Football Department Update | June 29

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

WAFL Football Department Update

Round 11 was a positive one for both the Reserves and League sides as we were able to take wins in both grades against Perth at Leederville Oval. 

The League win makes it five in a row and puts us into second position on the WAFL Ladder with an 8-3 record. We knew it was a big five-week block between the State Game and our Round 12 Bye. It was really pleasing to see the group string together some impressive football and take the points in each of the fixtures. It gives us a great platform for the back half of the season as we aim to play finals in 2023. 

Perth started the game well and hit the front during the first quarter on the back of some impressive pressure around the ground, but we were able to withstand this and once the players got their rhythm, we were able to record a big 110 point win. 

Hamish Brayshaw was instrumental recoding 38 disposals and two goals while Mitchell Crowden continued his strong form with a 25 disposal, three goal day. Angus Schumacher spent time forward due to some heavy attention from Perth tagger Brodie Gray and was able to influence the contest on the scoreboard with two goals. Jedd Edwards continues to build as a developing ruckman in the absence of Scott Jones and we thought he held his own in a battle with former Royal Ajang Ajang. 

Tom North suffered a heavy cork in the first quarter with the coaching staff making the call to move him forward. This paid dividends as Tom gave a good target in Forward 50 and managed to kick two goals in his time up the ground. 

Tom Medhat kicked two in his return to the League side, Michael Randall added a couple along with Zach Raykos, while Liam Tedesco continued to provide a good target all day, also kicking two goals. Sam Van Diemen kicked a contented for Goal of the Year which I’d recommend you check out if you haven’t seen it. Not bad from “the boy from Bridgetown”. 

Our defenders have really started to come together and are playing well as a unit, winning defensive contests, and providing damaging rebound play. Nick Robertson continued his good run of form with 27 touches, but we thought all the defenders were solid on the day. 

The Reserves made it two in a row after beating South Fremantle last week which is positive for the young group. Their effort has been there all year, but the ability to convert chances and play a good brand of football over four quarters has eluded us much of the season. Seeing them do that over the last two weeks has been pleasing. 

Nicholas Bonomelli kicked three goals to go with 15 touches after missing out on League selection and has put his hand up for Round 13, while Adam Boules, Riley Saunders, Ethan Regan, Patrick Reilly and Sandon Page continued to build on strong seasons to date.  

Campbell Abbott had his best game of the year but the highlight of the day for me was Taylor North who kicked the first goal of his career at East Perth after 72 Reserves and 39 League appearances. I’m not sure this will mean Taylor spending more time up forward in the future, but it was a big moment, and the boys weren’t shy about celebrating his effort. 

From an injury point of view, there were no significant injuries out of the day for the squad other than some bumps and bruises. The bye week will help with that. Brad Fullgrabe played on minutes in the Reserves after coming back from foot surgery in the preseason and will continue to build while Tom Graham and Nathan Eaton will train during the next 2 weeks eyeing returns in the coming rounds. 

Although momentum is with us currently and we’d like to keep riding that wave, the bye week comes at a good time for us. Our State Reps in Crowden, Brayshaw, Schumacher and Scott have not had a rest yet this season and will relish the opportunity to put their feet up for the weekend and recover while several other players will also enjoy an extra ice bath over the weekend. 

We line up against Swan Districts at Bassendean in our next match which is always a tough task against a quality opponent, but we’re looking forward to the challenge. 

Best of luck to the Rogers Cup girls who will face Claremont in an Elimination Final at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday. It would be great to see a good East Perth turn out for that game. And congratulations to our WAFLW side who just finished a historic first season in the WAFLW. Creating the foundations for this program and providing a pathway and role models for the East Perth Female Youth going forward cannot be understated and we are all proud of the squads’ efforts this season.  

GO ROYALS! 
Warren Parker - Football Operations Manager

WAFLW Football Department Update

Round 16 of the WAFLW season was the final match of the home and away campaign for both our Rogers and WAFL Women’s, with mixed results. Our Rogers Cup were first up this weekend, with a win against second placed Claremont essential to securing a maiden finals berth, whilst our WAFL Women were up against it in their final match of the year, battling an undefeated Claremont outfit.  
 
Our Rogers Cup have shown so much growth over the course of 2023, and proven they are a team to be reckoned with when they put their mind to it. It was going to take every single player committing to their role on Saturday if they wanted to secure their place in the finals, and they came in with a strong mindset and achieved the required result. Playing second placed Claremont, the girls had a super effort which resulted in keeping their opposition goalless and allowing just them four points for the entire day. The Royals secured a 29-point win, and with it, the opportunity to play finals footy.  
Wayward kicking cost us a chance at a big win, scoring 4.9 for the day, with two goals to Makayla Rogers and one apiece to Hannah Challender and Jorja Schell. Such a profound team performance made it difficult to pick best players on the day, but the efforts of Lucy Greenwood, Ruby Burgess, Layla Firns, Makayla Rogers, and Zoe Peters saw them take home the awards for Best Players on the day. A win was all we needed to secure ourselves into fourth place on the ladder due to our healthy percentage, and we will now face off against Claremont for the second week straight as we look to progress deep into the finals.  
 
After such an emphatic win in the Rogers Cup, our WAFL Women set out to win their first game of their inaugural season and hand Claremont their first loss of the year in the process. It was a hot contest early, with the effort and determination of our girls on show across the first half, only trailing by 12 points at halftime. The team’s belief and confidence has been growing across the past month and they put Claremont to the sword, asking them to produce their best footy. Claremont kicked two goals in both quarters of the second half, which saw the Royals eventually go down by 39 points in what was the final match of their historic first season as part of the WAFLW League competition. Best players on the day were Tristin Ogonoski, Jorja Elisseou, Melisha Hardy, Lillian Ninyett and Matilda Bennett.  
 
With the home and away season finished, all attention will be on the Rogers and their finals campaign. You can catch them this Sunday in their semi-final against Claremont, from 10am at Revo Fitness Oval. Please get down and support the girls and see the future of East Perth women’s football in action.  
 
I look forward to seeing you there. Go Royals! 
Angus Schumacher – Football Operations Manager – Women’s