Month: August 2021

2011 Rewind: Masten’s Redemption

~ wcehistory ~ Leave a comment

Eagles Climb Off Canvas to Pip Lions

Two weeks after being dropped for the match against Melbourne and then receiving a last minute reprieve when Jack Darling pulled out ahead of the Essendon game, Chris Masten showed the levels he could reach as a number three draft pick with a career best performance against the Lions.

In his 50th AFL game, Masten was the difference between the two sides finishing with 31 possessions and three goals as West Coast clawed their way back from a five-goal deficit midway through the third quarter to snatch an eight point victory at the GABBA.

West Coast failed to kick a major in the 50 minutes after quarter time but came home with a rush to further their premiership credentials. The Eagles booted eight of the final ten goals in the game as Masten, Andrew Gaff and Matt Priddis engineered the comeback.

John Worsfold suggested the Eagles could rest players for the trip to Brisbane, but only Daniel Kerr is left out of the side as he battles a back injury which flared up from several strong hits in the win over Essendon. Patrick McGinnity comes in as his replacement after serving a one match suspension.

Young forward Jack Darling remained sidelined with a thigh injury after being a late withdrawal the week before, but the likes of Dean Cox, Andrew Embley and Darren Glass all travel to face the Lions.

Brisbane also made the one change with Bryce Retzlaff coming into the team in place of Mitch Clark who couldn’t be considered because of a knee injury.

The Lions had managed just four wins all season and coach Michael Voss called on his charges to show pride and finish the year on a high with the prized scalp of the Eagles, who hadn’t won at the ground since 2006.

In further inspiration for the home side, veteran midfielder Luke Power announced that the game would be his final for the Lions, his 282nd overall.

Conversely, another veteran Lion in Simon Black, signed a fresh one year contract to play on in 2012 and it was no wonder why, with the 2002 Brownlow medallist putting on a clinic in the opening term as the Lions matched West Coast.

Adam Selwood was given the task of minding Black from the opening bounce, but that plan was soon abandoned as Black carved the Eagles apart. It was left to the other Selwood, in Scott, to curb his influence, but Black remained one of the better performers for the Lions throughout the game.

Both sides had their chances on goal in the first term as the two teams combined for nine majors. A Josh Kennedy goal after the quarter time siren put the Eagles in front at the first change but Brisbane soon took a handle on the game to keep West Coast goalless in the second term.

Pearce Hanley and Luke Power, along with Black, gave plenty of drive out of the middle with West Coast forced to defend for much of the term. The Lions were also denying the Eagles possession of the ball, racking up 35 more disposals for the half.

Brisbane continued to have all the play at the start of the third quarter, but could only translate their control in the game into 2.5 on the scoreboard to extend their lead to 29 points as the term ticked into time-on.

From there, the Eagles flipped the game with four quick goals to cut the Lions lead to just two points at three quarter time and they sealed the impressive win with four goals to two in the final quarter.

Pleasingly for Worsfold, it was a crew of younger Eagles that prompted the turnaround.

Luke Shuey managed just seven disposals in the first half but responded after half-time to finish with 20 touches, five inside-50s and seven tackles. Andrew Gaff and Matt Priddis were one of a few Eagles that were able to compete for four quarters while Quentin Lynch provided a strong target in the forward half.

Dean Cox was forced out of the game with an eye injury during the third quarter, Andrew Embley was held to just seven disposals by Andrew Raines and Josh Kennedy contributed just one goal from eight touches.

But the standout for West Coast was Masten who produced his finest performance in his Eagle career.

In what had been a disjointed year for the high draft pick, Masten had sat out six games at the start of the year after suffering a knee injury in the opening round before missing another chunk of matches after falling out of favour of the match committee.

Masten appeared to get his break when he returned for the Round 20 match against Richmond where he started as the substitute but came into the game after Matt Rosa hobbled off the ground with a PCL injury.

It was expected at the time that Masten would remain in the side as Rosa’s direct replacement, but instead he was sent back to the WAFL the following week as his Eagles teammates flew to Melbourne to tackle the Demons. Masten was again left out the following week for the clash with Essendon, but earned a late call up when Darling pulled out earning his place as the starting sub for the fourth time this year.

Despite having just two possessions in that game coming on late, Masten held his spot with Daniel Kerr ruled out and given the full match against Brisbane to show his wares, delivered a stellar effort that suddenly gave one of the premiership fancies another element to their midfield.

Masten had booted just two goals for the season up to this match, but added three against the Lions, all at crucial moments in the game, to show he could be damaging on the scoreboard as well as being an accumulator of the ball. Just as impressive, Masten laid seven tackles – the second most he had laid in a game.

Brisbane midfielder Tom Rockliff attempted to match the feats of Masten with 30 disposals, 11 clearances, 13 tackles and two goals, while veterans Simon Black (25 disposals) and Josh Drummond (23 disposals) were consistent contributors for the Lions.

