Another premiership star set to return for Falcons in KulinThursday, April 28, 2016 - 3:30 PM - by Chris Pike

WEST Perth received a huge boost with the return of Shane Nelson in Saturday's win over Swan Districts and now another premiership star is set to make a comeback this week for the Falcons' trip to Kulin to take on Claremont.

West Perth has had a horror run of injuries to key players to start 2016 and that has played a part in the Falcons' losing four of their opening five games heading into Saturday's clash with Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval.

But the surprise early return of Nelson from a fractured finger gave West Perth a significant psychological boost, but he also delivered in performance with 28 possessions after quarter-time to have a big say in the Falcons' eventual 23-point victory.

While Chris Keunen, Matt Guadagnin, Laine Rasmussen, Brayden Antonio and Joe Morrow are still expected to miss at least a couple more weeks, West Perth should be further boosted this Saturday for the country clash in Kulin against Claremont with Kody Manning expected to return.

As for Nelson, West Perth coach Bill Monaghan hadn’t banked on him returning in time for Saturday's clash with Swans but once he saw him hit the training track last Thursday night he was willing to back him in and was delighted with the result of him back in the midfield.

"It was a funny one. He had the wire taken out on Tuesday and he got a really favourable report from the surgeon and another surgeon he saw last week. We were told it was just a matter of him getting a guard made and we had to get that checked off by the WAFL," Monaghan said.

"Basically it was about if he could play with the discomfort with that and the fact that he hadn’t touched the footy for seven or eight weeks. He strapped that up on Thursday night and to be completely honest you wouldn’t have noticed he'd missed any football the way he handled the ball.

"We just left the ball in his court and said we'd pick him if he was confident to play. He said he wanted to play and we thought he might actually have to get through a week of training or maybe play some time in the twos just to get some confidence back in the hand, so we were pleasantly surprised on Thursday that he declared himself fit.

"We were then really happy with his output on Saturday and he's just one of those players who has the great ability to win the footy. He hunts the footy and gets his hand on it. He had 29 possessions and 13 clearances, and every club in the competition would miss that type of player.

"There are certain limitation Shane has and other people like to focus on those, but he's exceptional with his hands and his ability around the contest. It was great to have him back."

Following the boost that Nelson provided the Falcons against Swans, Monaghan is now looking forward to welcoming back Manning this Saturday against the Tigers after he's been out since injuring a leg early in the Round 2 win over Perth at HBF Arena.

"We expect Kody Manning to play. He was touch and go last week so we just think with the way he prepares himself and the condition he's in that he will come straight back in," he said.

"Whilst other people around the competition might not rate Kody as highly as we do, he is one of the first picked when he's fit all the time for us.

"On the proviso that he gets through the last training session of the week and hasn’t pulled up sore from the three or four sessions he's now done, he will be on the bus. But none of the other big names we'd expect back until after our bye and that's Rasmussen, Morrow and Keunen."

As for the trip to Kulin on Saturday, Monaghan is looking forward to it and he's sure the players are as well with the facilities and hospitality that is always provided for the fixtures.

"First of all, the country games are fantastic. The country people have a great association with WAFL footy and they deserve to see WAFL out there. The players like the experience as well. It's a three and-a-half hour bus trip but it's the same for both sides," Monaghan said.

"We'll aim to get there around lunch time and we'll stop on the way there to have a walk and a stretch. It's pretty full on because we get there and we are not far away from our meeting time and warm-up. It goes pretty quickly and from all reports the Kulin ground and facilities are in great shape, and it's a good facility.

"One thing they do really well in the country through the Royalties to Regions program is that they produce really good sporting facilities and it's the hub of the town or district most of the time. The hospitality that they put on for the players and coaches is always really good. If the weather is fine, we'll get a decent crowd as well and hopefully it will be a good showcase for WAFL footy."