It was a tough day out for the WAFL Eagles, falling to East Perth by 69 points at Sullivan Logistics Stadium in round 17.
The home side were too strong on the day, holding their own in the soggy, muddy conditions to finish with the convincing 20.4 (124) to 8.7 (55) victory.
Matt Flynn was a standout for the Eagles managing 24 touches, five marks and 29 hitouts, while Jayden Hunt impressed with 22 disposals, six marks and four tackles.
Co-Captain Shannon Lucassen worked hard around the ground, finishing with a team-high six tackles in his 50th game in the blue and gold.
The Eagles started hot, with debutant Tylah Williams opening the scoring for the game, and going on to show positive signs in his first taste of League football, his speed and craftiness on full display.
West Coast locked in back-to-back majors, with Harry Barnett converting from a stint in the forward line early in the first term.
East Perth struggled to get into the game early, with the Eagles pressure and tackling holding the home side at bay, before they broke through to open their account off the boot of Christian Ameduri.
The Royals continued to build, with a second-straight goal coming through a 50-mentre bomb from Mitchell Schofield, his first of five majors for the game.
While East Perth fought back hard as the term went on, the Eagles managed to hold a three-point lead at the quarter-time break.
The second quarter went the way of East Perth, making the most of their opportunities and kicking truly in front of goal, taking a 22-point buffer into halftime.
The floodgates opened in the third term, the Royals turning up the heat and overpowering the Eagles across the ground, their accuracy continuing to punish the visitors on the scoreboard.
West Coast couldn’t hold any momentum in the fourth quarter, the Royals piling on the goals to finish with the 69-point win.
Hamish Brayshaw starred for East Perth, finishing with 39 disposals, while Schofield was dominant with his five goals from 19 touches and a game-high 12 marks.
The WAFL Eagles will look bounce back when they take on East Fremantle next Saturday at The Good Grocer Park, bouncedown from 2:30pm.
EAST PERTH 3.0 8.2 15.4 20.4 (124)
WEST COAST 3.3 4.4 7.4 8.7 (55)
GOALS
East Perth: Schofield 5; Ameduri, Van Diemen, Brooks, Medhat 2; Lindberg, Middleton, Scott, Raykos, Tedesco, North, Burgiel. West Coast: Burke 3; Livingstone 2; Barnett, T Williams, Edwards-Baldwin.
BEST
East Perth: Brayshaw, North, Schofield, Scott, Lindberg, Raykos. West Coast: Flynn, Hutchinson, Lucassen, Hunt, Champion, Burke.
