Category: afl

1994 Rewind: Finals Secured But Too Soon For Malthouse

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The Eagles were unimpressive but still made it six wins in a row when they held off a plucky Brisbane at Subiaco Oval.

The Bears arrived in Perth off wins against finals fancies North Melbourne and Geelong and threatened to topple the ladder-leading Eagles for much of the afternoon. However, the Bears butchered their chances in the final term meaning the Eagles are still yet to lose to Brisbane – a draw in 1992 the closest the Bears have gotten.

The Eagles 9-2 record after 11 games kept them a game clear at the top of the ladder and virtually assured them of a fifth straight finals appearance, although Eagles coach Mick Malthouse wasn’t exactly celebrating.

Post-match, an agitated Malthouse resumed his criticism from before the season about the newly implemented top eight. Malthouse had derided a system that ‘rewarded’ more than half the of the teams in the competition with a finals spot and also suggested that the larger finals system had eliminated the late season drama of teams competing for finals.

Malthouse said that the season had developed a clear division of the top teams and the bottom teams at the halfway mark and that the finals make up had already been decided, killing any interest in the second half of the year.

“I think its ridiculous. In the past two seasons we have gone to round 22 or 24, we’ve gone to the final siren in many instances to find out who would make the top six. Now, in round 12 we have got real division.”

Malthouse said that only Adelaide – who were in ninth position – were capable of pushing into the top eight out of the sides sitting in the bottom half.

“That’s the unfortunate thing about the final eight,” Malthouse continued. “You can get all the Victorian sides in that you like, but it doesn’t solve the problem of having a competition that’s fierce right to the end.”

Malthouse though wasn’t done after expressing his views on the top eight.

The Eagles had been put on notice by the AFL during the week after they had exploited a loophole which allowed Dean Kemp to be a late inclusion to the team that played Melbourne a week before, despite not being named in the squad of 24 submitted to the AFL on the Thursday night.

Under AFL rules, clubs were allowed to add an extra player to their emergency list the following day if they were playing on Sunday, with Kemp added as the 25th player in the Eagles squad. Kemp was subsequently included in the final side the morning of the clash with Melbourne, replacing Brett Heady who was never expected to play after straining a hamstring a week earlier.

As such, the AFL announced they would revoke the rule from Round 13, expressing their disappointment that West Coast had blatantly benefitted from the situation. For Malthouse, the whole scenario seemed unwarranted, simply stating that they were entitled to ‘use it to their advantage’. “While the rule is there, you use it.”

“We took the opportunity to take Dean Kemp across and he filled the role of the player (Heady) who pulled out of the side late.”

The Eagles clearly weren’t bothered by the AFL’s stance, as they made a further two late changes for their clash with Brisbane.

Brett Heady was named to return from a hamstring injury, but failed to come up on game day allowing Jarrad Schofield to reclaim his place after he was omitted for Heady. The other late change was Peter Wilson, who had been surprisingly named after Malthouse had ruled the half-forward out earlier in the week with a hamstring injury suffered against the Demons.

Wilson had his place taken by Matt Clape, who returned to the West Coast side for his first game since round 4. Brett Spinks was another who spent much of the week under an injury cloud, but he recovered enough from an ankle concern to take his place.

Michael Brennan plays game 150

The Bears were dealt a double blow for their trip west with captain Roger Merrett unavailable due to a thigh complaint and Matthew Kennedy ruled out with a fractured cheekbone. Merrett, in particular, was a bad loss for the Bears. The veteran had booted five goals and two goals in the previous two weeks as Brisbane recorded consecutive upset wins.

Scott McIvor was named for his 100th game at full forward in place of Merrett, with Fabian Francis the other inclusion.

The Eagles had the better of the early chances, but wasteful kicking at goal kept the Bears in the game at quarter-time with the visitors then dictating the play after the first change.

Adrian Fletcher and Craig Lambert led the Brisbane midfield who had the better of their Eagle counterparts. Dean Kemp struggled in his second game back from a knee injury and Chris Mainwaring found himself on the pine with Chris Scott getting the better of their duel.

Paul Peos then changed the game with three goals in 13 minutes. The former Eagle was proving a handful for several of his ex-teammates, with John Worsfold and then Guy McKenna both unable to contain the half-forward. Michael Brennan – who was playing game 150 – became his third opponent but the Bears had taken a seven point lead following Peos’ purple patch.

At the other end, West Coast were sorely missing Sumich, Heady and Wilson. Malthouse had a constant rotation of players through his front half, as he searched for an effective combination. David Hynes, Ashley McIntosh and Karl Langdon all started the game in the forward 50 but failed to have an impact, with Hynes well beaten by Martin Leslie and Darryl White getting the better of McIntosh.

A goal to Chris Waterman right before half-time levelled the scores at 44 apiece with West Coast then taking charge again in the third quarter. The Waterman goal started a run of four for the Eagles, with Peter Matera (twice) and Ryan Turnbull kicking majors to have the hosts ahead by 17 points.

Still, the Bears wouldn’t go away.

Brisbane booted the last two goals in the term to reduce the Eagles lead to six at three-quarter time, making it anyone’s game to win.

It would be the Eagles who would find the goals when it mattered in the final term. Guy McKenna was shifted to the forward line at the start of the last quarter, with the move paying immediate dividends. McKenna goaled just three minutes into the term to take the Eagles lead out to 12 points.

The Bears continued to pepper the goals, but couldn’t hit the major target. Peos and Alastair Lynch both missed from close range and then Troy Clarke slammed his rushed shot on goal into the post. The game was then decided heading into time-on with the Eagles pouncing on a Scott McIvor turnover. McIvor’s errant disposal was swooped on by the Eagles at half-back and a quick movement up the ground finished with McIntosh kicking an easy goal on the run to put the Eagles out to a three goal lead and end the contest.

A late goal to Brisbane reduced the final margin, but they paid for their missed chances earlier in the quarter. The Bears booted 1.6 for the term and Robert Walls was left to rue the opportunities. “We had our chances. Whoever won today could say they were a bit fortunate.”

“We weren’t able to close it and to their credit they bottled it up and did all the things that an experienced and good team should do in the final minutes.”

Malthouse though was blunt in his assessment of the performance. “We were ordinary in certain passages of the game… a lot of them are very disappointed in their performance today and are not buoyed at all by the fact that we got over the line.”

In further sour news, the Eagles lost Don Pyke and John Worsfold during the second half to injury. Pyke was forced off the ground with a shoulder injury early in the third quarter, while Worsfold played for nearly a quarter with an arm complaint, before then sitting out the last term.

Asked why Worsfold spent so long on the ground despite being clearly hampered, Malthouse said he did all he could get to his captain off. “Have you ever had front teeth extracted? That’s how hard it was to get him to leave the ground.”

1994 Rewind: Lewis Shines in Top of the Table Fizzer

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The Eagles turned a potentially intriguing top-of-the-table clash with Melbourne into a one-sided masterclass when they were too strong for Melbourne at the MCG.

The Eagles and Demons were sitting in first and second spot coming into the clash, but the strong performances of West Coast players, coupled with an excellent coaching effort, prevented the Demons from ever being a realistic chance.

