East Perth coach Ross McQueen has hailed the rediscovery of his team's defensive intent as the key to their return to form, following a stunning upset victory over Claremont at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday.
The Royals entered the match with a 3-3 win-loss record after an indifferent start to their 2026 campaign, but they produced a dominant performance to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season, winning by 39 points. The victory was built on a run of five unanswered goals across the third and fourth quarters.
McQueen said he was not overly concerned about his side's early-season form but was thrilled to see them deliver a strong performance against the ladder leaders.
"Today, I thought we looked like a bit more of what we want to look like. We defended better than we have in the past," McQueen said.
"We understood Claremont are the best team from turnover, so we really had a real focus on making sure we didn't get scored against on turnovers this week, which has happened a bit.
"They're good, they're the best team in the comp. Numbers-wise, last year, they were the same. We've got a lot of respect for them, so we understood we had to try and bring pressure around the contest and cover that exit, because once they win the ball, they're gone.
"It was nice getting a few bodies back into the side. It was great to get a result, but now we move onto next week."
The defeat came on a day when Claremont celebrated their centenary, parading past legends and premiership cups on the ground before the game. McQueen, a former Tigers coach who led their reserves to flags in 2010, 2011, and 2012 and their colts to premierships in 2015, 2016, and 2019, said he did not use the occasion as extra motivation.
"I've got a lot of time for the Claremont Football Club and it was a big day for them," he said.
"I saw a lot of blokes who I was involved with 15 years ago here, a lot of league and reserves guys from 2010, '11, '12 were here today. I was a little bit conflicted in that way, but I'm quite comfortably an East Perth man now.
"We did mention it . . . but we didn't put a big focus on it. We just needed to get back to being us and focusing on us."
Meanwhile, Claremont forward Jaiden Hunter may face a nervous wait after being reported for striking Ethan Regan during the third quarter. Hunter, who managed just one goal and was otherwise well beaten in his individual match-up, had an altercation with the Royals defender after kicking a set shot out of bounds on the full.
