Eagles Drop To The Edge of Finals as Forwards Misfire

It was a tale of the full forwards as West Coast dropped a second consecutive game to leave their finals aspirations sitting on the brink at the halfway mark of the season.

Windy Hill lived up to its name as the Eagles struggled to handle the swirling breeze that encased the ground with a forward line function that was virtually non-existent.

The Eagles were unable to contain Essendon full-forward Paul Salmon, who booted six goals from 20 disposals and 14 marks alternating between the forward line and in the ruck, while Peter Sumich was held goalless by Anthony Daniher.

In fact, not only did Sumich fail to register a goal, the Eagles spearhead failed to register a possession, despite spending all bar three minutes on the ground.

Stevan Jackson was another who struggled up forward, managing just a kick and a handpass in the opening half, before spending the entire second half on the bench.

The 39 point defeat left the Eagles precariously placed in fifth position, as a host of teams pressed their claims for a spot in the top five.

The disappointment of the previous weeks effort against North Melbourne lingered through the week, as coach Michael Malthouse took his team to task.

A brutal two and a half hour training session on the Monday was followed by a tackling session led by rugby league coach Russ Devonshire with Malthouse keen on igniting aggression towards the opposition.

The Eagles were then savage at match committee, dropping seven players for the clash with the Bombers. Peter Matera, Dean Turner, Geoff Miles, John Annear, Scott Watters, Dean Kemp and Don Pyke all lost their spots, with the Eagles inclusion centred around height to battle the plethora of talls at Essendon.

Craig McGrath was selected for his club debut after being picked up in the pre-season draft, following six seasons with Fitzroy. Dean Irving was also recalled for his first game since round 3, to partner Phil Scott in the ruck against Essendon pair Simon Madden and Paul Salmon. Geelong and North Melbourne had both exposed the Eagles in the ruck in recent weeks, with Phil Scott going it alone.

Peter Wilson, Dwayne Lamb and John Worsfold all returned after missing the loss to the Kangaroos through injury, while Craig Turley and David Hart were also welcomed back to the side. Troy Ugle held his place up forward after being a late replacement for Worsfold the week before.

Essendon were forced to make four changes, due to a raft of players left unavailable after their 90 point win over Sydney. Derek Kickett, Billy Duckworth and Ian McMillan were all out injured, while Andrew Manning copped a two week suspension.

Into the Bombers line up came defender Chris Daniher and midfielders Adrian Burns, Tony Antrobus and Ed Consadine. Kevin Walsh pressed his claims to return from a knee injury, but failed to recover in time.

In tricky conditions, the first half was a tightly fought affair.

Paul Salmon made his first imprint on the game with three goals in the opening quarter as Essendon opened up a 13 point quarter time lead. The two teams then managed just one goal between them as the game developed into a fierce lockdown.

Trailing by 18 points at the main break, the Eagles started the third quarter brightly, but ill-discipline undid much of the early good work in the term as Essendon were handed a string of easy goals.

The Eagles gave away three 50m penalties in the quarter, all of which directly resulted in goals for the home side. Greg Anderson kicked a goal from the first penalty, with Salmon then the recipient of the next two as he booted another three goals in the term to take his match haul to six.

Two goals late in the term to Troy Ugle kept the Eagles within 21 points at the final change, but a five goal to two last quarter sealed the win for the Bombers and consolidated their position at the top of the ladder.

After the match, Mick Malthouse was blunt about his non-firing forward line.

“When we get the ball as often as we did and don’t score as often as our opposition – that is our breakdown.”

The Eagles matched the Bombers in total disposals and managed nine more forward 50 entries (64-55), yet registered four less scoring shots.

“At no stage did our forward line click”, Malthouse continued.

Malthouse was also forthright in his assessment of the umpires, questioning the legitimacy of the 50 metre penalties awarded against his side in the crucial third quarter.

“One was soft,” an exasperated Malthouse declared, “and I could almost argue about (the other) two of them.”

“I get sick and tired of trying to justify how good or bad the umpires are. It’s time (national director) Bill Deller… have a good look at the situation.”

Chris Lewis was the best forward for the Eagles on the day, finishing with three goals from 20 disposals across half forward. Lewis also proved he had paid attention during the week, laying eight tackles in the match.

Chris Mainwaring had 26 disposals on the wing and Stephen Malaxos was again industrious in the centre with 24 disposals and a goal. Dwayne Lamb and David Hart both had successful returns with 21 and 20 possessions, respectively.

Craig McGrath also impressed in his first game as an Eagle, collecting 21 disposals and six marks, showcasing his wares at both ends of the ground.

However, the Eagles had no answer for Salmon, who was arguably the difference between the two sides. Dean Irving was tasked with the role of tagging Salmon around the ground, but appeared out of his depth and the Eagles backline were again exposed for height against the taller forwards in the competition.

Simon Madden booted two goals while resting forward, with Salmon’s haul of six coming a week after John Longmire booted eight goals for the Kangaroos.

Greg Anderson finished as the leading possession winner for the Bombers with 26, while Terry Daniher was the next best with 24 touches and 11 marks. Tim Watson also booted a brace of goals from 22 disposals and Mark Thompson finished with 23 and eight marks through the middle.

The result moved Essendon a game clear of the Eagles, and they were joined by the Magpies and Demons. Collingwood recorded a routine win over the bottom-placed Bears at Carrara, while Melbourne survived an incredible Carlton comeback to fall over the line.

The Demons streaked away to a 56 point lead midway through the third term, off the back of a five goal performance from debutant Brent Heaver. However, the Blues stepped into gear to kick the final five goals of the term and reduce the Demons advantage to 21 at the final change. Carlton continued to surge with Stephen Kernahan leading the charge in the final term, but a poor return of 3.6 left them six points short.

Hawthorn also moved ahead of the Eagles when they had little trouble defeating the Swans, despite being without Jason Dunstall. John Platten booted five to be the surprise leading goal scorer for the Hawks, who returned to the top five in place of St Kilda.

The Saints lost their place in the five with a narrow eight point defeat to the Cats. In a high-tempo clash, Geelong worked their way to a 25 point advantage at the final change, before second-year Saint Robert Harvey dragged his side back into the contest. Harvey booted four goals in the final quarter to bring St Kilda within touching distance of the lead, but Stewart Loewe and Tim Pekin missed simple chances late in the game, which ultimately proved costly.

The result meant that St Kilda and Geelong both sat one game behind West Coast, as did Footscray who did what they had to in a 14 point win over Richmond. The Eagles’ hopes of finals now rested on a crunch home game against the 4^th-placed Hawks the following week.

While the 39 point defeat wasn’t the desired outcome, the Eagles could find some solace in this performance compared to the previous season. In the corresponding fixture of 1989, West Coast conjured up just one goal for the afternoon in a 160 point shellacking – a 20 goal improvement on their last visit to Windy Hill!