The win was the Eagles’ fifth in a row, while the Demons had slumped to their fourth loss in five games, after starting the season with five straight wins.

Chris Lewis was the star for West Coast in a performance that Mick Malthouse described as the ‘best he has played in several years.”

Stationed permanently in the forward line – and operating mostly out of the goal square – Lewis was the class between the two sides, finishing with five goals (from nine scoring shots) and having a hand in several others.

With Peter Sumich once again sidelined with a hamstring injury, the Eagles were forced to experiment with their forward set up. Ashley McIntosh was swung back to the forward line, alongside Lewis, while there was also an element of the old and the new brought back into the team.

Rookie Brett Spinks returned to the forward line after being a shock omission the week before, while Karl Langdon was named for just his second game since the 1992 premiership. Injuries had restricted the blonde firebrand to just one game in 1993, with suspension then delaying his start to the 1994 season.

Langdon copped a three week ban for tripping Mark Bickley during the Fosters Cup and was then forced to bide his time at Subiaco until a spot opened up at West Coast. Langdon and Spinks were joined by half-forward Tony Evans who was playing his first game since injuring a foot in the round one loss to Essendon and second-year midfielder Jarrad Schofield.

Out of the side with Sumich, were omitted trio Jason Ball, Tony Godden and Dwayne Lamb, the latter having celebrated his milestone 150th game the week before.

After naming their initial side, there was still plenty of intrigue over the Eagles’ final team. Under recently revised AFL rules, clubs playing on Sundays were allowed to add an extra emergency player to their squad on the Friday, with West Coast curiously adding Dean Kemp to the squad, the midfielder having not played since injuring a knee in the round 7 win over Carlton.

Kemp would ultimately be a late inclusion ahead of the first bounce replacing Brett Heady. Heady had limped off the ground with a hamstring injury the previous game and was a surprise selection on the half-forward flank.  

While the Eagles played games over their playing 21, the Demons were having their own player issues. Steven Febey and Todd Viney were both named in the Melbourne line-up, despite looking incredibly proppy during the week, before Jim Stynes created a stir when he limped off the training track 24 hours before bouncedown.

Stynes appeared to roll an ankle but made it out to the field, in what was his 158th consecutive appearance. While Stynes, Febey and Viney all took their place, Jeff Hilton wasn’t as fortunate after he was another casualty at training. Hilton strained a calf and was one of two changes along with Kevin Dyson who was left out of the side despite a 24-possession, two goal effort against St Kilda the week before. Sean Charles and Glenn Molloy were the two players to come in.

After plenty of activity leading into the game, the match itself turned into a one-sided affair quickly. The Eagles ruck duo of David Hynes and Ryan Turnbull overwhelmed Stynes and the Eagles midfield capitalised on the ruck advantage.

Kemp, Don Pyke and Drew Banfield were all busy early, as the Eagles kicked four goals to two in the first quarter. Melbourne were unable to get their hands on the ball, as West Coast controlled possession and often outnumbered their opponents at the stoppages and around the ground.

With a weight of possession forward of centre, Lewis was given plenty of opportunity to show his wares. Lewis proved too elusive for Sean Wight and Graeme Yeats, finishing with his best haul in a game since round 6, 1988.

Malthouse was glowing in his praise of Lewis after the match and had a simple reasoning for his impressive outing. “He enjoys his footy now. People who enjoy their football play with that sort of enthusiasm.”

Lewis’ creativity up forward brought others into the game, with many of the Eagles’ smaller players hitting the scoreboard. Ashley McIntosh provided a solid target up forward but could manage just three behinds from 18 possessions and nine marks, but Brett Spinks and Karl Langdon both failed to have any influence.

Spinks went possession-less, registering just five hit-outs, while Langdon fared slightly better with one goal from four touches and two marks. Don Pyke and Dean Kemp combined for five goals as they alternated through the centre and half-forward, while Peter Matera kicked two goals from the wing.

Malthouse was happy with the ‘good even performance’ despite the quiet games from his tall forwards, commenting that he was happy Langdon ‘got through a game without getting injured or reported’.

Glen Jakovich was strong at half-back, getting the better of David Schwarz with 29 disposals and six marks. Don Pyke had 29 possessions through the middle to go with his three goals, while Chris Mainwaring was rampant on the wing on his way to 27 disposals, six marks and a goal.

The Demons on the other hand had few winners. Garry Lyon finished with five goals from the half-forward flank in his battle with 100-gamer Chris Waterman and Andy Lovell and Matthew Febey tried hard with 26 and 20 disposals, respectively.

Allan Jakovich – who was the difference the last time the two teams met, with six goals in an upset Melbourne victory – was well beaten by Michael Brennan, managing just six disposals before he was dragged in the third quarter and replaced by Phil Gilbert.

After the game, Melbourne coach Neil Balme was in no doubt as to where the Eagles sat in the competition. “Before the game I rated them very highly – and I probably rate them even higher now.”

While Neil Balme was declaring the Eagles the team to beat, Malthouse was looking to deflect attention elsewhere. He declared the reigning premiers, Essendon, as the benchmark of the season, despite West Coast sitting a game and 18 percent clear of 2nd placed North Melbourne.

“Essendon are the best side contrary to what Kevin (Sheedy) would like everyone to believe. They won the premiership last year and they’re going along in very much the same way.”

The Bombers were sitting seventh with six wins, but equal on points with Melbourne who held onto third place on percentage, despite the humbling defeat to West Coast. Carlton, Hawthorn and Collingwood filled the positions in between after all recording comfortable wins.

With eight wins from their opening ten games, the Eagles were one win better off than at the same time in 1993. The Eagles had recorded wins over North Melbourne and Melbourne at the MCG, as well as thumping Carlton at home. Still, Malthouse was cautious over the Eagles’ standing.

“If you gave me 8-2 at the beginning of the year I’d take it… we don’t judge where we’re going to be. We just like to be competitive and better than what we were last year,” Malthouse said.

“We’re steady at the moment. Nothing over the top. We’re steady.”

1994 Rewind: Lamb Creates History

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Dwayne Lamb made club history when he became the first player to play 150 games in the Eagles 26 point win over lowly Sydney at the WACA.

Already the first player to reach 50 and 100 games, Lamb had slowed up in his attempt to notch game 150. Lamb had managed just one appearance in the back end of the 1993 season, and was then overlooked for the opening five games of 1994.

However, the veteran was brought back into the Eagles line-up following the debacle against Hawthorn, stringing together the four games required to earn life membership with the club.

The Eagles were expected to brush aside the 14th placed Swans but Sydney proved to be stronger competition than anticipated. A week after upsetting the Demons at the MCG, Sydney threatened to repeat the dose when they held a 19 point lead closing in on half-time.

David Hynes kicked truly on the half-time siren to reduce the deficit to a goal at the main break before the Eagles clicked into gear in the third term. The home team booted six goals in 10 minutes to separate the two sides, eventually running out 26 point winners.

