Saints Stun Eagles

July 17, 2021July 17, 2021 ~ wcehistory ~ Leave a comment

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.”

Zero to Hero

July 17, 2020July 17, 2020 ~ wcehistory ~ Leave a comment

Ugle Lifts Eagles Across Line After Horror Start

Early in the second quarter of the Eagle’s clash against St Kilda, most of the 20,000 strong crowd who had braved the inclement conditions sat in stunned silence.

An errant handball out of defence by Dwayne Lamb had gone straight to Saints wingman Robert Harvey, who swung the ball inboard to Nicky Winmar. Winmar strolled through the 50m arc and sent the ball through for the Saints 10^th goal.

It was Friday the 13^th and the Eagles were in their own horror story, trailing by 50 points.

Just over an hour later West Coast were celebrating one of their most famous wins, off the back of a Jekyll and Hyde performance from utility Troy Ugle.

Ugle had had the ignominy of being dragged to the bench late in the first term as opponent Craig Davenport ran riot in St Kilda’s fast start.

Davenport booted the opening three goals of the game and by the first break he had five to his name, and was on to his third opponent. After starting in the middle, Dwayne Lamb had been deployed to the back pocket, replacing David Hart who had switched into defence as Ugle’s replacement.

Davenport had ignited the Saints, who piled on seven goals before West Coast had scored. In fact, the Eagles had entered their forward 50 just once, with the Saints routinely winning the ball out of the middle through Frank Coghlan and Nathan Burke.

The Eagles finally hit the scoreboard when Peter Sumich received a free kick for being held, after the home side’s most productive passage of play for the evening. Nathan Burke responded with a clever goal from the boundary before Brett Heady added a second for West Coast. The rookie midfielder ran into an open goal after he snuck out the back of a marking contest, set up by Chris Mainwaring on the wing who won two decisive contests to send the ball forward.

However, Peter Russo was able to goal after the quarter time siren to record St Kilda’s ninth goal for the term, resulting in their best first quarter score in over a decade.

After the insipid performance against the Magpies the week before, this was not the start Mick Malthouse would have been hoping for.

The Eagles made four changes to the side that lost to Collingwood. Dean Kemp and Phil Narkle were both sidelined with injury, while Todd Breman and Murray Rance were dropped. Chris Mainwaring returned from a knee injury, Craig McGrath was back from suspension and Geoff Miles and Tony Begovich were also recalled.

The selection of Begovich was particularly surprising, with Begovich rising to the senior squad after a fortnight with the Claremont reserves team – bypassing the senior Claremont side to earn a spot in the Eagles squad. The inclusion of McGrath was also noteworthy, because with Stevan Jackson holding his place, the Eagles forward line was set to be top-heavy with McGrath, Jackson, Langdon and Sumich all forward of centre.

The Saints made three changes for the trip to Perth, with West Australian Nicky Winmar returning to the side, while Kain Taylor earned a recall and Greg Doyle was selected for his debut. Doyle was named at full forward with the Saints still without spearhead Tony Lockett.

St Kilda also lost half forward Ricky Nixon and midfielder Jim Krakouer to injury. Jody Arnol was dropped.

Despite the failed case example of the Hawks a fortnight earlier, the Saints opted to fly into Perth on the morning of the game. Hawthorn coughed up eight of the first nine goals against the Eagles, but it was the complete opposite for the Saints who burst out of the blocks.

Incessant rain leading up to the opening bounce had turned the WACA into a muddy quagmire – not dissimilar to the playing conditions normally expected at Moorabbin – and it was St Kilda who adapted quickest.

An all-in brawl ahead of the first bounce had players riled up early, but while West Coast were intent on attacking the man, the Saints maintained their focus on the ball. The result was a one-way stream of goals, with Davenport the recipient.

Davenport had the first of the match inside 30 seconds, and added two more before Coghlan floated forward to mark in front of Michael Brennan and Doyle to put through the Saints’ fourth. Davenport then chimed in with two more majors as West Coast struggled to get a hold of the contest.

