WAFL 2026: Injury-hit East Perth overcome disappointing Perth to return to top-five

An undermanned East Perth have broken back into the top five after putting a powerhouse Perth to the sword with a 51-point victory at Sullivan Logistics Stadium on Saturday. Not only was the 15.13 (103) to 8.4 (52) triumph vital for the Royals, but it hurt the Demons’ chances of a crucial top three finish and double finals chance as the race for finals heats up. Perth went into the side as favourites on the back of three impressive wins against Subiaco, Claremont and reigning South Fremantle, but were well below their best. Likely compounding the frustration for Perth coach Mark Stone would be the fact the Royals were there for the beating, considering they were missing a plethora of stars including co-captains Hamish Brayshaw (hamstring) and Christian Ameduri (ankle) as well as Cooper Stephens (Achilles), Stan Wright and Angus Scott (both calf). Several underheralded players stood up for East Perth to display the incredible depth developed under coach Ross McQueen. The Royals’ defence was particularly impressive with Xavier Milner (20 disposals and nine marks), Jake Soutar (15 disposals and seven marks) and dashing half-back Kye Willcocks (23 disposals) proving stoic and resolute whenever Perth looked dangerous. Royals’ ruckman Scott Jones was monumental not only with his tap work with 31 hit-outs but also racked up 22 touches, while Liam Tedesco (19 disposals and nine tackles) did a solid tagging role on Sandover medallist Charlie Constable (26 disposals). After a tight tussle in the first term, it was predominantly one-way traffic in the second as the home side broke the match open with five goals to one. Perth’s skills and decision-making left a lot to be desired, and by the main break the margin was 34 points in favour of the Royals. Demons’ ruckman Josh Edwards kicked the first out of the main break, but Tom Graham hit back with consecutive goals to extend East Perth’s advantage and really put the heat on the visitors. Perth had no response, and once Kade Screaigh kicked the first goal of the last quarter the result was beyond doubt. The visitors finally got some ascendancy late in the final term, kicking three consecutive goals which could prove important because of percentage as the race for spots in the finals heats up. The clash against Mineral Resources Park co-tenants West Coast next Sunday now looms as pivotal for Perth’s finals hopes, while East Perth will look to string three consecutive wins together when they take on Swan Districts. SCOREBOARD EAST PERTH 3.3, 8.6, 10.11, 15.13 (103) PERTH 2.2, 3.2, 4.3, 8.4 (52) Goals – EAST PERTH: T Graham 3 M Schofield 3 T Lindberg 2 B Middleton 2 K Screaigh 2 L Foley S Kuek Z Raykos. PERTH: A Clarke 2 W Tilbee 2 F Brayshaw N Cachard J Edwards J Watson. Best – EAST PERTH: S Jones K Willcocks L Tedesco T Lindberg X Milner J Soutar. PERTH: C Byrne A Davis B Parfitt C Dean C Constable O Hine-Baston. Injuries – PERTH: K Johnston (hamstring) replaced in the selected side by J Preston-Coates. Umpires: C Snadden R McCaw M Adams B Laycock. Crowd: About 1000 at Sullivan Logistics Stadium.