West Coast had done what they needed to do to secure another four points, which had led the 2010 wooden spooners into the top four where they were now guaranteed to finish.

The Eagles sat six points clear of the fifth-placed Carlton after the Blues had the bye, while the top eight was also confirmed with positive results for several teams in the bottom half of the finals positions.

The Saints, Swans and Bombers all recorded the wins they needed to evade any last ditch effort from North Melbourne or Fremantle to steal the final spot in the top eight, although the Bombers toiled longer than they would have planned to get past the Power.

The Bombers skipped to a 15 point lead during the second quarter and would have been right to assume they had done what they needed to record the win. However a five goal burst before half time swung the match in the favour of Port Adelaide as Robbie Gray and third-gamer John Butcher combined for the five majors.

The pair continued to kick goals through the second half, with Robbie Gray ultimately kicking six goals and Butcher four. Port Adelaide looked set to climb off the canvas of the ladder with a stunning upset win before Essendon finally clicked that their finals hopes rested on a positive result against the Power, with a bye in the last home-and-away round.

From the ten minute mark to the 25 minute mark, Essendon slammed on seven unanswered goals to steady for a seven point win. St Kilda easily accounted for the Kangaroos, all but ending their finals hopes, while Sydney ended Geelong’s 29 game winning streak at Kardinia Park with a superlative effort in honour of captain Mark McVeigh.

McVeigh sat out the match following the death of his infant daughter during the week, but with Adam Goodes and Ryan O’Keefe leading from the front, the Swans put in the team effort of the year to get home by 13 points.

That result meant that Collingwood had wrapped up the minor premiership following their 80 point demolition of the Dockers. Hawthorn maintained their position in third place with a comfortable 46 point victory over the Bulldogs.

For Worsfold, the result was vindication for the effort and work of the entire football club in the off-season, following three seasons in the doldrums.

“I’m proud of the team that we’ve got within the football department and I’m obviously proud of the club. But it’s taken a lot of teamwork and commitment from everyone to have the faith the team would get the runs on the board and bounce back.”

“As much as it’s nice to say everyone is surprised by their performances this year, it’s not because the hard work hasn’t been done. It’s not through luck, it’s through belief and hard work,” Worsfold continued.

“I’ve always been proud of the guys that I’ve had the pleasure and opportunity to coach.”

For the first time this season, Worsfold acknowledged the Eagles’ place in the finals, with the club set to finish fourth regardless of results in the final week of the home and away season.

“All the year along I said when we get to round 24, I’ll be able to answer your questions. So now I can tell you at round 24 we’ll be fourth and that’s a credit to the boys for having done that.”

2011 Rewind: Eagles Crack Top Four

~ wcehistory ~ Leave a comment

Second Half Surge Lifts Eagles Into Double Chance

West Coast finally cracked their way into the top four and prime position for the double chance come finals after careering away to a 57 point win over the Bombers.

The Eagles trailed by a point at half time, but fourteen goals after half time ensured West Coast would claim their 15th win of the season and replace Carlton in the top four. The Blues lost their place after losing by two goals in an enthralling clash with the Hawks in the round opener.

West Coast welcomed back their captain and vice-captain in Darren Glass and Beau Waters, with defender Mitch Brown unlucky to lose his place and Patrick McGinnity serving a one match ban for breaching the AFL’s respect and responsibility policy.

The McGinnity investigation was the focus for much of the week, but John Worsfold denied it would be a distraction for the club. Worsfold endorsed the vilification code and declared McGinnity had learned from the incident. “Paddy understands very clearly what he did wrong and… he is remorseful.”

The Bombers arrived in Perth having won four of their past six games and looking to consolidate their spot in the top eight, but the make up of their side failed to take shape until late in the week.

Dustin Fletcher was initially left out of the side, but returned when Tayte Pears failed a fitness test. Michael Hurley was ruled out with soreness and Ricky Dyson was dropped, with Nathan Lovett-Murray, David Myers and Tom Bellchambers the three inclusions.

Bellchambers was called into the side, joining Paddy Ryder and David Hille meaning James Hird had three ruckmen at their disposal to counter the influence of Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox.  

Ultimately, Hird’s decision would backfire.

Cox would finish as one of the best for West Coast as the Eagles overran the Bombers through the second half. Jack Darling was a late withdrawal ahead of the game (missing his first game of his debut season), with Chris Masten brought in as his replacement and having the additional runner in the game appeared to work in the Eagles favour.

West Coast held the edge from the start of the game, but some costly mistakes kept the Bombers in the hunt during the first term. Paddy Ryder scored the Bombers’ first two goals, the second coming from an interchange infringement against Dean Cox. After Quinten Lynch kicked the Eagles second goal, Cox entered the field of play ahead of time, gifting the Bombers a free kick and a 50m penalty resulting in a simple goal.

The Eagles registered seven scoring shots to just three, but only held a nine point lead with Essendon making the most of their few opportunities. The Eagles extended their lead to 16 midway through the second term before the Bombers got on a roll that saw them lead at the major break.

