Royals fully deserved win over us in derby

After our poor performance against South Fremantle in the first game of the year, our endeavour had been good up until the derby.

East Perth were very good and we were disappointing, which led to our biggest loss of the season.

We now have a lot of work to do with only a four-day break until our clash against Peel in Mandurah.

We expect co-captain Jay van Berlo to return to the side after withdrawing from the East Perth game with a back complaint.

It's an injury that can flare up unexpectedly. This means we'll have to wait and see how he pulls up from training tonight.

Matt Fowler won't play in Mandurah as he went into the derby with an ankle concern and then injured his other ankle in the course of play.

He was on crutches after the game, so will need some time for those problems to settle.

Tyler Keitel is likely to make his debut for us given the height of the Thunder side. His form has been building in the reserves, he's a good size and he can take some strong marks going forward so he gives us an option at both ends.

Peel are also coming off a big loss against Claremont. As a result, I expect it will be a brutal start to the match with both sides looking to rectify their disappointing performance from last week.