Month: June 2021

West Coast Claim The 8-Pointer

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Eagles Firm For Top Four With Blue Win

For every team, there is a defining match of their season. Whether they are on the slide or on the rise, retrospect allows all to realise that that game was it.

In Round 14 of the 2011 season, the Eagles’ finals and premiership aspirations claimed legitimacy across the competition and with many pundits and scribes when they travelled to Victoria and toppled Carlton by 36 points.

West Coast had delighted their fans with strong showings in the first half of the season with the mix of blossoming youngsters and the returning form of some old hands suggesting the Eagles’ stay down the bottom of the ladder might finally be coming to an end.

But heading into the round 14 clash with the third-placed Blues, Carlton were warm favourites for most with the expectation the Eagles would receive a reality check. Both sides were in strong form with the Eagles winning five of their last six games, and the Blues having won seven of their past eight matches.

But the Blues were seen as the genuine challenger to Geelong and Collingwood for the flag were clear $1.15 favourites heading into the match.

Carlton coach Brett Ratten didn’t shy away from his sides favouritism heading into the game, adamant that the Blues would be able to handle the Eagles forward press that had confounded much of their opposition so far this season.

The Blues were dealt some blows leading into the game with ruckman Shaun Hampson, midfielder Ed Curnow and defender Nick Duigan unable to recover from injuries picked up in the win over Sydney the week before. Jarrod Waite also failed to gain selection with Carlton opting to give the key forward an extra week to recover from a hamstring injury.

Rhys O’Keefe was selected for his debut, with David Armfield and Robbie Warnock the other inclusions. Warnock was set to partner Matthew Kruezer in the vital ruck battle against Eagles pair Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui.

West Coast took a far greater settled side into the match with Eric Mackenzie the one change. Patrick McGinnity made way with Mark Nicoski reaching 100 games in his eighth season in the AFL. McGinnity’s exclusion was somewhat of a surprise with the expectation that the tagger would go to one of the strong Carlton midfield, or even play a role down back against the mosquito fleet in the Blues forward line.

Mitch Robinson became the fourth out for the Blues ahead of the opening bounce, replaced by Mark Austin, but Carlton started strongly as they followed through with Ratten’s promise from during the week in the opening minutes.

The Blues had most of the forward play and laid seven tackles inside their front 50 as West Coast were served a taste of their own medicine. The Eagles valiantly held their own, conceding just the one goal, to Jeff Garlett.

While Carlton were looking to get the game on the ground, the Eagles had the upper hand in the aerial battle and midway through the first quarter, they got the game on their terms.

That advantage only increased when Carlton full back Michael Jamieson wrenched his knee on the wing, rendering him virtually useless. Jamieson attempted to play on, but his incapacitation resulted in a reshuffle in defence that aided the Eagle talls.

Bret Thornton was moved onto Kennedy, Jordan Russell was left to deal with the much taller Jack Darling and Lachie Henderson was switched from forward to defence. Nicoski and Kennedy goaled to put West Coast in front and while former Eagles captain Chris Judd drew the Blues back to level terms on the scoreboard, the match was clearly going in one direction.

Naitanui, LeCras, Rosa and Shuey all missed chances they should have kicked to see the Eagles to a narrow quarter time lead, but West Coast got the separation they warranted in the second term.

Dean Cox was controlling the tap as the Eagles slammed on six goals for the term. Matt Priddis and Daniel Kerr turned Cox’ ruckwork into clearances and the trio of talls in Kennedy, Darling and Lynch were proving too much for their opponents.

Lynch in particular was giving Carlton the blues all over the ground as he worked up and down the wings to drive the ball into the Eagles forward 50 and provide additional support to prevent it coming back out.

The tale of the two sides in the second quarter could be best described in a respective player from each side. While Michael Jamieson, like his Blues, spent much of the term hobbled around the forward line, Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui soared to sit on the shoulders of teammate Darling and Carlton’s Zach Touhy and provide a mark of the year contender.

Naitanui subsequently slotted the goal and when LeCras added his second for the term moments later, the Eagles had skipped to a five goal lead.

