West Coast midfielder Matthew Allen says the Eagles ready to bounce back against an in-form Claremont outfit on Saturday.
Claremont remain undefeated after three rounds and boast an impressive percentage of 289.1, with their lowest winning margin sitting at 40 points against East Perth last weekend.
After falling just short against premiership favourites Subiaco in round three, the Eagles hope they can go one step better against the top-of-the-table Tigers.
“We were definitely disappointed to not come a way with the win against Subiaco”, Allen said.
“But we reviewed it pretty hard and we were pleased with a few of our contest areas that we thought were pretty strong.”
“We played our brand of footy, which was satisfying. Now we’ll look to do that against Claremont and hopefully get the win.”
Allen has started the season in tremendous form and put in another strong showing against Subiaco on Good Friday, collecting 21 disposals and eight marks at Leederville Oval.
Having spent the majority of his career playing up forward, Allen said he was becoming more comfortable with his midfield role.
“I’m just enjoying playing in the midfield. We’ve got a good group of guys in there and I’m just trying to play my part,” Allen said.
“I suppose those extra touches tend to come with playing in the midfield, so I’m just looking to play my part and hopefully contribute to a few more wins coming up.”
West Coast’s onballers will need to be on song if they are to challenge Claremont’s star-studded midfield, featuring reigning Sandover Medallist Jye Bolton and former AFL players Kane Mitchell and Declan Mountford.
The Tigers’ midfield has been near unstoppable this season, ranked number one for disposals with an average of 374.3 per game.
Tom Lee will be a key focus for the Eagles’ backline.
The Claremont forward has started the season with a bang, kicking 10 goals in the first three games.
Allen said contested possessions were a key focus this week, but he maintains the team will try to keep things as simple as possible.
“The contest is really important; we were really good in that area last week and hopefully we can replicate that,” he said.
“We want our pressure to be up, keep it really simple and that’s when we play our best footy.”
The WAFL Eagles will go to war with the Tigers from 1pm at Claremont Oval.
