Tag: docklands

2011 Rewind: Eagles Continue Demon Misery

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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.’

Cox: From Unlucky Villain to Dependable Hero

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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.

Saints Stun Eagles

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West Coast Miss Chance To Grab Top Four

A sluggish start and a floundering finish saw West Coast slump to a disappointing 21 point loss to St Kilda at Docklands.

The Eagles’ five game winning run came to a halt against the Saints, who paid tribute to their only premiership coach Allan Jeans before the match, following his passing during the week.

Leigh Montagna and Nick Dal Santo starred from the outset, combining for 27 disposals in the opening term as the Saints piled on six goals to nil in a dominant start. When Ryan Gamble kicked his second goal inside the first minute of the second quarter, the Saints held a 43 point lead and the Eagles appeared all at sea.

It took the efforts of seventh-gamer Andrew Gaff, as well as youngsters Luke Shuey and Brad Ebert and the ruck pair of Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox to drag West Coast back into the game. Such was the showing of Gaff, it even prompted rival coach Ross Lyon to declare the rookie wingman as a ‘special talent’.

Gaff was recalled to the West Coast side for his first match since the Round 8 Derby and showed he had benefitted strongly from full match outings at South Fremantle in the WAFL after starting his career as the substitute in five of his first six games.

Gaff was one of three inclusions for the Eagles, who also brought in vice-captain Beau Waters for his first match since undergoing elbow surgery after round 2 and forward Quinten Lynch who sat out the previous weeks win over Geelong due to suspension.

Tom Swift and Patrick McGinnity were both dropped, while Daniel Kerr was left out of the side after battling soreness for several weeks. Despite leaving Kerr out, Eagles coach John Worsfold said he wouldn’t give players games off heading into finals, believing the two byes would be enough of a rest for his squad.

The Eagles had had 11 players play every game of the season up to Round 17 – more than the four teams sitting above them on the ladder combined. Geelong and Collingwood, in particular, had used the advantage of banking early wins in the season to give players additional breaks throughout the year.

The Saints named an unchanged line up to tackle the Eagles after consecutive wins over Port Adelaide and North Melbourne had lifted them to within a game of the top eight. The grand finalists of the previous two seasons had endured a below-par year, but showed signs of their best form in recent weeks with spots in the lower part of the top eight on offer.

St Kilda resisted the urge to recall ruckman Michael Gardiner to the senior side, despite the imposing presence of Naitanui and Cox for the Eagles. Gardiner played a half for the reserves the week before in his return from a long injury layoff with St Kilda choosing to remain cautious over his full return.

The Saints overlooked talls Justin Koschitzke and Jason Blake for the match, opting to take a running side into the game to combat the Eagles forward press. Koschitzke would end up coming into the side as a late inclusion for young forward Tom Lynch and he made sure Saints’ selectors wouldn’t regret the late call.

Koschitzke booted two first quarter goals and had a hand in another from six first-quarter disposals as the Saints burst out of the blocks. Koschitzke also provided strong support in the ruck as the St Kilda midfield overwhelmed their Eagle counterparts.

Montagna was everywhere in the first term with 17 disposals, while Dal Santo chimed in with 10 as they continually sent the ball into the Saints forward 50m zone. The Saints racked up 60 more disposals for the quarter (128-68), with Jason Gram (nine possessions), Raph Clarke (nine) and Dean Polo (eight) all influential.

When Gamble made it seven straight goals to start the match, all looked lost for West Coast.

Naitanui and Cox then took control in the ruck to give the Eagle runners first advantage and Andrew Gaff showed why he was rated so highly. The number four draft selection had nine disposals for the term and along with Brad Ebert (seven) and Cox (seven) led the West Coast midfield back into the contest.

Andrew Gaff was one of the best for West Coast in his seventh AFL game

Ebert got the Eagles on the board before Gaff also added a major for the term as the Eagles got to within half of the damage by the main break. West Coast then got the game fully on their terms as they kept the Saints scoreless in the third term.

Gaff added a second goal and Lynch put the Eagles in front for the first time in the game in the closing minutes of the quarter with a top four spot in the offing.

After doing nothing in the first term, something in the second and everything in the third, the Eagles gave it all up in the last with costly moments.

A tense opening fifteen minutes had seen Stephen Milne kick a long range goal to restore St Kilda’s lead before Naitanui produced a wondrous effort from a boundary throw-in in the forward pocket, where he took possession, raced clear of the pack of players and snapped truly on the run to have the Eagles back in front.

For West Coast, that would be the last significant contribution on the scoreboard.

At the other end, the Eagles defence would lose their way to cough up the four points. Eric Mackenzie had been solid on Nick Riewoldt all afternoon, keeping the Saints spearhead goalless but would sully his performance with two horror turnovers that would lead to St Kilda goals and consign West Coast to defeat.