While happy with the four points, Eagles coach Mick Malthouse was more interested in praising the opposition than discussing his own team. “Four points is four points. It’s so easy to say we were terrible, but the basic thing from football’s point of view is that the Swans were terrific.”

“It’s important to acknowledge that the Swans played football almost as good enough to win the game. We played one good quarter of football”, Malthouse said.

With Dwayne Lamb given the honour of starting on the ground in his milestone game, David Hart spent most of the first half on the bench, but his introduction just before half-time helped get the game on the Eagles’ terms.

Hart booted two goals and had a hand in several others as West Coast went on their third-quarter run, as well as curbing the influence of Jamie Lawson, who had been dynamic for the Swans in the first half. Lawson had 12 first-half possessions and along with Peter Filandia and Dale Lewis, thrived on the ruck dominance of Gavin Rose.

Rose was too strong in the hit-outs opposed to the Eagles trio of Jason Ball, David Hynes and Ryan Turnbull and it was no coincidence that the Eagles six goal run came when he was given a breather on the bench.  

Sydney coach Ron Barrassi was proud of his side’s effort, but expressed disappointment in the third-quarter lapse. “I guess we’ll have a good look at that third quarter and see where we came unstuck.”

“It’s hard to contain a side for four quarters, let alone a top four side.”

Despite the mostly unimpressive performance, the win saw West Coast move a game clear at the top of the ladder, courtesy of Brisbane’s upset win over North Melbourne. The Bears trailed by five goals at quarter time, but steamrolled their way home to record a 27 point win over the Kangaroos at the GABBA.

Melbourne ended their losing run with a comfortable win over the Saints to join North Melbourne on six wins, while six teams – Geelong, Collingwood, Carlton, Hawthorn, Essendon and Adelaide – sat a further game back on five wins, as the top eight started to take shape.

Dwayne Lamb played game 150

While there was plenty to celebrate for West Coast, the win came at a cost. Peter Sumich and Brett Heady both sat out the second half due to hamstring injuries and Chris Lewis was nursing a knee problem at game’s end.

Sumich’s latest injury occurred in his first game after damaging his hamstring in the round six win over North Melbourne. Recalled at the expense of young forward Brett Spinks, the spearhead failed to last a half, limping off late in the second quarter with Heady following him off the ground a minute later.

Malthouse was forced to defend the selection of Sumich, with the full-forward facing another spell on the sidelines. “Any medical people in the country would have allowed him to play – he was half an inch off playing last week.”

“With another week’s training you can’t blame anyone. The simple fact is that he probably has a weakness in that area.”

With Sumich and Heady both sitting on the bench, the Eagles were forced into a re-shuffle of their forward line after half-time. Ashley McIntosh was moved to the Eagles goal square, after failing to get a hold of Simon Minton-Connell in defence at the start of the game. The Sydney full-forward had four shots early in the opening term, kicking 1.3 (including a poster), with Michael Brennan shifted to the last line.

Minton-Connell finished with 3.4 for the match to be the Swans’ most productive forward, but the Eagles defence were again superb, particularly in the first half when Sydney’s midfield had control. Guy McKenna provided plenty of dash off half-back collecting 29 possesions, while Worsfold restricted enigmatic forward Derek Kickett to just three disposals, before he was ultimately benched in the third quarter.

Dermott Brereton was another Swan who spent several stints on the bench, when he was well beaten by Glen Jakovich at centre-half forward. Brereton had made his first Swans appearance the week before, his club debut delayed due to a seven week suspension for stomping on Hawk Raydon Tallis in a pre-season practice match.

However, Brereton struggled in his second game, managing just five disposals while also giving away two 50m penalties on a poor night.

Along with Jamie Lawson, Peter Filandia (22 disposals) and Robert Neill (22) gave the Swans drive out of the middle, with Ed Consadine and Andrew Dunkley holding their ends in defence. However, the Eagles midfield stamped their authority in the third quarter.

Peter Wilson and Don Pyke both lifted after half-time as did Chris Waterman who enjoyed the rare chance to spend four quarters on the ground. Shane Bond was productive, finishing with 22 possessions to be the second highest ball-winner for West Coast, behind McKenna.

Leading up to the game, Barassi had identified the two wingmen as the Eagles’ greatest weapons and duly slapped tags on both of them. Jayson Daniels was given the run-with role on Peter Matera, while Daryn Cresswell was stationed on the other wing to stop Chris Mainwaring.

While Mainwaring was well held by Cresswell, Matera got the early break on his opponent with seven kicks in the first quarter. Matera was one of the few four-quarter performers for West Coast finishing 18 possessions and 1.3.

Post-match, much of the attention was on Mainwaring and his future at the club. The Fremantle Dockers were compiling their priority list of uncontracted players for their inaugural 1995 squad and had made no secret that Mainwaring was their number one priority.

Fremantle were expected to table a substantial offer to the East Fremantle product in excess of what West Coast had presented, as well as offering Mainwaring the opportunity of being the club’s first captain. Mainwaring, to this point, had been non-committal over his future at West Coast with chief executive Brian Cook declaring the ‘ball was in his court’.

The Eagles had been wary of the Dockers poaching their stars, signing the likes of Peter Sumich, Peter Matera and John Worsfold to long-term deals earlier in the season.

As part of the AFL’s establishment rules, the Dockers were entitled to select 12 players who were uncontracted at opposition clubs. As well as Mainwaring, several Eagles were yet to sign contracts for 1995 including Michael Brennan, David Hynes, Brendan Krummel, Jason Ball and Damien Hampson.

While confident that they would be able to hold onto most, if not all, of their uncontracted players, West Coast were adamant that they would keep an eye on Fremantle to ensure they followed the correct protocols in signing new players.

“We did have some misgivings about some of the methods they were using a month or two ago with some part-time staff. Since then we have contracted most of our players… they have got no excuses to talk to our players.”

1994 Rewind: Eagles Firm As Premiership Favourites

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West Coast moved to outright premiership favouritism when they negotiated tricky conditions at the Western Oval to defeat Footscray by 31 points.

After a quiet month, Peter Matera returned to his best form with four goals from 19 disposals in a best on ground display. The dashing wingman was the standout in an even team performance, where forwards were efficient with their chances and the defence were as imperious as they had been all season.

The Eagles were moved to $2.50 favourites, ahead of Geelong ($4.50), North Melbourne and Essendon ($6), Adelaide and early season bolter Melbourne ($10), following their sixth win of the season at a ground that had been their undoing in the previous two seasons.

The Eagles had suffered demoralising defeats in their previous two visits to the ground, managing just three goals in their premiership year of 1992 and then falling to a 42 point defeat in the penultimate round of 1993 which ultimately cost West Coast a top two finish.

Ironically, the Bulldogs had done West Coast a favour the week before when they scraped home by three points against the Demons, allowing the Eagles to leapfrog Melbourne into top spot on the ladder, despite having the bye.

The win over Melbourne was the Bulldogs’ third in succession after earlier victories over Brisbane and Adelaide at Football Park, to have them knocking on the top eight. It had been a vast improvement in form after a tumultuous start to the season.

