FOOTBALL DEPARTMENT UPDATE | JUNE 8

by Warren Parker, Football Operations Manager and Angus Schumacher, Football Operations Manager - Women's 

WAFL Football Department Update

Round 8 saw us take on our traditional rivals West Perth in the WA Day Perth Derby here at Leederville Oval. 

 Unfortunately, the weather did not do the game or our supporter base any favours as we were greeted with wet, wild, and cold conditions. Thank you to all the Loyal Royals who braved the weather and got to Leederville despite the circumstances to support the teams. 

 Luckily our boys were dialled in from the start and produced some of the best football we’ve played all season. West Perth are a good side and contested ball is one of their strengths, but our players were up to the challenge and managed to play the better game on the day to get the result. 

 Michael Randall made his long-awaited debut for the club, and it was great to have his parents Vicki and Mark join us in the rooms pre-match, along with loved ones. He was presented his jumper pre-match by Premiership Player Craig Glancy who played 100+ games for the club between 2001-2010. We enjoyed having Craig and several other past players in the room pre-match. Mitchell Crowden also played his 50^th WAFL Match to go along with the 40 AFL Matches he played with Fremantle. Congratulations to Mitch, his lovely partner Georgia, and his family, as I know they would all be proud. 

Scott Jones continues his recent run of good form with a dominant display in the ruck while on-ballers Mitch Crowden, Angus Schumacher and Hamish Brayshaw were all terrific through the midfield. Nick Robertson had what I believe was his best game for the club with 31 disposals off half back, providing a lot of rebound and setting up some really damaging passages of play. Stan Wright was also had a big impact with his rebound, while Harrison Macreadie and Jacob Msando had strong defensive efforts during the game to make it tough for the West Perth forwards. 

The forward line looked a little different going into the game, with the likes of Thomas Medhat and Nicholas Bonomelli missing out in favour of a mobile forward setup in anticipation of the weather. Liam Tedesco made the most of his chances with three goals, while Shayne Hille also registered three goals in his first game of League football in 2023, after suffering several injuries throughout preseason. 

All in all, we were all very happy with the result as we haven’t beaten West Perth since 2019. It was an important result in the context of our season. We now sit at 5-3 and are back in the Top 5, looking to continue building momentum. 

The Reserves started the game strongly and went into half-time up by a couple of points, but unfortunately the second half was all West Perth, and our boys were unable to get a result. Adam Boules continued his strong form across half-back with 27 touches while Nathan Eaton, Sandon Page, Jordan Hayden, Medhat and Darcy Miller were all influential in the game. Ethan Regan suffered a nasty knock and will miss this week as a result, but the remainder of the playing squads got through the game without any injuries.  

We’ll train our Main Session tonight (Thursday 8^th) and head into Match Committee with plenty of players putting their hands up to take on the Sharks this Sunday at Leederville Oval. East Fremantle boasts a very talented playing list and are the best contested side in the competition, so we’ll be preparing well to ensure that our effort and endeavour remains strong this weekend. 

Hope to see you at the game. 

GO ROYALS! 
Warren Parker - Football Operations Manager
 

WAFLW Football Department Update

Round 13 of the WAFLW saw our Rogers Cup and WAFLW League have two great hit outs versus West Perth at Pentanet Stadium in Joondalup.

The Rogers Cup side were first up, looking to bounce back after a disappointing loss the week prior. They put in a tough performance against an undefeated West Perth outfit. In what was our greatest test of the season so far, the girls showed they were up for the fight. With a strong start they held a half time lead of two points. West Perth used breeze in the third quarter to come back and headed into the final break 9 points up. The Royals showed great determination and fight in the last, ensuring the match went down to the final seconds, but ultimately suffering an agonising one point defeat. It was such an even performance across all lines over the course of the match, however the performance of the midfield was hard to look past as Mia Pappas, Bianca Rogers, Lucy Greenwood, Matilda Sim & Ruby Burgess took out the Match Day awards for their outstanding efforts.

Following a strong Rogers Cup performance, our League women were fired up and ready to take on the arch enemies for the first time since our season opener. There was clear intent as they came out of the blocks firing with strength in the contest, superb ball movement and a great opening term goal from our skipper, Jess Valvasori. The hot start gave them a four-point lead heading into the first break, and growing belief and confidence within the group was evident. As the game continued, they showed impressive grit and determination, as they were seeking our first win of the season. Unfortunately, it didn’t come this week as West Perth finished the match with a 16-point victory. Nonetheless, the growth and signs of improvement were prevalent throughout the contest, and they will take great confidence from this heading into their next match versus Peel Thunder. There were many worthy recipients of the match day awards, however our best players on the day were given to Mahli Turland, Chloe Sauzier, Gabrielle Canicosa, Jorja Elliseou & Melisha Hardy.

After a tough match, our WAFLW team have a well-earned rest this week. After the bye, they will front up against Peel Thunder on June 17th, where they will head down the highway in search of the first win of the season. Then it’s home to Leederville Oval to face reigning premiers Claremont, in what will be the final game of our inaugural season. 
You can catch our Rogers Cup in action directly after the WAFL Men’s this Sunday (June 11) as they take on Perth Demons from 5:10pm at Leederville Oval. Stick around and watch our stars of the future as they look to get back on the winning list and work towards a maiden finals birth. I look forward to seeing you there.

GO ROYALS!
Angus Schumacher, Football Operations Manager – Women’s