West Perth is expecting a tighter encounter than the last time they faced Perth.
Camera IconWest Perth is expecting a tighter encounter than the last time they faced Perth. Credit: Supplied/Dan White

WAFL: West Perth preparing for dangerous Perth

Bill MonaghanJoondalup Times

IT’S been a challenge for us in recent seasons to ensure the players don’t take Perth lightly when we come up against them.

The Demons have often been near the bottom of the table, so there’s always the concern the team might not approach them with the correct attitude.

That won’t be the case this Saturday at Joondalup Arena.

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We’ve seen the strong form Perth has found and the players know they’ll need to produce high-quality football if they’re to avoid being the Demons’ next scalp.

I’m good friends with their coach Earl Spalding and he’s got them playing super footy.

Their run and attack on the ball has been superb.

It’s great for the competition that the Demons appear to be on the up.

It was a bruising one-point win over Claremont last weekend and one that cost us Mitch Antonio to a broken collar bone in the first quarter.

That was disappointing for him given he’d been in strong form in the Reserves and was playing his first League game of the year.

It left us one rotation down early in the match, so I was impressed with the players’ resolve to produce a winning effort.

It was an important clash for both sides.

The Tigers were pushing for a spot in the five off the back of a strong win over Swans, while we were looking to consolidate third spot.

The game was played in a vein of desperation and as such came down to the wire.