WEST Perth had to drag their bodies over the line last year to make the WAFL grand final having had the last bye in Round 15, but this time the Falcons have had a bye in the second last round and coach Bill Monaghan can't complain about the preparation for another finals campaign.

West Perth ended up playing 12 straight matches culminating in the grand final last year since the last bye in Round 15 and there were certainly some bodies that needed to be managed, but this year it's a different story with the Falcons now coming off the Round 22 bye.

The break for the Falcons leads into this Saturday's clash at HBF Arena against the wooden spooners Swan Districts in what is Members' Appreciation Day for the Falcons.

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WEST Perth premiership coach Bill Monaghan discusses Saturday's thrilling one-point win over Claremont at HBF Arena ahead of the bye this weekend and a final round clash with Swan Districts also back at the Joondalup venue.

QUESTION: It was important to bounce back and you did that, but Claremont is a team that just doesn’t lie down?
ANSWER: I can't control what Claremont do. They've lost a lot of close games and is that bad luck for them or good luck for the opposition, I don’t know. We were in front pretty much the whole day and we had a few blokes who were struggling and I'm sure they did too. We made five changes to what was probably our best 22 as well so we were vulnerable late. Steve Potente hasn’t played for a month, Nick Rodda hasn’t played for a month and I just thought in the end we looked a little out on our feet and they kept coming. Obviously it's good to get on the right side of the win and sometimes we can look at one side being unlucky, but if you're in front and you hold on you've done enough right over the day to win. Considering we got belted at clearances, we did a reasonable job I think to win the game. Centre bounces early were terrible for us and we were minus 12 in clearances over the ground so we played a lot of the game in their half but we dug deep and got the win. Whether it's one-point or 100 points, it's a win and takes us one step closer now to holding down third spot.

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The West Perth Football Club joins the football community in issuing its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Perth Football Club President Vince Pendal, who passed away on Saturday.

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WEST Perth and Claremont delivered what was likely the game of the WAFL season on Saturday with the Falcons holding on in a thriller by a point at HBF Arena to secure third position on the ladder.

Coming off a disappointing loss to Subiaco at Kingsway Reserve, West Perth needed to hit back and would have to do so without star midfielder Shane Nelson while Joel Leeson, Drew Rohde, Laine Rasmussen and Joe Morrow didn’t pull up fit enough to play on Saturday.

The good news was that Nick Rodda and Steve Potente returned from injury layoffs and for most of the afternoon the Falcons appeared to have the measure of the Tigers.

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WEST Perth will look to put a week to forget behind it by returning to HBF Arena on Saturday to take on Claremont with a win for the Falcons going a long way to securing third position on the WAFL ladder.

West Perth and Claremont have already met in two thrilling contests in 2016 with Saturday's clash at HBF Arena another with plenty on the line as the Falcons look to lock in third position and the Tigers try to keep their faint finals hopes alive.

West Perth might have beaten Claremont twice already in 2016, but it hasn’t been without the Tigers putting up quite a fight. The first clash was in Kulin with the Falcons coming from behind to win by seven points back in Round 7.

Then in Round 13 at the Claremont Showground, West Perth built up a match-winning lead being up by as much as 46 points during the third quarter in what was a spiteful and spirited encounter.

But the Tigers came storming home to only fall three points short of what would have been a stunning comeback victory.

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WEST Perth premiership coach Bill Monaghan discusses Saturday's loss to Subiaco at Kingsway Reserve, looks at Andrew Strijk's form as a forward and where the Falcons have to lift ahead of Saturday's clash with Claremont at HBF Arena.

QUESTION: It was a tough day all-round on Saturday against Subiaco, I'm not sure you would have seen much to like?
ANSWER: We were well beaten in most areas. We were outmuscled around the contest, our stoppage work was average at times and our ball use, and ball movement was terrible. There's a lot of work to do and sometimes that stuff happens, but it provides a lot of opportunities for us to learn and work out where we can get better. But Subiaco is sitting a couple of games clear on top of the ladder so at least we were beaten by a good side, that's one thing at least.

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WEST Perth midfielder Shane Nelson escaped a broken jaw but has come out with several facial fractures from Saturday's loss to Subiaco at Kingsway Reserve with coach Bill Monaghan remaining confident both he and Matt Guadagnin are a chance to play in Round 23.

The Falcons went down to the Lions by 52 points on Saturday with the day made worse at Kingsway Reserve when Nelson suffered some serious facial injuries during the last quarter in a collision with Subiaco forward Liam Ryan.

There were initial fears that Nelson's jaw was broken and while that is not the case, the news is only slightly better with the prolific ball winner suffering a broken nose, fractured cheekbone and damage to his eye socket.

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THERE were very few highlights for West Perth against Subiaco at Kingsway Reserve on Saturday. The shining light was Andrew Strijk who kicked West Perth’s first four goals of the game and Joe Morrow who kicked his first ever Falcons league goal. Morrow was moved up forward after West Perth's forwards, excluding 'Strijky', struggled to have an impact . The match was played on a rain soaked oval that Subiaco handled much better.

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SATURDAY'S trip to Kingsway Reserve didn’t exactly go to plan for West Perth on Saturday not only with Subiaco winning by 52 points but the Falcons leaving the venue in the City of Wanneroo battered and bruised.

West Perth had won the last meeting with Subiaco and had the chance to stay right in the hunt for a second place finish with another win over the Lions on Saturday at Kingsway Sporting Complex, but it was a day where just about anything that could go wrong did.

It started early in the day when a tight hamstring kept veteran midfielder Matt Guadagnin from playing in the reserves in what would have been his second game back from a knee reconstruction. It's hoped he will now play this Saturday again against Claremont at HBF Arena.

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WEST Perth can keep its top two WAFL hopes alive on Saturday taking on Subiaco at Kingsway Reserve in the third grand final rematch of 2016.

Subiaco and West Perth head to Kingsway Reserve for a community showcase match and it should be a tremendous battle in the third grand final rematch for 2016.

The Lions and Falcons have already beaten one another once each this season and now Saturday's clash will be crucial to both of them for different reasons heading towards the finals.

Kingsway Reserve has pulled out all the stops to host its first WAFL fixture as well thanks to the City of Wanneroo for the battle of the northern suburbs clubs who share bordering zones.

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