Eagles stand tall
West Coast players contributed to an East Perth eclipse of Claremont in yesterday's preliminary final
Defender Blayne Wilson, veteran Adam Selwood, forward Jamie Cripps, ruckman Scott Lycett and utility Cale Morton were all prominent as the Royals upstaged the Tigers to win by 63 points and set up a highly-anticipated grand final with West Perth.
Wilson stood former Fremantle and Collingwood forward Paul Medhurst and did a good job of nullifying the effect of the potential match-winner. He also had 16 possessions and was adept at using the football and orchestrating important rebound.
Cripps, who kicked five goals in the first semi-final against Swan Districts, backed up with another three in this game and is in solid form. He had 14 possessions, took five marks and showed a penchant for the contest.
Lycett combined with senior ruckman Paul Johnston, who was best afield, to do his bit in the aerial battles and the further the game progressed the better he played. He had 18 touches and took seven marks, but also palmed the ball to good effect.
After a slow start at half-back, Morton worked his way into the game with 16 disposals and was another whop distributed the ball astutely.
When the heat was on early in the game, Selwood did some of his best work and helped set East Perth on their way with a solid first quarter, on the way to a 23-possession game which was capped off with two goals.
The club will be strongly represented in Sunday's grand final, with Mark Hutchings playing for West Perth.