For the second time in season 1994, the Eagles faced a Hawthorn side who were reeling off the back of three consecutive heavy defeats.
And, for the second time in season 1994, the Eagles were well beaten. After thrashing the Eagles by 71 points in their round 5 meeting, the Hawks were able to complete the double with a 46 point triumph that re-invigorated their finals hopes and opened up the race for top spot.
Making the Hawks’ win even more impressive was that they did it without champion full forward Jason Dunstall, after he strained a calf against the Blues the week before.
Paul Hudson stepped up to the plate in Dunstall’s absence, booting five goals and having the better of a handful of Eagle opponents.
Apart from a brief period in the second quarter when they had the advantage of the breeze, the Eagles never looked like threatening the Hawks, in a performance that coach Michael Malthouse labelled ‘absolutely dreadful’.
With Carlton having the bye, the Eagles remained one game clear of the Blues, despite the loss, but their hold of top spot was starting to look shaky. The two teams were set to do battle in a fortnight’s time, with West Coast also due to face top eight sides North Melbourne and Footscray in the final rounds of the regular season.
There was little change in the top eight, with most results going as expected. The one surprise was the Cats thrilling one-point win over North Melbourne, where Gary Ablett notched his 100th goal for the season. However, despite the win, the Cats actually dropped from sixth to eighth. The Hawks stayed seventh with their win over West Coast, while the Bulldogs swapped positions with Geelong after thumped a dispirited Adelaide by 84 points at Western Oval. The defeat all but ended the Crows’ slim finals hopes, with the future of inaugural coach Graham Cornes in question.
Richmond accounted for the Saints to remain in fourth spot, but joined the Kangaroos on eleven wins, while Melbourne scored a vital win over Brisbane at the GABBA to stay fifth. The Demons led a pack of five teams, all on 10 wins, with Collingwood sitting ninth after they defeated the Bombers. Essendon and Brisbane sat one game out of the top eight, but both teams had yet to have to their second bye, meaning they were essentially two games out of finals contention.
Dunstall was one of four changes for the Hawks, with Paul Barnard, Scott Crow and Tim Hargreaves all dropped following the 32 point loss to Carlton. Anthony Condon, Greg Madigan, Alex McDonald and Jason Taylor all came into the side, with Taylor named at centre half forward and Paul Dear starting in the goal square.
Alex McDonald also started forward with Peter Knights throwing his side around in a bid to arrest the three game losing streak. Greg Madigan and Andrew Gowers both spent time through the centre, while Shayne Stevenson often pushed up the ground from half-forward to create an additional number around the ball. Young defender Mark Graham was put to full back to mind Peter Sumich with Chris Langford shifted to centre half back.
West Coast made two changes with Chris Mainwaring and John Worsfold both named at selection but each needing to pass a fitness test before taking their place. Mainwaring made it through, but Worsfold was ruled out for the fifth game in the past eight weeks. His place was taken by veteran Dwayne Lamb. Brendan Krummel and Damien Hampson were both omitted.
After losing his place at West Coast, Krummel’s week got worse when he was suspended by the WAFL tribunal following an investigation into the Fremantle derby a fortnight earlier. Krummel was found guilty of rough conduct when he elbowed South Fremantle youngster Owen Woods while attempting to shepherd, which left Woods with a fractured cheekbone. Krummel was rubbed out for a week.
The writing was on the wall early for West Coast when Michael Brennan dropped a simple chest mark just three minutes into the game, allowing Paul Hudson to swoop on the loose ball and snap through the opening goal. With the aid of the wind, Hawthorn raced to a 28 point quarter time lead, with six goals to one.
Having lost Worsfold before the game, the Eagles half-back line took another hit when Guy McKenna created history to became the first player sent off by the umpires under the AFL’s newly implemented blood rule in the first quarter.
McKenna was on the end of a heavy bump from Darren Jarman that left the defender with a bloodied nose. McKenna returned in the second term, only to be sent off again when the patchwork didn’t hold and his jumper got stained. McKenna wouldn’t appear after half-time due to blurred vision.
The Eagles got the game on their terms in the second quarter, reducing the Hawks lead to 15 at the major break. Peter Wilson led the way for the visitors with 11 possessions in the quarter, but the Hawks wrapped up the contest on the back of a Darren Jarman masterclass.
The Hawks more than doubled their half-time score in the third term, with Jarman having a hand in nearly all of Hawthorn’s seven goals for the quarter. Drew Banfield, Matt Clape and Peter Wilson were all given the task of stopping Jarman, but there was little any of the Eagles players could do.
Paul Hudson booted three of the Hawks’ seven goals and, likewise, created headaches for the Eagles coaching box who were unable to find a player to curb his influence. Chris Langford proved a wall for Hawthorn across half-back, picking up 21 dipsosals and six marks as he completely shut out Ashley McIntosh.
Shane Crawford picked up 26 disposals in a run with role on Peter Matera on the wing, holding the Eagle to just 11 possessions, while Rayden Tallis blanketed Dean Kemp in the middle. On a day of few winners for West Coast, Peter Wilson and Chris Mainwaring each finished with 20 disposals and a goal.
The Eagles sluggishness could have been attributed to consecutive trips to Melbourne, with the Hawthorn clash six days after taking on Fitzroy at the sodden Western Oval. However, Eagles coach Michael Malthouse refused to use the fixture as an excuse.
Instead, the Eagles coach was left to ponder whether the Hawks now had the psychological edge should the two teams meet in the finals. “They have the edge at the moment. Next week is a different week, but they slaughtered us.”
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