Lynch was the leading ball winner for the half for West Coast, with 11, while Daniel Kerr, Matt Priddis, Dean Cox and Ashley Smith each had 10 disposals. Carlton’s best performers were defenders Bret Thornton and Kade Simpson who had been exposed to a glut of ball in the Eagles forward half, while Heath Scotland was the lone performer in the Blues midfield.

For all of their efforts, thought, Carlton weren’t occupying a top four spot for no reason and in a flash after half-time, the match was again up for grabs. The Blues opened the second half with four goals in the first twelve minutes to claw back to within four points of the Eagles.

Carlton had earned the upper hand through the midfield, when Brett Ratten went the unorthodox route of sending Judd to tag Kerr. Scott Selwood had restricted Judd to just six disposals in the first half and with his prime mover having no impact, Ratten used his captain to nullify former teammate and still current friend Kerr.

The sight of the reigning brownlow medallist thrown into a tagging role remarkably wasn’t the strangest sight of the third term; rain began to fall, which wouldn’t normally be an issue at Docklands, except that whoever controlled the roof hadn’t run their eye over the weather forecast for the day and left it open.

Nonetheless, the move of Judd freed up Marc Murphy who got Carlton ticking, while Ryan Houlihan and Scotland provided the drive from the wings.

However, West Coast then showed they had the mettle to match the top sides.

The Eagles finished with four of the last five goals in the term to work their way to a 22 point lead. Ashley Smith and Will Schofield kicked two of those four, as West Coast pressed forward en masse.

Nic Naitanui soars in the second term for one of the marks of 2011

The final term was a battle with neither team gaining or giving ground, until late in time on when Jack Darling and Ashley Smith put the icing on a vital result.

The 36 point win may have only added four points to the Eagles tally on the ladder, but the result had far greater ramifications.

Heading into the match, the Blues had a one and a half game break on West Coast and a Carlton win would have almost knocked West Coast out of top four contention. Instead, the Eagles claimed the atypical eight-point match to heap the pressure back on the Blues and Hawks.

Matt Priddis as the best afield for West Coast, despite close attention from David Ellard, to collect 30 disposals, 10 clearances and six tackles. Sam Butler was a strong four quarter contributor to finish with 22 touches, as did Quinten Lynch who added 12 marks, eight inside-50s and two goals to his 22 possessions.

Dean Cox picked up 21 touches to go with 22 hit-outs and Ashley Smith kicked multiple goals with 21 disposals and nine marks from defence. Mark LeCras finished with three majors, while Smith, Lynch, Josh Kennedy and Mark Nicoski were the other multiple goal scorers.

Heath Scotland tallied 32 disposals and Marc Murphy 28 as many of Carlton’s important players were well held. Judd managed just four kicks and 13 handballs as Scott Selwood managed to apply the clamp. Bret Thornton had 26 disposals and 11 marks in defence, while Garlett and Betts booted half of the Blues’ goals, as Kreuzer, Walker and Henderson failed to trouble the scoreboard.

The Eagles performance left rival coach Brett Ratten in no doubt as to the potential of this season’s rapid risers.

“They outplayed us today. I thought they outworked us today all over the ground and it’s a credit to them.”

“I’ve seen them a fair bit and I think their work rate and what they’ve done as a team… they’ve backed it up week-in, week-out. And it’s a credit to Woosha and his group changing the game plan and getting the success he has so far.”

As well as moving to within two points of the top four, the Eagles also gained separation on the lower section of the top eight. West Coast pushed six points clear of the sixth-placed Swans after they fell to Collingwood by six points.

The Magpies held their spot in the top two ahead of Hawthorn who replaced the Blues in third spot with a thumping 65 point win over the Bombers, despite being without usual Essendon tormentor Lance Franklin. Geelong held sway at the top of the ladder when they extended their unbeaten start to the year to 13 games after defeating Adelaide by 52 points.

Fremantle overcame a half-time deficit to defeat the Lions, while Melbourne rounded out the top eight after they replaced Essendon following a 27 point win over Richmond.

Ahead of their second bye of the season, Worsfold played down comments he had made the year before when he declared the Eagles would be challengers for the 2012 premiership despite being on the cusp of the top four.

But the Eagles coach did admit that it was the most significant win for West Coast this season.

“Every win for us for where we’re building to as a young team is really important. We’re just looking to win our next game now as quickly as we can.”

