Round 1 2019

Brisbane v West Coast
Round 1, 2019

Duggan gets a kick away. Photo: aflphotos.com.au

Date

Sat, 23 March 2019 (7.20pm EST)

Venue

Gabba

Attendance

20,029

Result

Lost by 44

Score

BRI 15.12.102 - 8.10.58 WCE

Brownlow

3 D.Zorko (BRI)
2 H.McCluggage (BRI)
1 L.Neale (BRI)

Ladder

16th

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West Coast were stunned by Brisbane in a rocky opening to the side's premiership defence. The visitors looked to be cruising when they led by 27 points at the first change, but added only one goal in the following term and were held scoreless in the third as the Lions ramped up the pressure to a level West Coast were unable to match. Dom Sheed had a career-high 38 possessions and Oscar Allen kicked two first-term goals.

Summary

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Brisbane		1.5.11		8.6.54		11.10.76		15.12.102
West Coast		6.2.38		7.5.47		7.5.47		8.10.58

Goals: O.Allen, Darling 2, Ryan, Sheed, Venables, Yeo

Best: Sheed, Shuey, Barrass, Yeo

Injuries: Darling (corked thigh)

Reports: Ryan for striking D.Gardiner

Milestones: Hickey WCE debut, Hurn 100th game as captain

Named sides

	West Coast				Brisbane
B:	25.Hurn	37.Barrass	5.Sheppard	B:	2.Hodge	14.Walker	10.Rich
HB:	28.Cole	20.McGovern	23.Jetta	HB:	29.Witherden	31.Andrews	27.Gardiner
C:	7.Masten	4.Sheed	8.Redden	C:	15.Zorko	9.Neale	6.McCluggage
HF:	34.Hutchings	12.O.Allen	21.Petruccelle	HF:	16.Rayner	30.Hipwood	11.McCarthy
F:	1.Ryan	27.Darling	16.Hickey	F:	23.Cameron	25.McStay	46.McInerney
R:	19.Vardy	6.Yeo	13.Shuey	R:	12.Martin	7.J.Berry	17.J.Lyons
I:	2.Waterman	10.Brander	14.Duggan	I:	4.Bastinac	5.Robinson	33.Bailey
	18.Venables				36.Mathieson
E:	30.Nelson	41.Ah Chee	43.M.Allen	E:	3.Christensen	28.Taylor	35.Lester
	45.Smith				44.Smith

New: Tom Hickey (St Kilda)

Quarter by quarter

Both sides went in as named. The game was played in warm conditions, with humidity making the surface slippery.

From the coach

"I thought Brisbane were sensational in the way they went about it. Even in the first quarter there were opportunities that they missed, so it's unfair to even say that. We had a good period of ten minutes in the first quarter. The start of the second, a couple of goals out of the middle and then I just thought we got beaten around the ball for most of the night. The numbers will tell you we well and truly did, but when it mattered we didn't compete well enough. And then the last ten minutes we lost it, which is probably one of the more disappointing parts of the night.

"...There's always positives. We'll look at the positives as much as we look at the negatives, but we're not going to stick our heads in the sand. We're not going to just park it and move on. There's opportunity for kids to come through and play some footy together. They've been doing that all pre-season, so the excuse of "they haven't played together too much" - they've played together enough. So once again, the kids have got opportunities, that's great, but it was the midfield, and a little bit of our backline, that didn't perform at their best today.

"...We got beaten at stoppages. Metres gained from stoppages, and turnovers. It was really slippery, especially in the second quarter, and we didn't handle the conditions as well as Brisbane. It wasn't a night for pretty football and when it really mattered, we didn't stand up."

From the papers

The West Australian

"The Eagles booted six unanswered goals in the first term after an opener by Lions small forward Cameron.

But Chris Fagan's team responded wonderfully after the break to kick seven-goals-to-one to turn the game on its head.

Delighted Lions' fans gave their team a standing ovation at halftime as they held a seven-point lead, with brilliance by Cameron the highlight.

Playing his first AFL match since tearing the lisfranc ligament in his right ankle last June, Cameron got the better of Eagles defender Tom Cole on the edge of the goal square before he batted the ball into the air with his hand and hooked the ball in mid-air over his shoulder for a goal."

The Age

"Neale went to half-time with 20 possessions, with only Dom Sheed finding more of the ball for the Eagles. By the third quarter, Brad Sheppard had been moved onto Cameron, and while he managed to quieten him down, the Lions dug in harder.

They’d assumed total control around the clearances, tackling hard and pinning the ball in attack. The Eagles began to look as though they were swimming through soup, with the humidity at close to 80 per cent. Missing a couple of opportunities didn’t deter the Lions, either. They just went harder—and eventually the wall broke.

McCarthy kicked his third from a long bomb, then Hipwood broke a crucial tackle to help set up Ryan Bastinac. McCluggage, growing more important with each touch, hit Cameron Rayner for the gun forward’s first. It left the Lions 29 points to the good at the last change, with the Eagles held scoreless.

Luke Hodge, playing on pure guile in what will be his last year, managed to run down Jake Waterman in a tackle close to the visitors’ goal early in the last quarter, the crowd hooting its approval. McCarthy’s fourth was enough to seal the match, late goals by Daniel Rich and Rayner adding some cream."

Reserves

Practice match (23 March)

The West Coast reserves defeated the former West Coast reserves, East Perth, by 14 points at Leederville Oval. Newly-appointed skipper Fraser McInnes starred with five goals.

		Final
East Perth		10.8.68
West Coast		12.10.82

Goals: McInnes 5, Brayshaw 2, Ah Chee, M.Allen, Brooksby, Foley, Williams

Best:

Appearing for West Coast: Ah Chee, Ainsworth, M.Allen, Bines, Brayshaw, Brooksby, Edwards, Foley, McInnes, Mutimer, Nelson, Riach, Rotham, Watson, Williams, undisclosed top-up players.

Injury list

In the leadup to the match the following players were listed as injured or unavailable:

Player		Injury		Expected return
Naitanui		Knee		Indefinite
Gaff		Suspension		2 weeks
Cameron		Ankle		1-2 weeks
Schofield		Corked thigh		1 week
Cripps		Foot		Test
Kennedy		Foot		Test
Sheppard		Cork		Test
Riach*		Wrist		Test

References

https://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2019/1/bl-v-wce

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2019/181920190323.html