Matt Priddis would finish as the leading ball winner for West Coast after signing a new two year contract during the week with 27, 17 of which came in the second half. Luke Shuey (24) and Matt Rosa (22) were the next best with Dean Cox also tallying 22 touches and Gaff a career best 21.

Gaff and Nicoski would be the only multiple goal scorers with the Eagles talls well held. While Gaff shone, fellow draftee Jack Darling struggled and appeared fatigued with just five disposals in three quarters before being subbed out and replaced by Koby Stevens.

Leigh Montagna was the standout on the field finishing with 34 disposals after his blistering start. Montagna would also be one of the direct recipients of one of Mackenzie’s turnovers to kick one of the sealing goals for the Saints. Jason Gram collected 31 touches and Brendan Goddard roamed half back for 30 possessions.

The win kept St Kilda’s finals hopes alive but it came at a cost with defender James Gwilt rupturing his ACL which would require a knee reconstruction.

St Kilda remained a game outside the top eight with Sydney dropping to eighth spot after falling to Fremantle in an absorbing game at the SCG. The Dockers took a grip in the game with seven goals in the third quarter to open up a 38 point lead at the final change before Sydney launched a comeback that ultimately fell short. The Swans closed to within one kick before Nick Lower stepped up in the final minutes to boot the Dockers only goal of the final term – enough to secure an 11 point win.

Essendon also remained clear of the Saints after succeeding at their own comeback attempt against the lowly Crows at Football Park. Adelaide stormed to a five goal lead in the first quarter and still held a 16 point advantage at the final break, after leading by 37 points during the second term. However, the Bombers ran out 11 point winners off the back of huge final quarters from Angus Monfries, Brent Stanton and David Zaharakis.

West Coast missed out on the top four spot after Carlton fell to Collingwood by 19 points at the MCG. The Magpies kept the Blues at arms length for most of the night, with Travis Cloke starring up forward. Geelong kept pace with Collingwood at the top of the ladder after they fought off a brave Brisbane side. The Lions stuck with the Cats for the first three quarters before Geelong racked up seven final quarter goals to coast to a 29 point victory.

Melbourne and North Melbourne maintained their push for a top eight spot with wins over Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs, while the Power were relegated to the bottom of the ladder after newcomers Gold Coast recorded their third win of the season with a rollercoaster win over Richmond.

The Tigers bounced to a six goal lead at quarter time before being clawed back in the second term as the Suns took a seven point lead to the main break. Richmond again took a commanding lead during the third term, heading for home with a 13 point advantage with a quarter to play, but five goals to one in favour of the Suns in the last ensured a 15 point win.

John Worsfold bemoaned his side’s inconsistency in the loss to St Kilda, but acknowledged the better side won on the day. “It’s a four quarter game and over four quarters, same as last week against Geelong, one team dominated for certain periods and the other got on top for other periods.”

“In the end the better team that does it that bit longer and a bit better, wins the game.”

Worsfold was at a loss to describe the poor start but praised his side’s efforts to get themselves back into the contest.

“We just couldn’t get our hands on the footy and they just ran rampant, used the ball well and kept possession in that first quarter, but we addressed a few things there and fought back pretty well after that.”

“In the last quarter it was pretty even, the game was up for grabs and a couple of mistakes cost us late in terms of the margin.”

West Coast Claim The 8-Pointer

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Eagles Firm For Top Four With Blue Win

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bomber Burst Undoes West Coast

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Third Quarter Lapse Proves Costly

There are two well known adages that are as old as the game itself. Poor kicking is poor football and the third quarter is the premiership quarter, where games can be won or lost.

Both of these proved true for West Coast when they fell to Essendon in round seven.

For three quarters, the Eagles controlled the contest and looked the better side. But the four points slipped from their grasp during a horrible 30 minute period after half time, when Essendon slammed on six goals to nil in the third term to open up the decisive break that would prove the difference between the two sides.

That the Bombers had the chance to sew up the win from one quarter was also down to the numerous chances that West Coast butchered during the first half, and then again in the final term as they valiantly tried to run the Bombers down.

For John Worsfold, the loss was a disappointing outcome from a match that presented the Eagles plenty of chances. “We had opportunities to make it either a closer result or get the result our way, but we weren’t good enough to take it… in the end… it was that third quarter where Essendon dominated for a period and we couldn’t kick a goal.”

After Essendon opened up the match with two of the first three goals, the game was played completely on the Eagles’ terms, with Daniel Kerr particularly outstanding. Kerr was in everything, tallying 14 disposals in the opening term, with four clearances, four inside-50s, six contested possessions and a goal.

Nic Naitanui also notched up a double figure possession total for the term with 10 and along with Matt Rosa (8 disposals) and Matt Priddis (6), the Eagles midfield provided plenty of opportunity for the Eagle forwards.

