lamb

Second Quarter Burst Proves The Difference

The Eagles may have wondered where their goals were going to come from in their clash with Carlton at Princes Park, but they need not have worried as they tallied their highest score of the season so far in a 31 point win over the Blues.

The Eagles started the game without their three leading goalscorers from the season – Peter Sumich, Brett Heady and Karl Langdon – but found the spread of contributors they required to post a winning score.

Eleven Eagles kicked majors, with Craig McGrath and Peter Wilson leading the way with three apiece.

In a high scoring encounter, both sides opened with five goals, and each side managed eight goals after half time, but it was a seven goal burst to the Eagles in the second quarter that steered them to their 12^th win of the season.

The victory also marked the Eagles’ first win over Carlton at their home ground in the third clash between the two teams at the Blues’ home ground.

West Coast coach Mick Malthouse believed the win would do wonders for the confidence of his side. “There was just that lingering doubt in the back of their minds about whether we could win here. I would hope that we have turned that corner.”

The Eagles made two changes with full-forward Peter Sumich ruled out with a hamstring injury and Brad Gwilliam dropped after just one game back with the senior team. Despite the absence of Sumich, Stevan Jackson was surprisingly overlooked as his replacement, having served his one match ban.

Instead Peter Melesso was picked for his first senior game in 1990 after a consistent season with East Perth. Dean Kemp also returned after a fortnight sidelined with a hamstring strain.

The Blues also made two changes with important players Fraser Brown and Peter Dean included for dropped pair Simon Verbeek and Tim Rieniets.

Carlton had won four of their past five games to have them outside the top five on percentage, with the only blemish a nine-goal defeat to league leaders Collingwood. With Hawthorn and Melbourne expected to account for their opponents in Brisbane and Fitzroy, a win at home against West Coast was imperative to stay in touch.

Jackson would find his way into the Eagles side ahead of the opening bounce, when Karl Langdon was a late withdrawal due to illness.

With losses in their last four visits to Melbourne, a strong start from West Coast was required, and the two teams traded blows in the first quarter, booting five goals apiece. The Eagles controlled much of the early play, but Carlton were able to maximise their opportunities up forward.

But in the second quarter, it all turned the way of the visitors.

Stephen Malaxos was once again the catalyst, as West Coast got the upper hand in the stoppages. The Eagles captain teamed up with Craig Turley, in the centre as the Eagles continually surged the ball forward to hit the scoreboard.

Conversely, the Blues started to struggle under the Eagles man-on approach and were made to pay for costly mistakes down back.

The Eagles had customarily built their season on their rebound from defence and their ability to outgun the opposition, but West Coast employed a far tighter approach on their opponents, and the Blues cracked.

Malaxos put the Eagles two goals clear early in the term when he marked an errant kick out of the back pocket from Tom Alvin, before Melesso marked his return to senior football with a goal after Jon Dorotich dropped a defensive mark in the goal square.

Fraser Murphy twice responded with goals in the quarter, first after Melesso’s major, and then again after Dwayne Lamb goaled, but the Eagles finished with the final three goals in the term in what would be a match-winning break.

Craig McGrath ran onto a clever handball from Troy Ugle to boot the first, before Craig Turley goaled from a long range effort after some quick transition play by Chris Mainwaring and John Worsfold through the middle of the ground. Dwayne Lamb then added a second goal for the term after being found in space by Dean Kemp to put West Coast 33 points clear at the main break.

The Eagles applied the clamps through the second half as the margin hovered around the five goal mark for the rest of the game.

Dwayne Lamb claimed another victim for the year in his tagging role on Craig Bradley, restricting the Blues prime runner to 19 disposals. Lamb himself finished with 22 touches and two goal to be one of the Eagles’ best, with the centreline of West Coast getting the better of their counterparts.

David Hart ran with Andrew Phillips, Malaxos had the better of Adrian Gleeson and Craig Turley and Chris Mainwaring were too strong on the wings for Mil Hanna and David Glascott.

