Tag: shuey

2011 Rewind: Eagles Try, Magpies Fly

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Class and Experience Sees Collingwood Home

West Coast gave their all but lacked the extra edge, poise and finish needed to book a preliminary final birth in a 20-point defeat to Collingwood.

The Eagles were never out of the game, but never looked completely in the game in what Eagles coach John Worsfold called a ‘learning experience’.

Ten Eagles were taking part in their first final as opposed to the Magpies who had 18 of their premiership stars from the previous years triumph.

Luke Shuey best exemplified the step up needed in finals when he was caught with the ball three times in the opening half, as the experienced Magpies pressured the young Eagles into numerous skill errors and wasted opportunities.

Shuey had finished runner up in the rising star award to Essendon’s Dyson Heppell in what turned out to be a two-horse race earlier in the week, and for much of the first half seemed overwhelmed by the play around him. However, he improved as the game went on and was one of the Eagles’ best.

But while Shuey led an Eagles midfield that applied themselves to the final siren, they were outshone by Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury who led a masterclass.

Swan, who was considered one of the favourites for the Brownlow medal, collected 43 disposals, including nine clearances, nine inside-50s and a goal. Pendlebury was the perfect sidekick, with 38 touches, seven inside-50s and five clearances. The duo worked off each other perfectly, with Pendlebury picking up 25 of his 38 possessions in the first half, before Swan carried the side home with 27 disposals after half time.

The two teams named near full-strength sides ahead of the game, with the Eagles selecting Daniel Kerr and Will Schofield to return from injury, while the Magpies welcomed back Nick Maxwell, Leon Davis and Heath Shaw.

The teams may have looked strong on paper, but there was still plenty of doubt for the two sides going into the game. Chris Tarrant, Travis Cloke and Ben Johnson had all finished with issues from the thrashing to Geelong and Daniel Kerr was still under a serious cloud for the Eagles.

The doubts on Kerr would be confirmed when he was a late withdrawal ahead of the opening bounce. Patrick McGinnity, who had lost his place at selection, was reinstated. Collingwood were also forced into a late change when Ben Reid injured a groin at the final training session of the week. With patchy weather expected, the Magpies replaced a tall with a small in rookie forward Alex Fasolo.

The visitors came into the match as major underdogs but they started the better of the two sides with the first four scoring shots of the game. Josh Kennedy and Quinten Lynch both kicked majors as West Coast established an early 2.2 to zero lead.

Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox presented as the biggest challenge for Collingwood and while they claimed an advantage in the ruck knocks, the Magpie midfield soon got the upper hand at the stoppages.

Sharrod Wellingham opened the Magpie account to reduce the Eagles lead to eight points at quarter time, before Collingwood turned the game their way in the second term.

The Magpies booted six goals for the quarter as Pendlebury, Swan, Jarryd Blair, Leon Davis and Ben Johnson kick-started the black-and-whites. Davis and Johnson were particularly damaging out of the back half, along with Heritier Lumumba, as they carved and weaved their way through the Eagles press.

Naitanui was dominant at the ruck knocks for West Coast but the Eagles couldn’t get the upper hand at the stoppages

Leading by 13 points at the main change, the Magpies extended their lead to 26 after goals to Jarryd Blair and Andrew Krakouer. That remained the margin at three-quarter time after Mark LeCras and Travis Cloke traded goals heading into time-on and Collingwood appeared to have done what they needed to, to put the finals upstarts away.

West Coast, though, refused to accept what most others expected.

Even with Cox subbed out during the third term with back spasms, the Eagles found their ascendancy in the middle off the back of Naitanui as the Eagles found consistent forward position for the first time in the match since the opening term.

Quinten Lynch got the Eagles rolling after just 38 seconds when West Coast won the opening centre clearance, before adding a second for the quarter (and third for the match) when he took clean possession from a boundary throw in and snapped truly.

The Eagles continued to push and Jack Darling’s goal at the beginning of time-on had West Coast within seven points and a grandstand finish was on the cards. But Collingwood’s class and experience again came to the fore and they settled in the final minutes to earn the coveted week off.

Worsfold was proud of the commitment of his players but acknowledged the difference between a seasoned opponent and where his young Eagles had come from. Simple misses by Shuey and Scott Selwood as West Coast had all the momentum in the final quarter would prove costly.

“It felt like we were just a little bit short of the class of Collingwood, not the effort but the class. I think we matched them for intensity and effort, but they showed the way with clean ball handling, clean ball use.”

“We just made some errors at times that might have got us more inside 50s, more scoring opportunities and we didn’t quite capitalise”, Worsfold said.

The key to the game lay in the middle of the ground where the Magpies were able to control the stoppages despite Naitanui and Cox’ tap ascendancy. The Eagles eclipsed their opponents 50-29 in the hit-outs, but Collingwood turned the tables at the stoppages, winning the clearances 53-31.

Luke Ball nullified Priddis’ influence at the first possession, limiting Priddis to just four for the match. Nic Naitanui and Luke Shuey combined for 14 clearances – half of the Eagles’ total – but too much was left to too few at the inside-ball contest, where Collingwood had a greater spread of contributors.

Dane Swan was dominant in the Collingwood midfield with 43 disposals

That prevented the Eagles from getting forward and setting up their defensive press, leaving much of their attack to come from the back half of the ground.

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse lauded his side’s ability to claim a decisive win in the Eagles strongest part of the ground. “They are very, very good at stoppage work and we knew we wouldn’t be in the plus as far as hit-outs go.”

“We needed a contest. We got a contest… we won quite convincingly on these figures… which is a credit to the boys.”

That forced the Eagle tall forwards to work further up the ground, where Kennedy and Darling struggled to have an influence. The pair kicked the Eagles’ first and last goals in the game, but did little for the rest of the game as they were well contained by Chris Tarrant and Alan Toovey.

And where the Eagles were unable to counter from defence, the Magpies were able to bounce from half back, with a number of the Magpie defenders racking up high possession numbers. Leon Davis finished with 33 disposals, Heritier Lumumba and Heath Shaw each had 30 and Ben Johnson collected 26.

