East Perth advanced to the first semi-final in the WAFL after surging to a solid victory over Claremont on Sunday.

The Royals endured by 32 points after holding the Tigers scoreless in the last quarter and will now play Fremantle-aligned Peel Thunder in another cut-throat final on Sunday.

While players like Scott Selwood and Kane Lucas were at the forefront of the victory, perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the performance, from a West Coast perspective, were the efforts of a couple of developing players.

Small forward or midfielder Malcolm Karpany rose to the occasion to produce one of the best four-quarter contributions of his short senior career, while the same could be said of utility player Rowen Powell.

Karpany had 22 possessions and used the ball exquisitely, setting up teammates for easy goals because of his great awareness and ability to guide the ball precisely despite being under pressure.

Powell, particularly in the first half, was a damaging player and he kicked three goals from 16 possessions and eight marks.

Selwood (24 touches) and Lucas (30 possessions) were among the most influential players in the game and capped off their work with a couple of goals each – both players converting early in the final term to put the heat on the Tigers after leading by just five points at three-quarter time.

Corey Adamson was also strong through the midfield, spending some of his time minding dangerous Claremont midfielder Corey Yeo, while Paddy Brophy was again solid across half-back, providing strong rebound and using the ball efficiently.

Tom Lamb contributed a couple of goals up forward and set up veteran Craig Wulff with some great team play in the last quarter, while Murray Newman was busy all day and a little unlucky to not be paid a mark after a spectacular leap in the third quarter. His six tackles were important in locking the ball inside East Perth’s attacking 50 metre arc.

Dylan Main had 13 touches on the wing and across half-back, while Jamie Bennell also played his role in defence.
Tom Barrass had a tough opposed to former West Coast key position player Beau Maister, but responded well when given another assignment and took some strong marks deep in defence.