Lee hits the ground flying after injury-hit start to 2014Thursday, May 15, 2014 - 12:32 PM - by Chris Pike

EAST Perth co-captain Brendan Lee missed the first six games of 2014 but has been superb the past fortnight in two just about best on ground performances to put him right in the mix to play in the WAFL team against the NEAFL next Saturday.

Both before and after spending 2012 with Essendon in the AFL, Lee has likely cemented himself as the best midfielder in the WAFL.

Having won the East Perth fairest and best in 2011, the Bendigo Bombers best and fairest in 2012 and then again the Royals' fairest and best last year, Lee has been consistent over a long period now but he suffered a hiccup on the eve of 2014 when he injured a finger and required surgery.

That meant he missed East Perth's wins over Peel, Swan Districts, South Fremantle and Perth, and losses to West Perth and Subiaco, but his past two weeks have been outstanding upon return in wins over East Fremantle and Claremont.

East Perth now has the bye this weekend leading into next Saturday's State game against the NEAFL at Sydney's Spotless Stadium, and Lee would certainly grab an opportunity to play if he gets the call from WA, and West Perth, coach Bill Monaghan.

"I would definitely put my hand up if asked. Any time you get offered to play state footy you have to take it on, and playing for WA is a huge honour," Lee said.

Following ruckman Paul Johnson's withdrawal from the WA squad, no East Perth player is currently there despite the Royals coming off a grand final appearance in 2013 and currently holding a 6-2 record in 2014.

While Lee will wait and see if he is a chance to play himself, he would like to see Kyle Anderson get a chance as he continues to prove himself as one of the best lockdown defenders in the WAFL when fit.

"I'd like to see Kyle Anderson play state footy and I think he is definitely good enough," he said.

"Having said that, he's also missed three games before coming back for the last couple so I can understand why there might be guys ahead of him. But he is the one from East Perth who I would like to see get a chance. I think he is in the top one or two defenders in the competition."

As evidenced by the fact that he has won three straight club champion awards wherever he has played, Lee has not been accustomed to sitting on the sidelines in recent years. He wasn’t always a good spectator, but now is just glad to be back playing.

"Over the last few years I haven’t missed too much footy, but what made it easier was us winning our first three games. So to be honest it wasn’t too frustrating, but then we lost to West Perth and Subi and then it was a little frustrating," Lee said.

"It's just good to be back out there with the boys now. It has been good to come back and play some OK footy. I think the difference is that I've been able to run for the six weeks with the finger injury.

"I was still definitely a little bit rusty and blown up the last couple of weeks, but the big positive was that I was still able to run, do all the work on the track and keep my fitness up."

East Perth now won't play another WAFL game until the WA Day derby against West Perth at Arena Joondalup, but the Royals are in a good position on a 6-2 record despite feeling as though they can still play better.

"There are still a lot of parts of our game that need improvement, especially across a whole game even though were better this week than last week. We are 6-2 with a lot of upside so that can only be a positive to take going into the break," Lee said.

"Any time you get on top of your opposition early and try to push on, and run away with the game is pleasing. Last week we didn’t finish off in the last quarter, but this week we had less of a drop off and that's a positive.

"I think we have given ourselves a good platform at 6-2 so we can go away now and freshen up, and really go at the rest of the year and try to set something up. We know we have a lot of work to do, but 6-2 is a good start."

One boost for East Perth after the break, and possibly in the upcoming Foxtel Cup clash, will be the return of reigning Bernie Naylor Medallist Josh Smith who hasn’t played since Round 4.

"I'm pretty sure he will be back after the break. It's a shame that he missed out on state footy this year as well," he said.

"The Foxtel Cup game could be perfect for him to come back in. It's a shortened game even though maybe a slightly high tempo so it could be good to ease him back on in limited minutes."

The Royals' immediate focus now turns to the Foxtel Cup clash with the SANFL's Norwood at Patersons Stadium on Tuesday May 27. Lee and his teammates are looking forward to the experience and will be throwing everything into it.

"We played it a few years ago and we will give it as good a crack as we can. We might play a kid or two, but we really will give it a good shake and go out trying to win it. We are a long way off that having not played our first game yet, but that's what we are trying to do," he said.

"It was very enjoyable a couple of years ago when we went to the Northern Territory and Melbourne, and it's a great way to go away with the group and bonding. That would especially help this year to get to know everyone a bit more with us merging two sides together.

"We know there will be a big audience on TV and it's always good to see how you match up against a side from another competition that you don't know a lot about. The grand final is played there and aside from Foxtel Cup, you don’t get the opportunity but it's a good deck and the boys always enjoy getting out there.