When Phil Scott overran a bumbling ball inside the Saints forward 50, Stewart Loewe had slammed through the visitor’s seventh goal of the term with West Coast unable to get the ball past the halfway mark.

The Eagles were finally able to get onto the scoreboard through the goals to Sumich and Heady, but their first quarter performance was best summed up by a bizarre piece of play by Chris Lewis inside the final minute of the term.

With the Eagles attempting to the win the ball back on their half forward line close to the boundary, Lewis believed the ball had crossed the line ahead of the boundary umpire making the call. Lewis stopped the play and nonchalantly handpassed the ball directly over the line, only to give away a free kick for deliberate out of bounds.

The Saints ultimately managed a point from the free kick, but made the Eagles pay shortly after when Jayson Daniels won the ball back from the resultant kick-in and found Peter Russo at half forward to goal and take their quarter time lead to 44 points.

If the perplexity of Lewis’ error on the forward line wasn’t enough, there was further drama through the middle of the ground as St Kilda built their play leading up to Russo’s missed attempt. Centre half forward Stewart Loewe was felled behind play with the Saints medical team frantically running onto the field and calling for the stretcher.

With great relief to Saints fans, Loewe refused the stretcher and was able to join his teammates in their quarter time huddle, walking off under his own steam.

Eagles coach Mick Malthouse was expectedly displeased with his sides showing, chastising his players’ ‘disgraceful’ effort.

Malthouse may have hoped for an immediate response at the start of the second term, following his quarter time spray, but the Saints maintained their control on the game stretching out their lead to 50 points when Winmar slotted the opening goal of the quarter.

Troy Ugle had made the switch from the back pocket to the forward pocket, but that did little to change his fortunes when he gave away a free kick just as Craig McGrath was set to kick on goal.

With the game on the Saints’ terms, the Eagles needed a spark and they found it through firebrand Karl Langdon.

The enigmatic blonde kicked two goals and set up a third as West Coast worked their way into the game off the back of careless errors by the Saints. Jayson Daniels was the culprit on both of the goals to Langdon, first turning the ball over at half back to John Worsfold, who in turn found Langdon in space at the top of the 50m arc and then again moments later when an ambitious kick into the middle was picked off by Chris Lewis and resulted in a second major to Langdon.

Around the ground, West Coast were gaining the ascendancy. Dwayne Lamb continued to quell Craig Davenport, with the Saints suddenly looking short of options up forward. Despite the conditions, many of the Saints small forwards couldn’t find the ball, with John Worsfold and Guy McKenna providing plenty of rebound for the home side.

Through the middle Coghlan and Burke both drifted out of the game, while Nicky Winmar was being well contained by Craig Turley. Chris Mainwaring was providing the link up play on the opposite wing and ruckman Dean Irving was starting to wield an influence in the ruck, bringing the likes of Stephen Malaxos and Lewis into the game.

Stewart Loewe kicked a settler for the Saints after marking on the behind line, but the Eagles continued to push forward with Ugle hitting the scoreboard after another poor Saints error. A simple dropped mark by Damian Kitschke on the wing allowed Turley to gather the loose ball and find David Hart in space.

Hart kicked inside forward 50 looking for Peter Sumich, but Ugle was able to drift across the pack and mark, kicking his first goal in the match and heading into half time with a small hit of confidence.

The Eagles still trailed by five goals at the main break, but momentum in the game had noticeably shifted to the home side. Paul Harding was deployed as a loose man in defence for the Saints as West Coast continued to surge with the aid of the breeze.

A string of behinds in the dying minutes of half time prevented West Coast from being closer, but the Eagles coaching staff and players would have been immeasurably more pleased at their position in the game than quarter time.

Many of the Eagles’ playmakers had worked their way into the game through the second half of the quarter, although there were still concerns up forward with Jackson, McGrath and Sumich all lacking any significant impact.