Their performances were even more meritorious considering the disrupted preparations for many of them. Davis and Maxwell had missed the defeat to Geelong, Tarrant and Johnson had queries over their fitness and Shaw was playing his first game after serving an eight week ban for betting on AFL matches during the season.

Up forward, it was the smalls who did the damage, with Sharrod Wellingham booting three first half goals and Andrew Krakouer the other multiple goal scorer for the Magpies. Travis Cloke and Chris Dawes were both defeated in their battles against Eric Mackenzie and Darren Glass.

Priddis led the Eagles with 24 disposals, while laying 13 tackles, with Chris Masten (22 disposals, seven tackles) and Scott Selwood (21 disposals, eight tackles) the next best. West Coast laid 100 tackles for the game which both symbolised their ability to meet Collingwood’s attack at the contest, but also that the Magpies players were often a step ahead in the contest.

The two coaches noted the pressure in the game, with Worsfold calling it a ‘pretty intense game’.

“A lot of pressure and we didn’t cope with the pressure as well as we believe that we can. Our players will learn from that.”

Collingwood were joined in the preliminary finals by Geelong, who overcame an early slow start to account for the Hawks. Hawthorn paid for their early inaccuracy when they had the game on their terms, with the Cats systematically working their way towards a 31 point victory in the final three quarters.

Hawthorn were due to meet Sydney in the second week of the finals after they provided the upset of the weekend. The Swans got an early jump on the Saints before St Kilda pegged them back to trail by eight points at the final change. However, four goals to one in the final term saw the grand finalists of the past two seasons out in the first week of finals, following an inconsistent season.

West Coast were due to play Carlton in their knockout semi-final, setting up a mouth-watering clash against their former premiership captain in Chris Judd. In front of over 90,000 fans crammed into the MCG, the Bombers were no match for the Blues who steamrolled their way to a 62 point win.

2011 Rewind: Eagles Cruise Past Crows

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Simple Tune-Up For West Coast as Magpies Await

The Eagles wrapped up their 2011 home-and-away campaign with an effortless 95 point win over an uninterested Crows outfit, as they shifted their focus to finals action.

The win was West Coast’s 17th of the season – equalling their record from the grand final and premiership seasons of 2005 and 2006. However, while they had finished in the top two in each of those years to secure multiple home finals, a 17-5 return was only good enough for fourth position in what finished as a lopsided ladder.

The Magpies claimed the minor premiership and were the Eagles’ next opponents, but the reigning premiers suddenly looked vulnerable after being humbled by Geelong by 96 points. The top-of-the-table clash soon became a fizzer as the Cats steamrolled Collingwood, highlighted by a ten goal second quarter.

The defeat was just Collingwood’s second of the season – both of which had come against Geelong – but the invincibility that had surrounded the Magpies for much of the year was starting to wear off as injury and off-field issues affected the back end of Collingwood’s season.

While the Eagles were expected to start as distant outsiders in the qualifying final, the Eagles were as well positioned as they could expect to be. There were no late complications ahead of the finals series as Adelaide offered little competition.

Jack Darling returned after two weeks sidelined with injury, with Sam Butler the other inclusion in a somewhat controversial selection. With defender Will Schofield expected to miss just the one week after fracturing a cheekbone against the Lions, it had been anticipated that premiership players Brett Jones would earn a game ahead of his likely retirement at seasons end.

However, Worsfold opted against the sentiment bringing Butler back into the side after recovering from a groin strain. Ashton Hams was the other change, losing his place to Darling.

The Crows made a host of changes for their final game of the season with Jack Gunston (shoulder), Andy Otten (concussion) and Brodie Martin (groin) all out with injury. Aiden Reilly was dropped with Ian Callinan, Richard Tambling, Ricky Henderson and Michael Doughty all brought into the side.

The signs were early that the Crows wouldn’t be able to match West Coast and they set about minimising the damage.

For a quarter it worked as West Coast bombarded their forward 50 arc for little reward. Brad Ebert and Mark Nicoski both kicked majors, but the home side were mostly frustrated as the Crows bunkered down.

On the flip side, the Crows were no chance of scoring as they looked to just exit out of their back half, but the Eagles backline just sat back and racked up the possessions as Adelaide players continually kicked the ball to them. Butler had 12 disposals for the term in his return game, Adam Selwood had 11 and Beau Waters 7.

Leading by 17 points at the first change, Nic Naitanui goaled inside the first minute of the second term as West Coast broke the Adelaide shackles. Kurt Tippett registered the first Adelaide score a few minutes later, but West Coast finished with seven of the last eight goals in the term to break the game apart and head into the major break with a nine goal advantage.

The second half was purely going through the motions, but another eight goals in the final term ensured West Coast would finish the regular season in emphatic fashion. Chris Masten added a second goal late in the game to take the Eagles lead into triple figures, but Adelaide avoided a 100 plus point loss in Mark Bickley’s final game as caretaker coach thanks to a late Taylor Walker goal.

West Coast posted 22 goals for the match, but pleasingly their strong offensive performance came despite a quiet showing from full forward Josh Kennedy. Kennedy managed just one goal from eight disposals and one mark as he was well held by Ben Rutten.

Instead eight Eagles managed multiple goals in the game, with Quinten Lynch, Scott Selwood and Mark Nicoski leading the way with three each.

After being restricted to just a handful of possessions the week before by Brisbane tagger Andrew Raines, Andrew Embley bounced back with a strong performance on the wing. Embley was the Eagles’ best with 33 disposals and eight inside 50s providing plenty of run on the outside. Inside the contest, Matt Priddis did much of the heavy work with 12 clearances from 23 possessions, while also laying 13 tackles.

Adam Selwood (28 disposals), Chris Masten (27, 7 clearances & 2 goals), Luke Shuey (25, 2 goals) and Quinten Lynch (22 & 7 marks) were all proficient as the Eagles dominated in most areas. West Coast recorded 23 more inside 50s in the game (59-36), controlled the clearances (60-43) and even with the huge margin still managed to lay more tackles than their opposition (79-65).

