Round 21 Preview

East Perth will take on first-place Subiaco tomorrow in a must-win clash for the Royals to keep their finals hopes alive. We take a look at the Royals big In’s and Out’s for Round 21, as well as some of the key battlelines East Perth must win against the top club in the competition.

In’s:

Fraser McInnes comes back into the full forward line to add another tall body in the goal square, along with Jonathon Giles. Young gun Jack Redden is also back to add some pace to the Royals midfield, and agility for those all important clearances. 

After showing some promise last weekend in front of goal, Tom Lamb remains at half forward. Mitchell Brown and Eric Mackenzie will help lead a formidable backline, along with Mitchell Fraser, Tom Cole and Tom Gorter

A big of a re-shuffle in the midfield sees Brant Colledge move up the ground along with Lewis Jetta.

Out’s:

The one significant loss for the Royals is Xavier Ellis, who announced his retirement earlier this week. 

Battlelines:

Stoppages: Even the though the Royals have some good height up forward in Giles, Lamb and McInnes, getting effective deliveries into their forward 50 is crucial. Patrick McGinnity, Jack Redden and Malcom Karpany need to use their versatility to make sure their tall forwards get a good look at the ball this weekend. 

Forward Power: East Perth’s forward line need to step up this weekend and do some damage on the scoreboard, after remaining goalless for the whole third term last week against Peel (which is when the Thunder put on five consecutive goals). Meanwhile, the Royals backline need to mark leading goal-kicker Hamish Sepheard and not let him gain momentum up forward. Subiaco has the highest percentage in the league so East Perth need to win their one-on-one match ups to make sure the Lions have limited goal scoring oppurtunities.

Youngsters: Both sides have welcomed some fresh blood into their side for tomorrow’s clash. Jack Redden, Callum Hart and Samuel Powell-Pepper have been selected for the Royals. Subiaco will keep Chris Bryan, Liam Ryan and Sean Bradley in their starting 22. It’s a chance for East Perth’s young boys to step up and embrace a tough challenge against the league leaders. Hart, Redden and Corey Adamson have all showed great potential and have proved they can be game-changing influences. If they can tap into that for tomorrow’s game, they could be a solid force to be reckoned with.