A mix of young and experienced Eagles staked their claim for an AFL call-up with eye-catching displays in the WAFL at the weekend.

Luke Partington, Chris Masten, Sharrod Wellingham, Kurt Mutimer and Malcolm Karpany were among East Perth’s best performers against South Fremantle at Busselton’s Sir Stewart Bovell Park on Saturday.

Partington continued his rich vein of ball-winning form with a 30-disposal effort against the league’s second-best side. He also kicked two consecutive goals in the third term to help the Royals claw their way back into the contest after a slow start.

Masten shrugged off his omission from the AFL team and amassed 30 disposals against the in-form Bulldogs. More importantly, he distributed the Burley at 87 per cent efficiency and effected seven rebound 50s and three inside 50 entries.

Senior coach Luke Webster credited Wellingham for instigating his team’s third-quarter revival.

The 169-game AFL campaigner was influential across half-back and accrued 23 disposals, 10 contested possessions, three inside 50s and three clearances in blustery conditions.

Mutimer and Karpany also ripped in against South Fremantle. The inside midfielder, who has played four AFL games earlier this year, collected 22 disposals and effected seven effective tackles, while the dashing small forward kicked one goal and also stuck seven take downs.

Unfortunately, in spite of the aforementioned players’ best efforts, South Fremantle proved too strong for the Royals, triumphing 18.13 (121) to 14.7 (91) in a see-sawing contest.

The Bulldogs dominated the opening exchanges and established a commanding 37-point lead at the start of the second term, but the Royals came to life midway through the quarter and booted four goals to reduce their deficit to just 17 points at the half-time break.

Two straight goals to Partington got East Perth within five points of the Bulldogs and a major to Karpany put the Royals ahead midway through the penultimate term.

However, that would be the last time the black and blue army led for the afternoon.

South Fremantle kicked six-goals-to-three in the fourth quarter to register a comfortable 30-point win.