The Crows offered little, with Scott Thompson flying a lone flag in the middle of the ground. Thompson finished as the leading ball winner on the ground with 40 disposals and a goal with minor support from Nathan Van Berlo and Rory Sloane.

The only disappointment for the Eagles was a hamstring injury to Ashley Smith that saw the running defender subbed out during the second term with Andrew Gaff coming on. It was the sixth time this season that Gaff had started the game with the green vest.

Smith was set to be the only ill bill of health for West Coast, with Daniel Kerr, Matt Rosa and Schofield all set to be available for the first final against Collingwood.

While the Geelong-Collingwood result sent a shockwave through the competition, the rest of the fixtures essentially went as expected. Hawthorn held onto third place despite being pushed to the edge by lowly Gold Coast. The Hawks made 10 changes for the match as they openly focused on their first final against Geelong, and the reinforcements did what they needed to do in a nine point win.

The only finals match up that wasn’t know heading into the final round centred around sixth and seventh. While St Kilda and Sydney knew they were playing each other, the Swans could still pass the Saints and claim a home final, if the Saints couldn’t claim a win against the fifth placed Blues.

Sydney did what they needed to do, easily defeating Brisbane, but the Saints ensured the final would be played in Victoria, when they came from behind to beat Carlton by 20 points. The Blues led by 11 points at half time and extended their lead to 18 early in the third quarter when Zach Touhy goaled. However the Saints booted seven of the next eight goals to hold their position of sixth.

The Bombers rounded out the top eight, safe in the knowledge they would make the finals despite having a bye in the final round. Essendon were set for a blockbuster first week match up against Carlton, who similarly, were sure of completing the season in fifth.

The only other interest in the round came at the foot of the ladder where Port Adelaide were able to escape the wooden spoon with a dramatic eight point win over Melbourne. The Suns were relegated to last on the ladder in their debut season, with the Power recording their third win of the season in a historic match at the home of the SACA.

Following extended negotiations between the SANFL and SA Cricket Association, the Power were able to secure the first game played at the Adelaide Oval for premiership points in the AFL competition, marking the occasion with an entertaining eight point win over the Demons in front of nearly 30,000 fans – the largest non-Showdown home crowd they had had in over 18 months.

But for West Coast, attention now turned to September action for the first time since 2007 and they were set to play the team they last played in a final in Collingwood. With a double chance and a guaranteed home final in either the second or third week of the finals, the Eagles were riding the wave of momentum and the public sentiment towards a fairytale finish.

2011 Rewind: Masten’s Redemption

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Eagles Climb Off Canvas to Pip Lions

Two weeks after being dropped for the match against Melbourne and then receiving a last minute reprieve when Jack Darling pulled out ahead of the Essendon game, Chris Masten showed the levels he could reach as a number three draft pick with a career best performance against the Lions.

In his 50th AFL game, Masten was the difference between the two sides finishing with 31 possessions and three goals as West Coast clawed their way back from a five-goal deficit midway through the third quarter to snatch an eight point victory at the GABBA.

West Coast failed to kick a major in the 50 minutes after quarter time but came home with a rush to further their premiership credentials. The Eagles booted eight of the final ten goals in the game as Masten, Andrew Gaff and Matt Priddis engineered the comeback.

John Worsfold suggested the Eagles could rest players for the trip to Brisbane, but only Daniel Kerr is left out of the side as he battles a back injury which flared up from several strong hits in the win over Essendon. Patrick McGinnity comes in as his replacement after serving a one match suspension.

Young forward Jack Darling remained sidelined with a thigh injury after being a late withdrawal the week before, but the likes of Dean Cox, Andrew Embley and Darren Glass all travel to face the Lions.

Brisbane also made the one change with Bryce Retzlaff coming into the team in place of Mitch Clark who couldn’t be considered because of a knee injury.

The Lions had managed just four wins all season and coach Michael Voss called on his charges to show pride and finish the year on a high with the prized scalp of the Eagles, who hadn’t won at the ground since 2006.

In further inspiration for the home side, veteran midfielder Luke Power announced that the game would be his final for the Lions, his 282nd overall.

Conversely, another veteran Lion in Simon Black, signed a fresh one year contract to play on in 2012 and it was no wonder why, with the 2002 Brownlow medallist putting on a clinic in the opening term as the Lions matched West Coast.

Adam Selwood was given the task of minding Black from the opening bounce, but that plan was soon abandoned as Black carved the Eagles apart. It was left to the other Selwood, in Scott, to curb his influence, but Black remained one of the better performers for the Lions throughout the game.

Both sides had their chances on goal in the first term as the two teams combined for nine majors. A Josh Kennedy goal after the quarter time siren put the Eagles in front at the first change but Brisbane soon took a handle on the game to keep West Coast goalless in the second term.

Pearce Hanley and Luke Power, along with Black, gave plenty of drive out of the middle with West Coast forced to defend for much of the term. The Lions were also denying the Eagles possession of the ball, racking up 35 more disposals for the half.

Brisbane continued to have all the play at the start of the third quarter, but could only translate their control in the game into 2.5 on the scoreboard to extend their lead to 29 points as the term ticked into time-on.

From there, the Eagles flipped the game with four quick goals to cut the Lions lead to just two points at three quarter time and they sealed the impressive win with four goals to two in the final quarter.

Pleasingly for Worsfold, it was a crew of younger Eagles that prompted the turnaround.

Luke Shuey managed just seven disposals in the first half but responded after half-time to finish with 20 touches, five inside-50s and seven tackles. Andrew Gaff and Matt Priddis were one of a few Eagles that were able to compete for four quarters while Quentin Lynch provided a strong target in the forward half.

Dean Cox was forced out of the game with an eye injury during the third quarter, Andrew Embley was held to just seven disposals by Andrew Raines and Josh Kennedy contributed just one goal from eight touches.

