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.

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.”