Terry Wheeler had been sacked just two weeks into the season with a narrow round 1 win over perennial strugglers Richmond and then an 88-point shellacking at the hands of Geelong enough for Footscray powerbrokers to orchestrate a change. Hawthorn premiership coach Alan Joyce was swiftly appointed to the role and after two further losses, the Bulldogs had found their rhythm.

They would have been confident going into the game against West Coast, particularly when persistent rain during the week turned the Western Oval into a quagmire. The rain dissipated by bouncedown, but both teams had to handle a howling gale favouring the Princes Highway end.

The conditions were enough to put off the Eagles who played it cautiously with a couple of their stars. Peter Sumich had initially been named after going down with a hamstring injury three weeks earlier, but he was a late withdrawal, replaced by Jason Ball who had been dropped for the full-forward. Dean Kemp was the other change, sidelined with a knee injury picked up late in the win over Carlton. Tony Godden was his replacement.

The Bulldogs made just the one change, with former Eagle Robbie West dropped in favour of rookie Craig Ellis.

Ultimately, the key moment of the game came before a ball had been bounced. Eagles captain John Worsfold called correctly at the toss and had no hesitation in pointing his team the same direction as the wind.

Michael Brennan and Ashley McIntosh both started forward as West Coast looked to maximise their advantage with long kicks to marking targets. Midway through the quarter the Bulldogs were holding their ground but a four goal burst – the last of which was a bomb from Matera on the wing that carried nearly 80m on the wind – saw the Eagles take a six goal lead into the first break.

Despite the deficit, Bulldogs coach Alan Joyce remained positive his side was still in the game ahead of their first use of the wind. That had all changed at the half, following a defensive masterclass from West Coast.

Brennan and McIntosh were switched from the forward line to defence – a pattern they would continue through the third and fourth quarters – with the Eagles turning the game into a rolling maul of stoppages to eat away the time Footscray had with the wind.

The Bulldogs could manage just two goals with the wind, while Matera bagged his second of the match to keep West Coast in front by 26 at the main break. The Bulldogs closed within 22 but goals to Brett Heady and McIntosh late in the third quarter and then a brace to Matera straight after three-quarter time stretched the Eagles lead to an unassailable 47 points and the game was run and done.

The first term proved the difference by the end of the game, but Malthouse praised his side’s ability to adapt to the conditions and a tough opponent.

 “It’s one of the remaining grounds where you do really get affected by the conditions and you have to adjust very quickly.”

Both sides adopted defensive tactics working against the wind, with Doug Hawkins used as a spare player behind the ball when the Eagles looked to attack. With Chris Mainwaring working the defensive wing on the ground, that freed up space for Matera to run and carry, with neither Mark Hunter or Steven Kretiuk able to dull his influence.

Peter Matera was best on ground in tough conditions

As hard as the Bulldogs worked against the wind, they failed to captialise when they had the advantage, with the Eagles defence again strong against their opponent. Glen Jakovich completely shut out Chris Grant, while Richard Osborne, Ben Sexton and Ilija Grgic all lacked impact in the tough conditions. Alan Thorpe was their only multiple goal scorer, with West Coast able to shut down many of their forays forward.

“We were able to play on their home ground in their conditions and hold them out, which is a very good sign.”

 “We talked about not panicking and that’s what happened during the third quarter. There were times when we looked at the scoreboard and thought we haven’t scored… but we stuck to it and it fell our way in the end.”

The win kept the Eagles atop the ladder, equal on points with North Melbourne who scored a 33 point win over Collingwood, despite being without Wayne Carey. The Demons slipped to a third straight loss when they coughed up a 23 point three-quarter time lead against the bottom-placed Swans at the MCG, to sit one game behind, as did Hawthorn and Geelong who recorded thumping victories over Adelaide and Richmond, respectively.

Footscray were left in a bottleneck of teams scrambling for spots in the lower half of the top eight, with four wins and four losses from their opening eight games.

Alan Joyce, though, was in no doubt as to who the frontrunners of the competition were. “The boys have now seen what the benchmark is in the competition and the level they have to attain.”

1994 Rewind: Eagles Blast Blues

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The Eagles confirmed themselves as premiership favourites when they thrashed a sluggish Carlton at Subiaco. West Coast were in control from start to finish, romping to a 66 point win against the 1993 Grand Finalists.

David Hynes, Brett Heady and Chris Lewis each kicked three goals in a multi-faceted forward line that was without the injured Peter Sumich, while the defence was as steady as ever, holding the visitors to just six goals.

The writing was on the wall early as West Coast registered 14 scoring shots in the opening quarter – to just three to the Blues – and only inaccuracy prevented their lead from being greater than 31 points at the first change. The Eagles steadily extended their advantage at each of the breaks through the afternoon, leading by 44 at half time, 56 at three-quarter time and 66 by the final siren.

For the second week in a row, Chris Mainwaring had the better of several opponents as he provided plenty of run for West Coast on the wing. Mainwaring had been in doubt after leaving the training track early during the week but he was a driving force in a dominant midfield display. Wing partner Peter Matera resumed after a week out sidelined with concussion, although he was slightly shadowed by Matthew Hogg.

Matera was one of two inclusions for the Eagles, with Jason Ball recalled for his first senior game in over 12 months. Ball was one of a number of players who rotated through full-forward in the absence of Sumich with Ashley McIntosh, David Hynes and Ryan Turnbull also spending time in the Eagles goal square.

The Blues made just one change coming into the game, despite a handful of players potentially four games in 14 days. Carlton had played Sydney the previous Sunday before six players – Stephen Silvagni, Stephen Kernahan, Mil Hanna, Matthew Hogg, Troy Bond and Andrew McKay – took part in the mid-week state-of-origin clash between Victoria and South Australia. The Blues were then scheduled to take on Richmond five days after the Eagles clash in Perth, drawing criticism from coach David Parkin.

Brett Oliver was brought in after booting eight goals for Carlton’s VSFL side the week before in his return from injury. Oliver joined Stephen Kernahan and James Cook up forward, with the Blues looking to stretch the West Coast defence.

However, it mattered little in the first quarter as the ball was camped in the Eagles forward half. The West Coast midfield exposed the Blues’ lack of pace and the visitors cause wasn’t helped when they lost Brett Ratten inside the opening ten minutes to a knee injury.

Chris Mainwaring had seven kicks and a handpass for the opening term, eclipsing Fraser Brown, and had good support from Peter Wilson (seven kicks, three handpasses) and Don Pyke (five kicks, three handpasses) who was working offensively off Greg Williams at every opportunity.

The Blues had a brief foothold in the game to start the second term, but a flurry of goals late in the quarter effectively ended the contest. David Hynes – who had been the Eagles sole representative in the state-of-origin during the week – kicked three goals in a purple patch opposed to Carlton full back Stephen Silvagni. Chris Lewis contributed two of his own and the Eagles held a commanding 44 point lead at the main break.

The Eagles booted six goals to two in the second half to make it five wins from the opening seven rounds, lifting them to 2nd on the ladder behind only Melbourne.

After seeing off Brown, Mainwaring then had the better of Tommy Alvin and Mil Hanna, finishing with 26 disposals and a goal in a performance worthy of three Brownlow votes. Peter Wilson played his best game of 1994 to gather 25 disposals, while Don Pyke finished with 23 in his battle with Greg Williams.

