Demons embrace learnings in Swans loss

Perth assistant coach Steven Armstrong believes senior coach Peter German will use a charge for umpire abuse as a learning opportunity.

German has been handed a $1000 fine for an incident during Perth’s loss to Swan Districts last weekend, while also receiving a suspended two-game ban that will come into effect if he is cited again within the next 12 months.

Armstrong, part of German’s star-studded coaching panel alongside WAFL legends Darren Rumble and Brad Smith, told Sports Breakfast the veteran coach was passionate at all times.

“One thing about Peter, and I haven’t had a conversation with him, he’ll acknowledge it and accept it,” Armstrong said.

“He tells us players and coaches to take accountability, I’m sure he will as well.

“He’s been around long enough to understand the ropes and we’re in a pretty [important] position to do the right thing.

The Demons suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Black Ducks at Steel Blue Oval, with an after-the-siren goal from Jarrod Cameron securing a 6-point win for the hosts.

Armstrong said there were positives to take from the game despite the result.

“You don’t really want to go down by a goal, you’d rather go down by five or ten goals,” he said.

“It’s not a good feeling, but in saying that, if we’re around the mark and competitive, it gives us a chance to win, but unfortunately just fell short.

“We only lost by a goal and it was probably a four or five-goal breeze the other way [in the last quarter].”

Perth’s next challenge comes in the form of Peel, who are coming off losses to competition pacesetters Subiaco and Claremont over the last two weeks, with Armstrong saying he expected the Thunder to be at their best.

“I have the utmost respect for Geoff Valentine as a coach and Brady Grey as a player, he was under me for a year,” he said.

“It is a fantastic challenge. It’ll always be learning whether we win or lose.

“The education we show these players will be beneficial.”

The clash between the Demons and the Thunder gets underway at 2:10 pm on Saturday at Mineral Resources Park.

IMAGE: Code Sports.