The Eagles were able to set up their press once again, at one stage cornering all 18 Bomber players in their forward 50. West Coast enjoyed the forward territory for the remainder of the quarter and their 13 point lead should have been far great.

It was much of the same to start the second quarter with Quinten Lynch extending the lead to 21 points. But all West Coast could manage further was a slew of behinds before Essendon worked their way into the match. The spark on the scoreboard came from an unlikely source with Heath Hocking booting two goals in four minutes. Stewart Crameri and David Zaharakis also booted majors and for all of the Eagles effort, scores were level approaching half time.

Brad Ebert and Josh Kennedy restored a two goal lead at the major break, but the 12 point advantage was poor reward for a half that had seen West Coast record 18 more inside-50s (34-16) and seven more scoring shots (18-11).

In a blink after half-time, the match was flipped on its head.

Kyle Reimers broke free of Adam Selwood’s watch to kick three goals in eight minutes as Essendon turned a 12 point deficit at the break into a 13 point lead. The Bomber midfield took a stranglehold in the midfield, with Jobe Watson and Heath Hocking controlling the stoppages.

Angus Monfries and David Hille made it six for the quarter and the Bombers turned for home with a four goal lead. Many of the Eagles early prime movers faded out of the game as Essendon were allowed to control the ball and the tempo in the match. The Bombers had 37 more disposals for the term as they worked through the Eagles press with a kick-mark method.

Crameri booted his third and the Bombers’ seventh in a row a minute into the final term with Essendon stretching their lead to a game high 33 points. Quinten Lynch broke the drought for the Eagles, which seemed to click them back into gear.

Such was the flow of the game, the Eagles had their chances, yet never seemed a realistic chance of hitting the lead in the final term. The Eagles finished with 9 of the last 11 scoring shots in the game but as they had done in the first half, butchered many of them to get as close as ten points before David Hille added his second goal after the final siren.

Josh Kennedy did whatever he could up front but West Coast would fall short

For Worsfold, another almost-result just added to his frustration. “We don’t want to keep playing OK and losing. For us as a club now, to show we really want to grow and get better and we are improving, we need to win some of these tough games against good opponents.”

For Essendon coach James Hird, the win was an important one as they looked to climb the ladder after a poor 2010 campaign. “That game should give both sides great confidence, both sides played some really hard, contested football.”

“I think they’re (West Coast) very well coached, they’re committed, they play hard football… it was a good game to be a part of for our players because they played a good football team.”

Captain Jobe Watson was the standout between the two sides, finishing with a game high 31 disposals, including nine clearances, six tackles and two goals. Heath Hocking played the sidekick with 15 disposals, five tackles and two goals, while Sam Lonergan (23 touches) and Jake Melksham (21) found the ball for Essendon as West Coast struggled.

Daniel Kerr still finished as the leading ball winner for the Eagles, finishing the match with 28 after collecting 14 in the first term. Matthew Priddis picked up 27 and Nic Naitanui had 24 touches to go with 27 hit-outs and seven clearances.

There were though, too many who failed to repeat the performances of the first five matches. Dean Cox was uncharacteristically subdued as Essendon challenged the Eagles duo with their own trio. Tom Bellchambers, David Hille and Paddy Ryder all spent time through the ruck and while Cox and Naitanui were dominant in the tap, winning the count 61-24, the Bombers were able to square the stoppages and limit the influence of the Eagle ruck pair around the ground.

It was a vital early result for Essendon and West Coast who entered the match on 14 and 12 points respectively. The loss saw West Coast fall back out of the top eight to 10th, while Essendon were able to rise to fourth.

The Eagles sat behind Melbourne, Sydney and Richmond who all moved two points ahead of West Coast following wins in round seven. The Tigers ran away from Fremantle with a second half avalanche to record a 49 point win at the MCG, Sydney held off a fast-finishing Bulldogs team to squeak home by eight points and Melbourne bounced back from their poor showing against West Coast the previous week to thrash a hapless Adelaide by 96 points.

The Dockers slipped to sixth following their defeat to the Tigers, with Hawthorn overtaking them in fifth after a stock standard 32 point win over Port Adelaide. At the top, Geelong joined the Magpies on six wins when they thumped North Melbourne by 11 goals. Collingwood, who had the bye in round seven, held onto top spot with a superior percentage, with the undefeated pair remaining the benchmarks of the competition.

Carlton were leading the challengers in third spot after Andrew Walker kicked the late winner against St Kilda to see the Blues home by three points. In the other match of the round, Gold Coast claimed victory against Brisbane in the first ever derby clash between the two Queensland sides.

After Simon Black raised tensions between the two clubs over the defection of Jarrod Brennan and Michael Rischitelli over the previous off-season, it was the upstarts who had the final say in a high-scoring encounter. The defeat left the Lions on the bottom of the ladder, winless after six games this season.