But the standout for West Coast was Masten who produced his finest performance in his Eagle career.

In what had been a disjointed year for the high draft pick, Masten had sat out six games at the start of the year after suffering a knee injury in the opening round before missing another chunk of matches after falling out of favour of the match committee.

Masten appeared to get his break when he returned for the Round 20 match against Richmond where he started as the substitute but came into the game after Matt Rosa hobbled off the ground with a PCL injury.

It was expected at the time that Masten would remain in the side as Rosa’s direct replacement, but instead he was sent back to the WAFL the following week as his Eagles teammates flew to Melbourne to tackle the Demons. Masten was again left out the following week for the clash with Essendon, but earned a late call up when Darling pulled out earning his place as the starting sub for the fourth time this year.

Despite having just two possessions in that game coming on late, Masten held his spot with Daniel Kerr ruled out and given the full match against Brisbane to show his wares, delivered a stellar effort that suddenly gave one of the premiership fancies another element to their midfield.

Masten had booted just two goals for the season up to this match, but added three against the Lions, all at crucial moments in the game, to show he could be damaging on the scoreboard as well as being an accumulator of the ball. Just as impressive, Masten laid seven tackles – the second most he had laid in a game.

Brisbane midfielder Tom Rockliff attempted to match the feats of Masten with 30 disposals, 11 clearances, 13 tackles and two goals, while veterans Simon Black (25 disposals) and Josh Drummond (23 disposals) were consistent contributors for the Lions.

West Coast had done what they needed to do to secure another four points, which had led the 2010 wooden spooners into the top four where they were now guaranteed to finish.

The Eagles sat six points clear of the fifth-placed Carlton after the Blues had the bye, while the top eight was also confirmed with positive results for several teams in the bottom half of the finals positions.

The Saints, Swans and Bombers all recorded the wins they needed to evade any last ditch effort from North Melbourne or Fremantle to steal the final spot in the top eight, although the Bombers toiled longer than they would have planned to get past the Power.

The Bombers skipped to a 15 point lead during the second quarter and would have been right to assume they had done what they needed to record the win. However a five goal burst before half time swung the match in the favour of Port Adelaide as Robbie Gray and third-gamer John Butcher combined for the five majors.

The pair continued to kick goals through the second half, with Robbie Gray ultimately kicking six goals and Butcher four. Port Adelaide looked set to climb off the canvas of the ladder with a stunning upset win before Essendon finally clicked that their finals hopes rested on a positive result against the Power, with a bye in the last home-and-away round.

From the ten minute mark to the 25 minute mark, Essendon slammed on seven unanswered goals to steady for a seven point win. St Kilda easily accounted for the Kangaroos, all but ending their finals hopes, while Sydney ended Geelong’s 29 game winning streak at Kardinia Park with a superlative effort in honour of captain Mark McVeigh.

McVeigh sat out the match following the death of his infant daughter during the week, but with Adam Goodes and Ryan O’Keefe leading from the front, the Swans put in the team effort of the year to get home by 13 points.

That result meant that Collingwood had wrapped up the minor premiership following their 80 point demolition of the Dockers. Hawthorn maintained their position in third place with a comfortable 46 point victory over the Bulldogs.

For Worsfold, the result was vindication for the effort and work of the entire football club in the off-season, following three seasons in the doldrums.

“I’m proud of the team that we’ve got within the football department and I’m obviously proud of the club. But it’s taken a lot of teamwork and commitment from everyone to have the faith the team would get the runs on the board and bounce back.”

“As much as it’s nice to say everyone is surprised by their performances this year, it’s not because the hard work hasn’t been done. It’s not through luck, it’s through belief and hard work,” Worsfold continued.

“I’ve always been proud of the guys that I’ve had the pleasure and opportunity to coach.”

For the first time this season, Worsfold acknowledged the Eagles’ place in the finals, with the club set to finish fourth regardless of results in the final week of the home and away season.

“All the year along I said when we get to round 24, I’ll be able to answer your questions. So now I can tell you at round 24 we’ll be fourth and that’s a credit to the boys for having done that.”

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.’

2011 Rewind: In Celebration Mode

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Nicoski Kicks Six to Lead the Eagles Party

It was a week of celebration for West Coast as they honoured and paid homage to their first 25 years in the VFL/AFL competition, culminating in a 57 point win over Richmond.

The Eagles chose to celebrate their 25th season in the top tier competition in the lead up to their Round 20 clash with the Tigers, who were their first ever opponent in the opening round of 1987. In that game, the then VFL newcomers fought back from 33 points down to claim a 14 point win in their inaugural match courtesy of a nine goal final quarter.

However no such heroics were required in this meeting with the Eagles steering away from the Tigers during the second term and coasting to a 57 point win.

Josh Kennedy was again absent for the Eagles with an eye injury, but the Eagles were able to recall Daniel Kerr and Nic Naitanui. The pair were joined by defender Mitch Brown and midfielder Chris Masten who was selected for his first senior match since Round 12.

Vice-captain Beau Waters was ruled out with an elbow injury, which was initially played down by the club after he injured it during the win over the Western Bulldogs. Eric Mackenzie was also a casualty, straining a hamstring during the final training session of the week. Tom Swift and first-gamer Scott Lycett lost their places.

The Tigers also made four changes with captain Chris Newman succumbing to a knee injury and Jake Batchelor ruled out with a shoulder complaint. Ben Griffiths and Matt White were dropped, with Shaun Grigg, Brad Miller, Mitch Farmer and Matt Dea the four inclusions.

After an entertaining first term that saw the Eagles lead five goals to four at the first change, West Coast took grip of the match off the back of a dominant quarter from ruckman Nic Naitanui.

With Dean Cox limited to the full forward line after copping a knock to the hip in the opening minutes of the game, Naitanui was left to lead the ruck with Quinten Lynch rotated through to provide back up.

