Shock Late Withdrawals Fail to Rock West Coast
West Coast ended a seven game losing streak against their cross-town rivals when they broke through for a 33 point win over the Dockers.
Despite losing key midfielders Daniel Kerr and Andrew Embley in the hour before bouncedown, West Coast managed to win the battle in the centre and implement their forward press to make it four wins from their first seven matches – equal to the number of wins they managed for the entire 2010 season.
Matt Priddis stepped up in the absence of Kerr and Embley to dominate the stoppages and claim his first Ross Glendinning medal. Priddis was a unanimous choice for the award, with 27 disposals (17 contested), six clearances and five tackles.
Priddis, in particular, was instrumental at winning the ball in the contest and feeding out possession to the outside runners in the likes of Matt Rosa, Chris Masten and Luke Shuey. The Eagles forward line functioned far better than their counterparts, with the three-pronged attack of Kennedy, Darling and Lynch proving too much for the Docker defence.
Lynch also rotated through the ruck as West Coast used the burly forward along with Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox to counter the impact of Fremantle beanpole Aaron Sandilands. Sandilands still got the better in the hit-outs (45-39) and picked up 14 disposals to go with five clearances to be one of Fremantle’s better players on the day, but West Coast would have a better spread of contributors in the match.
The 33rd Western Derby promised to be the most even contest in several seasons with West Coast showing improvement after three seasons at the bottom of the ladder. Certainly, hopes were raised amongst both sets of fans, with the match declared a sell out over a week before the match. However, the Eagles’ chances of ending their losing run against Fremantle took a major hit as the clubs prepared for the start of the match.
First, Andrew Embley pulled out after deciding his questionable hamstring wasn’t worth the risk. Then, with the sides completing their customary warm-up, Daniel Kerr strained an adductor and was deemed unable to take his place. Brad Sheppard and Andrew Gaff were called up as the late replacements, with Gaff donning the substitute vest and Chris Masten, who had already been added to the side for his first game since injuring a knee in the opening round, was elevated into the starting 21.
Fremantle had their own late drama with small forward Hayden Ballentine officially ruled out. Ballantine had not been expected to play due to injury, but was surprisingly named when teams were released during the week with the Dockers refusing to admit there had been an issue. Jayden Pitt was brought in as his replacement, starting as the Fremantle sub.
Despite the disrupted preparations, West Coast showed no signs of being rattled. They started the stronger of the two sides with Josh Kennedy taking a strong pack mark to boot the Eagles’ first goal, with Darling following shortly after.
Quinten Lynch and Mark Nicoski also kicked first-quarter goals as West Coast took a two-goal lead into the second term, where West Coast’s ascendancy around the ground would lead to its biggest impact on the scoreboard.
Fremantle became the latest casualty to the Eagles forward press, as West Coast locked the ball in their forward half. The Docker defence failed to handle the pressure from the Eagles forwards, who capitalised in booting five goals for the term to take a commanding 37-point lead into half time.
The Dockers got the match on a more even keel through the second half, twice closing withing 20 points, but the Eagles were able to hold their advantage to run out 33 point winners.
Josh Kennedy finished with three goals to get the better of Luke McPharlin, with Jack Darling, Mark LeCras and Mark Nicoski each finishing with a brace. Scott Selwood joined Priddis with the in-and-under work, finishing with 21 disposals and nine tackles while Matt Rosa picked up 24 disposals on the wing in a run-with role on Stephen Hill.
John Worsfold was impressed with his side’s ability to focus on the task at hand, despite the late disruptions. “It was a credit the players just got on with business.”
“The way that Gaff prepared, the way that Sheppard prepared. And also Masten who expected to be the sub and having to come on and play longer game time. Those players just got on with the job.”
“They are only young players who showed great maturity.”
While many of the plaudits were for the midfield and forward groups, the Eagles defence were also solid, with Darren Glass leading the way. Glass held Jack Anthony to just five disposals and a behind in his Dockers debut, with Sam Butler and Ashley Smith providing the rebound from the back half.
While Anthony’s first game since crossing over from Collingwood was underwhelming, he wasn’t alone with many of the key Fremantle players struggling. Matthew Pavlich was closely watched by Adam Selwood, and while he still found the ball 22 times, he lacked presence in the match.
Adam McPhee, Paul Duffield, Clancee Pearce and Greg Broughton were all below their best, with Mark Harvey admitting his side couldn’t handle the pressure brought on the Eagles.
“We appear to not have enough class at the moment in our side and we are putting ourselves under pressure with our disposal.”
The result saw West Coast move back into the top eight, past the Dockers into 7th spot. The Eagles were able to climb several rungs with Melbourne and Richmond, who sat above them heading into the round, both suffering surprise defeats to lower placed sides.
The Tigers lost to the Bulldogs in a 43-goal shootout, while Melbourne fell to North Melbourne by 41 points after being outscored 12 goals to four in the second half. Many of the remainder games went as expected as the top half of the ladder began to take shape.
Essendon ran away to a six goal win over Brisbane after an even first half, Hawthorn claimed a five goal win over the Saints after also being even at the major break while Sydney thrashed Port Adelaide by ten goals.
The match of the round, however, was the opening game of the weekend that saw the undefeated pair of Collingwood and Geelong meet at the MCG. In a fiercely fought match, the inaccurate Cats came from behind to get over the top of the Magpies by three points.
Geelong registered 11 scoring shots in the opening term but could only manage 2.9, to hold a 14 point lead at the first change. Collingwood then took control with six of the next nine goals to head into the final term with a five point advantage. Andrew Krakouer kicked the first major in the final quarter to stretch the Magpies lead out to 11 and the reigning premiers appeared to have done enough.
However, three goals in seven minutes to the Cats flipped the match, with Geelong holding on due to some late controversy. Scott Pendlebury appeared to have slid home the winner for Collingwood in the final two minutes after taking advantage from a free kick, but the umpires pulled the ball back up the ground and the chance was lost.
For Eagles fans, the win over Fremantle had them dreaming of a return to finals actions after three seasons watching on in September. While Worsfold was happy with the result, bragging rights weren’t high on the agenda.
“It’s not about the derby. It’s where we want to get to as a team. We’re working hard to improve… and we’ve taken some steps. There are a lot of steps still to take. And the derby was another step on the way.”
“The big picture is to develop this side to be the absolute best it can be. It’s going to take a little while longer.”
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