Royals’ final term sinks Demons

East Perth’s seven-goal final quarter onslaught proved to be the difference on Saturday afternoon, after leading by just ten points at three-quarter-time to defeat Perth 14.18 (102) to 10.6 (66).

The Royals fielded a record fifteen West Coast Eagles players, but broke away early in the final stanza to romp to a 36-point win after the Demons stayed in the contest throughout the first three quarters.

The Demons were dealt an early blow with the loss of prolific midfielder Julian Jacobs before the match with a minor calf injury, with forward Kristian Cary taking his place.

Cary proved a handy inclusion for the midfielder, kicking two goals for the match, including an important major on the half-time siren.

The Demons got the ball rolling at the sixth minute mark of the first quarter with a set shot goal from Clint Jones before goals from Demons forwards Lachlan Dennis and Laine Wilkins put the Demons in front at the first change by five points.

East Perth got the early break in the second with goals from Lycett and Simon Tunbridge to put the Royals in the lead.

Both sides made numerous kicking errors throughout the quarter with the Royals failing to convert some of their opportunities.

The Demons withstood the numerous inside fifty entries from the Royals, as defenders Brent Latch and Michael Sinclair made life somewhat difficult for East Perth’s key forwards.

Samuel Garstone’s first goal and the 21st minute mark and Cary’s goal on the half-time siren kept Perth in the contest, reducing East Perth’s lead to just six points at the long break.

Garstone kicked his second early in the third quarter to put the Demons in the lead by a point, before Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls kicked a goal for the Royals to put them back in the lead.

The Royals continued to pepper the Demons defence with persistent forward fifty entries and winning inside fifty count convincingly 59-32 on the day, but struggled to make their efforts count on the scoreboard.

The Royals began the final quarter with a slender ten-point margin, and got the early break with two goals in the opening three minutes from Mitch Brown and Jackson Nelson.

Brown, who was shifted to full-forward, kicked two goals for the quarter along with Tom Lamb, who was well held by the Demons defenders until late in the game after booting five majors against Perth in round six earlier this season.

East Perth’s dominance on the scoreboard was reflective on the stat sheet as well, with the Royals having the ball fifteen more times than their opponents, ten more hit outs and double the scoring shots Perth had.

Jones had 35 possessions for the Demons and worked tirelessly throughout the afternoon, along with Liam McKenna (29), Aidan Tropiano (26), Lennon Marlin (22 including nine marks), Brett Wolfenden (19 including six inside fifties) and Michael Sinclair (19).

For the home side, Lycett was the most influential with 27 hit-outs and 26 possessions including eight marks, along with teammates Xavier Ellis (29 possessions), Patrick McGinnity (25), Kane Lucas (22) and Jackson Nelson (20 including six inside fifties).

The colts side returned to form following last round’s loss with a narrow three-point win over the home side, whilst the reserves went down by 37 points.

Perth return to Lathlain Park next Saturday with a clash against East Fremantle, with bounce down at 2.15 pm.

TOTAL

EAST PERTH        2.3    5.8    7.14    14.18 (102)
PERTH            3.2    5.2    7.4    10.6 (66)

GOALS
EAST PERTH: M Brown 2, T Lamb 2, M Karpany 2, W Maginness 1, Hille 1, Nelson 1, J Oakley-Nicholls 1, P Johnson 1, S Tunbridge 1, P McGinnity 1, S Lycett 1.
PERTH: S Garstone 2, K Cary 2, L Wilkins 1, L McKenna 1, C Jones 1, R Brookes 1, C Leggett 1, L Dennis 1.

BEST
EAST PERTH: S Lycett, X Ellis, J Nelson, P McGinnity, C Adamson, T Cole
PERTH: C Jones, B Latch, M Sinclair, L McKenna, L Marlin, J Bell

INJURIES
PERTH: J Jacobs (calf) replaced in the selected side by K Cary

UMPIRES: L Jago, R McCaw, R Shelton

CROWD: 1500 (approx) at Leederville Oval