Naitanui relished the circumstance, as he controlled the ruck against Angus Graham and Ty Vickery, amassing eight possessions (all contested), four marks (all contested), several clearances and kicking two goals in the quarter – all the while providing silver service to the likes of Daniel Kerr and Luke Shuey.

Mark Nicoski finished with a career high six goals in the win over Richmond

West Coast continued to dictate the match until late in the third quarter when the Tigers got on a roll to reduce a 45 point deficit to 27, keeping open the outside chance of an upset comeback.

In the last meeting between the two sides, at the MCG midway through the 2010 season, Jack Riewoldt had booted a career best ten goals, but to half time of this encounter, Darren Glass had kept the Tigers spearhead to just six disposals and no score. However, Riewoldt responded in the third quarter booting three goals as Richmond looked to continue on the attack.

Eagles coach John Worsfold admitted displeasure after the match with conceding seven goals in the third term, but West Coast tightened up their defence in the final term to kick five goals to one and run out 57 point winners.

14 of the Eagles’ 22 goals were kicked by the trio of Mark Nicoski, Jack Darling and Brad Ebert, who all recorded career best hauls in front of the sticks. Nicoski finished with six goals, while Darling and Ebert each booted four as the Eagles showed they could find other avenues to goal.

For Nicoski, his six goal return was just reward for a season that had reinvented the defender as a pressure forward as part of the Eagles’ strong forward press. Brad Ebert was another who had had to adapt to a different role this season with the return of Kerr, the arrival of Gaff and the rapid improvement of Shuey with Worsfold deploying the South Australian across half forward for much of the year.

Ebert appeared to find the balance in his role, hitting the scoreboard with four goals, as well as gathering 21 disposals with four tackles and four inside-50’s.

Kerr led the Eagles ball-winners with 34 disposals, 13 of which came in the second quarter when Naitanui got on top in the ruck battle. Kerr also finished with eight clearances, while Shuey had seven to go with 30 disposals, seven tackles and six inside-50s.

Andrew Gaff was tireless with 29 on the wing, while Lynch appeared to relish the freedom of running through the ruck with 23 touches, seven marks, 10 hit-outs and seven inside-50s.

Brett Deledio tallied 31 possessions and eight rebounds to lead the Tigers, with Shane Tuck (29 disposals) and Nathan Foley (24) the next best. Riewoldt kicked the Tigers only goal of the final term to finish with four for the match, with Brad Miller and Ty Vickery the only other multiple goal scorers for the visitors.

Scott Selwood was tasked with the job of minding Richmond captain Trent Cotchin, keeping the midfielder to just 17 disposals.

The result meant that the Eagles kept the pressure on Hawthorn and Carlton as they sought to push their way into the top four. The Hawks and Blues recorded wins against finals hopefuls North Melbourne and Melbourne, further denting their finals hopes.

The Kangaroos pushed the Hawks for three quarters before Lance Franklin kicked three final quarter goals to inspire his side to a 17 point victory. Todd Viney took charge of the Demons following the sacking of Dean Bailey, but it did little to improve things as they crashed to a 76 point defeat.

The battle for spots in the lower half of the top eight played out in dramatic fashion as the sixth placed Swans travelled to play the ninth-placed Bombers, and the seventh-placed Saints faced the eighth-placed Dockers. Just three points separated the Saints and Dockers at three-quarter time before St Kilda piled on six goals to none in the final term to run out 41 point winners.

That saw them climb to sixth on the ladder after the Swans fell to the Bombers by one point at Docklands after Adam Goodes had the chance to win the game on the siren. His long range set shot drifted wide allowing the Bombers to rise back into the top eight at the expense of the Dockers. Sydney also dropped to seventh on the ladder as a result, meaning the Eagles were now 10 points clear in fifth spot with four games to play.

The statement of the round though lay with the two leading premiership fancies in Collingwood and Geelong. The Magpies and the Cats were drawn against the two stragglers in the competition, in Port Adelaide and Gold Coast with the two sides not missing a chance at percentage boosters.

Geelong hammered the young Gold Coast side by 150 points, backing up from their 186 point thrashing of Melbourne the week before. Steve Johnson followed up his 34 disposal-7 goal effort against the Demons with 31 possessions and six goals against the Suns. The Ablett-less Suns matched the Cats early, with both sides kicking three goals to start the game before Geelong went on the rampage with the next 15 goals in the game to open up a 94 point lead at half time.

The Cats also booted the final 11 goals in the game to run out easy winners, with the combined 336 point margin over the previous fortnight boosting their percentage by 21.9 points in that time.

The Magpies proved they wouldn’t be outdone, smashing a hapless Port Adelaide by 138 points at Football Park. The Power managed just six scoring shots for the night – finishing with 3.3 for the match, compared to the Magpies’ total of 23.21 from 44 scoring shots. That kept the Magpies at the head of the ladder with their monstrous percentage of 186.1 from 17 wins keeping them in front of the Cats who had built their percentage to 160.4 from the same number of wins.

While happy with the win, there were concerns for the Eagles with a number of injuries out of the match against the Tigers. Wingman Matt Rosa was the most serious, limping off during the third quarter after clashing knees with Richmond’s Daniel Jackson while Jackson was attempting to kick. Both players would be substituted out of the game from the incident, with Rosa later diagnosed with a posterior cruciate ligament injury that was likely to keep him out of the rest of the home and away series.

It continued an unfortunate run for Rosa who was on the fringe of the Eagles’ 2006 premiership side, playing in the first two finals before being dropped for the preliminary final. Dean Cox would be monitored after his knock to the hip, while Naitanui limped off in the game late with a lower leg problem.

It would prove to be just a small scuff off the gloss of the week that saw West Coast celebrate their first quarter century of existence. The Eagles wore commemorative jumpers in the match that listed every Eagles to have represented the club, while the inaugural inductees of the West Coast Eagle Hall of Fame were announced in a gala event the night before the match.

Eight inductees were announced with current coach John Worsfold joined by former teammates Guy McKenna, Glen Jakovich, Peter Matera, Chris Lewis and Dean Kemp along with two time premiership coach Michael Malthouse and long-time trainer Bill Sutherland.

