Tag: sydney

Back In The Pack

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Consecutive Losses See Eagles Slip Down Ladder

After a bright start with wins over North Melbourne and Port Adelaide to open the season, the Eagles soon found themselves with a squared ledger after dropping games against Sydney and Hawthorn.

In a throwback to the classic encounters of the mid-2000’s, the Eagles and Swans played out another tight match, with the margin never going beyond three goals for the entire game.

Adam Goodes would be the difference between the two sides in the final term switching to the midfield after spending much of the first three quarters playing forward.

With West Coast holding a 12 point after Luke Shuey goaled inside the first minute of the quarter, Goodes provided the response to draw the Swans within six points, before adding a second major later in the term to level the scores. Goodes would finish with eight disposals for the term, along with three centre clearances and four contested marks as Sydney booted six goals to three to claim a narrow 13 point win.

The match itself was far less a spectacle and more a bruising battle, as the hardened Sydney midfield overwhelmed their younger opponents. The Swans laid 111 tackles (to West Coast’s 69), with Jude Bolton applying a game record 19 tackles himself.

The Swans got the quick jump with Jesse White booting the opening two goals of the match, but Quinten Lynch also managed a brace for the quarter which saw the two teams tied at the first change after Nic Naitanui floated home a goal on the siren.

Again Sydney got out to a two goal lead, with Goodes registering his first goal, but Lynch added two more goals, either side of a Lewis Jetta major, to keep the Eagles within touching distance. Andrew Embley put the Eagles in front, but Rhyce Shaw restored the Swans’ lead with the visitors in front by three points at the main break.

Dean Cox then took a hold of the match in the third quarter, putting in a quarter that matched the efforts of Goodes in the final. The Swans opted to play Shane Mumford as their sole ruckman against the pairing of Cox and Naitanui, with Mark Seaby – who had crossed to the Swans in the off-season – and Canadian Mike Pyke both left out of the side.

Sydney moved to a game high 17 point lead after Ben McGlynn and Jude Bolton both kicked majors when Cox stamped his authority. The Eagles ruckman picked up nine disposals for the term and kicked the final goal of an Eagles four-goal run that saw West Coast head into the final quarter with a six point lead.

Luke Shuey then made it five majors on the trot early in the last before Goodes drove his side to the line. Goodes finished with 21 disposals and three goals, complementing the workhorse Swans midfield group. Kieran Jack was the leading ball winner for the Swans, collecting 23 touches while also restricting Eagles dynamo Daniel Kerr to just 13.

Josh Kennedy also had 23 possessions, 18 of which were contested, while Jesse White joined Goodes in booting three goals.

Matt Priddis was one of the best for West Coast with 27 disposals and six clearances, doing what he could to match the Swans outfit. Cox’ strong start to the season continued, finishing with 20 disposals, two goals and 38 hit-outs. Naitanui tallied 28 himself with the Eagles winning the tap 68-38 but the Swans were still able to claim the clearances 49-34. Crucially their dominance through the middle in the final quarter saw them maintain their unbeaten record, following a draw with Melbourne in the opening round and a five point win over Essendon.

The Eagles on the other hand had been dealt their first loss of the season which saw them drop to ninth on the ladder.

The Eagles then made the long trek to Launceston to tackle the Hawks in what proved to be another narrow defeat. The match featured two of the upcoming forwards in the game, with Lance Franklin kicking six of the Hawks’ 10 goals, while Josh Kennedy booted four of the Eagles’ nine.

For the second week in a row the Eagles led at three-quarter time, but were run over by a more experienced side in the final quarter. Franklin kicked three of his six goals in the final quarter, as he got the better of young defender Mitch Brown.

With two points separating the sides at the final change, the Hawks broke the game open with the first four goals of the term, leading by 26 points as the term ticked into time-on. However West Coast finished with a rush, kicking the final three goals in the match but ultimately falling short by seven points.

