Royals Wrap Up Round 16

The Royals fought it out in a classic wet weather footy affair on Saturday to climb into the top five after beating Swan Districts as Steel Blue Oval.

The weather was not kind to either team on Saturday afternoon, but East Perth refused to be phased by freezing temperatures and downpours. With a revamped side from last week, East Perth was keen to showcase some young blood on the weekend.  After an impressive round last week, Liam Duggan and Jack Redden retained their spot in the league side- and did not disappoint.

Rain and bitterly cold temperatures descended on Steel Blue for the first quarter and from the outset it was obvious the match would be a brutal game of wet weather football. A slippery ball didn’t help, with neither the Royals nor Swan Districts getting much clean possession. Most of the quarter was stoppages and both teams moving the ball forward by forcing the ball to the boundary line. Mitchell League was good at half back. Craig Wulff hit the first major for the afternoon with a nice set shot in gusty winds from the boundary line. Jonathon Giles kicked the Royals second and Wulff ended with his second after being taken high inside 50.

Swan Districts came back hard in the second term, and managed to keep the ball inside their forward 50 for most of the quarter. However they could convert from six scoring opportunities. Eric Mackenzie and Tom Cole cleared up well in full back, whilst youngsters Jack Redden and Liam Duggan were ruthless in clearances. The Royals were kept goalless for the whole quarter.

The third term brought even more showers but East Perth refused to let that deter their spirit. Simon Tunbridge booted the first goal for the third quarter and then another later on in the quater, with a nice snap around the body. Craig Wulff was getting his hands on the ball everywhere he turned. Mitchell Lague continued to be a steady hand for the Royals down back. The Swans were looking reluctant to conform to the wet conditions, but this cost them, finishing the third with no majors and only six points. Eric Mackenzie was impressive for East Perth, always getting involved in the marking contests.

The players ran out back to just 9 degrees in the final quarter, but the Royals kept pushing. Tom Lamb went up forward along with Paul Johnson. Tom Cole kicked the first for the final term. Paul Johnson followed with long kick into an open goal square, and Craig Wulff added one more major to his stats finishing with a best on ground performance. The Swans eventually kicked two goals to put them on the scoreboard, booting their second in the last few minutes of the match, soccering the ball across the line. The Royals won by 40 points and most importantly, jumped into the top five, putting a breath of fresh of air into their finals race. 

The final score was East Perth 8.10 58 to Swan Districts 2.6 18.

East Perth take on rivals West Perth at Medibank Stadium this Saturday in the annual Jeremy Silcock Shield Match.