“Our aim is to build a team that can challenge for a premiership… I think what people have seen so far is that there is a pathway that we believe in and we’re heading down.”

Hurn the Hero

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Hurn Gets Eagles Across Line as Blues Await

Shannon Hurn stepped up as an unlikely major goal scorer for West Coast as they did what they needed to do to get past a dogged Port Adelaide.

The two sides met in Round 2, where the Eagles recorded an 18 point win, but the margin was expected to be far greater in this match as the two sides headed in opposite directions through the season.

While West Coast were positioning themselves to challenge for the top four, the Power had slumped towards the bottom of the ladder where they were in a battle with the Gold Coast Suns to avoid the wooden spoon.

Coach John Worsfold discussed the need for West Coast to find alternative midfield mixes, suggesting that a number of fringe players could be tried through the centre against the lowly Power. Brad Sheppard and Koby Stevens were brought into the extended squad, but in the end just one change was made.

Tom Swift worked his way into the starting 22 with Chris Masten sent back to the WAFL to find minutes after spending much of the preceding few weeks alternating between being the incoming and outgoing sub.

The Power made two changes as Matthew Primus found himself under growing pressure over his side’s poor season. Primus had remained defiant to the growing backlash through the season with senior players left in the SANFL as youngsters were tried in their place. The likes of Chad Cornes, Brad Ebert, Steven Salopek and Jason Davenport had spent little time in the seniors and were again overlooked for the trip west.

Instead, Daniel Stewart and Dom Cassisi were recalled with veteran Jacob Surjan and rookie Andrew Moore dropped.

If the task wasn’t already daunting enough, the Power were also caught up in the flights drama that was gripping the country. Volcanic ash from an eruption in Chile had drifted and settled over the mainland causing many commercial flights to be cancelled. To avoid possibly getting stuck in South Australia, the Power were forced to fly to Perth earlier in the week, disrupting their normal routine.

The first half played out as expected with the Eagles building a 33 point lead to half time. Mark LeCras booted three goals and Josh Kennedy two, with inaccurate kicking on goal preventing the lead from being far greater.

Shannon Hurn led the ball winners for the half with 16, while Matt Priddis and Daniel Kerr (each 15) were prominent through the middle as the Eagles held the upper hand in the clearances.

Shannon Hurn was a standout in the first half for West Coast before kicking two vital second half goals

However, three goals on the trot to the Power straight after half time changed the complexion of the match. The Port Adelaide talls had had no influence in the first half, but Justin Westhoff and Daniel Stewart hit the scoreboard, as did Simon Phillips to drag the Power to within 14 points.

Nic Naitanui and Travis Boak traded majors before Shannon Hurn launched a booming long range effort for his second goal of the game to ease the nerves of the home fans heading into three quarter time.

West Coast would have felt more comfortable when Brad Ebert and Scott Selwood added goals inside the first two minutes of the final term to extend their lead out to 35 points but the Power made one final push.

Another run of three goals, in four minutes, had the Power back within 17 points and Eagles fans again on the edge of their seats. Port Adelaide kept pushing forward, with Danyle Pearce and Travis Boak taking control in the midfield.

Up stepped Hurn to seal the match.

The burly half back drifted forward, getting on the end of a ball just inside the 50m arc and casually snapping the ball through at goal post height. LeCras added a fourth and West Coast controlled the rest of the game to earn a 22 point win.

Matt Priddis finished as the leading ball winner for West Coast, with 28 to go with eight tackles and six clearances. Daniel Kerr tallied 27 disposals and seven clearances with Hurn and Rosa the next best with 25 possessions.

Tom Swift collected 23 touches to make a strong claim to remain in the Eagles side at his first chance of the season, while Luke Shuey was busy with 22 disposals, eight inside-50s and seven clearances.

LeCras and Josh Kennedy combined for seven goals, but it was a host of other unlikely contributors that hit the scoreboard to get West Coast across the line.

Hurn, Brad Ebert, Adam and Scott Selwood and Matt Priddis had booted just eight goals between them for the season, but all kicked goals against the Power with Jack Darling, Mark Nicoski and Quinten Lynch all goalless. It was the first time for the year that the trio didn’t manage to kick goals.