The Eagles were made to pay for their early inaccuracy, as they failed to capitalise on their control of the match in the first quarter. The Eagles had twice as many inside-50s but kicked three goals to the Hawks’ two.

Josh Kennedy kicked his second late in the quarter to put the Eagles ten points ahead, but he was one culprit of missed chances, with three other efforts on goal either failing to score or going out on the full.

West Coast continued to hold the ascendancy in field position as the Hawks struggled to break through the Eagles forward press. However, the Hawks were devastating when they got the ball forward. Hawthorn booted the first three goals of the second term before Andrew Embley added one late for West Coast to reduce the Hawks’ lead to a solitary point.

While Franklin was proving a handful forward of centre, Sam Mitchell was racking up disposals in the irregular position of half back. Mitchell had averaged 27 disposals across the opening three rounds, but had matched that effort by half time.

The Eagles booted two goals to one in the third term to grab the lead before Franklin stepped up in the final term.

Mitchell finished with 37 disposals for the match as he was moved onto Kerr in the second half, who was also playing out of the middle, across half forward. Grant Birchall and Matt Suckling gathered 30 and 23 disposals, respectively, in defence while Brad Sewell was the enforcer through the middle with 19 possessions and 12 tackles.

The Eagles were well served once again by Matthew Priddis in the middle of the ground and Matt Rosa was strong on a wing with 25 touches and a goal. Josh Kennedy was the only multiple goal scorer for West Coast, while in defence Darren Glass was supreme in his 200th AFL match.

With Brown tracking Franklin and Eric Mackenzie lining up on Jarryd Roughead at full forward, Glass was released to play on the resting ruckman in either David Hale or Brent Renouf getting the better of both players. Mackenzie held Roughead to just one disposal for the first half to be one of the Eagles best.  

Sam Butler, Jack Darling and Andrew Embley all had 24 touches, with Darling outstanding in the first half with 18 possessions.

The Eagles were now 2-2 for the season and dropped down to 10th on the ladder ahead of their bye in round five. With Gold Coast entering the competition as the 17th team, the competition had an uneven number of teams for the first time since 1994, with each side scheduled for two byes throughout the 24 round season.

1990 Rewind: Eagles Squeeze Past Swans

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Eagles Below Best, But Still Grab The Points

West Coast put in a sub-par performance against the Swans, but still came away with an important 15 point win that kept them in touch with the top two.

The Eagles led by just a point at three-quarter time, but four goals to two in the final term was enough to secure a fourth straight win and leave them just one game behind ladder-leading duo Essendon and Collingwood.

Twice, West Coast pushed their lead beyond twenty points, only to be reeled in by an inexperienced Swans outfit.

Following their 75 point thrashing by the Saints the week before, Sydney turned over a quarter of their side for the clash with West Coast.

Paul Kelly, Matthew Ryan, Troy Luff, Matt Lloyd and Mark Eustice were all dropped, as Sydney brought in a number of youngsters. Craig Nettlebeck and Chris O’Dwyer were both selected for their AFL debuts, while Darren Denneman was picked for just his fifth game of football. Robert Teal was selected for his first game of the season after battling injury for much of the year, with veteran Rod Carter also returning.

The Swans were then dealt a further blow when Darren McAsey was rubbed out for two weeks after being charged for striking on trial-by-video. McAsey received the two week ban after teams were initially submitted during the week, with his place taken by small forward Shane Fell.

The Eagles on the other hand were far more settled making just the one change, with Karl Langdon replacing out of form forward Stevan Jackson. Peter Melesso remained at full forward with Peter Sumich still out injured.

Both teams slugged it out in the early stages, before a burst from West Coast just before quarter time allowed them to hold a 20 point lead at the first change. Undeterred, Sydney plugged away through the second term with goals to Leon Higgins, Shane Fell and Steven Wright to close within two points before a late Craig Turley goal saw West Coast head to half time with an eight point lead.

