Royals fall short of joining Falcons in Foxtel Cup deciderTuesday, July 1, 2014 - 11:03 PM - by Chris Pike

EAST Perth has fallen short of joining West Perth in the Foxtel Cup grand final for 2014 with the VFL's Williamstown running out 24-point winners at Patersons Stadium on Tuesday night.

West Perth had already qualified for the Tuesday July 22 decider by beating Tasmania's Western Storm by 74 points last Tuesday night giving East Perth the chance to set up another Perth derby, another grand final rematch and an all-WAFL Foxtel Cup grand final.

East Perth did open up a 16-point advantage early in the second quarter when Josh Hill kicked his second of three goals for the night, but Williamstown kicked the last three goals of the second quarter to lead by two points at half-time.

The Seagulls went on to kick four consecutive goals either side of three quarter-time to set up the eventual 10.11 (71) to 7.5 (47) victory.

Williamstown will now play reigning WAFL premiers West Perth in the Foxtel Cup grand final on Tuesday July 22 at Geelong's Simonds Stadium.

The Seagulls had a horror time getting to Perth with them not arriving until almost 24 hours after originally being scheduled to do so, and only hours before bouncedown.

It didn’t affect them one bit once they got out on to the wide expanses of Patersons Stadium though.

Despite being accustomed to the smaller Victorian grounds, Williamstown's pace and running ability was impressive as they played some tremendous football to now give themselves a chance to become the first team to win the Foxtel Cup twice.

Midfielder Kane Lambert was outstanding for Williamstown putting on a best on ground performance finishing the night with 26 possessions and a goal. Jake Owen also kicked two goals while Adam Marcon had 19 disposals, Jack Johnstone 15, Michael Gibbons 15 and Nick Sing 14.

Not only did East Perth lose the match, but the Royals lost key defender Kyle Anderson to a back injury in the opening minutes and then classy left-footer Garry Moss to an ankle injury in the third quarter.

East Perth was best-served by veterans Brendan Lee and Paul Johnson in the middle with the former finishing with 17 possessions and five tackles and the latter ending up with 16 disposals, 17 hit outs, six tackles, four clearances and four marks.

Brant Colledge was also a solid contributor with 17 disposals while Mitch Howlett picked up 16 touches, Steven Payne 15, Nathan Blee 14 and Mitch Fraser 12 while Hill kicked three goals.

With both teams fielding strong line-ups and being in good form in their local competitions, it was always expected to be a tight affair and that's exactly how it panned out.

The visitors got the first goal on the board five minutes into the first quarter through Sean Hetherington but East Perth then responded almost immediately through Adam Carter.

East Perth then took the lead at quarter-time when Hill snapped truly for his first goal of the night.

The Royals then opened up a game-high 16-point advantage when Fraser McInnes opened up the second quarter with a goal and Hill added his second, but by half-time Williamstown had gained the lead by two points with the last three goals of the first half.

It was a terrific contest in the third term as both sides went goal for goal with four separate lead changes.

By the end of it, the Seagulls still led by eight points at three quarter-time and both sides peppered the goals to open the final quarter with neither able to kick a major for almost 15 minutes.

And it was Williamstown who got that crucial goal through Anton Woods after a poor mistake from East Perth's Brett Dobson coughed up the ball. The Seagulls then kicked two more goals in no time through Shaun Wyatt and man-of-the-match Lambert to seal the eventual 24-point win.

WILLIAMSTOWN            1.3    4.4    7.5    10.11    (71)
EAST PERTH                2.1    4.2    6.3    7.5    (47)

WILLIAMSTOWN – Goals: Owen 2; Lambert, Wyatt, Woods, Critchley, Dorgan, Johnstone, Anastasio, Hetherington.
Best: Lambert, Marcon, Johnstone, Meese, Critchley, Owen.
EAST PERTH – Goals: Hill 3; Lee, Colledge, McInnes, Carter.
Best: Johnson, Lee, Colledge, Blee, Howlett, Payne.