Eagles Below Best, But Still Grab The Points
West Coast put in a sub-par performance against the Swans, but still came away with an important 15 point win that kept them in touch with the top two.
The Eagles led by just a point at three-quarter time, but four goals to two in the final term was enough to secure a fourth straight win and leave them just one game behind ladder-leading duo Essendon and Collingwood.
Twice, West Coast pushed their lead beyond twenty points, only to be reeled in by an inexperienced Swans outfit.
Following their 75 point thrashing by the Saints the week before, Sydney turned over a quarter of their side for the clash with West Coast.
Paul Kelly, Matthew Ryan, Troy Luff, Matt Lloyd and Mark Eustice were all dropped, as Sydney brought in a number of youngsters. Craig Nettlebeck and Chris O’Dwyer were both selected for their AFL debuts, while Darren Denneman was picked for just his fifth game of football. Robert Teal was selected for his first game of the season after battling injury for much of the year, with veteran Rod Carter also returning.
The Swans were then dealt a further blow when Darren McAsey was rubbed out for two weeks after being charged for striking on trial-by-video. McAsey received the two week ban after teams were initially submitted during the week, with his place taken by small forward Shane Fell.
The Eagles on the other hand were far more settled making just the one change, with Karl Langdon replacing out of form forward Stevan Jackson. Peter Melesso remained at full forward with Peter Sumich still out injured.
Both teams slugged it out in the early stages, before a burst from West Coast just before quarter time allowed them to hold a 20 point lead at the first change. Undeterred, Sydney plugged away through the second term with goals to Leon Higgins, Shane Fell and Steven Wright to close within two points before a late Craig Turley goal saw West Coast head to half time with an eight point lead.
West Coast opened the third term with the first three goals to reach a game high 26 point lead and looked set to ease to a comfortable victory. But Sydney again wrested control in the game. The Swans booted the last four goals of the quarter to reduce the margin to just a solitary behind with a quarter to play.
Eagles coach Mick Malthouse didn’t hide his displeasure at three quarter time, demanding an improved performance in the final quarter. West Coast responded, led by Chris Lewis and Chris Mainwaring, to claim a 15 point win and hold their spot in third place.
While happy with the win, Malthouse acknowledged his side were far from their best.
“We won it playing poor football, but I’m just happy to get out of this bloody joint with a win.”
“That was our flattest game of the year.”
Sydney coach Col Kinnear was equally disappointed after the match, believing his side had missed out on a golden chance to claim just their fourth win of the season.
“At the 15-minute mark of the final quarter, I don’t think we believed we could win. When we wanted a lift from some of the senior players, it wasn’t coming,” a dejected Kinnear said.
Indeed many of the Swans’ best players came from their younger crew.
Six-gamer Gareth John was arguably best on ground for the Swans, as he had the better of Dean Irving in the ruck. John picked up 24 touches and seven marks, to go with 14 hit-outs, and was virtually another midfielder for the Swans.
Leon Higgins tallied 22 touches and booted two goals, while in defence Craig Nettlebeck stood tall in his debut game, blanketing Eagles forward Karl Langdon. Langdon managed just five disposals for the game, although he did manage to goal twice.
“The kids were terrific. I am bitterly disappointed for them,” Kinnear said.
The Eagles, on the other hand, had a far greater spread and key players stood up when it mattered.
Captain Steve Malaxos again led from the front, finishing with a game high 31 disposals and a goal, while Dwayne Lamb was effective for the Eagles, while attempting to minimise the damage inflicted by Swans centreman Greg Williams.
Williams still finished with 30 disposals, but was not as dominant as he has shown in 1990, with Lamb able to match him with 25 possessions and a goal. Chris Mainwaring (24 disposals) and Chris Lewis (23) both had important touches in the final term as West Coast again built ascendancy in the match.
Up forward Craig McGrath kicked three goals from 16 disposals and with Langdon and Jackson both largely ineffective, remained the one constant focal point for the Eagles.
The result allowed the Eagles to hold onto third spot as pressure for the double chance continued to come from the Demons and Hawks below them.
“It was more a battle of survival and we are delighted to come away with a win at this time of the year when we are fighting for our top-three position.”
While the Eagles had worked their way through a lethargic performance to still claim the four points, Malthouse reminded the rest of the competition that his side were still expecting to be a force come September.
“A good side wins those sorts of games and we are a good side.”
The one downside from the match was the two game suspension handed down to vice-captain John Worsfold. Worsfold had been cited for striking Williams, with the tribunal rubbing Worsfold out of the Eagles’ next two matches against Richmond and Melbourne.
The Eagles remained hot on the heels of Essendon and Collingwood who both recorded victories. The Bombers scraped past Geelong, booting six goals in the final term to overturn a 27 point three-quarter time deficit. Gary Ablett booted eight goals for the Cats, but it would be another disappointing result for the 1989 runner-ups.
Collingwood made far lighter work of their opponent, thrashing a toothless Saints team by 68 points. The Magpies showed they were on early, registering 12 scoring shots in the opening term, but only managing an inaccurate 3.9 for their effort. Collingwood controlled the game throughout, delivering the Saints their worst loss of the season.
Hawthorn and Melbourne also won, meaning the top five held their positions at the completion of the round. The Hawks defeated the Kangaroos by 18 points in the Friday night opener, while the Demons held off Brisbane to win by 13 points, despite only kicking one goal in the second half.
In the other crucial match-up of the round, sixth-placed Footscray hosted the eighth-placed Carlton at the Western Oval, with both sides harbouring hopes of sneaking into the top five. At quarter time, the home fans would have had September action firmly in their minds, as the Bulldogs led by 26 points having held the Blues scoreless.
But Carlton managed to flip the script in the final three quarters, booting 15 goals to five to run out easy 29 point winners. Simon Minton-Connell proved the difference between the two sides, kicking eight goals, with Footscray unable to find a reliable target up forward.
The win saw the Blues join the Bulldogs on 10 wins, taking over sixth place on percentage, but the Hawks benefitted most of the result to move one game clear of the pair in the final spot for finals action.
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