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.

Eagles Taken To The Line

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Centremetres in it as Eagles Survive Late Docker Comeback

West Coast held on for a one point victory in one of the most gripping Western derbies seen between the Eagles and Dockers.

Fremantle goalsneak Hayden Ballantine had the chance to steal the unlikeliest of wins for the Dockers after the siren, with his long range effort from the boundary unable to clear the hoard of players positioned on the Fremantle goal line.

The result had important top eight implications for both teams, with the fine line in finish and margin keeping the Eagles in control of their top four destiny, while leaving the Dockers at the mercy of the chasing teams looking to force their way into September qualifications.

A win to Fremantle would have seen them join level with the Eagles on ten wins, but instead West Coast were able to open up a two game break on their closest rivals and keep the pressure on Carlton and Hawthorn for the double chance.

The frenzied finish belied the match and much of the build up as the two clubs remained cagey over their line ups.

Nic Naitanui and Jack Darling both failed to train during the week suggesting they could miss, while the Dockers were surprisingly touting the prospect of ruckman Aaron Sandilands returning despite a recurrence of a toe injury just three weeks earlier.

Mark Harvey then lit a fuse at the customary joint pre-match press conference between the two coaches when he declared the Dockers wouldn’t be caught out by West Coast as they had in the previous meeting earlier in the season.

Harvey suggested the Eagles had been ‘leaked intelligence’ before the match, which West Coast won by 33 points despite losing Daniel Kerr and Andrew Embley in the hour before the match. Further pressed, Harvey intimated the Eagles had gained information on personnel and planning which had aided them in claiming the win. Harvey was defiant in that the Eagles wouldn’t be able to rely on such assistance this time around.

A bemused John Worsfold added nothing to the accusations, other than to say he wasn’t aware of any leak. “I am not sure where all of that has come from.”

Much of the speculation during the week over line-ups ultimately came to nothing with both Jack Darling and Nic Naitanui picked for West Coast and Aaron Sandilands failing to come up. Daniel Kerr would miss a second straight week officially due to soreness with the Eagles taking precaution over their veteran midfielder.

Patrick McGinnity was the one change from the defeat to St Kilda the week before, replacing Koby Stevens. The Dockers made two changes, with Roger Hayden ruled out after breaking his leg against the Swans the week before, while 2008 rising star winner Rhys Palmer was dropped as doubt swirled around his future at the club.

Palmer had yet to sign a new contract with the Dockers with the expectation he would join the incumbent 18th AFL side, Greater Western Sydney at the end of the season. Nick Suban and Ryan Crowley were the two inclusions for the Dockers.

Although West Coast started the match as strong favourites, the Dockers held sway through the first half.

The Eagles had been expected to hold a considerable advantage in the ruck with Cox and Naitanui over Jon Griffin and Zac Clarke, and while that was the case in the ruck knocks, the Dockers through Matthew Pavlich and Michael Barlow ensured they would match West Coast in the clearances.

The first half was a tight affair that provided little in the way of space or clean skills. Stephen Hill had a rare chance to run and carry when he bounced his way from half back through the middle of Subiaco Oval to kick the game’s opener.

Michael Barlow added a second for Fremantle to give them an early break, with Jack Darling adding the only other goal for the quarter following a crunching tackle by Darren Glass on the wing on Ballantine.

Two goals in four minutes early in the second quarter to Matt Priddis and Josh Kennedy put West Coast in front for the first time, but couldn’t muster much more in their forward half as Fremantle spent the quarter edging closer.

The Dockers managed one goal for the term, with Zac Clarke marched close to goal after Nic Naitanui initially infringed the ruckman in a marking contest and then failed to adequately hand the ball back in time.

The evenness in the game showed on the scoreboard with the Eagles holding a slender one point lead at the main break, but West Coast would exert their mark on the game from the third quarter. The Eagles had 10 scoring shots to just four, but inaccuracy prevented them from wrapping the game up.

West Coast booted 3.7 for the term but handed the Dockers simple goals with a turnover that ended with Adam McPhee and another 50m penalty to Zac Clarke for his second of the match. However, the Dockers were dealt a blow when Jon Griffin limped off with a knee injury, leaving Clarke to hold up the ruck against the Eagles pairing.

Dean Cox took full advantage en route to being awarded the Glendinning medal. Cox would finish with 42 hit-outs for the match, 27 of which came after half time as he fed the likes of Luke Shuey (26 disposals, eight clearances) and Matt Rosa (21 disposals, five clearances).

Zac Clarke was left to lead the ruck for Fremantle after Jon Griffin went down

The Eagles worked their way to a seven point lead at the final change with late goals to Kennedy and LeCras and the game looked as good as done by midway through the final term when Kennedy added a third and Luke Shuey out-pointed Barlow in the goal square to stretch the Eagles advantage to 22 points.

Fremantle appeared out of shots through the last quarter as the Eagles controlled the forward half possession and their lead should have been far greater. Cox and Kennedy both missed sitters in front of goal, LeCras kicked into the man on the mark and Kennedy sent another chance out on the full.

A dour contest seemed set to reach its anticipated conclusion before Fremantle sparked into life in the final minutes through the efforts of second-year midfielder Nat Fyfe.

Fyfe got on the end of an Eagles turnover on the wing to carry the ball to the Dockers forward 50 before launching a shot on goal that drifted wide but landed with teammate Stephen Hill to kick his second of the match.

A minute later, with the Eagles looking to play conservatively and run down the clock, Fyfe won a contested ball to set Chris Mayne into space, with the half forward running the ball all the way to the goal line to draw the Dockers back within nine points.

Fyfe then added a third successive goal when Darren Glass gave away the Eagles’ third 50m penalty for the afternoon. Suddenly, in no time, the Dockers had closed to within a couple of points and had all of the momentum.

