Royals Continue to Relish

More than 1,400 people braved the hail, rain and wet weather in Leederville to witness another enthralling game of football for the “Count Me In” clash between East Perth and Claremont. The Royals didn’t disappoint, beating the Tigers by ten points in another show stopping finish. The win means East Perth hold onto fourth spot and live to fight another week in the race towards the finals.

It was a slow and steady start to the match with plenty of stoppage in the slippery conditions. The first goal of the game didn’t come until the 24^th minute; it was a clever passage of play from the Claremont midfielders that set big Beau Maister up to finish the job. The Royals hit back quickly thanks to a long-range grubber from Jackson Nelson to peg the margin back to three points ahead of quarter time. Aggression and vitality made up for the lack of goal scoring in the opening term, which set the stage for an afternoon of intense footy.

East Perth were the much stronger side in the second quarter with Paul Johnson dominating the ruck and Steve Payne linking well with Lee to keep the ball in the Royals forward fifty. The Royals had plenty of shots on goal, but only Tom Lamb and Mitch Howlett were able to capitalise. East Perth went into the main break ahead by four points as the clouds above unloaded on the players.

The second half was a much tighter contest with the lead changing five times in the third quarter alone. Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls and Corey Adamson lead the way forward for East Perth with dominant displays up front, kicking truly to keep East Perth in the contest. The Royals took control of the game, but still had to fight off a late surge from the Tigers to deny them a spot in the final five. East Perth capped off their fourth straight win and banked another four competition points to consolidate fourth spot on the ladder.

East Perth will be looking to stretch their winning streak out to five this weekend as they gear up for a road trip down the Kwinana Freeway to do battle with Peel in a bid for third spot at Bendigo Bank Stadium. Sunday’s round 21 match will be televised by Channel Seven and act as a curtain raiser for the AFL derby between the Dockers and the West Coast Eagles. The Royals are yet to beat Peel this season, but all that could change as we approach the business end of the competition. With plenty at stake and a bye the following round, the Royals will be throwing everything at it this Sunday. Reserves will kick things off at 8:45am followed by League at 11:40am and Colts at 2:30pm.