Round 2 Match Report – East Perth v West Perth

After being completely dominated by Subiaco eight days earlier, it was a stunning response by East Perth in terms of how emphatic the result was. The Royals had 79 more disposals than the Falcons, 12 more inside-50 entries and eight more scoring shots in a 58-point triumph.

Fraser McInnes once again did a power of work both in the ruck and up forward for East Perth producing another best on ground display made up of 24 possessions, eight marks, 31 hit outs and two goals.

Jarrod Brander also provided the Royals with a strong target in attack finishing with three goals from 19 disposals and 10 marks.

Will Maginness, Nathan Blee, Sharrod Wellingham and Luke Partington all kicked two goals each too to ensure East Perth had no trouble kicking a winning score. On top of the two goals, Partington racked up 33 possessions, Maginness 23, Wellingham 18 and Blee 14.

Co-captain Patrick McGinnity racked up 27 possessions too for East Perth while Malcolm Karpany finished with 26 disposals, Francis Watson 21, Shayne Hille 20, Will Schofield 20, Julian Ameduri 19, Kurt Mutimer 19 and Tarir Bayok 19.

The back-line looked significantly stronger too with not only Schofield but also Tom Gorter who had 12 possessions and four marks.

Coming off a solid performance to beat Claremont in the opening round at HBF Arena, it was a disappointing second up showing for the season by West Perth with the 58-point defeat at the hands of an East Perth team who had been hammered by Subiaco to the tune of 118 points eight days earlier.

Small forward Keegan Knott did kick two goals for West Perth but fellow forwards Tyler Keitel, Michael Lourey, Rudy Riddoch, Tyson Moulton and Kody Manning combined for just the one goal, largely through a lack of supply with just 40 inside-50 entries for the game.

West Perth did have some strong ball winners again with Shane Nelson racking up 36 possessions while Trent Manzone had it 26 times to go with kicking two goals and taking the ball inside-50 on five occasions.

Andrew Strijk had 27 possessions, seven marks and a goal off half-back for the Falcons too while Corey Chalmers came in after spending Round 1 in the reserves with 20 disposals and six marks.

Keitel worked hard in attack for 20 disposals and five marks but couldn’t convert kicking just 1.3.

Luke Meadows also had 19 possessions for the Falcons, Aaron Black 18, Blake Wilhelm 18 and Kris Shannon 17.

Chris Keunen did battle away in the ruck too for 12 possessions, six marks and 27 hit outs.

The league game might not have panned out how West Perth hoped at Leederville Oval against East Perth on Saturday, but the Falcons' reserves were impressive with a 17.11 (113) to 9.3 (57) victory against the Royals.

Mitch Antonio put his hand up for a league call up at West Perth booting five goals from 10 kicks and six marks. Kurt Hindmarsh also kicked three goals from seven kicks for the Falcons.

Mitch Peirce finished with 26 possessions, nine tackles and two goals with Steve Potente coming in for 26 disposals, eight inside 50s, six marks, four tackles and two goals to put his hand up for his potential 100th league appearance this Sunday.

Scott Nelson also had 26 possessions for the Falcons, Brayden Antonio 25, Conal Lynch 22, Baylee James 19, Aidan Lynch 17 and Josh Romanelli 17.

Michael Ashfield was solid in the ruck with 16 disposals, five marks and 23 hit outs.

Matt Young, Mitchell Gupanis and Braydn Furmark kicked two goals each for East Perth with Ben Miller gathering 19 possessions, Nelson Waite 19, Callan England 19, Mitch Dobson 18 and Jaxon Cahill 18.