Saints captain Danny Frawley was wearing Sumich like a glove, although there was concern for the skipper when he headed into the changerooms at half-time over a shoulder complaint.

The third quarter started very much as the second quarter had ended, even with West Coast now working back into the wind. The Eagles monopolised the early possession and were able to lock the ball in their forward half but failed to capitalise on the scoreboard.

Against the run of play, debutant Greg Doyle stepped up to kick a major, but the Eagles would not be deterred. Ugle bobbed up for his second goal of the game after a clever one-handed juggling mark before a tight battle ensued.

Both defences were on top as the game sat on a knife’s edge.

Robert Harvey and Stewart Loewe both failed to score for the Saints, while the Eagles also wasted opportunities at their end. Chris Lewis and Peter Wilson both missed gettable chances, while Craig Turley has a shot marked on the line.

The desperation in the game was no more evident than a sickening clash that saw Langdon forced off the ground after being crunched by Peter Sumich and Kain Taylor.

Eventually, it was the Eagles who broke through. After a period of sustained ball in their forward half, Tony Begovich marked a clearing defensive kick from the Saints, and sent the ball back to the top of the goal square where McGrath floated through to mark and convert the simple finish.

Stewart Loewe had one final chance for the term, after the three-quarter time siren, but his shot from 60m failed to make the distance, and the Eagles would turn for home just 19 points in arrears.

The start of the final term was played at a frenetic pace. The ball zipped up and down the WACA as both sides looked for the vital first goal. Bernie Harris was brought down twice close to goal, before Chris Mainwaring had a long shot that sailed out of bounds.

Peter Sumich would ultimately kick the all-important first goal.

The Eagles full forward was the recipient of a free kick against Frawley and duly slotted his second goal of the evening from the forward pocket. The goal kick-started a flurry of majors for the home side, with the Eagles kicking four goals in as many minutes to take the lead for the first time in the evening.

Stewart Loewe – now virtually the Saints only viable target forward of centre – restored the Saints lead after marking in the goal square, but West Coast continued to press. Ugle and Begovich both missed to tie the scores up, before Ugle had the final say on the contest.

The diminutive forward was proving a handful for Kain Taylor, kicking the next two goals. The first came after Stephen Malaxos was released from a clearance through clever work by David Hart, hitting Ugle in space. Shortly after, Chris Mainwaring’s long ball to the top of the goal square was marked by Ugle drifting in front of the pack.

Loewe kicked his fourth for the night to bring the Saints back within a goal, but Ugle’s fourth goal for the quarter, and sixth for the match had the game in West Coast’s keeping. Karl Langdon symbolically kicked the final goal of the game to complete the Eagle’s historic comeback, having miraculously returned to the field after having his face smashed in during the third term.

**_{Troy Ugle proved the epitomy of the Eagles’ performance against St Kilda, well beaten early in the game before returning to ignite a famous West Coast win.}**

The storming final quarter had produced eight goals for the Eagles – as many as they had kicked in the first three quarters – to produce their 10^th win of the season and position them two games inside the top five. For St Kilda, their eighth loss of the year had all but ended their finals hopes.

Shatteringly for the Saints, all eight losses in 1990 had been under 20 points. Coach Ken Sheldon wouldn’t give up on their finals hopes, despite falling two games behind the Bulldogs who had moved up to fifth spot. “We just have to win at least six out of the last remaining seven games if we want to play finals.”

Sheldon though dismissed the Saints’ decision to fly in on the day of the match had led to his sides fadeout. “We gave it our best shot and that just wasn’t good enough. We didn’t run out of legs. They just ran over the top of us.”

While Ugle and Langdon provided the finishing up forward, Chris Mainwaring provided the impetus through the middle as West Coast engineered their fightback. The Eagles’ defence created plenty of run through the likes of John Worsfold and Guy McKenna, while David Hart relished playing further up the ground to finish with 25 touches.

