Royals Review - Rd 19 vs Swan Districts

A fast-starting Swan Districts blew East Perth out of the water early in their clash at Steel Blue Oval. Kicking the first six goals of the match proved to be to much of a head start for the Royals to make up.

Slick, precise ball movement from the experienced Swans midfield was a feature of the Swans game early, giving the young Royals backline little time to set up and defend their opponents.

It was a rough and tumble affair with East Perth under constant pressure with and without the ball. The Royals third quarter was their best as Ben McGuire and Stan Wright both hit the scoreboard multiple times. McGuire, in his first game of League for the year, managed three goals from three kicks for the game.

Angus Schumacher was the royals best gathering 23 touches, five Clearances and seven Inside 50’s as one of the only Royals to provide any forward drive through the Swans watertight defence. Christian Ameduri played an impressive holding role on Sandover Medallist Sam Fisher restricting him to 16 touches whilst gathering 13 himself. Jacob Msando toiled well in defence under constant pressure.

The loss now means that the Royals are unable to make the finals this season. There is still plenty to play for against East Fremantle and Subiaco in our last two remaining fixtures. Every match is pivotal for the young East Perth squad as we look ahead to season 2022 and beyond

The Reserves had a hard-fought win against the highly fancied Swan Districts Reserves. Down by four points heading into the last quarter, Spider Lockitt kicked the first of the quarter to give the Royals the lead. Swans replied at the 18^th minute mark to go up by two points, however rising forward Sebit Kuek kicked the sealer with just minutes remaining.

Will Young in his 100^th Reserves match led the way with 30 possessions. Mitch Dobson’s return from injury continued well collecting 28 touches whilst playing on restricted minutes. Kuek was our most dangerous forward kicking two goals four.

The Colts went down by 34 point to ‘League Leaders’ Swans in the first game of the day. As expected from Swans it was a tight tussle, however the youngest Royals lacked penetration. Young gun Jye Amiss was the only East Perth multiple goal kicker with two, taking his goal tally for the season to 49. Kalani Brooks and Oscar Armstrong collected 22 and 20 possessions respectively. The Colts are guaranteed a top 3 spot and could move to second, with two wins and Swans beating Claremont in the final round