CHRIS Tarrant has been banished to play for East Perth after an ineffective start in Fremantle's faltering 2008 campaign.

East Perth coach Glen Bewick met Tarrant for the first time last night when the controversial forward trained alongside his WAFL teammates ahead of their clash with South Fremantle today.

Bewick declined to elaborate on the talks he had with Fremantle assistant and player development coach Steve Malaxos regarding Tarrant, but stressed the importance of a vibrant mindset. "I expect Chris will play 120 minutes of the game and hopefully be heavily involved in the play," Bewick said. "I expect he'll have a crack and a positive attitude, just as I do with all our players who will play tomorrow."

Tarrant's inability to have an impact on the scoreboard — his only goal in three games this season came in the opening quarter of last Sunday's mauling at the hands of Richmond — wouldn't deter East Perth from using him in attack.

"He'll be up there somewhere, I would have thought," Bewick said. "But we'll also look to get him involved in the play and enable him to find the footy and have an impact for the team as well."

Bewick expects the Royals' inexperienced line-up to glean a significant amount from an afternoon alongside Tarrant. "Any time a senior footballer or an AFL player comes back, they offer so much more than just playing a game of footy. They have a lot of experience and can provide so much positive advice to the younger players."

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey vigorously defended Tarrant during the week, going to extraordinary lengths to suggest a media campaign was being waged to run the out-of-sorts spearhead out of town.

Dockers' assistant Peter German conceded on Thursday that the 27-year-old's lacklustre start to the season prompted serious discussion at the main selection meeting, while suggesting any dropped AFL player would benefit from a run in the WAFL.

WEST AUSTRALIAN