For St Kilda, Stewart Loewe was a one-man band by the end of the game, as he eclipsed Phil Scott. Malthouse persisted with Scott in defence throughout the contest, but he was no match for Loewe who tallied the impressive stats of 24 disposals, 18 marks and four goals.

Unfortunately for the Saints, most players drifted out of the game after quarter time. Craig Davenport disappeared after his opening quarter performance, spending time in defence towards the end of the game as St Kilda desperately clung to the lead.

Midifelder Robert Harvey toiled hard for 19 disposals and Nathan Burke finished with a game-high 29, but not many Saints stood up when the game was there to be won late.

The 68 point turnaround marked Mick Malthouse’s 150^th game as a senior coach in style and sat West Coast a game clear of Melbourne in third spot.

The Demons lost their third straight match, falling to Geelong by 10 points at Kardinia Park. They were joined on 36 points by Footscray, who worked their way into the top five for the first time this season after coming from behind to beat Sydney by 16 points.

The Bulldogs pushed past Carlton and Hawthorn, who both suffered heavy losses to league leaders Collingwood and Essendon. The Blues could manage just one goal to half time, going down to the Magpies by 54 points, while 14 goals to five in the second half in favour of the Bombers saw Essendon coast to a 75 point win.

1990 Rewind: Pluggered

April 10, 2020 ~ wcehistory ~ Leave a comment

Lockett Burst Brings Eagles Back to Earth

A week on from their impressive dismantling of the Magpies, the Eagles were given a fierce reality check in a 68 point defeat to St Kilda, led by spearhead Tony Lockett.

Lockett finished with nine goals – six of which came in a devastating burst in the second term when the Saints were kicking into a howling wind, all but sealing the contest.

West Coast made just the one change to the team that accounted for Collingwood in Round 1, with Chris Lewis returning to the line up from injury. Lewis hadn’t played since aggravating his hamstring against North Melbourne in the Eagles second Fosters Cup match.

Lewis replaced Peter Matera, who managed just nine disposals in a quiet debut the week before. Stand-in captain John Worsfold held his spot despite sporting strapping around his thigh at training during the week and again led the team in the absence of Steve Malaxos.

The Saints also made the one change to the team that defeated Footscray in the opening round. Captain Danny Frawley returned after being a late withdrawal the week before, with Ian Muller making way.

Heading into the game, Malthouse made no secret of the danger Lockett posed, with the burly full forward the difference in the previous meeting between the two sides. In the only meeting between the two sides in 1989, Lockett booted 12 of the Saints 18 goals in a 35 point win.

The Saints scored first use of the wind, but the Eagles did well to stay within reaching distance at quarter time. Karl Langdon opened the scoring, before the Saints finished with the last 10 scoring shots in the quarter, for an inaccurate 4.6.

24 points down at the first break was an acceptable margin given the wind advantage and Lockett had managed just one major for the term as the Eagles employed a loose man in defence to block his space. Michael Brennan was given the role on Lockett, teaming with Murray Rance to regularly double-team Lockett.

West Coast abandoned the tactic at the start of the second term kicking with the wind, leaving Lockett one-out with Brennan. Peter Sumich booted the opening goal when he was left alone in the goal square to reduce the Saints lead to 18 points.

Andrew Lockyer fell short in his attempt on goal moments later, before Chris Mainwaring blew a golden opportunity when he overran the ball in front of goal. The Eagles had much of the play early in the quarter as they worked their way into the contest.

Then ‘Plugger’ ripped the game apart.

With the Saints getting on top through the midfield, Lockett kicked five of the next six goals in the game, with only a long range effort from Murray Rance, breaking the run.

Lockett powered through the Eagles defence, often marking against multiple defenders in the air and in one instance, brushing aside two Eagles as he soccered the ball through at the top of the goal square.