Essendon kicked four of the final five goals in the term with Stewart Crameri’s second putting the Bombers in front by a point at half time. The Essendon midfield were able to get a handle of the game late in the term with Brent Stanton, Jobe Watson, David Myers and Jake Melksham all gathering nine disposals for the term.

However any thoughts Essendon had of continuing their momentum at the resumption after half time was quickly extinguished as the West Coast press generated repeat inside 50 entries and shots on goal.

The Eagles recorded the first six scoring shots of the term and while they could only manage a return of 2.4, it was enough to stamp their authority in the game. Jobe Watson and Leroy Jetta bucked the trend to add two majors for the Bombers to draw them back within a point, but it would be the last punch thrown by the visitors – at least on the scoreboard.

The game had several flashpoints during the term after Jobe Watson was collected by Beau Waters. The pair came together across the Essendon half forward line, with the Essendon captain aided to the bench and the Eagle reported. Nathan Lovett-Murray then took it upon himself to throw his weight around but that only worked in West Coast’s favour as they finished with the final four goals in the term.

It only got worse for the Bombers as the Eagles slammed on eight goals in the final quarter to blow out the margin, while the accuracy that kept them in the game in the first half deserted them when they needed it most, finishing the game with six behinds. Along with Watson, Andrew Welsh was forced out of the game early, while Stewart Crameri’s season was in doubt after dislocating a shoulder late in the game.

For West Coast, Daniel Kerr and Luke Shuey were the keys after half time, with Shuey belying his 26 games of experience. Shuey tallied 23 disposals, with 11 clearances, 7 inside 50s and a goal as he went head to head against Essendon midfielder Dyson Heppell.

The pair were the two standouts for the rising star award, with Heppell just as impressive for the Bombers with 26 disposals.

Matt Priddis matched Shuey’s effort around the stoppages with 10 clearances to go with 27 disposals, while Kerr was next best for the Eagles with 25. Scott Selwood had 23 disposals and eight tackles, while up forward Josh Kennedy and Mark LeCras each booted four goals.

Brent Stanton and David Zaharakis led the Bombers with 27 possessions each, while Heath Hocking battled it out with 20 touches and 12 tackles. Paddy Ryder finished with three goals and Crameri two, to be the Bombers only multiple goal scorers in the game.

Despite the loss, Essendon held their spot in the eight as a number of other results went their way. Fremantle’s season continued to unravel when they were on the end of a 98 point thrashing by North Melbourne. The Kangaroos jumped the Dockers into ninth spot, but were six points behind the Bombers with two games to play.

Melbourne were officially out of the running for finals when they fell short against the Tigers by seven points, while the Bulldogs’ finals hopes were quashed despite a ten goal win over Port Adelaide. Barry Hall booted six goals for the Bulldogs, but his former side ensured they wouldn’t reach September action when they overcame horrible accuracy in front of goal and a three-quarter time deficit to defeat the Saints by 15 points.

The Swans did everything they could to throw the game away, trailing by seven points at the final change even though they had had eight more scoring shots. Four goals to one in the final term saw the Swans home, moving past the Bombers into seventh position.

Collingwood moved a game clear of the Cats at the top of the ladder with a three goal win over Brisbane. Geelong had the bye, but the two sides had sewn up the top two, with a final round meeting set to be the intriguing point of the season.

While the Eagles were now in the prime position to finish in the top four, Worsfold refused to buy into the finals discussion, which was expected to see West Coast tackle reigning premiers Collingwood in the opening week.

“It feels like we have two big games to go and fourth in Round 22 doesn’t mean anything. Round 24 is where we want to make sure we are in a good position. Nothing is ever a given. You have got to go out and earn it.”

Worsfold praised his side for handling the heat of the contest and earning a ‘solid win’ against a finals contender. “I thought a really good intense game in that first half, a lot of heat and obviously to come out and run out the game in the second half was very, very pleasing,” Worsfold said.

“We knew that they were a good inside stoppage team. There was some strong bodies in there, so there was a specific challenge for some of the players, especially in the third quarter and they performed really well.”

The Eagles were shaping nicely for a finals tilt and were given a further boost when Waters was cleared of his hit on Watson, with the tribunal deeming the action wasn’t a bump and the contact accidental.

2011 Rewind: Eagles Continue Demon Misery

~ wcehistory ~ Leave a comment

McGinnity Charge Overshadows Melbourne Win

West Coast continued to stalk the Blues and the Hawks in the top four, with a comfortable 48 point win over Melbourne at Docklands.

The Eagles recorded their fifth away win of the season – one more than they had managed home and away in 2010 – off the back of a seven goal second quarter that put the dysfunctional Demons out of the game by the major break.

Despite being still mathematically in the hunt for finals, the Demons had endured a horror three-week period that had seen them fall to 54, 186 and 76 point defeats, part ways with senior coach Dean Bailey, before enduring renewed backlash over their previous season performances when Bailey suggested following his sacking that the club had tanked for priority draft picks.