Travis Boak was the clear standout for the Power, finishing as the only multiple goal scorer with three from 24 disposals. Danyle Pearce gathered the most touches with 30 and Dom Cassisi finished with 24 disposals and 11 tackles as he and Boak engineered Port Adelaide’s second half revival.

Justin Westhoff had a solid second half after just four disposals to half time, while Hamish Hartlett had 18 possessions and eight tackles.

The victory saw the Eagles climb another rung to fifth on the ladder, overtaking the Swans who lost to Carlton. With Collingwood having the bye, Geelong moved two games clear at the top of the ladder making it 12 wins from 12 starts with a 28 point win over St Kilda. Hawthorn rounded out the top four with a comfortable 71 point win of the Suns.

Fremantle and Essendon both suffered untimely defeats that saw the battle for the final spots of the top eight open up. The Dockers were thrashed by Melboune to the tune of 89 points which saw the Demons join the Bombers on five and a half wins, two premiership points behind Fremantle in 7th.

Richmond also moved to 22 premiership points with an easy win over the Lions and North Melbourne’s defeat of an inaccurate Essendon moved them into finals contention. Results meant the Eagles now were two and a half games inside the top eight with a top four spot up for grabs with a clash to come against Carlton.

Eagles Firm For Finals

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Second Quarter Burst Delivers Important Away Win

Seven unanswered second-quarter goals and a number of other favourable results all but ensured the Eagles would return to finals action for the first time in four seasons.

West Coast scored a 39 point win over Adelaide at Football Park and found themselves safely inside the top eight by two and a half games at the halfway mark of the season as several of the outsiders dropped important results.

Melbourne were thrashed by Collingwood to the tune of 88 points in their Queens Birthday clash while Richmond fell to a narrow ten point loss to the Swans in Sydney to harm their chances of reaching finals.

The Eagles sat sixth after 11 matches, just one game out of the top four after Hawthorn lost another narrow match to Geelong. The Hawks led by three goals at three-quarter time, but were held scoreless in the final stanza as the Cats maintained their unbeaten start to the year. Geelong booted three goals to claim the lead nine minutes into the final quarter, before the match became an engrossing battle, with the Cats recording the last four scores of the game (all behinds) to run out five point winners.

That result saw Hawthorn drop to fourth on the ladder, with Carlton leapfrogging the Hawks after the comfortably accounted for the Lions by ten goals. Fremantle reversed recent form to record an impressive 34 point win over Essendon, with the two sides swapping position in 7th and 8th on the ladder. The Dockers win was set up in the first quarter when they opened the match with a six goal to one term.

The Crows and Eagles had built a strong rivalry during the mid-2000’s, with the Eagles twice thwarting Adelaide’s flag hopes with preliminary final wins in 2005 and 2006. As West Coast dropped to the foot of the ladder, the Crows continued to be a finals challenger but in 2011 the roles had reversed.

Adelaide had won just three games for the season and were in rebuild mode, while the Eagles had surged back towards finals contention. Such had been the Crows’ performances this season, that questions had risen over the future of senior coach Neil Craig.

The commentary over Craig’s future led to Worsfold to back in his counterpart ahead of the match, having been the focus of speculation the year before. The Eagles coach questioned why many were quick to dismiss veteran coaches during bad spells, suggesting that Craig and Rodney Eade both had the capability to turn their clubs’ fortunes around in future years.

West Coast made three changes for the trip to South Australia, recalling Brad Ebert after he was banished to the WAFL a week earlier. Ebert responded with a best on ground performance for Peel to earn his spot back, with Daniel Kerr and Sam Butler both overcoming injuries to make the trip.

Brad Sheppard, Tom Swift and Andrew Strijk were the three to lose their place.

The Crows made two changes, dropping Ricky Henderson and Brad Moran in favour of Andy Otten and Shaun McKernan.

Adelaide had first use of a strong breeze, opening up a ten point lead at the first change, before West Coast maximised the wind advantage in the second term.

West Coast slammed on seven goals while the Crows managed just two behinds as the ball lived in the Eagles forward half. Mark LeCras add two majors for the term to go with the Eagles only goal of the first term to have three at the half.

Adelaide made better use of the breeze in the third term as they worked their back on the scoreboard. When Richard Douglas added a brace of goals within 77 seconds, the home side trailed by just nine points.

