second. Young duo Jack Redden and Liam Duggan staked their claim up forward with a couple of quick goals. Even though the Bulldogs kept pushing forward, East Perth’s backline was impeccable. Tom Gorter, Eric Mackenzie, Xavier Ellis and Mitchell Fraser simply out muscled their opponents and got on top in the one-on-one contests, only conceding one goal by the end of the term. Jared Oakley-Nicholls ran into an open goal square late in the quarter to extend the Royals lead by three goals.

The next half would prove a real struggle for East Perth with only two men on the bench with Kane Lucas and Fraser McInnes ruled out for the rest of the match. The third was tit-for-tat scoring with no consecutive goals for either side. Ben Saunders booted the first for the quarter for South Fremantle. Jared Oakley-Nicholls hit back with an effortless set-shot from the boundary line. Mason Shaw kicked his fourth for the Bulldogs, but Simon Tunbridge quickly followed Oakley-Nicholls’ lead and kicked another from the boundary on his left foot for the Royals. Jack Redden impressed yet again, taking a strong contested mark inside the 50 and kicking his third for the game.

Going into the final quarter and with the stakes high, East Perth was more than determined. It was clear the game would be won on will and desperation rather than textbook plays and tricks. The Royals backline had no rotations but proved to be one the saving grace for the club. East Perth’s ability to create play and control the footy from full back was remarkable. Gorter and Fraser in particular, ran for four solid quarters of football covering distance up and down the ground. Although both sides could not take advantage of numerous scoring opportunities, East Perth’s lead coming into the final quarter held them in good stead and proved too difficult for South Fremantle to catch-up. Jared Oakley-Nicholls sealed the game with his third goal- East Perth coming out winners against the topside in the league by 16 points. Producing one of their best all-round team performances, the Royals were very deserving of one of the biggest upsets of the season.

The final score was East Perth 12.14 86 to South Fremantle 9.16 70. The Royals take on Swan Districts as Steel Blue Oval next Saturday.

East Perth continued their impressive form in both the Reserves and the Colts. In a top of the table clash in the Reserves, East Perth held off on a late surge from South Fremantle to come out on top by 20 points. The Royals now sit at the top of the Reserves ladder. Meanwhile, the Colts put on the match of the round in a thrilling two-point victory over the Bulldogs.

The Reserves score was East Perth 11.16 82 to South Fremantle 9.8 62.

The Colts final score was East Perth 10.8 68 to South Fremantle 10.6 66.

Well done to all of our boys!