West Coast opened the third term with the first three goals to reach a game high 26 point lead and looked set to ease to a comfortable victory. But Sydney again wrested control in the game. The Swans booted the last four goals of the quarter to reduce the margin to just a solitary behind with a quarter to play.

Eagles coach Mick Malthouse didn’t hide his displeasure at three quarter time, demanding an improved performance in the final quarter. West Coast responded, led by Chris Lewis and Chris Mainwaring, to claim a 15 point win and hold their spot in third place.

While happy with the win, Malthouse acknowledged his side were far from their best.

“We won it playing poor football, but I’m just happy to get out of this bloody joint with a win.”

“That was our flattest game of the year.”

Sydney coach Col Kinnear was equally disappointed after the match, believing his side had missed out on a golden chance to claim just their fourth win of the season.

“At the 15-minute mark of the final quarter, I don’t think we believed we could win. When we wanted a lift from some of the senior players, it wasn’t coming,” a dejected Kinnear said.

Indeed many of the Swans’ best players came from their younger crew.

Six-gamer Gareth John was arguably best on ground for the Swans, as he had the better of Dean Irving in the ruck. John picked up 24 touches and seven marks, to go with 14 hit-outs, and was virtually another midfielder for the Swans.

Leon Higgins tallied 22 touches and booted two goals, while in defence Craig Nettlebeck stood tall in his debut game, blanketing Eagles forward Karl Langdon. Langdon managed just five disposals for the game, although he did manage to goal twice.

“The kids were terrific. I am bitterly disappointed for them,” Kinnear said.

Dwayne Lamb was one of the best for West Coast in his match up against Greg Williams

The Eagles, on the other hand, had a far greater spread and key players stood up when it mattered.

Captain Steve Malaxos again led from the front, finishing with a game high 31 disposals and a goal, while Dwayne Lamb was effective for the Eagles, while attempting to minimise the damage inflicted by Swans centreman Greg Williams.

Williams still finished with 30 disposals, but was not as dominant as he has shown in 1990, with Lamb able to match him with 25 possessions and a goal. Chris Mainwaring (24 disposals) and Chris Lewis (23) both had important touches in the final term as West Coast again built ascendancy in the match.

Up forward Craig McGrath kicked three goals from 16 disposals and with Langdon and Jackson both largely ineffective, remained the one constant focal point for the Eagles.

The result allowed the Eagles to hold onto third spot as pressure for the double chance continued to come from the Demons and Hawks below them.

“It was more a battle of survival and we are delighted to come away with a win at this time of the year when we are fighting for our top-three position.”

While the Eagles had worked their way through a lethargic performance to still claim the four points, Malthouse reminded the rest of the competition that his side were still expecting to be a force come September.

“A good side wins those sorts of games and we are a good side.”

The one downside from the match was the two game suspension handed down to vice-captain John Worsfold. Worsfold had been cited for striking Williams, with the tribunal rubbing Worsfold out of the Eagles’ next two matches against Richmond and Melbourne.

The Eagles remained hot on the heels of Essendon and Collingwood who both recorded victories. The Bombers scraped past Geelong, booting six goals in the final term to overturn a 27 point three-quarter time deficit. Gary Ablett booted eight goals for the Cats, but it would be another disappointing result for the 1989 runner-ups.

Collingwood made far lighter work of their opponent, thrashing a toothless Saints team by 68 points. The Magpies showed they were on early, registering 12 scoring shots in the opening term, but only managing an inaccurate 3.9 for their effort. Collingwood controlled the game throughout, delivering the Saints their worst loss of the season.

Hawthorn and Melbourne also won, meaning the top five held their positions at the completion of the round. The Hawks defeated the Kangaroos by 18 points in the Friday night opener, while the Demons held off Brisbane to win by 13 points, despite only kicking one goal in the second half.