Mark Nicoski then put the match out of reach with the opening two goals of the final term as the Eagles eased away for their seventh win of the season. LeCras contributed the final two goals of the game to take his match haul to five, with Nicoski (three) and Matt Rosa (two) the other multiple goal scorers for West Coast.

In his 101st game, Rosa was best on ground, with 31 disposals, nine marks and seven inside-50s on the wing to go with his two goals. Andrew Embley (29 disposals) and Daniel Kerr (25) were proficient while Scott Selwood and Patrick McGinnity did the jobs on Scott Thompson and Richard Douglas.

The Eagles ruck pairing of Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui again controlled the tap knocks with the Eagles winning the count by 19 and subsequently the clearances by 10.

For Adelaide, running defender Graham Johncock was their leading ball winner with 26 and ten rebound 50’s, with Scott Thompson also collecting 26 disposals. Michael Doughty nullified the influence of Matt Priddis in the middle while Matthew Wright and Bernie Vince bobbed up throughout the game, but the greater spread of the Eagles ensured they would get the points.

Eagles Down Suns

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Woosha Claims Bragging Rights Over Bluey

John Worsfold and Guy McKenna pitted themselves against each other in the coaches box for the first time, but it was Woosha who came out on top after the Eagles ground out a gritty 18 point win over newcomers Gold Coast.

The former champion Eagles, who were both captains of the club, walked out to the half back line together on 175 occasions but from opposing seats in the Subiaco grandstand, Worsfold’s side were able to do enough to record their sixth win of the season and keep touch with the top four.

West Coast were priced at the extraordinarily short quote of $1.02 to defeat the Suns at home, but while they got the four points, a spirited second half by Gold Coast prevented the Eagle from cashing on the percentage booster that other teams had enjoyed against the Suns in their debut season.

The Eagles made just one change to the side that were well beaten by Collingwood the week before, dropping Brad Ebert for Andrew Strijk. Ebert had struggled to adapt to a more prominent role across half-forward with the likes of Luke Shuey and Scott Selwood preferred through the middle, along with Matt Priddis and returning veteran Daniel Kerr.

Sam Butler failed to recover from an adductor issue, meaning that Brad Sheppard and Ashley Smith held their spots in defence. Andrew Embley was a wait-and-see proposition for much of the week, with the impending birth of his first child but suited up on match-day. However, Daniel Kerr was a late withdrawal for the second time in a month with a glute concern. Tom Swift was called up for his first senior appearance of the season.

The Suns made four changes to the side that were thumped by Geelong the week before. Zac Smith returned to partner Josh Fraser in the ruck against Naitanui and Cox, while Harley Bennell, Seb Tape and debutant Taylor Hine were also named.

Rugby league convert Karmichael Hunt was ruled out with suspension, while Brandon Matera missed out on a homecoming match against his father’s former side with a groin injury. Charlie Dixon and Matt Shaw were both omitted.

West Coast again started tall to stretch the Gold Coast defence, with Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling, Quinten Lynch and Dean Cox lining up in the Eagles forward 50. The Suns were short in defence, with Campbell Brown matching against Lynch, despite giving away 20cm in height.

Cox had an early influence up forward, setting up the Eagles first goal to Lynch, while kicking two himself in the opening quarter. When Mark LeCras slotted his second major at the 14 minute mark of the quarter, the Eagles led 6.1 to zero and a crushing win was on the cards.

But to the credit of the Suns, led by captain Gary Ablett in his 200th AFL match, they levelled the contest and stuck with the Eagles to the end. With West Coast leading 10 goals to four during the second term, the Suns stacked their defence to frustrate the home side and eventually wore their way into the contest.

A four goal to one third quarter brought the visitors back within 12 points nearing three-quarter time, but the Eagles were able to keep the Suns at bay to the final siren.

John Worsfold was happy enough with the win, admiring the persistence of the Suns. “A great start and then a bit of a slog from there on in, but a slog where the players really continued to fight it out, work hard and come away with the win.”

“I think they’ve (Gold Coast) impressed most people in their season so far and they showed enough today to say they warrant the plaudits they’ve been getting for how they go about their football. They’re a young squad but the senior players are holding up well.”