Guy McKenna led the Eagles possession winners with 28 from half back, with Turley the next best with 25 and two goals. Chris Lewis had 23 disposals through the centre, while Peter Wilson was ever-present with 20 possessions at half forward.

Craig McGrath appeared to relish being the focal point, producing the finest game of his short career with 22 touches and three goals.

In defence, Michael Brennan had the better of Simon Minton-Connell, although the Blues forward managed to boot three goals late.

**Peter Wilson gets a handpass away despite the attention of Stephen Silvagni**

Wayne Johnston was the clear best for Carlton with 32 touches in the middle of the ground, while Stephen Silvagni stood tough in defence in the first half before switching forward after half time. Stephen Kernahan booted four goals from 15 disposals and ten marks, in an intriguing battle with Phil Scott.

After the game, Alex Jesaulenko was upbeat about his sides’ hopes of still making finals, but the defeat to West Coast saw them complete the round in eighth spot, a game and percentage behind the Hawks.

Hawthorn held onto fifth spot after fighting their way past a tough Brisbane outfit. The Hawks early inaccuracy almost proved costly as the Bears raced to a 25 point lead at quarter time. Hawthorn booted 1.7 in the first term, before closing within 11 points at the main break as their kicking on goal improved slightly.

Nine goals to four after half time saw the Hawks home, with Footscray taking the Blues spot in sixth position when they held onto a valiant three point win over the top-of-the-table Magpies in one of the games of the season. Like the Hawks, Collingwood fell to an early deficit due to poor conversion, before just failing in their bid to steal the win.

At three quarter time, the Magpies still trailed by 26 points – despite having two more scoring shots – but they grabbed the lead late in the final quarter after rattling on five goals. However, Stephen Kolyniuk bobbed up for the match-winner for Footscray when he marked 45 metres out and audaciously ran around Graeme Wright on the mark to kick the decisive goal.

The result saw Collingwood lose top spot on the ladder, with Essendon moving back to the top following a thumping 79 point win over a dismal Richmond. Melbourne made it consecutive wins when they held off Fitzroy by 19 points to stay a game ahead of the Hawks and Bulldogs in fourth.

North Melbourne and St Kilda remained in the logjam for fifth spot with wins over Geelong and Sydney. John Longmire booted seven goals as North Melbourne held off the Cats in a high-scoring encounter, while the Saints were just glad to have their full forward playing again in a comfortable win over Sydney.

Tony Lockett returned for his first game in over two months, booting three goals. Stewart Loewe (five goals) and Nicky Winmar (four) were the major contributors for the Saints as they put the disappointment of consecutive narrow losses to West Coast and Carlton behind them in a 75 point thrashing of the Swans.

The Saints were two games behind the Hawks, but their superior percentage meant they were still a sneaky chance for finals with five rounds remaining in the season.

For West Coast, losses to Essendon and Collingwood in the previous two weeks had seen the Eagle close within a game of the pair, opening the chance they could still finish in the top two.

At the completion of Round 23, the Eagles found themselves not atop the AFL ladder, a position they had held since Round 7.

With the bye in the penultimate round of the 1994 season, the Eagles watched Carlton obliterate the Tigers and take top spot. For much of the year, West Coast had had the advantage of an extra game on the rest of their finals rivals, but the top eight finally found parity with all teams now having played the same number of games.

The Blues usurped the Eagles in top spot, courtesy of a better percentage that had jumped in the past fortnight on the back of two thumping victories. After defeating the Eagles the week before by 10 goals, Carlton established themselves as the premiership favourites with a 113 point hiding of the Tigers. Fraser Brown was the surprise packet up forward with seven goals in a result that left Richmond desperately clinging onto their position in the top eight.

Just three weeks after they sat in the top four and seemed all but certain to end their 12 year finals drought, their poor percentage – which had taken a six percent hit in the Carlton loss – had them trailing a host of sides on 12 wins and just one game ahead of Melbourne in ninth position.

With a round to play, only three teams were assured of finals action in 1994. Carlton and West Coast had been the clear two teams for much of the season, with Footscray emerging late as a contender when they easily accounted for the Demons by 40 points. The win saw the Bulldogs jump up to third on the ladder, ahead of an enticing trip to battle West Coast in the final round.

