We got lucky with the Royals’ team selection on that occasion.
They had a number of players out of the side and debuted some of their younger West Coast Eagles personnel.
That said, they had footballers like Mark Hutchings on the park so still had some first-rate players out there. Given the height of the Royals’ forwards, we will consider fielding some taller backmen at Arena Joondalup on WA Day.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOWBut we’re hopeful our tall forwards can give them just as much to think about as well.
Our last game ” a win over Subiaco ” was our most complete performance of the season so I would not expect too many alterations to that line-up.
We’ll be fielding seven players, who were part of WA’s 85-point win over the NEAFL in Sydney last Saturday but we’re confident they can handle the extra workload.
Three of the players ” Jordan Jones, Kody Manning and Shane Nelson ” also played in the Foxtel Cup.
Again, we’re confident they can manage the extra football, given Jones had a week off against Peel and Manning missed the first three weeks of the season.
Nelson is the only one who’s had a full schedule, but he’s a young kid and plays an average of about 70 to 75 per cent ground time in the midfield rotations so he’s not playing full matches week-in week-out.
We may have to look at his workload later in the season, but we’re expecting it won’t be a problem.
It was a fantastic experience to coach the WA side.
Once we got the mix right in the forward line ” by playing our forwards deeper and pushing the rest of the side up the ground ” our forward efficiency improved with great effect.