After making a host of changes at selection during the week, the Demons then lost Brad Green on the morning of the game. Green joined Jake Gysberts and James Strauss as casualties, while young ruckman Max Gawn and midfielder Matthew Bate were dropped. Into the Melbourne side came Colin Sylvia, Sam Blease, Cale Morton and Mark Jamar.

Like Melbourne, the Eagles also went into the game without their skipper with Darren Glass spared the trip east due to soreness. Matt Rosa was sidelined with a knee injury, while Chris Masten was a surprise omission despite coming on as the injury substitute for Rosa the previous week, tallying 12 disposals in little over a quarter.

Instead the Eagles recalled Ashton Hams for just his second game of the season, with Eric Mackenzie and Josh Kennedy obvious inclusions returning from injury. With vice-captain Beau Waters still not considered ready for senior action, Dean Cox was instilled as captain despite being under an injury cloud for much of the week.

Cox was hampered by a knock to his hip early in the Eagles last game against Richmond and failed to train in the lead up to the clash with Melbourne. However, West Coast coach John Worsfold said they wouldn’t follow the lead of Geelong and Collingwood and rest players ahead of the finals.

Despite starting as outsiders, the Demons started the game with much more purpose than the visitors. Jeremy Howe kicked the opening goal after ten minutes, but for the Demons that would be their only scoreboard joy until time-on of the second term.

In that time, the Eagles had slammed on eight majors with Howe ending the run with his and his side’s second goal. Mark LeCras and Mark Nicoski each added two goals during the run as the Eagles midfield were all over their counterparts.

Andrew Gaff continued his impressive late season form with 10 disposals in the second term, and 15 for the half, with Luke Shuey and Andrew Embley each tallying eight disposals for the second quarter. As good as West Coast were for the quarter, the Demons were equally bad.

The exuberance they showed in the early stages of the game were long gone, with senior players in particular guilty of giving up possession either through poor use of the ball or ill discipline. Nearly half of their kicks in the first half were either ineffective or clangers, with the Eagles capitalising.

Leading by 47 points at half time, the Eagles continued their recent trend of dropping off in the third term to allow the Demons to close within five goals with a quarter to play. Worsfold referenced the Bermuda Triangle post-match when discussing the drop off immediately after half time, but the Demons followed the lead of the Bulldogs a fortnight earlier.

The Demons opted for a man-on-man style in the third quarter and looked to maintain possession and deny the Eagles ball. Melbourne recorded 47 more disposals for the quarter with Brent Moloney (12 disposals) and Sam Blease (10) proficient. Colin Sylvia managed just four touches in the first half, but sparked the Demons mini-revival with nine disposals and a goal in the third term.

However, that would be Melbourne’s best shot for the day.

West Coast muted their momentum in the final term and after a 15 minute stalemate where neither team could find the big openings, stand in captain Dean Cox kicked the vital goal that snuffed out any chance of a Demon comeback.

The Eagles added three goals to one to essentially restore their half time lead, with Josh Kennedy and Dean Cox for a second time, hitting the scoreboard.

Worsfold was expectedly pleased with the result, but again refused to entertain the discussion around the clubs return to finals. “We don’t talk about it (finals), we’re focused on improving the way we’re playing. We had patches today that were pretty average and we want to keep improving.”

“I’m sure they (the players) might be striving for (finals) but… we play a very good team this week, so that’s our immediate focus,” Worsfold said.

“In three or four weeks we’ll know what the ladder looks like. There’s still plenty of football to be played, a lot of games.”

While Worsfold remained deadpan about the Eagles positioning at the end of the season, the Eagles continued to firm for a top four finish. West Coast remained two points behind the Blues, with a game in hand, and weren’t expected to drop their final three games against Essendon, Brisbane and Adelaide.

As had been the case the previous three rounds, the top five sides all won with the gap building between them and the rest of the competition. The Eagles were three and a half games clear of St Kilda in fifth spot with another string of one-sided results.

AFL Chief Executive Andrew Demetriou denied that the competition lacked competitiveness, but a second consecutive thrashing of Port Adelaide must have had those at AFL House worried. A week after copping a 138 point pasting at the hands of Collingwood, the Power were comprehensively whacked by Hawthorn to the tune of 165 points.

The Hawks fell three points short of notching 200 points scored, with Lance Franklin (eight) and Cyril Rioli (six) contributing 14 goals between them. Brisbane recorded a ten goal win over new rivals Gold Coast in a battle of the cellar-dwellers while Essendon accounted for the Bulldogs by 49 points.

The two leading sides were both forced into strong battles with their opposition, but like they had most weeks, still found a way to come out on top. The Magpies ended the Saints’ six game winning streak with a 19 point win. In the highly anticipated clash between last year’s grand finalists, Collingwood got the early jump in the opening term and maintained their lead throughout.

