Season Wrap 2019

With our Colts going down fighting in their Semi-Final last Sunday, East Perth’s 2019 Season has come to a close.

2019 will be forever remembered as a historic one for the Royals. It was the beginning of a new chapter in our rich history. Moving away from our partnership with the West Coast Eagles presented us with many challenges both on and off field. Success in football is often binary, either you win or lose. The challenge for us this year was knowing that the ultimate success of the season wouldn’t be where our teams finished. So, what would our successful season look like?

Our first challenge was finding a new coach. Being able to have Club Legend Jeremy Barnard take the helm was a massive coup for the club. Apart from being a Premiership Captain, Life Member and Hall of Fame inductee, Barney is also a highly sought-after Coach specialising in development of younger players. He has proven top be a tremendous fit with his work, not only on field but around the club and with our Members and supporters as well.

Once we had our Head Coach the next challenge was rebuilding our list. At the end of last season, we made a commitment to our players that we would develop from within. As all WAFL clubs do, we did have to go out into the market and recruit players for squad depth.

On a whole the club and coaching staff are proud of what we have seen this season. Players such as Dobson, Wilcocks, Waite, Samelko and Msando all showed signs that they can be regular League contributors for years to come. Strong showings in the Reserves and Colts also points to substantial talent coming through our development ranks.

On the recruiting front, Rohan Kerr’s first season at the Royals culminated in being named in the WAFL Team of the Year. Victorian Angus Scott was a significant contributor throughout the season and is highly rated within the walls of the club. Joel Houghton shouldered a large load as a key forward target and the addition of Eddie Simpson part way through the year to play key forward and ruck helped our League structure immensely. The club was also pleased to welcome back Shaq McKenzie, who had his best season to date in the WAFL.

We were also proud of our efforts this year to recognise our proud history. It was the 100-year anniversary of our historic first Premiership. We recognised this by wearing a Heritage Jumper in our Round 12 clash against Perth and by releasing a book documenting the season that was. The club also hosted the 7^th Hall of Fame Induction. Our 2019 inductees were Frank Sparrow, Syd Jackson, Archie Duda, Grant Campbell and Craig Wulff. On the same day we celebrated our 1959 Premiership.

During the year we said goodbye to Polly Farmer. Polly was no only one of our Legends and but one of the greatest footballers to ever play Australian football. The celebration of Polly’s life by the football fraternity and Australian public was incredible. We look forward to honouring his memory by competing for the Polly Farmer Shield and continuing to work with the Polly Farmer Foundation.  

All WAFL Clubs face the challenge of being financially viable and the Royals are no different. Some key outcomes the club have achieved to date this year are

• Membership Revenue – Up 35%
• Auction Profit of $115,000
• Merchandise Sales – Up 61.2%
• Gate Receipts – Up 18%
• Venue Hire Revenue – up 103% 

The club is grateful for the support of its sponsors, members and supporters as we continue our pursuit of success to add to our proud history

Dean Turner
CEO