An inspiring five-goal haul from developing key forward Matthew Allen spurred East Perth on to an emphatic 66-point victory over Peel on Sunday.
The Royals’ third-straight win catapulted them to fourth spot on the WAFL ladder, a position many experts thought impossible following their crushing 118-point round one defeat to Subiaco.
After conceding the game’s opening goal in the formative minutes, East Perth seized control of the contest and booted three unanswered majors to race out to an early lead.
But the Thunder struck back late in the term, slotting two goals of their own to reduce the home side’s lead to five points at the first break.
An eye-catching pack mark and true 40m set shot from Fraser McInnes set the tone for the second quarter as the Royals went on a six-goals-to-one tear to establish a commanding 35-point advantage at half-time.
Allen was the chief destroyer in the first half; the talented goalkicker used his big tank and athleticism to wear down his direct opponent and collect three majors.
The Royals appeared to be cruising towards a big win when inspirational captain Patrick McGinnity goalled just minutes after the resumption of play, but Peel dug in and kicked four-straight goals to whittle East Perth's lead to just 23 points midway through the penultimate term.
Enter Sharrod Wellingham.
The premiership-winning Magpie and former West Coast Eagle brought the black and blue army to their feet with an audacious running goal from close to the eastern boundary before improving onballer Tarir Bayok - one of the Royals' best through the opening two quarters - bagged his second goal of the day to give East Perth a 36-point buffer heading into the final term.
Allen chimed in with back-to-back goals – the first a 55 metre bomb and the second a laser-like set shot from close to the boundary – and Jarrod Brander capped off the 21.8 (134) to 10.8 (68) rout with a straight drop punt from 35m after the siren.
Midfielders Mark Hutchings (30 disposals, 13 marks, seven tackles), Brayden Ainsworth (25 disposals, 11 contested possessions), Bayok (18 disposals, two goals), Brendon Ah Chee (15 disposals, five tackles) and Kurt Mutimer (17 disposals) were dominant in the middle, as did McInnes, who got his hands on the ball 21 times and won 13 contested possessions.
Will Schofield (20 disposals, six spoils) was a steady hand in defence alongside Francis Watson (18 disposals, seven marks) and Josh Rotham (14 disposals, 11 marks, six spoils).
Oscar Allen also had a standout game down back.
West Coast’s second pick in the 2017 AFL Draft collected 17 disposals, reeled in seven marks and effected four spoils in just his second league appearance for the Royals.
Matthew Allen finished the contest with five goals and 19 disposals, Brander booted two goals and Malcolm Karpany was the most effectual player on ground, distributing the ball at 88 per cent efficiency.
The only dampener on the result was an injury to Nathan Vardy, who left the field citing tightness in his rehabilitated adductor.
