Sunday Round 21 McDonald's WAFL ResultsSunday, August 16, 2015 - 8:39 PM - by Chris Pike

ROUND 21 of the WAFL concluded on Sunday with East Perth beating Peel Thunder by 32 points at Bendigo Bank Stadium with the Royals recording a fifth straight win to move to third position on the ladder.

Both teams came into the contest on the back of four-game winning streaks and were battling over third position on the ladder with a potential finals double chance at stake, but it was the Royals who were on song from the outset with the Thunder unable to recapture their form of the past month.

East Perth kicked the first three goals of the game and were never headed from there leading by as much as 52 points early in the last quarter before cruising to the 13.16 (94) to 8.14 (62) victory.

The win means that East Perth sits in third position having won five consecutive matches but the Royals have the bye now next weekend before taking on the minor premiers Subiaco in the final round.

That means that Peel has a chance of regaining third position and a finals double chance with wins the last two rounds against two teams out of the finals race, Perth and South Fremantle.

East Perth co-captain Brendan Lee delivered another best on ground performance in the midfield with 33 possessions, eight tackles and six inside-50 entries.

He had good support in the midfield as well with Steven Payne racking up 27 touches and 12 marks and Kane Lucas 23 disposals, 10 tackles and eight marks.

Mitch Howlett, Craig Wulff and Tom Lamb all kicked two goals apiece for the Royals while Rowen Powell worked hard for 19 possessions, eight marks and a goal.

East Perth's back-line also stood up well with Kyle Anderson doing a good job on Peel's resting ruckmen while Nathan Blee did well keeping Matt Taberner in check while finishing with 20 possessions, 10 marks and just his second goal of the season.

Mitch Fraser did well helping to limit the effectiveness of Leroy Jetta while also having 21 possessions and seven marks as a small defender while Garry moss finishing with 20 touches and seven marks and Tom Barrass 13 disposals and nine marks.

It wasn’t a day to remember for Peel but Clancee Pearce did work tirelessly in the midfield finishing with a game-high 38 possessions even if his ball use wasn’t always up to the standard he would like.

Peel also had some other major ball winners with Jacob Ballard gathering 30 disposals, Brady Grey 29 (10 tackles, eight inside 50s), Ed Langdon 25, Lachie Weller 21 and captain Brendon Jones 19 to go with six tackles.

Gerald Ugle kicked three goals for Peel while the Thunder's back-line held up reasonably well considering East Perth's dominance with Ethan Hughes finishing with 20 possessions and seven marks, Josh Bootsma 19 disposals and Tanner Smith 19 touches. 

It was all East Perth in the first quarter but it took 11 minutes for them to kick the game's first goal and that came courtesy of a clever snap from Lamb following a turnover by Peel in the Royals' forward-line.

Just two minutes later and Lamb added a second to see the Royals get some reward for their dominance and the visitors were then able to lead by 20 points at quarter-time when Wulff nailed their third major of the first term.

Peel then gained the advantage of the slight breeze in the second quarter and got their first goal five minutes in through Ballard on the run. The Thunder then had a good run in control of play, but couldn’t find the major opening.

East Perth was able to kick a couple of goals through Wulff and Corey Adamson into the breeze to consolidate a 22-point lead but a goal shortly before half-time to Craig Moller brought the Thunder back within 17 points at the long break.

If the game wasn’t already over at half-time, it soon was during the third quarter with East Perth kicking the first three goals through Blee, Murray Newman and Howlett to see the lead blow out to 41 points.

A couple of goals for Peel through Ugle before three quarter-time didn’t help stem the tide, with the Royals going on to kick six goals to two for the term and lead by 47 points at the last change.

East Perth's lead then grew to a game-high 52 points at the start of the last quarter with a goal to Powell, and even though the Thunder finished with four of the last five goals of the game, it didn’t stop the Royals recording the comfortable and important 32-point win.

East Perth's reserves started the day on Sunday with a 16.14 (110) to 3.6 (24) win over Peel Thunder at Bendigo Bank Stadium with the Royals moving three games clear in fifth position on the ladder.

Daniel Perkins was outstanding for East Perth with 24 possessions, seven marks and five goals while Brandon Hughes and Jake Keeffe kicked two goals each for the Royals.

Tom Shanahan finished with 33 possessions and 11 marks for East Perth, and Will Young 28 disposals, Freddie Clutterbuck 25, Zachary Dent 23, Damian Lee 22 and Tom Hodgson 22.

Laine Wilkins gathered 25 possessions for Peel's reserves, Josh Mathers 25, Kieran May 22, Jamahl Mulholland 21, Corey Morris 19, Kyle Shanahan 18 and Brendan Tingey 18. 

Peel Thunder's colts finished the day on Sunday at Bendigo Bank Stadium with a thumping 20.15 (135) to 6.8 (44) victory over East Perth to see them improve to third position on the ladder.

Karl Collard and Brett Milward kicked three goals each for Peel with Robert Bird, Josh Schoenfeld, Noah Hura and Michael Humble all booting two majors apiece.

Keegan Power racked up 29 possessions for the Thunder, Hura 27, Humble 26, Mitchel Curnow 24, Haydn Matthews 23 and Schoenfeld 19.

Stanley Wright worked hard for East Perth and amassed 32 possessions while Jake Lewis had it 22 times, Tarir Bayok 21, Mitch Dobson 20 and Josh Hewett 19 to go with 10 marks.

ROUND 21 McDONALD'S WAFL RESULTS
LEAGUE
West Perth 14.12 (96) defeated Swan Districts 11.9 (75)
Perth 8.6 (54) lost to Subiaco 22.15 (147)
Claremont 18.7 (115) defeated East Fremantle 12.8 (80)
Peel Thunder East Perth

RESERVES
West Perth 19.5 (119) defeated Swan Districts 16.5 (101)
Perth 9.6 (60) lost to Subiaco 18.14 (122)
Claremont 12.9 (81) defeated East Fremantle 8.12 (60)
Peel Thunder East Perth

COLTS
West Perth 11.6 (72) defeated Swan Districts 8.9 (57)
Perth 9.14 (68) defeated Subiaco 3.6 (24)
Claremont 8.11 (59) defeated East Fremantle 6.9 (45)
Peel Thunder 20.15 (135) defeated East Perth 6.8 (44)