Ruckman Damien Kitschke added a sixth goal for the term for the Saints when he was found unmarked in front of goal by Dean Rice, before Lockett booted his seventh goal for the match – and sixth goal in the quarter – when he was paid a juggled contested mark.

The Saints had booted seven goals to two against the wind to take a commanding 58 point lead into the main break. Their lead increased to 78 at the final change, before the Eagles limited some of the damage with a five goal final quarter.

Murray Rance took over from Brennan on Lockett in the second half, holding the full forward to just two second half majors. Still, Lockett finished with an impressive match haul of 9.4 from 18 disposals and 12 marks, making it 19 goals in two weeks after opening the season with a bag of 10 against the Bulldogs.

“Let’s face it, the man is awesome. Once he gets his hands on the ball, it’s good night Irene”, Malthouse exclaimed.

While Lockett was terrorising the Eagles defence up one end, the same couldn’t be said at the other, where Frawley and regular forward Stewart Loewe were impenetrable. Frawley held Eagles forward Peter Sumich to just one goal, while Loewe vied with Lockett for best afield honours as he continually intercepted many of the Eagles’ forward thrusts.

Loewe finished with 31 disposals and 15 marks in a dominant performance at centre half back. The Eagles could not find a way through their half forward line, with Murray Rance, Andrew Lockyer, Karl Langdon and Phil Scott all tried with little success.

The Saints were also well served by a number of recruits. Damien Kitschke – in just his second AFL game – was too strong in his duel with fellow second gamer Dean Irving, often providing the Saints midfield with first use at the stoppages.

Kitschke finished with 25 disposals, seven marks, 14 hit-outs and a goal, many of his possessions coming as he sat behind the play when West Coast kicked with the wind. Tim Pekin gathered a career best 38 disposals in just his second game at Moorabbin, after switching across from Fitzroy ahead of the 1990 season.

Pekin was particularly damaging early as St Kilda built their lead, with John Annear brought onto the ground in a bid to quell his influence. Grant Lawrie and Jim Krakouer were others to impress in their second games with the Saints, after crossing from Fitzroy and North Melbourne respectively, collecting 22 and 21 possessions.

Krakouer had shone in his club debut the week before with 36 disposals, earning the tag of Dwayne Lamb, but still having moments of magic. Peter Russo (32 disposals and a goal) and Nathan Burke (31 disposals) were other major ball-winners through the midfield.

And with Lockett garnering much of the attention of the West Coast defence, Rod Owen was allowed to slip under the radar across half forward, booting 4.4 from 21 disposals.

Ken Sheldon – who had made it two wins from two games in charge at the Saints – lauded his side’s second quarter into the wind. “It was a tremendous effort by the players.”

“The second quarter was one of the best quarters of football you would see anywhere. Our players have proved to themselves that they can match it with anybody.”

For West Coast, there were too few players who contributed.

Dean Laidley was arguably the Eagles best player in his negating role on Nicky Winmar at half back. Winmar still tallied 23 disposals, but didn’t have the impact he was renowned for, while Laidley finished as the Eagles leading disposal getter with 27.

Don Pyke booted three second half goals as the Eagles major goal kicker, while Guy McKenna was dependable at half back. Peter Wilson put on a second strong showing at his new club as one of the few Eagles to bring physicality to the game.

**Peter Wilson was one of the few performers for West Coast on a poor day**

“I’m totally at a loss”, Malthouse said. “I’ll talk to the players as individuals. But there is no magic formula.”

“There was a complete lack of pressure on their runners.”

The turnaround in performance wasn’t the only concern for West Coast out of the match. Chris Lewis, in his return from injury, failed to last a quarter when he succumbed to an ankle complaint. Michael Brennan suffered a groin injury and Laidley played out the game with a corked calf.

Karl Langdon was placed on report for striking Tim Pekin with a forearm to the head.

The result also continued the Eagles’ poor record in Melbourne. The Eagles had now won just five games from 28 matches in Victoria, with Malthouse declaring changes would be made to arrest the horror record away from home.