West Coast, seeming comfortable for much of the quarter, were now in desperation mode as Fremantle continued to press forward. Mayne was denied a pack mark that had correctly been adjudged to come off multiple hands, before Luke McPharlin was unlucky not to receive a free kick for high contact at the top of the goal square.

The ensuing scramble in the goal square ended with Priddis rushing a behind to reduce the margin to two points and give West Coast possession with a minute to play. Alex Silvagni won the ball back on the wing, but his kick to half forward missed the target, allowing Quinten Lynch to gather and kick for space onto the opposite wing.

Fremantle had one final thrust forward as the clock counted down to zero. A long kick from Tendai Mzungu was unable to be marked by Barlow and as the ball bobbled around a pack of players, Rosa sought refuge towards the boundary line.

However, the umpire called deliberate and the final play of an absorbing contest rested with Hayden Ballantine after the siren.

Taking possession at the apex of the boundary line and the 50m arc, the kick seemed beyond the small forward, but Ballantine flushed the kick as well as he possibly could have. For the mostly Fremantle crowd, and the kicker himself, the ball seemed to have enough but the ecstasy of celebration quickly dropped to agony and despair as the kick faded late to fall into the mass of players and only register a behind – leaving the Eagles one point victors.

The after-the-siren drama saw rare emotion from Worsfold, who ran onto the field after the final score was confirmed to celebrate with his players. But, while happy with the four points, the Eagles coach reflected on poor errors and discipline that could easily have given up the result.

“We got the win but it was real hard work, real hard work.”

Three of Fremantle’s nine goals came directly from 50m penalties, while Worsfold also bemoaned the ease of some of the other scores they conceded. “Heaps to learn from it and to know we have got to get a bit better again.”

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey praised the resilience of his side, for pushing towards the end, although he admitted he held little hope for Ballantine to come through with the winner from beyond 50m.

“My immediate thought was that it was going to be hard to kick a goal from that far out. I was expecting he might try a torpedo. He nearly got there anyway but it doesn’t come down to that kick. It comes down to prior events.”

Harvey admitted his side allowed the Eagles to control possession too much through the second half, with West Coast tallying 110 marks for the game. “We probably allowed them to kick the ball around too much at times, especially down back.”

“It was a credit to our blokes to come off the trip we had last week and kick the last three goals.”

“I would like to think that we never know when the end is near.”

Cox tallied 22 disposals and a number of important marks in the final term as part of his medal-winning performance, although Shuey arguably was the Eagles’ best with his showing in the midfield. With both Matt Priddis and Andrew Embley well held by Crowley and Mzungu, Shuey picked up the slack around the stoppages, along with Scott Selwood, who won his battle with Matthew Pavlich, and Matt Rosa.

Luke Shuey was one of the best for the Eagles with Priddis and Embley subdued

Mark LeCras picked up 22 touches and booted two goals, both of which came in the third term. LeCras was largely contained by Garrick Ibbotson, but broke free in the second half with 14 disposals and a brace of majors. Beau Waters was inspirational with 23 touches and a courageous effort in the third quarter when he backpeddled into oncoming traffic to mark deep in defence as Mayne crashed into the back of him.

Josh Kennedy finished with 3.4 for the match, while in defence Darren Glass and Adam Selwood were resolute. Glass limited the impact of Chris Mayne while Selwood had the job on Ballantine. Matt de Boer was assigned the defensive forward role on half back Shannon Hurn, but Hurn was still able to collect 17 disposals and six rebound 50s as the Eagles defensive group held firm throughout the day.

Michael Barlow and Greg Broughton were the leading ball winners for Fremantle with 26 each with Barlow the Docker’s most consistent performer on the day, just three weeks after returning from a horror broken leg. Luke McPharlin won his duel with Jack Darling to have 20 disposals and seven marks and Fyfe lifted in the final term with eight disposals to finish with 19 touches and five inside-50s.

Importantly for West Coast, their pursuit of the top four remained on track, despite the strong wins of Carlton and Hawthorn over the weekend. The Blues smashed Essendon by 74 points with Eddie Betts booting eight goals and the Hawks had the better of Melbourne to the tune of nine goals.

As good as those wins for Carlton and Hawthorn were, the defeats for Essendon and Melbourne could not have been more demoralising. The Bombers tumbled out of the eight as a result with St Kilda taking their place courtesy of a 103 point thrashing of Adelaide that would see the end of Neil Craig as senior coach of the Crows.

Remarkably, the Saints had started the round 11 percent behind Essendon, but the two results orchestrated a 15 percent turnaround between the two sides that allowed St Kilda to move into eighth spot. Fremantle held seventh, while the Swans remained sixth with a comfortable 39 point win over the Bulldogs.

However, they remained six points behind West Coast, who also had a game in hand, to leave the fight for the double chance down to a race in five. Collingwood and Geelong continued on their merry way at the top of the ladder with the Magpies and Cats recording easy wins over Gold Coast and Richmond.

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.”

JK’s Big Day Out

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Kennedy Bags 10 as Eagles Deliver Bulldog Belting

When Chris Judd declared that he would head home to Victoria at the end of the 2007 season, the premiership captain was adamant West Coast would be fairly compensated for his departure.

Following a tender process involving four clubs, the Blues ultimately came up with the package that earned the services of Judd, exchanging the number 3 and 20 draft selections, as well as emerging West Australian forward Josh Kennedy.

Kennedy had booted 11 goals in 22 games across two seasons at the Blues, and while Carlton were reluctant to let the key forward go, the opportunity to bring Judd to the club was too great to refuse.

Judd was instantly instilled as captain, guided the Blues to finals appearances in 2009 and 2010 and claimed the club champion award in his first three years at the club as well as winning the 2010 Brownlow.

For West Coast, Josh Kennedy was always going to be a longer-term project.

And in his 53rd game with the club, the Eagles saw exactly what Kennedy could produce when he booted a career best 10 goals in a 123 point thumping of the Western Bulldogs.