It was through the efforts of Gary Ablett, who dragged his side into the game. The Suns captain finished with 32 disposals, 19 of which were contested, eight clearances, nine tackles and booted two goals. Scott Selwood was given the task of minding the Brownlow medallist but could do little but follow the little master around Subiaco Oval and watch a midfielder masterclass.

Michael Rischitelli collected 25 disposals and seven clearances for the match and Harley Bennell tallied 24 touches. Nathan Bock was solid in defence and had the better of Jack Darling with 21 disposals and nine marks, while Zac Smith was equally impressive with 21 touches, six clearances, 15 hit-outs and a goal playing in the ruck.

For all of the efforts of Ablett, the Eagles had their own midfield warrior in Matt Priddis. Priddis feasted of the tap advantage of Naitanui and Cox to gather 31 disposals, which included six clearances and eight tackles. Priddis regularly fed the ball out to the likes of Matt Rosa and Mark LeCras on the outside.

Matt Rosa is caught in pursuit of Jared Brennan

Cox again put in another shining performance, which elevated the Eagles ruckman into Brownlow conversation. Cox had 28 hit-outs, to go with 26 disposals, nine marks, seven clearances and two goals, as many started to speculate whether he could be the first ruckman to claim the prestigious award since Scott Wynd in 1992. After doing his damage on the scoreboard early, Cox stationed himself in the back half through the last quarter as Gold Coast kept pushing for an unlikely victory.

Behind Priddis, LeCras picked up 28 disposals and two goals as he roamed between midfield and the forward line. Matt Rosa (21) and Chris Masten (19) were proficient through the middle, while Shannon Hurn was the second-highest ball winner for the Eagles with 30 possessions, to go with 14 marks.

Hurn formed part of a second-string backline that was still missing Eric Mackenzie, Mitch Brown and Sam Butler, and while they had their shaky moments through the match, they mostly held their own. Will Schofield restricted Tom Lynch to just two goals and Ashley Smith rotated through the third tall in the Suns forward line, often giving away height but keeping a close check, which allowed Hurn to operate as the intercept defender and defensive distributor.

Worsfold praised his makeshift defence, acknowledging they had their moments. “I thought our backs… in the first half they let through a few easy goals. They could have defended a bit better, a couple of mistakes we made.”

“But then when we were really under the pump in the second half, I thought there were some outstanding efforts.”

Rising star nominees David Swallow and Jack Darling both found themselves in the book with Swallow charged for rough conduct on Scott Selwood and Darling reported for striking Campbell Brown. Scott Selwood was also expected to come under scrutiny for an off the ball incident involving Ablett, with Selwood later accepting a reprimand from the match review panel. Darling and Swallow were both freed for their incidents.

The win meant West Coast rose back up to sixth place after Essendon lost to the Demons by 33 points. The top four remained the same with all four teams claiming wins in Round 11. Geelong remained undefeated after they thrashed the Bulldogs, with Collingwood hot in pursuit following an equally comfortable win over St Kilda.

Hawthorn overturned an 18 point deficit at three-quarter time to defeat the Dockers by 22 points, courtesy of an eight goal final quarter. Carlton continued Port Adelaide’s miserable season with a ten goal win at Football Park. The Swans thrashed Brisbane to climb to fifth on the ladder, with the Eagles, Bombers and Dockers rounding out the top eight. Fremantle though were now just half a game in front of Melbourne and Richmond after losing four of their last five matches.

While the Eagles would have been happy to see order restored to be the leading WA side in the AFL competition, West Coast and Fremantle joined forces during the week as they presented to the WAFC and nine WAFL presidents the concept of having their own reserves sides.

Many AFL clubs had taken on having their own reserves side in their state’s second tier competitions, with the Eagles and Dockers believing they were giving up a competitive advantage by not following suit. The two AFL clubs suggested they could stimulate $1 million per season for the nine WAFL clubs through an annual payment of $600,000, plus extra home fixtures for each club, additional sponsorship opportunities and increasing the finals series to a top five.

West Coast and Fremantle were keen to have their own sides in the WAFL as soon as 2012, but were met ‘without enthusiasm’ by the nine WAFL clubs to the proposal, with Peel Thunder president John Ditchburn going a step further, calling their offer “dismal”.