Tag: tigers

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.

1990 Rewind: 2nd Spot Opens Up For West Coast

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Eagles Survive Tiger Scare

Richmond got the early jump, but it still wasn’t enough to prevent West Coast from romping to a 45 point win at Subiaco.

The Tigers booted seven goals in the opening quarter to open up a four goal lead at quarter time, but the Eagles took control in the final three terms to close in on second spot.

The lowly Tigers weren’t expected to present much of a challenge to the finals-bound Eagles, who were priced as short as $1.06 during the week, but they got the better of the early match-ups to stun the home team and fans to get an early break.

Michael Mitchell was electric in the first quarter, while Stuart Maxfield had the better of Chris Mainwaring on the wing and Matthew Knights provided the drive out of the centre.

The Eagles were also uncharacteristically clumsy in defence as Richmond pounced on a number of errors from the West Coast backmen.

At quarter time, Eagles coach Mick Malthouse moved the magnets and found the right balance, with West Coast booting 7.6 for the quarter and orchestrating a 38 point turnaround.

David Hart moved from Trent Nichols to Mitchell, Brett Heady went to half-forward and Dean Kemp shifted into the middle.

Heady was one of two inclusions for West Coast, who lost vice-captain John Worsfold during the week to suspension. Worsfold was slapped with a two week ban for striking Sydney midfielder Greg Williams. Dean Turner was the other change, omitted in favour of Don Pyke, who was recalled for just his fourth game of the season.

Leading by 14 points at the break, Richmond closed the margin to just six with the first two goals of the term but the Eagles booted five of the next eight goals into the breeze to hold the lead going into the last quarter.

Troy Ugle came off the bench after half-time, to boot three of the Eagles’ five for the third term. The Eagles then ran away with the game in the last term, with their second use of the breeze.

West Coast registered 16 scoring shots for the term and their inaccurate effort of 7.9 prevented the margin from being higher. The Tigers, for all their effort at the start of the game, fell off the pace as Eagle players did as they pleased in the final quarter.

Twice Guy McKenna drifted forward to boot goals, finishing as one of the best players for West Coast after a jittery opening quarter. Defenders Geoff Miles and Phil Scott also drifted forward to hit the scoreboard as the last quarter descended into one-way traffic.

Chris Mainwaring was another to finish as one of the Eagles’ best after lowering his colours early in the game to Maxfield. Malthouse persisted with Mainwaring on the wing, and the Eagle had a hand in many of the Eagles’ scoring opportunities.

Stephen Malaxos again finished as the Eagles’ prime possession winner, tallying 27 through the middle, as did Kemp. Craig Turley picked up 24 disposals, while David Hart was able to gather 22 and kick three goals, while also putting the clamps on Mitchell in the final three terms.

Hart was one of four players to finish with three goals for West Coast, who were still without spearhead Peter Sumich and had a goalless performance from Craig McGrath up forward.

Hart, Ugle, Heady and Karl Langdon all booted three goals, while Chris Lewis could have had a day out but could only return an inaccurate 2.4. The Eagles spread the load of the scoreboard, with 12 Eagles kicking majors.

Dean Kemp was one of the best for West Coast

Jeff Hogg booted four majors for the Tigers, while Matthew Knights chipped in with three goals to go with 22 touches as his side’s standout player. With Dale Weightman copping a four week ban during the week for a late hit on Fitzroy midfielder Paul Broderick, Craig Lambert stepped into the vacant centreman role picking up a team high 26 disposals.

The major disappointment for West Coast was the likely season-ending injury to half-forward Peter Wilson. Wilson suffered a double fracture in his jaw after he was crashed into by former teammate Richard Nixon during the third quarter, prompting Malthouse to question the incident with the field umpires during the three-quarter time break.

After the match, Malthouse expressed happiness over the win, but admitted that his side needed to show a lot more improvement.

“We have a fair way to go to be the side we all want to be.”

“The true test is against the top sides. They are the ones that expose the team’s old mannerisms.”

Interestingly, Richmond coach Kevin Bartlett agreed with Malthouse’s summation that West Coast had plenty to improve on. “I didn’t think the Eagles played well at all. If we could have bolstered our side with some of our injured players, we could have made it a lot tougher.”

The Eagles remained third on the ladder following the win, but joined the Magpies on points, after Collingwood fell to Essendon in a top-of-the-table clash.