Kennedy got the better of four opponents on the day, kicking 10.3 from 21 disposals and 15 marks as the Eagles orchestrated a remarkable 183 point turnaround from their last meeting with the Bulldogs. That game, in Round 13 of 2010, saw ‘Dogs come to Perth and claim an easy 60 point win.

However, the side that had reached the penultimate weekend of the season in each of the previous three seasons appeared a shell on this trip to Perth, outplayed from the opening bounce.

The Bulldogs were without several important players, including Brian Lake and Barry Hall (who was named an emergency as he returned from injury), while Adam Cooney was forced out with a knee injury and Dylan Addison injured an ankle at training. However, Shaun Higgins, Easton Wood and Tom Williams could all be recalled.

West Coast made just the two changes, bringing in Andrew Embley and Daniel Kerr who had been late withdrawals the week before. Their two replacements for the Derby in Brad Sheppard and Andrew Gaff made way.

Kennedy’s big day started in the opening minute when Matt Rosa and Scott Selwood combined to win the first stoppage, before sliding the ball to Luke Shuey who found Kennedy. Kennedy would have a further three goals by quarter time and added a fifth, 56 seconds into the second term.

By this point the Eagles had opened up a five goal lead, although the visitors were able to manage the halt the damage to half time. Remarkably, when Jarrad Grant and Daniel Giansiracusa goaled midway through the third term, the margin was just 22 points between the sides, but the Eagles rammed home their clear advantage in the game with the next seven goals.

Eagles teammates celebrate with Kennedy after he kicks his tenth goal

The game was as good as done by three-quarter time with West Coast leading by 59 points, before the Eagles went another level.

West Coast stepped into savage mode.

The last term became a procession as the Eagles slammed on 10.4 to nothing to come away with a 20 goal victory, having kicked 17 of the last 18 goals in the match. After four goals in the first quarter, Kennedy added two in each of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th terms, with teammates mobbing the key forward when he became just the fourth Eagle in club history to reach double digits.

Kennedy would be the standout from the result, but there wasn’t a poor Eagle in the house.

Scott Selwood and Daniel Kerr provided the grunt in the middle, Andrew Embley and Matt Rosa gave the outside run and Luke Shuey provided the cream through the centre and the perfect foil up forward, booting five goals from 27 disposals.

With the Eagle talls dominating, Mark LeCras spent more time through the middle, gathering 29 disposals and booting three goals. Darren Glass held the defence, blanketing Jarrad Grant with Ashley Smith and Shannon Hurn proficient in exiting the ball out of the Bulldogs forward 50 on the few times they got that far up the ground.

Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox were superior over Ben Hudson and Will Minson, Quinten Lynch and Jack Darling roamed up and down the ground to send the ball inside 50 on ten occasions and Adam Selwood kept the reins on Daniel Cross.

All aspects of the game pointed to a shellacking.

West Coast finished the game with 121 more disposals, 35 more marks, won the clearances 48-37, recorded 34 more inside-50s and had a staggering 33 more scoring shots (45-12). The Eagles also took 27 marks inside their forward 50, with the combination of Kennedy, Darling, Lynch and Cox proving too much for the undersized Bulldog defence.

The 123 point margin was the third largest win in the clubs history and was also their highest score since 2006.

While teammates and fans were celebrating the massive win, coach John Worsfold was quick to stifle expectations declaring the upcoming round 10 match against Collingwood ‘the real measuring kick’.

“I told them after the game you get four points for the win. You get a lot of pats on the backs – well above what four points deserves.”

“They deserve the accolades that come but it doesn’t give you anything other than one win. I wanted to see them maintain the effort they put in last week and they did that.”

Worsfold was also full of praise for Kennedy following his career-best day. “It reinforces the faith in the ability that we all know he (Kennedy) does have. It is good reward because he works as hard as anyone.”

“It wasn’t ideal losing Chris Judd but… we were more than pleased with the outcome of that trade.”

While Worsfold was playing down the expectations of his side, Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade declared West Coast were premiership contenders, following what he described as the ‘worst loss his career’. The magnitude of the defeat – the fourth worst in the history of the Bulldogs, and their largest defeat since 1996 – followed in the coming days, with president David Smorgon issuing an open letter to members apologising for the performance.

Smorgon was also forced to deny Eade’s tenure as coach was under threat, despite the veteran coach being out of contract at the end of the season. “With 14 rounds to play, I want to reiterate that we will continue to support and encourage Rodney Eade and the match committee to make whatever changes they feel necessary to ensure we again start playing consistent footy every week and every quarter.”

Any other day LeCras’ 29 disposal, three goal game would have been best on ground honours

The big victory saw the Eagles move up one place to sixth on the ladder, with the biggest gain in the percentage column, rising from 112.6 to 131. The Eagles moved past the Swans who were thrashed at home by Hawthorn to the tune of 46 points. That saw the Hawks climb up to third after Essendon and Carlton both suffered defeats in the round.

The Bombers were 16 point losers to the Tigers, with Richmond joining the Swans on four and a half wins on the outskirts of the top eight. Carlton went down to the top of the table Cats by just two points in one of the games of the season.

The Blues jumped out of the blocks early, twice leading by 20 points during the first half, before a late rally before half-time saw the top four aspirants level at the major break. Geelong edged away during the third term, before Carlton strung four of five goals either side of three-quarter time to take back the lead.

The Cats then settled through Steve Johnson and James Podsiadly, but the Blues had chances late in the game to steal the win, with Jarrad Waite and Robert Warnock missing shots on goal. The Bombers and Blues were now just half a game in front of the Eagles.

The Dockers joined the Eagles on five wins when they easily accounted for Port Adelaide, who slumped to the bottom of the ladder after Brisbane broke through for their first win of the season over North Melbourne. The Demons hopes of making finals took a hit when they fell to a 20 point defeat against the Saints, who had started the season horribly after playing in the previous two grand finals. St Kilda had recorded just two wins and a draw in their first eight games.

Next up for West Coast was arguably their biggest challenge of the year – a trip to the MCG to tackle the all-conquering Magpies.