Williams was arguably the Blues best player, collecting 28 possessions and kicking 2.3 to edge Pyke in their individual battle, while Barry Mitchell also had 28 possessions. The Blues though had few winners on the ground, with their key forwards well beaten.

Glen Jakovich and Guy McKenna were dominant at half-back, with Jakovich shutting Carlton captain Stephen Kernahan completely out of the game. Guy McKenna provided plenty of run off the back flank, as did Chris Waterman who lined up on the opposite half back flank. James Cook failed to get a touch in the first half against Michael Brennan, with Oliver not doing much better when he came on after half-time.

Brett Heady and Chris Lewis were constant threats up forward, while Ashley McIntosh had the better of Ang Christou forcing Parkin to move Anthony Koutofides into the Carlton defence.

Eagles coach Mick Malthouse was satisfied with the ‘good win’ but was clearly agitated both at three quarter time and after the game. Malthouse was unimpressed with the umpiring performance, directing captain John Worsfold to question a number of calls at three-quarter time. The Blues won the free kick count 24-14.

“The boys played pretty well. We became a bit wasteful at times but given the fact we played here two weeks ago and were very poor, with only a couple of winners, I guess we had a lot of contributors today.”

Malthouse also rejected suggestions post-match that the Eagles forward line – who had booted 16 goals from 35 scoring shots – functioned better without spearhead Peter Sumich.

“A lot of people would like to think we are better off. He (Sumich) has his critics. But I’ll say right now he is our best full forward… and he will play there as soon as he is right.”

After impressive wins against North Melbourne and Carlton, the bye had threatened to come at the wrong time for West Coast with Malthouse admitting that it wasn’t ideal. However, he remained positive it wouldn’t affect his side.

“We rarely have a bad result after the bye, although I can’t remember last year. Certainly the two years before that we did well after the bye.”

1994 Rewind: Eagles Bounce Back Against Roos

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Wayne Carey may have won the battle, but the Eagles won the war as they righted the shock defeat to Hawthorn the week before with an impressive 37-point win over premiership rivals North Melbourne.

Carey was a lone force for the Kangaroos, eclipsing opponent Glen Jakovich in the hotly-anticipated duel. The North Melbourne skipper racked up 21 disposals, 15 marks (out of the 45 marks North Melbourne managed as an entire team) and booted 5.3. However, it mattered little as West Coast put in their most accomplished performance of the season.

Both teams entered the clash keen to atone for poor defeats the week before. The Kangaroos suffered their first loss of the season when they fell to Geelong by 15 points, while the Eagles had been humiliated by 71 points at home to lowly Hawthorn.

The Eagles responded to the loss by making four changes, although two of them were forced through injury. Paul Harding had escaped serious concerns over a knee injury suffered against the Hawks but was still not considered fit enough to take on the Kangaroos, while Peter Matera was also left at home, still dealing with the after effects of a broken nose and concussion from the Hawks game.

Jarrad Schofield and Craig Turley were both dropped, with the latter failing to recapture his best form in his first five games back from retirement. Dwayne Lamb, David Hynes and Tony Godden were all selected for their first games of 1994, while Chris Waterman came back into the team after three weeks exiled at East Fremantle.

North Melbourne weren’t without their injury concerns either heading into the game, with both Corey McKernan and Peter Mann unavailable for selection. Glenn Archer did make the cut, despite injuring a hamstring at state-of-origin training the week before, while Anthony Rock also played in spite of a back complaint.

Along with Archer, Stuart Anderson was selected for his AFL debut, while journeyman Gareth John was picked for his first game with the Kangaroos after swapping over from the Swans. It is the Kangaroo ruckman’s first senior game of football since 1991 with injuries curtailing the end of his time with Sydney. Ian Fairley, Jason Daniltchenko and Brett Allison were all omitted.

The Kangaroos started strongly with Carey having immediate impact. The North Melbourne captain took an early mark and kicked truly before hitting the post with a second shot on goal moments later. Peter Sumich kicked a brace in quick time, after two strong marks opposed to Mick Martyn, before Carey had a third shot on goal, his second miss of the term.

The early missed chances from Carey would prove costly as West Coast’s running game troubled the Kangaroos. Chris Mainwaring and Guy McKenna – who was moved up the field as Matera’s replacement on the wing – were providing plenty of drive, as was Dean Kemp who was being used across half-back. Mainwaring racked up nine first quarter possessions opposed to Stuart Anderson, while McKenna was giving former teammate Trent Nichols a bath.

McKenna was involved in setting up the Eagles third goal through Ashley McIntosh – who had started forward alongside Sumich and Brett Spinks – before kicking the Eagles’ fourth with a long range shot on the run.

Adam McAdam came off the bench for the Kangaroos to provide some run and immediately found Mark Roberts for the Kangaroo’s second goal but the Eagles responded almost immediately through Don Pyke. McKenna then had this third goal involvement of the term when he found Brett Spinks on the run to put West Coast 20 points clear.

Carey did his best to keep the Kangaroos in the contest, booting consecutive goals. The first came from a free kick given away by Michael Brennan off the ball, before he then out-marked Jakovich to kick his third for the term. Don Pyke kicked his second goal late in the quarter to take the Eagles lead back out to 14 points.

The Eagles kicked seven straight for the first term and their impeccable goal kicking continued into the second quarter. The Eagles had ten goals on the board before their first blemish when Ashley McIntosh hit the post. Before that, McIntosh had kicked two successive goals to open the term, as he proved too fast and too agile for John Blakey. Wayne Carey added a fourth goal (out of North’s five), before a cleverly crumbed goal to Chris Lewis saw West Coast’s lead stretch out to 26 points.

The Eagles running game was too much for the Kangaroos, recording three times as many handballs, as they continually swarmed forward in waves from half-back. With the game starting to get out of hand, Denis Pagan swung a number of changes.

Mark Roberts was switched to defence to curtail McIntosh, John Blakey was moved forward, Glenn Archer went to half-back and Dean Laidley pushed onto the wing against Mainwaring. Gareth John was introduced into the ruck off the bench, while Adam McAdam returned to the field and was stationed at full forward.

But the changes did little to stop the Eagles momentum. Brett Spinks goaled from the boundary line, and David Hart roamed forward to goal from 50m, after some good forward pressure from Shane Bond. After being so accurate through the first quarter and a half, the Eagles’ radar went missing as they butchered a host of other chances late in the term, with a John Longmire goal after the half-time siren reducing their lead to 31.

It was more of the same for West Coast after the main break, with the Eagles booting the opening four goals of the term as their lead pushed towards ten goals.

Brett Spinks marked in a heavy pack in the goal square to open the scoring, with Mainwaring kicking truly when he received a 50m penalty against Laidley. David Hart had his second running goal, when a scrappy kick out of the Eagles defensive fifty evaded a number of players, releasing Hart from the centre circle to the top of the West Coast 50. Brett Heady had his first of the afternoon when he scouted the back of a marking contest to snap truly on his opposite foot.