Such was the anticipation for the match, in what was strongly predicted as the Grand Final preview, the AFL broadcast the game live on television into Victoria – the first time a match had been shown live against the gate, excluding Grand Finals, since 1970.

And the match didn’t disappoint, as Essendon withstood a late Magpie fightback and a debilitating injury list to hold on for a six point victory. The Bombers broke out to a six goal lead by early in the second term and still held a 28 point lead with a quarter to play.

But the Bombers had just 15 fit players through the final term as Collingwood booted four goals to close in on the lead. Neither side could find the goals in the final ten minutes of the game, as Collingwood relentlessly attacked and Essendon resiliently defended.

James Manson had two simple chances late in the game to put the Magpies in front, but butchered both opportunities, allowing Essendon to hold on at the final siren. The result meant Essendon held onto their spot at the top of the ladder, but were now a game clear of the Magpies and Eagles.

Melbourne continued their push for the double chance when they coasted to a 67 point win over Sydney. Ricky Jackson and Darren Bennett combined for 11 majors as the Demons primed themselves ahead of a trip to Perth to take on West Coast in a crucial game for both sides.

The Hawks rounded out the top five with an impressive 36 point win over St Kilda, which all but snuffed out the Saints’ finals chances. A nine-goal second term proved the difference in the game, with Jason Dunstall booting five goals for the victors and Tony Lockett four in the battle of the heavyweight forwards.

Footscray appeared to be the last team fighting for a finals spot after North Melbourne defeated Carlton by 34 points. The Kangaroos kicked six goals to nil in the opening term and maintained their lead through the remainder of the match, leaving both clubs sitting two games behind Hawthorn with four matches to play.

The Bulldogs leapt up to sixth, one win behind the Hawks, when they got the job done against Fitzroy, winning by 35 points. In the other match in the round, Brisbane climbed off the bottom of the ladder when they thrashed a pathetic Geelong by eleven goals. Roger Merrett booted eight goals for the Bears, with the result relegating the Swans to the foot of the table.

1994 Rewind: Eagles End Tiger Streak

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West Coast bounced back from their narrow loss to Adelaide with an eight goal win over Richmond, which ended the Tigers’ six game winning streak.

Richmond arrived in Perth as one of the form teams of the competition, rising to fifth on the ladder on the back of a mid-season revival that had the Tiger faithful dreaming of a first finals appearance since 1982. But they were no match for one of the premiership favourites on their home turf.

However, it was that home turf which once again hit the headlines after Richmond coach John Northey blasted the surface for not being up to scratch. A fortnight after Mick Malthouse was critical over the poor standard of the ground, Northey labelled the surface ‘absolutely pathetic’.

“It’s no good having tremendous facilities and the ground being as poor as it is… to me this is an absolute disgrace.”

Northey’s comments were echoed by Malthouse who reiterated his thoughts after the last Eagles home game. “We’ve been a victim of our home ground in many respects. When it is like it is at the moment… we have modified our training while we wait and see how the ground comes up.”

The ongoing discussion prompted the General Manager at Subiaco Football Club Alan White to reveal they had presented an offer to the WAFC to subsidise the resurfacing costs of the ground, in exchange for an extension of their current lease at Subiaco until 2011. However, White claimed that WAFC Chief Executive Jeff Ovens rejected the offer.

The WAFC said they needed $700,000 to repair the drainage at the ground, but with West Coast not scheduled to play at the ground again until the final round, and with any home finals set to be staged at the WACA due to capacity concerns, the hope was that the ground would recover on its own.

While the deterioration of the ground and who was responsible continued to be debated, what couldn’t be questioned was the gap between the two sides. West Coast controlled the contest from midway through the first quarter and only poor kicking on goal prevented the final margin from being far greater.

The Eagles made four changes to the team that lost to Adelaide, with three players forced out with injury. Michael Brennan damaged a hamstring, John Worsfold was ruled out with a groin and then Tony Evans was pulled on the morning of the game with a back concern. Brett Spinks was dropped after a poor showing against the Crows.

Shane Bond and David Hynes returned from injury, while Mitchell White was selected for his first senior game of the year, after recurring groin problems had kept the premiership forward sidelined since pre-season. Damien Hampson was then selected for his first game in over a year when he came in as the late replacement for Evans.

The Tigers has their own injury concerns entering the game losing Mark Neeld (knee) and Stuart Edwrds (groin) at selection. Paul Bulless and Tony Free were the two inclusions.