Geelong were given a scare by lowly Adelaide who threatened to steal the game late. After Adelaide controlled the game early, the Cats got separation with six of the seven goals heading into half time. Early in the final term, Geelong led by four goals, but the Crows kept coming. Adelaide closed within a kick as the game entered time-on, but the Cats steadied for an 11 point win.

Richmond threw a spanner in the works for Sydney when they produced an upset 43 point win at the MCG. The result saw the Swans drop to the edge of the top eight, but they were able to maintain their position courtesy of the Dockers’ 30 point defeat to Carlton and the Kangaroos serving their second bye.

The defeat made it 12 losses in a row for the Demons at Docklands and while their season was petering out to a nondescript end, there was still plenty to be gained according to stand in coach Todd Viney. Viney believed the Eagles’ 2011 season gave many other clubs hope that their fortunes could be turned around quickly.

“It’s a great story that you modify your game plan, you keep tinkering with it, you keep persisting, you keep positive and you can turn things around,” Viney enthused.

“It’s amazing, their turnaround. They are fighting for a top four spot.”

While Worsfold refused to acknowledge finals, he did believe that the Eagles had earned back the respect of many within the AFL competition after three years of poor off-field and on-field performances. “I would expect so. I suppose it depends on whether you are talking about respect from opposition teams or the footballing public. I’m sure its happened.”

Gaff finished with 33 disposals to lead the Eagles, ahead of Matt Priddis (26, 11 tackles) and Andrew Embley (25, five inside 50s). Dean Cox stood tall through the second half to collect 17 disposals along with 21 hit-outs, seven clearances and two goals.

Mark LeCras and Mark Nicoski each booted three majors, while for just the second time, Adam and Scott Selwood each contributed goals in the same game. It would be the second quirky record for Adam on the day after he and Troy earlier moved up to equal fourth on the list of games to be played by twins. The pair had now combined for 227 games total (Adam 152, Troy 75) to join Ryan and Nathan Lonie.

The post-script to the fine win was a one week ban handed down to Patrick McGinnity following an unsavoury incident on half-time. McGinnity was referred directly to the tribunal for violating the AFL’s respect and responsibility policy for comments direct towards Demon player Ricky Petterd.

McGinnity was overheard telling Petterd that he would ‘rape his mother’ after Petterd had earlier threatened to kill him during a brawl at the half-time break involving a host of players. An investigation was launched after an umpires report following the game with several officials hearing the comment.

AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou condemned the comments, labelling them ‘totally disgusting’ while operations boss Adrian Anderson applauded Petterd for reporting the incident. His praise came in direct contrast with McGinnity’s player manager David Sierakowski, who believed the exchange should have remained on the football field and not been brought to public light.

McGinnity would later release a statement apologising for his actions, accepting the one match ban plus a $2,500 fine. Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett was also critical of McGinnity’s actions saying the club expected better from their players and that his words did ‘not reflect the values of our football club.’

2011 Rewind: In Celebration Mode

~ wcehistory ~ Leave a comment

Nicoski Kicks Six to Lead the Eagles Party

It was a week of celebration for West Coast as they honoured and paid homage to their first 25 years in the VFL/AFL competition, culminating in a 57 point win over Richmond.

The Eagles chose to celebrate their 25th season in the top tier competition in the lead up to their Round 20 clash with the Tigers, who were their first ever opponent in the opening round of 1987. In that game, the then VFL newcomers fought back from 33 points down to claim a 14 point win in their inaugural match courtesy of a nine goal final quarter.

However no such heroics were required in this meeting with the Eagles steering away from the Tigers during the second term and coasting to a 57 point win.

Josh Kennedy was again absent for the Eagles with an eye injury, but the Eagles were able to recall Daniel Kerr and Nic Naitanui. The pair were joined by defender Mitch Brown and midfielder Chris Masten who was selected for his first senior match since Round 12.

Vice-captain Beau Waters was ruled out with an elbow injury, which was initially played down by the club after he injured it during the win over the Western Bulldogs. Eric Mackenzie was also a casualty, straining a hamstring during the final training session of the week. Tom Swift and first-gamer Scott Lycett lost their places.

The Tigers also made four changes with captain Chris Newman succumbing to a knee injury and Jake Batchelor ruled out with a shoulder complaint. Ben Griffiths and Matt White were dropped, with Shaun Grigg, Brad Miller, Mitch Farmer and Matt Dea the four inclusions.

After an entertaining first term that saw the Eagles lead five goals to four at the first change, West Coast took grip of the match off the back of a dominant quarter from ruckman Nic Naitanui.

With Dean Cox limited to the full forward line after copping a knock to the hip in the opening minutes of the game, Naitanui was left to lead the ruck with Quinten Lynch rotated through to provide back up.

Naitanui relished the circumstance, as he controlled the ruck against Angus Graham and Ty Vickery, amassing eight possessions (all contested), four marks (all contested), several clearances and kicking two goals in the quarter – all the while providing silver service to the likes of Daniel Kerr and Luke Shuey.