In the other crucial match-up of the round, sixth-placed Footscray hosted the eighth-placed Carlton at the Western Oval, with both sides harbouring hopes of sneaking into the top five. At quarter time, the home fans would have had September action firmly in their minds, as the Bulldogs led by 26 points having held the Blues scoreless.

But Carlton managed to flip the script in the final three quarters, booting 15 goals to five to run out easy 29 point winners. Simon Minton-Connell proved the difference between the two sides, kicking eight goals, with Footscray unable to find a reliable target up forward.

The win saw the Blues join the Bulldogs on 10 wins, taking over sixth place on percentage, but the Hawks benefitted most of the result to move one game clear of the pair in the final spot for finals action.

Sumich Eight Eclipses Swans

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Eagles Climbing After Third Straight Win

Eight goals from Peter Sumich helped West Coast to a commanding 61 point win over Sydney at Subiaco Oval. The Eagles recorded their third straight win to take their season record to 4-1, rising to third on the ladder.

The Eagles were sandwiched between the Hawks and Magpies, with all three teams on four wins, while the Demons remained the competition benchmark with their fifth win from five games after demolishing the Bears.

Sumich’s haul of eight came in two bursts during the game, mirroring the performance of West Coast through the match.

The Swans arrived in Perth without a win since round 1 and had lost key midfielder Greg Williams to a broken thumb the week before in their defeat to St Kilda. Sydney kept pace with the Eagles early in the game, before three goals to Sumich in time-on helped the Eagles build a 26 point lead at the first change.

West Coast remained in control of the game during the second term as they extended their lead to 43, before the Swans mounted a comeback after half-time. Sydney ruckman Michael Parsons took hold of the ruck combining with rover Gerard Healy to drive the visitors back within touching distance.

Healy had been well contained by Dwayne Lamb in the first half, but racked up 11 disposals in the third quarter as Sydney took over in the centre square. Healy had strong support from fellow midfielders Steven Wright (nine disposals) and Barry Mitchell (eight disposals) as the Swans slammed on five goals for the quarter to reduce the deficit to just 23 points at the final change.

Sumich had failed to add to his goal tally since quarter time, but another four goal burst in six minutes to start the final quarter snuffed out Sydney’s comeback effort. Three of those goals were set up by second-gamer Brett Heady, who was one of the Eagles’ best with 21 disposals and two goals.

Sumich kicked a fifth late goal for the quarter late in the term, finishing with a career-best eight for the match, equalling his effort against the Bulldogs in round five the year before.

Troy Ugle provided the perfect foil for Sumich up forward with three goals from 22 disposals and eight marks, while Peter Wilson (22 disposals) and Guy McKenna (21) were major ball winners for the Eagles. McKenna’s performance was even more striking considering the defender was forced off the ground during the third term with food poisoning.

Troy Ugle was a focal point up forward with three goals

McKenna’s departure from the game coincided with the Sydney’s strongest period of the game, as they converted centre square ascendancy into scores. But, unlike West Coast, the Swans didn’t have a reliable target in their forward arc, with Murray Rance a major roadblock in defence. Rance finished with 21 disposals and seven marks and had the better of a number of Swans opponents who were tried in the key forward position.

Malthouse again praised his defensive unit, admitting that it wasn’t his side’s best performance. John Worsfold stepped into McKenna’s role after he departed the field, while Dean Laidley was strong off the other half back flank.

For Sydney, Gerard Healy finished with 29 touches in his battle against Dwayne Lamb, while Barry Mitchell racked up 28 touches, although was less effective through the centre with Steve Malaxos for company. Neil Cordy tried hard in defence and Stevie Wright had 22 disposals to go with his three goals.

With the final quarter still fresh in his mind, Sydney coach Col Kinnear expressed disappointment in his sides’ ‘very soft’ finish. “As a realist, you can’t think of finals’, Kinnear said.

Mick Malthouse though was happy to take the four points from the underwhelming performance, as West Coast consolidated their position in the top five.