The Eagles had winners all over the ground, with even Carey’s influence waning as the ball stayed locked in the Eagles forward half. While Pagan was busily moving the magnets to stop the tide, the Eagles were perfectly quelling the Kangaroo’s prime movers.

Wayne Schwass managed just one kick in the first half opposed to Drew Banfield, while Anthony Rock had Dwayne Lamb for company and had been barely sighted. Don Pyke was given the role on Anthony Stevens, but Stevens was soon moved to the wing to be Mainwaring’s third opponent for the day.

Two late goals to Glenn Archer and Trent Nichols before the three quarter time siren stopped the Eagles run, but the visitors still headed for home with a 46 point lead.

That lead stretched beyond ten goals with David Hynes and Chris Lewis both kicking majors, before the Kangaroos kicked the last four goals in the game, as the heat dissipated out of the contest.

Apart from Carey, there were few notable performances from the Kangaroos. Glenn Archer tallied 20 disposals to go with his third quarter goal, while Mark Roberts had 19 possessions and two goals rotating between the forward line and defence and Ross Smith was the best in the midfield with 16 disposals.

For Malthouse, the performance was a good response to the previous week’s thrashing. “Hawthorn were very good last week and we needed to be this week. Everyone that is in top sports knows that you’ve got to have the right attitude.”

After a blistering start, Chris Mainwaring finished with 25 touches, with Anthony Stevens restricting his output through the second half. Guy McKenna picked up 21 disposals, 7 marks and a goal, David Hart finished with 22, while Dean Kemp was the highest ball winner with 27 playing out of defence.

Brett Spinks and Ashley McIntosh each kicked three goals, with ten players hitting the scoreboard. “He (Spinks) has given us a new dimension. He’s a very capable player who will only get better… he’s a good grab and he kicks the ball out of sight.”

The result lifted the Eagles to 2nd on the ladder, behind only the undefeated Demons, but the win came at a cost. Peter Sumich limped off during the third term with a hamstring injury that was expected to sideline the spearhead until at least after the Eagles bye in Round 8.

1994 Rewind: Malthouse Warnings Fail to Fire

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The Eagles failed to heed the pre-match warnings of their coach when they crashed to an embarrassing 71 point loss at home to the bottom-of-the-ladder Hawks.

West Coast recorded their lowest ever score at Subiaco Oval, while also suffering the worst ever loss at home as Hawthorn ran riot after quarter time. The Hawks booted 16 goals to four as West Coast failed to put up a fight against a physical Hawthorn outfit.

The Hawks were noticeably physical towards the Eagles players and the disputed contest, with Peter Matera an early casualty. Matera was collected by Hawks ruckman Paul Dear following the opening bounce and played no further part in the game as he dealt with concussion.

The Eagles appeared unwilling to match the Hawk’s desire leaving Malthouse to question his side’s attitude leading into the game. Hawthorn had been given virtually no chance of upsetting West Coast at home, following a string of horror losses.

A round two defeat to Melbourne by 54 points had been followed by thumpings from North Melbourne (127 points) and Carlton (87 points), had left the 1980’s powerhouse mired to the bottom of the table and coach Peter Knights under extreme scrutiny.

However, the depleted Hawks were buoyed by the return from injury of spearhead Jason Dunstall and full-back Chris Langford to make their ‘spine’ far stronger. Dunstall and Langford were two of four changes with Jason Taylor brought into the team to shore up the Hawks defence, while Tim Hargreaves came in for his AFL debut. Nick Holland, Mark Bunn, Glenn Nugent and Darren Baxter all made way.

The Eagles made just one change to the team that was on a three-game winning streak, with Michael Brennan returning after being a late withdrawal the week before against Fitzroy. His replacement against the Lions, Jarrad Schofield, held his spot, with Matt Clape the player to go out of the side.

Despite being overwhelming favourites going into the clash, Eagles coach Mick Malthouse cautioned his players over complacency in taking on the Hawks. Malthouse even went as far as making his players sit down and watch the replay of the Perth Wildcats game from a few days earlier, when they were humbled at home by the last-placed North Melbourne Giants.

And early on it seemed as though Malthouse’s warnings had gotten through to his players when the Eagles opened with the first three goals against Hawthorn. Despite losing Peter Matera at the opening bounce when Hawthorn ruckman Paul Dear crashed into him, the Eagles were completely dominant as Peter Sumich gave Langford a torrid return start.

Sumich had all of the Eagles’ first three goals but the game soon shifted as Hawthorn’s midfield got on top. Tim Hargreaves kicked the Hawk’s first with his first kick in AFL football with the Hawks booting the next three to take the lead heading into quarter time. Sumich restored the Eagles’ advantage with his fourth for the term, as West Coast headed into the first break with a three point advantage.

But Hawthorn’s midfield continued on their dominance, as they repeatedly won the ball from stoppages. Ben Allen and John Platten had the ball on the string in the centre, while Andrew Gowers provided plenty of run on the wing opposed to Chris Mainwaring, who was sporting a large padding on his thigh from the outset.

The Hawks booted the first six goals for the term, with Dunstall and Gowers each kicking two, before Brett Spinks responded late in the term for West Coast, reducing the deficit to 28 points at half-time. Any thoughts of a second half comeback though were quickly snuffed out at the start of the third term.

Jason Dunstall marked a scrambled kick forward from John Platten out of the first centre bounce to kick his third goal for the game, and then Ben Allen goaled moments later to stretch the Hawks lead out to 40 points after just a minute and a half of play.

Hawthorn would boot another six goals for the term to push the difference beyond 10 goals, before Chris Lewis broke the run with his first major and then Peter Sumich kicked his fifth after the three quarter time siren. A four goal to one term in favour of the visitors completed the rout.

Remarkably, Sumich would also goal after the final siren, bringing his tally for the game to six, with three of his goals kicked after the close of quarters. Sumich kicked goals after the siren for the first, third and fourth quarters in one of the more bizarre outings for a forward.

Following the defeat, Malthouse was in no doubt about what triggered the shock result. “I reckon our attitude before the game was that it was going to be a stroll in the park. We paid dearly for thinking that it would just happen because we are playing at Subiaco Oval.”

“I’ve said for the last five or six years that you can’t play around with form. You can’t drop your workload. You can’t drop your attitude.”

Sumich was one of the few winners for West Coast, kicking six of the team’s eight goals. The rest of the forward line was non-existent as many of the Eagles lowered their colours against their Hawthorn opponents.

Ray Jencke shut out Brett Heady, 2nd gamer Mark Graham had the better of Spinks, while young defender Paul Cooper contained Chris Lewis. Shane Bond was virtually non-existent as he was outpointed by Andrew Collins. The Eagles midfield were obliterated by their hungrier Hawks opponents, with Dear getting on top of both Turnbull and Harding in the ruck, before Harding was stretchered off in the final term with a knee injury.

Glen Jakovich and Guy McKenna stood strong in the face of a Hawthorn avalanche, but the visitors had too many winners on the ground. Jason Dunstall finished with five majors, while Hargreaves kicked four in his first game.