Mark Nicoski finished with a career high six goals in the win over Richmond

West Coast continued to dictate the match until late in the third quarter when the Tigers got on a roll to reduce a 45 point deficit to 27, keeping open the outside chance of an upset comeback.

In the last meeting between the two sides, at the MCG midway through the 2010 season, Jack Riewoldt had booted a career best ten goals, but to half time of this encounter, Darren Glass had kept the Tigers spearhead to just six disposals and no score. However, Riewoldt responded in the third quarter booting three goals as Richmond looked to continue on the attack.

Eagles coach John Worsfold admitted displeasure after the match with conceding seven goals in the third term, but West Coast tightened up their defence in the final term to kick five goals to one and run out 57 point winners.

14 of the Eagles’ 22 goals were kicked by the trio of Mark Nicoski, Jack Darling and Brad Ebert, who all recorded career best hauls in front of the sticks. Nicoski finished with six goals, while Darling and Ebert each booted four as the Eagles showed they could find other avenues to goal.

For Nicoski, his six goal return was just reward for a season that had reinvented the defender as a pressure forward as part of the Eagles’ strong forward press. Brad Ebert was another who had had to adapt to a different role this season with the return of Kerr, the arrival of Gaff and the rapid improvement of Shuey with Worsfold deploying the South Australian across half forward for much of the year.

Ebert appeared to find the balance in his role, hitting the scoreboard with four goals, as well as gathering 21 disposals with four tackles and four inside-50’s.

Kerr led the Eagles ball-winners with 34 disposals, 13 of which came in the second quarter when Naitanui got on top in the ruck battle. Kerr also finished with eight clearances, while Shuey had seven to go with 30 disposals, seven tackles and six inside-50s.

Andrew Gaff was tireless with 29 on the wing, while Lynch appeared to relish the freedom of running through the ruck with 23 touches, seven marks, 10 hit-outs and seven inside-50s.

Brett Deledio tallied 31 possessions and eight rebounds to lead the Tigers, with Shane Tuck (29 disposals) and Nathan Foley (24) the next best. Riewoldt kicked the Tigers only goal of the final term to finish with four for the match, with Brad Miller and Ty Vickery the only other multiple goal scorers for the visitors.

Scott Selwood was tasked with the job of minding Richmond captain Trent Cotchin, keeping the midfielder to just 17 disposals.

The result meant that the Eagles kept the pressure on Hawthorn and Carlton as they sought to push their way into the top four. The Hawks and Blues recorded wins against finals hopefuls North Melbourne and Melbourne, further denting their finals hopes.

The Kangaroos pushed the Hawks for three quarters before Lance Franklin kicked three final quarter goals to inspire his side to a 17 point victory. Todd Viney took charge of the Demons following the sacking of Dean Bailey, but it did little to improve things as they crashed to a 76 point defeat.

The battle for spots in the lower half of the top eight played out in dramatic fashion as the sixth placed Swans travelled to play the ninth-placed Bombers, and the seventh-placed Saints faced the eighth-placed Dockers. Just three points separated the Saints and Dockers at three-quarter time before St Kilda piled on six goals to none in the final term to run out 41 point winners.

That saw them climb to sixth on the ladder after the Swans fell to the Bombers by one point at Docklands after Adam Goodes had the chance to win the game on the siren. His long range set shot drifted wide allowing the Bombers to rise back into the top eight at the expense of the Dockers. Sydney also dropped to seventh on the ladder as a result, meaning the Eagles were now 10 points clear in fifth spot with four games to play.

The statement of the round though lay with the two leading premiership fancies in Collingwood and Geelong. The Magpies and the Cats were drawn against the two stragglers in the competition, in Port Adelaide and Gold Coast with the two sides not missing a chance at percentage boosters.

Geelong hammered the young Gold Coast side by 150 points, backing up from their 186 point thrashing of Melbourne the week before. Steve Johnson followed up his 34 disposal-7 goal effort against the Demons with 31 possessions and six goals against the Suns. The Ablett-less Suns matched the Cats early, with both sides kicking three goals to start the game before Geelong went on the rampage with the next 15 goals in the game to open up a 94 point lead at half time.

The Cats also booted the final 11 goals in the game to run out easy winners, with the combined 336 point margin over the previous fortnight boosting their percentage by 21.9 points in that time.

The Magpies proved they wouldn’t be outdone, smashing a hapless Port Adelaide by 138 points at Football Park. The Power managed just six scoring shots for the night – finishing with 3.3 for the match, compared to the Magpies’ total of 23.21 from 44 scoring shots. That kept the Magpies at the head of the ladder with their monstrous percentage of 186.1 from 17 wins keeping them in front of the Cats who had built their percentage to 160.4 from the same number of wins.