Behind the Bulldogs, North Melbourne, Geelong, Hawthorn and Collingwood all sat one game behind on 12 wins (along with Richmond) following a varying degree of results. The Kangaroos easily defeated Fitzroy by 86 points in the opening game in the round, while the Cats and Hawks were forced to scrape out wins against lowly opposition.

The Cats trailed Sydney by 21 points at half-time in their game at Kardinia Park, before an eight goal third term had Geelong in front and seemingly in cruise control. However, the Swans wouldn’t give up the game, pushing the home side all of the way, with the Cats eventually eking out a 12 point win. The Hawks were also made to work in an 11 point win over Brisbane at the GABBA, three late goals enough to secure the win after Brisbane hit the front during the final quarter.

Collingwood missed a chance to cement a top four spot when they suffered a shock two point defeat to St Kilda. Tony Lockett booted eight of the Saints 14 goals in the game, to inspire the win, with the Magpies late rally to steal victory falling short.

The Magpies were due to face North Melbourne in the final round, with Geelong and Richmond also fixtured to meet, meaning the two losers were at the mercy of the ninth-placed Demons. Melbourne held a better percentage than all of the teams on 12 wins, bar the Kangaroos, and with a final round clash against wooden spooners Sydney, the Demons were heavy favourites to work their way back into the top eight.

For West Coast, the week off was used to address a number of questions.

Firstly, the long-running query over where West Coast would host their first final was answered, with the AFL confirming the WACA would be used for finals. After meeting with the WAFC and the WACA Board, and with an expectation that the ground’s capacity would be increased to 36,000 to accommodate fans, the AFL ticked off the venue. Despite the success of the first ever night final the year before, where Essendon and Carlton played off a thriller in the qualifying final, the Eagles match would not be a night game, instead scheduled for the unusual mid-afternoon time of 3.30 on the Sunday of the opening weekend of the finals.

On field, match committee eyes were focused on the WAFL as a number of key Eagles used the weekend to build match fitness. Brett Heady, Mitchell White, Tony Evans and Shane Bond had all endured interrupted second halves to the 1994 season and used the chance to get game time into their bodies.

Heady and White were two of 11 Eagles that took part in the WAFL match between Subiaco and South Fremantle, with the vast majority playing for the Lions. As a result, Subiaco went on to win by a record margin of 121 points over the Bulldogs, with many fringe Eagles also doing what they could to garner the attention of selectors.

Karl Langdon returned from a two week suspension to boot three goals, while the Subiaco midfield which consisted of Dwayne Lamb, Tony Godden, Matt Connell and Damien Hampson all found plenty of the ball. Jason Heatley – in his second game from a long term injury – cashed in on the Lions dominance to boot 10 goals, as the Lions racked up a total of 30.23 (203).

Godden in particular was the standout and his showing rocketed him into senior contention for the final game of the season. At the other end, David Hynes and Brett Spinks had little impact in the South Fremantle forward line, but there was little they could do in the thrashing.

Peter Sumich didn’t partake in that match for the Bulldogs, as one of a number of key Eagles who had injury concerns. Glen Jakovich, Don Pyke, Ryan Turnbull and Dean Kemp were all injured in the loss to Carlton, with Jakovich the major worry with a knee complaint.

John Worsfold was still to recover from a groin complaint, while Ashley McIntosh was battling an ongoing knee injury that was the biggest issue within the squad. The defender-turned-forward had been plagued for much of the year, and despite repeated assurances from the club that his lack of recent training had been purely precautionary, it was hard to dismiss the large knee brace McIntosh had been wearing.

For another Eagle, the break brought a close to a career, with Dwayne Lamb announcing his retirement the day before stepping out in the WAFL. An inaugural squad member, Lamb had had the distinction of being the first player to reach 50, 100 and 150 games with the club but had only managed five games with West Coast this season.

Tag: lamb

1990 Rewind: No Scoring Blues For Eagles

1994 Rewind: Eagles Slide From Top Spot