Anthony Condon had 30 disposals and a goal to lead the Hawks ball-winners, while Darren Jarman was next best with 25 touches and two goals. Jakovich was the leading possession getter for West Coast (with 25) in a clear indication of where the ball spent most of the afternoon. Guy McKenna had 20 and Chris Mainwaring 19, although he was soundly beaten by Gowers.

For Peter Knights, the win was huge weight off the shoulders after three weeks under the microscope. “We had to stand up and be counted and I think the guys deserve the credit because they did just that.”

Despite the loss, the Eagles remained in fourth place as a number of contenders around them also suffered defeats in a round of upsets. The Kangaroos (first), the Magpies (third) and the Crows (fifth) all lost with Melbourne moving to the top of the ladder as the last undefeated side.

1994 Rewind: Eagles Bury Lions, Hoodoos

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West Coast recorded their third win on the trot when they easily accounted for Fitzroy at the WACA.

Peter Matera was at this devastating best, finishing with 31 disposals and two goals, while Brett Heady and Peter Sumich combined for seven goals up forward. After an enterprising first quarter from both sides, the Lions could manage just four more goals with the Eagles romping to a 76 point win.

The victory ended a recent poor run for the Eagles against the Lions over the previous three seasons, despite the two sides spending much of that time at opposite ends of the ladder.

The wooden-spoon Lions toppled the ladder-leading Eagles in the final round of 1991, before repeating the dose with an upset 20 point win in Hobart in 1992. The Lions then made it three wins from four games when they shocked the reigning premiers by 18 points at the WACA in their only meeting of 1993.

Early on, it seemed as though the Lions were set to cause more troubles when they booted the first two goals in the opening three minutes. The Lions started with an unorthodox four-man forward line as they looked to run-and-gun from defence on the pacy WACA ground.

Paul Roos was used through the middle and had eight first quarter possessions, as did Fitzroy centreman Brad Boyd. However, the Eagles worked their way into the game and a three-goal burst right before quarter time had the home team in front by 12 points at the first change.

After an enterprising six goal to four opening term, the Eagles defence clicked into gear with the Lions restricted to just four more goals for the game. Paul Roos was soon deployed back into defence, but could do little to stop the West Coast forward line, who mustered 39 scoring shots on goal.

Brett Heady was giving David Johnston the run around, kicking three consecutive goals in the second term as West Coast piled on 5.7 to just three points. The Eagles held a commanding 50 point lead at the main break, before coasting through the second half.

The centre line of Matera, Dean Kemp and Chris Mainwaring all had plenty of the ball, while the Eagles defence clicked into gear after quarter time. The Lions could manage just 4.5 in the last three quarters, with two of those coming virtually on the final siren.

The Eagles win also ended a three game losing streak at the WACA. West Coast had won 14 straight games at the venue before dropping all three matches in 1993, to Fitzroy, Melbourne and Geelong.

It was a disappointing night for the Lions who had come to Perth with a point to prove. There had been much discussion about the future of the Lions, in particular coach Robert Shaw, who was reported to be high on the Fremantle Dockers wish list as their inaugural coach. Shaw had refused to comment on potentially becoming the Dockers coach for their first season in 1995, saying that he was firmly committed to the Lions.

However, the contrast between the two clubs was stark, with some at Fitzroy expecting the club to fold as part of the Dockers’ entry to the competition. Prior to the announcement of the Dockers a few months earlier, there had been suggestions that the club would be forced to relocate to WA and become the state’s second club, however Fitzroy president Dyson Hore-Lacy had been adamant that the club would never entertain such an idea and would continue to fight for their own survival.

Fitzroy had also expressed anger, over what they believed was a deliberate shun by the AFL over Paul Roos’ 250th game the week before. The milestone hadn’t been acknowledged by either the league or the official AFL record with Roos himself playing down the incident, despite the club being privately incensed about the matter.

But Fitzroy were ultimately outclassed, leading Shaw to declare that the Eagles had re-discovered their irrepressible 1991 form.

“They applied pressure to us that probably no other club has been able to do for many years. They are back to the team of 1991. I think they’ve reached that level again. Maybe they’re stronger and their tackling is better.”

Malthouse was delighted with the win, with West Coast again showing great form up forward. While Peter Sumich was held to three goals by young full-back Simon Hawking, Brett Heady had re-discovered his best touch to boot four, and Brett Spinks and Shane Bond again showed great form despite their inexperience.

Spinks played his best game in his short career, with 14 kicks and 10 marks from centre half forward. His effort earned him a rising star nomination and his early season had form had kept Karl Langdon out of the Eagles line up, despite the premiership player finishing his three game suspension from the pre-season competition.

Shane Bond booted two goals from 18 possessions and Peter Wilson had 24 disposals operating between half forward and the midfield. Despite losing Michael Brennan before the game with a hamstring strain and Chris Lewis to a wrist injury after half-time, little had gone wrong for West Coast, with Malthouse emphasising a need to bank wins early in the season.

“It’s very difficult to come home sometimes and try to catch up”, he said. “Geelong tried it last year and were very effective till in the end their percentage was below ours.”

“We don’t want that happening to us this year.”

“I’m not sure how many games it’ll take to get into the eight. It might take 10 or 11 wins (from 22 games) but I don’t want to find out in round 21 or 22 that we need two wins to get there,” Malthouse warned.

With three wins from four games, the Eagles remained in fourth spot, courtesy of the AFL’s controversial match-ratio system. With positioning of teams based on the numbers of wins based as a percentage against the number of games they had played, instead of points and percentage, West Coast sat behind Melbourne and Collingwood, despite having the same number of wins and a better percentage.

Because those two teams had already sat a bye in the opening four rounds, they occupied 2nd and 3rd spots with three wins from three games. The Kangaroos sat in top spot, also with three wins from three games.

While the Eagles had a comfortable win on the field, off the field they had to deal with another battle with another Lions group. Subiaco had expressed their dismay over the problems they faced with fringe Eagles players in their squad.

Subiaco had 13 Eagles-listed players in their squad, with coach Tony Solin blaming their poor start to the WAFL season on the disruptive issue of only having Eagles players train at the club once a week. The likes of Karl Langdon, Daniel Metropolis, Jarrad Schofield (who ended up being a late inclusion for the Fitzroy game, replacing Brennan), Tony Godden and Matt Connell had all played with Subiaco, with the Eagles strong start, but the club believed being forced to play Eagles’ players had compromised their team selection.

West Coast players had also admitted confusion over the differing styles of play between Malthouse’s defensive set-up, versus the game plan that Solin had hoped to implement with Subiaco.

Subiaco said that moving some of the players to rival WAFL clubs wasn’t an option, and under the agreements between the WAFL and West Coast Eagles, they were unable to drop players to the Subiaco reserves side. Daniel Metropolis and Jason Heatley were two players that had had little impact in their opening games with Subiaco.

The Eagles and Subiaco met ahead of the Friday night clash with Fitzroy to reach a compromise, with Solin hoping that West Coast players would be more accommodating in attending Subiaco training and team bonding sessions.