While happy with the win, there were concerns for the Eagles with a number of injuries out of the match against the Tigers. Wingman Matt Rosa was the most serious, limping off during the third quarter after clashing knees with Richmond’s Daniel Jackson while Jackson was attempting to kick. Both players would be substituted out of the game from the incident, with Rosa later diagnosed with a posterior cruciate ligament injury that was likely to keep him out of the rest of the home and away series.

It continued an unfortunate run for Rosa who was on the fringe of the Eagles’ 2006 premiership side, playing in the first two finals before being dropped for the preliminary final. Dean Cox would be monitored after his knock to the hip, while Naitanui limped off in the game late with a lower leg problem.

It would prove to be just a small scuff off the gloss of the week that saw West Coast celebrate their first quarter century of existence. The Eagles wore commemorative jumpers in the match that listed every Eagles to have represented the club, while the inaugural inductees of the West Coast Eagle Hall of Fame were announced in a gala event the night before the match.

Eight inductees were announced with current coach John Worsfold joined by former teammates Guy McKenna, Glen Jakovich, Peter Matera, Chris Lewis and Dean Kemp along with two time premiership coach Michael Malthouse and long-time trainer Bill Sutherland.

Cox: From Unlucky Villain to Dependable Hero

~ wcehistory ~ Leave a comment

Eagles Outlast Another Comeback Attempt

A week after claiming a derby win over Fremantle by the barest of one-point margins, the Eagles again snuck past the line when they recovered from a remarkable Bulldogs comeback to record an eight point victory at Docklands.

The Eagles led by 43 points at half-time and extended their lead to 50 by the ten minute mark of the third quarter, before the Bulldogs piled on 11 of the next 13 goals to take the lead heading into time-on in the final quarter.

Facing a potentially humiliating defeat, West Coast were able to settle and kick the final two goals of the match, with Dean Cox booting the sealer with just a minute to play.

Cox shortened his Brownlow odds with a comprehensive best on ground display that saw the Eagles ruckman control the ruck to set up the Eagles lead in the early part of the game, before taking important marks at either end of the ground with the result on the line.

His performance would have gone some way to easing the burden of guilt he would have felt going into the game after playing the villain in a bizarre accident during the week.

The Eagles’ selection plans were thrown asunder after full-forward Josh Kennedy was forced to withdraw from the game due to an eye injury courtesy of a stray tennis ball. Kennedy suffered bleeding behind the eye which was set to rule him out for a fortnight, with Cox later acknowledging he had been responsible for the incident.

Kennedy had booted a personal best ten goals in the previous meeting between the two sides earlier in the year when West Coast made their biggest statement of the season with a 123 point thrashing of the Bulldogs.

Kennedy’s unavailability was compounded with the omission of Nic Naitanui who was rested. Naitanui had carried a shoulder injury for much of the year, with the Eagles believing the week off would be beneficial ahead of a finals campaign.

That opened the door for the Eagles’ third selection of the 2010 draft, Scott Lycett, to make his debut. The young ruckman was selected with the 29th pick of the National draft and completed the highly touted triumvirate of players that were seen to be the future of the Eagles. Tom Swift joined Lycett as the other inclusion for West Coast.

The Bulldogs, on the other hand, moved nearly a third of their side as they looked for the combination that could keep their season alive. After reaching the preliminary final of the previous three years, the Bulldogs had fallen off the pace in 2011, sitting a game and a half outside the top eight with five matches to play.

Dylan Addison, Lukas Markovic, Jarrod Grant and Lindsay Gilbee were all dropped after the defeat to Sydney, while the Bulldogs also lost Adam Cooney, Shaun Higgins and Nathan Djerrkura to injury.

Robert Murphy returned from injury and Justin Sherman was recalled after serving a four game suspension for racially abusing young Gold Coast player Joel Wilkinson. Ed Barlow, Jordan Roughead, Brennan Stack, James Mulligan and Ryan Hargrave were the other players brought in before Jayden Schofield became inclusion number eight when Dale Morris was forced to withdraw before the opening bounce with a groin strain.

Lycett started in the goal square for the Eagles and he couldn’t have asked for a better start to his AFL career, kicking a goal with his first kick after just 47 seconds.

Twenty minutes later, the Eagles had six goals on the board and had opened up a 33 point lead. A late Daniel Giansiracusa major cut the Eagles lead to 27 at the first break, which was short of what West Coast deserved. Such was the dominance around the ground in the opening stanza, the Eagles finished the quarter with 52 more disposals, 12 more contested possessions, eight more marks, 27 more handball receives and six more inside 50s.

Five of the Eagles’ six goals for the term came from direct from the stoppage as Cox was superior.

West Coast continued on with their momentum after quarter time with Scott Lycett bagging a second goal in his debut. Andrew Gaff, Dean Cox and Matt Rosa all had 16 disposals in the first half, while Matthew Boyd and Daniel Cross were doing the best they could for the Bulldogs with 14 and 10 disposals, respectively, in the second term.

