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Firstly, well done to Claremont on their victory on Sunday - the Tigers were a little more desperate (and far more accurate) than East Perth.
When the usually deadeye Liam Tedesco missed two early set-shots that he'd normally have for breakfast, I feared the afternoon would be a struggle.
Like South Freo (against Peel) and the Thunder (against the Tigers), the Royals' winning run ended at five games.
I'm not sure what my fellow blue-and-black brethren think, but besides our long-standing lack of pace, we're currently light on for height up forward.
With Mitch Schofield, Zach Hill and now Tom Graham missing through injury (though Graham is expected to resume after the bye), I'm surprised that Nic Bonomelli hasn't been called up,
In addition to his extra height up forward, Bono can give Scott Jones a "chop out" in the ruck, meaning that the high-leaping Tom Medhat can focus solely on being a forward and not a stopgap ruckman. 
EP missed Angus Scott (broken thumb), Stan Wright (calf injury) and Kye Willcocks (late withdrawal), and combined with the long-term absence of Nick Robertson, Schofield and Hill, we were light on for experience on Sunday.
Mitch Crowden injured his arm in the third quarter but returned to the fray after treatment, so I hope his name isn't added to the WAFL website's dreaded injury hub (a site that I always visit with great trepidation).
If somebody had said that EP would be 7-2 at the halfway mark of the season, I would've happily taken that, as with more wet tracks, I expect there will be upsets aplenty in the second half of the season.
 

Yes Archie we probably butchered that game on the weekend,but we also got away with a couple at Joondalup and Fremantle oval where we fell over the line,but I can’t see us winning the flag without a fit Tommy Graham in the forward line,who unfortunately as I previously stated,is very injury prone.

Indeed, RL, our accuracy - particularly at Joondalup - has twice got us across the line in close games this year, so we paid the price against the Monts on Sunday when we were all over the shop with our goal-front accuracy.
I agree with you that a fit Tommy Graham is pivotal to our premiership prospects, as are getting some of our experienced players back from injury.
Despite the inclement conditions, I reckon Stan Wright's laser-like delivery would've been invaluable, as we frequently kicked the ball too high (due to pressure) on Sunday, allowing the Claremont defence plenty of time to spoil.
He may be a maligned player by some, but I'd love to have Jye Bolton in a blue-and-black jumper.
I'm sure Bolton would've got the three Sandover Medal votes on Sunday, helped by him being one of the few blokes in a long-sleeved jumper (just so the umpires didn't miss him).