Season Review 2022 – East PerthSunday, November 13, 2022 - 8:40 AM - by Chris Pike

EAST Perth started the 2022 season on fire with the hope of returning to finals action but lost the last six matches with the Royals another team undergoing great change heading towards 2023.

Triple premiership winning co-captain Jeremy Barnard was entering his fourth season coaching the Royals and attempting to take them to the finals for the first time. That started well enough with first up wins against Swan Districts and Perth.

Even a Round 3 loss to East Fremantle in Northampton saw the Royals outplay the Sharks for the last three quarters, but things began to falter from there even though they again won three straight matches between Rounds 10-13.

That had the Royals sitting at 6-6 with six matches to go and finals still a distinct possibility, but they lost all those remaining games with Barnard losing his job as coach with two rounds remaining with assistant Ross McQueen taking over in a caretaker capacity.

Finishing at 6-12 was a disappointing end for the Royals and finding avenues to goal proved the biggest obstacle. 

Sebit Kuek kicked 16 goals in the opening five games but once drafted to Fremantle, he joined Peel and that robbed the Royals of that X-factor in attack even though Tom Medhat did well kicking 26 goals.

The Royals midfield was their great strength with Angus Scott averaging 28.0 possessions a game, Hamish Brayshaw 27.8, Angus Schumacher 27.8 and Stan Wright 21.6 with ruckman Scott Jones giving them good service.

Schumacher and Brayshaw went on to be named in the WAFL Team of the Year as a result of their seasons while the East Perth back-line stood relatively firm as well. Corey Watts continued his emergence as a key defender while Kye Willcocks and Jacob Msando were especially effective.

East Perth struggled in first and third quarters this season where they were ranked eighth and seventh respectively, but there is plenty there for a new coach to work with despite the retirement of captain Jackson Ramsay.

While the Royals haven’t now played finals since 2018, McQueen has been backed in as coach moving forward with a strong record of success at colts and reserves level, and ready to make his mark at league level.

Heading into 2023 he has every reason to expect to be able to put together a squad that can compete from the outset with the view of ending that drought.

East Perth has done a strong job to be in a viable position off-field over the last decade and since ending the partnership with West Coast, and now it's time for the on-field results to follow.

FINISHING POSITION: Eighth, 6-12, 93.2%

WHAT WENT WELL: There were encouraging signs from the Royals and it wasn’t until losing the last six games of the season where they fell out of finals contention, which included a coaching change in that time. East Perth did win its first two games and then up to the end of Round 13 were 6-6 with things looking largely positive. Their midfield was their great strength led by ruckman Scott Jones with Hamish Brayshaw, Angus Schumacher, Stan Wright and Angus Scott around him. The back-line was solid too with the emergence of Corey Watts with Kye Willcocks, Jacob Msando and Brad Fullgrabe doing well. Tom Medhat did well as a forward target kicking 26 goals but ran out of steam a little with just three in the last six games.

BEST PLAYER: Hamish Brayshaw and Angus Schumacher were two standouts in the East Perth midfield all season long and as a result were named to the WAFL Team of the Year. Schumacher's third season with East Perth in the WAFL was an outstanding one where he confirmed himself as one of the best and most versatile midfielders in the competition. The former Carlton AFL big-bodied midfielder has found a home for himself with the Royals and while 2022 didn’t end up in the finals appearance they were hoping, he couldn’t have possibly done more. Ended up averaging 27.8 possessions across his 16 matches and his combination of physicality, ball winning and skill made him a standout across the season. In a year where his brothers Angus and Andrew continued to star in the AFL at Melbourne and Fremantle respectively, Brayshaw put together the best WAFL season of his career that has now spanned 60 matches in the competition dating back to his debut in 2018. Returned full-time to East Perth in 2022 and delivered a tremendous season in the midfield for the Royals averaging 27.8 touches a game including 30 or more on nine occasions to end up named to the Team of the Week six times and finish runner-up in Sandover Medal voting. 

DEBUTANTS
Damon Greaves – Round 1
Reuben Ginbey – Round 1
Elijah Taylor – Round 1
Jedd Busslinger – Round 6
Mitchell Schofield – Round 7
Jordan Hayden – Round 9
Sam Van Diemen – Round 9
Tom Graham – Round 10
Cooper Sparks – Round 16
Sandon Page – Round 17

MOST IMPROVED: Stan Wright has been around East Perth for a while now having come through the colts an exciting young star. He has now played 74 league games, but it was in 2022 when he truly took that next step from handy fringe player to important consistent contributor. That was highlighted by him finishing runner-up in fairest and best voting after a season that saw the hard running midfielder average 21.6 possessions while playing all 18 games. His consistency was terrific where he never had fewer than 15 touches a game while having over 20 on 11 occasions.

OUTLOOK FOR 2023: There should be great expectations at East Perth of rapid improvement in 2023 as they look to return to finals action. Ross McQueen has long waited for the chance to be a league coach and now gets the opportunity with a Royals with a good core of talent to work with and some emerging young stars. If they can top up with some strong recruits, then there is no reason the Royals can't put themselves in the finals mix just as they were up until Round 13 of 2022.