Andrew Gaff led the Eagles through the game with 31 disposals and two goals

Luke Shuey opened the scoring in the third term with the Eagles’ 11th goal and at 50 points up, the game appeared to be in the Eagles control.

But with their season clinging to life support, the Bulldogs found something through their experienced leaders as Barry Hall asserted himself up forward. Hall booted the first two goals of an amazing run that saw the game completely flip on its head.

For the first two and a half quarters, the Bulldogs had tried to match the Eagles forward press with counter attack that repeatedly came unstuck. Midway through the third term, Eade instructed his men to go man-on-man, and the bigger bodies of the Bulldogs started to bully the younger Eagles.

Matthew Boyd, Daniel Cross, Callan Ward and Daniel Giansiracusa all got busy at the stoppages as the Bulldogs had all of the forward play and conjured up goal after goal. The Bulldogs restricted the Eagle lead to 19 points before Mark LeCras bobbed up on the brink of three-quarter time to give the Eagles some space.

It would prove only a moment of respite as the Bulldogs continued on their way at the start of the final term. Barry Hall added two more goals, either side of a Callan Ward major to have the Bulldogs within a kick. Giansiracusa then booted his third goal of the game to bring the Bulldogs level and then after eight tense minutes, his fourth put the Bulldogs in front for the first time in the game.

For all their efforts in the game, the Eagles looked done but they mustered up some final heroic moments, led by their star ruckman.

Cox took back control in the ruck and with the Bulldogs continuing to press, he placed himself behind the ball to stall the Bulldogs momentum. Jack Darling belied his 17 games of experience to deliver a clutch goal and bring West Coast back to parity, with behinds to Andrew Embley and Mark LeCras inching the Eagles back ahead.

With the game now on the line, Cox had the final say in the game taking a strong pack mark at the top of the Eagles goal square to ice the game.

The Eagles ruckman finished with 27 disposals, 13 marks, 37 hit-outs, 11 contested possessions, four clearances and the sealing goal in a clear best on ground performance. Six of Cox’ 13 marks were contested – just one less than the Bulldogs managed as an entire team.

Dean Cox takes a towering mark in the goal square to seal the game for West Coast

Andrew Gaff and Matt Priddis were the leading ball winners for the Eagles with 31 each, with Gaff adding nine inside 50s and two goals, while Priddis produced nine clearances to go with 14 tackles. Matt Rosa continued his strong first half to end with 30 possessions, while Mark LeCras was the best forward up front with three majors.

Matthew Boyd was a presence all day for the Bulldogs to pick up 40 disposals, with 11 clearances. Robert Murphy was the next best with 26 disposals and then Giansiracusa with 22 and four goals. Barry Hall kicked five goals as he got a handle of Glass and Mackenzie up forward.

Eagles coach John Worsfold was obviously relieved to come away with the win after the Eagles gave up a large margin. “Well, we were pretty pleased to win, we came here to try and win the game. So that was our number one focus.”

Worsfold acknowledged that his side struggled to adapt with the change in style from the Bulldogs, who he said ‘tackled harder and were prepared to get in and win the loose ball’. But Worsfold also praised his team for being able to respond when they fell behind.

“That’s another part of showing where they’re at and even getting behind and making sure they just kept grinding away and doing enough to grab the win.”

The defeat all but ended the Bulldogs’ finals hopes as they fell two games and percentage behind the Dockers who were occupying eighth spot. While the Bulldogs were no longer considered contenders, the race for the top eight was still very much on after Fremantle were thrashed by Hawthorn at home. The Dockers gave up the first eight goals in the game and were never likely from that point on.

The Hawks maintained their hold of third sport, ahead of Carlton who had to do things the hard way in their come-from-behind win over North Melbourne. The Eagles win kept them in the hunt in the top four, but ultimately confirmed the race for the double chance would be a race in five as they skipped two and a half games clear of Sydney in sixth place, who had the bye.

St Kilda’s late season resurgence continued with a 20 point win over an inaccurate Gold Coast as the teams vying for finals all stumbled.

As well as North Melbourne and the Bulldogs, Essendon were thrashed by Collingwood in a rollercoaster match. After the two teams traded the first eight goals, the Bombers booted the next five either side of quarter time to lead by 30 points early in the second term.

However, Collingwood then orchestrated a remarkable 104-point turnaround with 21 of the final 26 goals in the game to run out 74 point winners. But even that performance wasn’t the most outstanding of the weekend.

Geelong fell just four points short of the greatest winning margin in VFL/AFL history as they destroyed Melbourne by 186 points at Kardinia Park. The Cats had established a 114 point lead by half time, “easing off” in the second half as they sauntered their way to the heavy win.

Steve Johnson booted seven goals from 34 disposals, Tom Hawkins kicked five, Joel Selwood tallied 43 disposals and 15 Geelong players picked up 20 touches or more as the Cats racked up 510 for the match – 230 more than the Demons.

The fallout from the game would continue in the days to follow with Melbourne coach Dean Bailey becoming the second senior coach this season to be given the axe.