After being humbled by Shaun Rehn the week before, Eagles duo Ryan Turnbull and Jason Ball responded in fine fashion. Turnbull was dominant in the ruck against Tiger counterpart Greg Dear, so much so, that David Hynes rarely got off the bench as Turnbull provided the Eagles midfield with first use from the ruck knock.

Turnbull had 23 hit-outs to go with 14 disposals and four marks as he showed his versatility around the ground. After spending parts of the year either in the ruck and in defence, Ball played primarily out of his favoured position at centre-half-forward in the absence of Brett Spinks. Ball produced the best performance of his 10-game career with 23 disposals and ten marks.

Ball’s showing at half-forward also created plenty of opportunities for full-forward Peter Sumich, who had his best return for the year. Sumich finished with 6.5 from 11 kicks and six marks and most pleasingly showed no concerns with his questionable hamstring opposed to Tiger full-back Scott Turner.

The Tigers had the better start with Matthew Richardson proving too much for Ashley McIntosh to boot the opening two goals. Brendan Gale was similarly getting the better of Glen Jakovich picking up five marks in the first 14 minutes of the game.

However, with Turnbull getting the ascendancy at the stoppages, the Eagles soon had the momentum of the game through the likes of Craig Turley, Dean Kemp and Peter Wilson. Turley, in particular, started strongly in his customary ruck-rover position, getting the better of Paul Broderick with seven first-quarter possessions.

Sumich and Peter Wilson got West Coast on the board but wayward kicking allowed Richmond to hold a one point lead at the first change. Shane Bond and Sumich kicked early goals to put West Coast in front, but held only an 11 point lead at the main break following further inaccuracy in front of goal.

After half-time, the Eagles got reward for their dominance with a nine goal to three second half bringing about a 48 point win.

Eagles coach Mick Malthouse was happy enough with the win, although admitted that he felt his side should have been better in front of goal considering their statistical advantage. “By our tally we had 70 or 80 more kicks and 60 more handpasses. I think we really should have done better than win by seven or eight goals.”

The Eagles had 78 more kicks and 26 more handpasses, resulting in 13 more scoring shots.

Chris Mainwaring finished with 31 disposals to lead the Eagles, with Dean Kemp (29), Craig Turley (23) and Peter Wilson (18) all prominent. Stand-in captain Guy McKenna marshalled the Eagles defence with David Hart restricting Nick Daffy to just eight disposals.

Brendan Gale was the Tigers’ best player, clearly getting the better of Glen Jakovich at centre half forward, but the dominance of Turnbull forced Richmond to move Gale into the ruck, depriving them of a key target ahead of the ball. Matthew Richardson booted four goals from limited chances and Duncan Kellaway was defiant in defence, having the better of Brett Heady and then Chris Lewis.

Heady would be the one low point out of the match for West Coast, dislocating a shoulder during the third term.

The win meant West Coast moved back to one game clear at the top of the ladder after Carlton fell to Geelong by 36 points at Waverley Park. The Cats charged to a five goal lead at the first change and held sway for the remainder of the afternoon to record their eighth win of the season and stay in touch with the top eight.

North Melbourne took a hold of third place when they ran away from the fourth-placed Hawks. The Kangaroos led by just four points at three-quarter time after a tight struggle, but six goals to just one point in the last term saw North Melbourne record a comfortable 40 point win. Despite the loss, Hawthorn stayed in fourth spot but they were joined on points by Footscray who were the big movers of the weekend.

The Bulldogs were too good for the Mapgies, recording their fifth win in six games to rise from eighth on the ladder to fifth bypassing the Magpies, Tigers and Bombers, who suffered a shock loss to lowly St Kilda. Tony Lockett booted six goals for the Saints who produced a remarkable display of accuracy to finish with 18.2 in a ten point win.

The other surprising result of the weekend was Adelaide’s defeat at home to Sydney. A week after they toppled the ladder-leading Eagles, the Crows fell to the bottom of the ladder Swans by 12 points, all but ending their finals aspirations. The loss ended a tumultuous week for the Crows who stood down high-flying full forward Tony Modra after he missed a training session during the week. The situation prompted growing rumours that Modra was set to join new club Fremantle for their inaugural season in 1995.

Despite being a game clear of Carlton and three games clear of third-placed North Melbourne, Eagles coach Mick Malthouse refused to entertain the idea that West Coast had secured a top two position which guaranteed two home finals.

“We are not even thinking about that,” a terse Malthouse declared.