West Coast won a nailbiter against Sydney, the first in a remarkable series of close finishes between the two sides, to progress to a home preliminary final. The Eagles trailed by 14 at the final change after going goalless in the third term, but squeaked home thanks in part to a suspect umpiring decision against Leo Barry that Tyson Stenglein converted for a goal. West Coast were well-served by star midfield trio Chris Judd (30 disposals), Ben Cousins (29 disposals) and Daniel Kerr (24 disposals, 8 clearances and 6 tackles).
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 4.1.25 | 5.4.34 | 5.7.37 | 10.9.69 | ||||
| Sydney | 3.1.19 | 5.2.32 | 8.3.51 | 10.5.65 |
Goals: Gardiner, Hunter, Sampi 2, Hansen, Kerr, Seaby, Stenglein
Best: Judd, Kerr, Cousins, Hunter, Nicoski, Wirrpanda
Injuries: Matera (cork)
Milestones: Matera final appearance
Named sides[]
| West Coast | Sydney | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 44.Wirrpanda | 23.Glass | 39.Hunter | B: | 28.Crouch | 21.Barry | 6.C.Bolton |
| HB: | 5.Stenglein | 41.Staker | 6.Banfield | HB: | 4.Mathews | 30.Roberts-Thomson | 17.Kennelly |
| C: | 32.Embley | 9.Cousins | 10.Braun | C: | 37.Goodes | 20.Ablett | 26.Dempster |
| HF: | 17.Chick | 1.Gardiner | 4.Kerr | HF: | 5.O'Keefe | 1.Hall | 24.J.Bolton |
| F: | 33.Matera | 21.Lynch | 14.Seaby | F: | 2.Davis | 19.O'Loughlin | 32.Buchanan |
| R: | 20.Cox | 3.Judd | 7.Fletcher | R: | 16.Jolly | 31.Kirk | 10.Williams |
| I: | 28.Sampi | 31.Nicoski | 38.B.Jones | I: | 38.Vogels | 13.Schneider | 12.Fosdike |
| 29.Hansen | 27.Ball | ||||||
| E: | 26.Butler | 35.Green | 18.R.Jones | E: | 42.Bevan | 3.McVeigh | 29.Powell |
In: B.Jones
Out: Selwood (concussion)
From the papers[]
The West Australian[]
"It was an epic from start to finish, the Eagles powered by their majestic midfield brilliantly led by Ben Cousins, Chris Judd and Daniel Kerr, the Swans kept in it by their magnificent back line led by Tadhg Kennelly.
The Swans, brave to the end, appeared to have tackled the Eagles out of the match when they held them goalless for the entire third term and took a 14-point lead to three-quarter time.
For much of the game it was a brutal, frenetic one-on-one war and in the mass of one-on-one battles in the opening term, Kerr was able to get free because while Sydney were trying to get their best tagger, Brett Kirk, on to him, Eagles coach John Worsfold was trying to get Stenglein on to Kirk.
The result was that West Coast had a two-on-one advantage while Sydney had a free man."[1]
The Age[]
"It was clear that the Eagles wanted to set some records straight after earning plenty of criticism over their form and attitude in recent weeks.
The Swans barely had room to breathe, suffocated by a rampant midfield that was being led beautifully by Daniel Kerr and Chris Judd.
They were picking up possessions at will while the Swans struggled to keep pace.
Kerr and Michael Gardiner kicked early goals to get the crowd going and ignite fears of a one-sided contest.
But the Swans have shown this year they are made of stern stuff and gradually fought their way back into the match."[2]
WAFL[]
Semi Finals (3 Sept)
South Fremantle (Gaspar, Graham) def. Subiaco
Claremont (R.Jones, Morton) def Swan Districts (Edwards)
Wilkes and Thornton played reserves.
Injury list[]
In the lead-up to the round the following players were listed as injured:[3]
| Player | Injury | Expected duration | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith | Knee | Season | ||||
| Waters | Groin | 2 weeks | (On LTI list, replaced by Edwards) | |||
| Wooden | Groin | 1-2 weeks | ||||
| McConnell | Glandular fever | 1 week | ||||
| Selwood | Concussion | Test |
References[]
http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2005/161820050902.html
- ↑ Mark Duffield, The West Australian (3 September 2005, p. 196), "Hunter gives Eagles wings in epic finish"
- ↑ James Dampney and Richard Hinds, The Age (3 September 2005), "Eagles home by 4 points": http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=age&kw=sampi+and+seaby+and+schneider&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=nrm&clsPage=1&docID=AGE050903KLJI47J9A71
- ↑ The West Australian (30 August 2005, p.65), "AFL injury list"
| 2005 season |
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