1994 Rewind: Eagles Tame Tigers

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West Coast delivered their most complete performance of 1994 when they dismissed a hapless Richmond by 96 points at the MCG. The legitimacy of the Eagles as premiership contenders had been questioned after inconsistent showings in the first two rounds, but the comprehensive win stamped the Eagles as one of the teams to beat.

After a lean few years, the Tigers had started the season positively, breaking an 11 game losing streak with a thumping 62 point win over Brisbane in Round 2, after losing narrowly against the Bulldogs in Round 1. Young forward Matthew Richardson had been the star for the Tigers in the opening fortnight, booting 15 goals across the two games to lead the Coleman Medal.

However, the Eagles defence reigned supreme with Ashley McIntosh too strong for Richardson and Glen Jakovich dominating his duel with Brendan Gale. McIntosh stymied his third opponent in as many weeks, holding Richardson to just one goal – the same that Paul Salmon and Tony Modra had managed in previous weeks.

Guy McKenna and David Hart were just as stingy, with the West Coast backline holding the Tigers to their lowest ever score against the Eagles. At the other end, the Eagles cashed in on the midfield work of Dean Kemp and Peter Matera, with Peter Sumich (five goals), Chris Lewis (three) and Brett Heady (three) all hitting the scoreboard.

Even youngsters Shane Bond and Brett Spinks chimed in with two apiece, with Matlhouse saying the addition of the two rookies made the Eagles forward line ‘better equipped’. “One is 18 and the other one is 20. When we get them both firing, they will be terrific.”

“Seventeen of our twenty goals came from our forwards. I guess there was pressure on them today to perform and it was one of our better games, but we have to be careful not to get too carried away with the win.”

But while Malthouse heaped praise over his revitalised forward structure, he was less complimentary to the football media who had criticised the Eagles start to the season. “I think it’s a mistake to judge any side on its practice match form.”

Pre-match the Tigers had talked up their chances against West Coast, but they were never in the hunt against a more seasoned Eagles outfit. West Coast pounced on regular Richmond turnovers in the first half, with a seven goal burst in 13 minutes during the second quarter ending the contest.

“It was very disappointing, we expected a lot more. But we just came up against a solid, experienced team and we didn’t handle them at all well. They just gave us a lesson in football”, a subdued John Northey said.

The Tigers cause wasn’t helped with the loss of Paul Bulless and Matthew Francis during the game, while a host of other player came into the game under a cloud. Chris Bond passed a late fitness test to be one of the Tigers better players, but ruckman Greg Dear – who copped a heavy knock in the win over Brisbane the week before – was no match for the duo of Ryan Turnbull and Paul Harding.

Their ruck dominance translated into a possession spree for many of the Eagles midfielder, with Don Pyke (32 disposals), Dean Kemp (25) and Chris Mainwaring (22) all prominent. Peter Matera won his battle on the wing opposed to Wayne Campbell and Drew Banfield had the measure of Matthew Francis before he went off injured.

Don Pyke led the Eagles with 32 disposals

The win lifted the Eagles up to fourth on the ladder with Malthouse declaring that the current Eagles line-up were far better than the 1993 version.    

“We’re slowly coming along… we haven’t rushed anything this year. The disappointment this year is we were in a position to win our first round and we didn’t win it. We could be three-zip.”

1994 Round 2: Heady Heroics Save Eagles

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With a quarter to play against Adelaide, the Eagles were staring at a 0-2 start to season 1994 as they sat 20 points behind the 1993 preliminary finalists. 30 minutes later the Eagles had restored parity to their season with a seven goal to one final term, on the back of an inspired Brett Heady.

Heady booted four last quarter goals – to finish with a match haul of five – after a week spent bed-ridden. Heady had kept his illness secret from the club, much to the chagrin of coach Mick Malthouse, but proved to be the saviour in the final quarter surge.

“He (Heady) didn’t tell me before the game,” Malthouse confirmed. “In the end it was just a matter of getting him across the line.”

Heady was barely sighted in the opening three quarters, tallying just three possessions in between large stints on the bench. However, he exploded in the final term, gathering 10 kicks and three marks as West Coast rode home on a favourable breeze.

After a dire first three quarters, where the defensive nature of the home team had seen the game stagnate for large portions, the Eagles burst the game open with Heady capitalising on a centre square dominance.

Chris Lewis was moved into the middle after lacking any influence across half-forward, while Ryan Turnbull got on top of Shaun Rehn in the ruck, after he replaced Paul Harding who limped off during the third term with a hip injury.  

But it was another moment in the third quarter that proved the turning point in the game.

At the 15 minute mark, Adelaide full-forward Tony Modra charged out on a lead, only to be met by West Coast captain John Worsfold running back the other way. The star full-forward – who had booted a Round 1 AFL record 13 goals the week before in the Crows demolition of Carlton – staggered off the ground, enraging Crows coach Graham Cornes.

Worsfold cannons into Modra, sending the star Adelaide forward off

Cornes pointedly abused Worsfold at the three quarter time break, with Malthouse suggesting the tirade may have sparked his players to the final quarter comeback. “I don’t know exactly what took place – you’ll have to find out from Graham Cornes.”

“The inference was that John thought what was said to him was uncalled for. Under those circumstances obviously he was going to be cranked up. I suppose he would have sparked a few of the other players up.”

The Eagles final quarter was a stark improvement on the rest of the game, which had been a tactical battle for much of the afternoon. The Eagles held a slender lead at the first change, before the Crows worked their way in front at the main break.

West Coast were able to restrict the Crows running game for much of the first half, leading to long periods of stagnated play from both sides, but the visitors took hold in the third quarter. Tony McGuinness marshalled the centre square and Simon Tregenza got the better of Peter Matera on the wing, as Adelaide controlled the ball inside their forward half.

However, they could only manage an inaccurate 3.7 for the term, and their system fell away once Modra left the field.

A deflated Cornes wouldn’t be drawn on the controversy surrounding his interaction with Worsfold, instead choosing to lament his sides’ inability to hold onto their lead.

“It’s a four-quarter game and 20 points is never a match-winning lead, particularly against a team playing at home and coming home with a slight breeze.”

Tony McGuiness was one of the few Adelaide players who performed all day, finishing with 27 disposals, while Mark Bickley shaded fellow centreman Dean Kemp in racking up 30. Paul Rouvray restricted Sumich to just two goals while Rodney Maynard – who was a late inclusion for Greg Anderson – was serviceable with 17 disposals and a goal.

However, the Crows forwards were well beaten by another strong defensive performance from West Coast. Ashley McIntosh held Modra to just one goal before he went off injured, while Glen Jakovich completely shut out Nigel Smart at centre half forward. David Hart made it two scalps in as many weeks when he kept Matthew Liptak goalless, while Guy McKenna shaded Tony Hall in an intriguing contest.

Jakovich would finish as the Eagles’ highest possession winner (20, along with 14 marks) indicating how much the Eagles built their play from half-back, while Dean Kemp (19) and Peter Matera (17) the next best for West Coast.

The Eagles sat with nine other teams who had split their opening two games, but with fixtures to come against Richmond, Fitzroy and Hawthorn, they sat perfectly to stake an early claim for a top four spot.