West Coast suffered their first ever defeat at the hands of the Suns in a topsy-turvy affair at Carrara. The visiting Eagles appeared to have fought back from a sizeable three-quarter time deficit, booting the opening four goals of the final term to lead by ten points, but coughed up two late goals to Gold Coast to slump to their third straight defeat heading into the mid-season bye. The in-form Elliot Yeo stood up in the absence of injured spearhead Josh Kennedy to kick three goals in a forward-midfield role, and veteran Sam Mitchell had 33 possessions.
Summary[]
1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gold Coast | 2.5.17 | 5.10.40 | 9.10.64 | 11.14.80 | ||||
West Coast | 3.3.21 | 5.5.35 | 7.8.50 | 11.11.77 |
Goals: Yeo 3, Hill 2, Cripps, Jetta, McGovern, Petrie, Schofield, Shuey
Best: Mitchell, Sheed, Shuey, Yeo, Jetta
Injuries: Nil
Records: Gold Coast first win vs WCE
Named sides[]
West Coast | Gold Coast | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B: | Butler | Schofield | Hurn | B: | Joyce | Leslie | Harbrow |
HB: | Yeo | McGovern | Nelson | HB: | Lemmens | May | Saad |
C: | Cripps | Priddis | Gaff | C: | Rosa | Ablett | Swallow |
HF: | Duggan | Darling | LeCras | HF: | Lyons | Lynch | Miller |
F: | Jetta | Petrie | Hill | F: | Matera | Wright | Martin |
R: | Vardy | Mitchell | Shuey | R: | Witts | Hall | Barlow |
I: | Sheed | Sheppard | MacKenzie | I: | Hanley | Sexton | Kolodjashnij |
Hutchings | Brodie | ||||||
E: | Masten | Karpany | Redden | E: | Fiorini | Brooksby | Schoenfeld |
In: MacKenzie, Shuey, LeCras
Out: Kennedy (calf), Masten, Karpany
Quarter by quarter[]
Both sides went in as named. The game was played in bright Queensland sunshine.
Club Champion votes[]
Petrie | 10 | Cripps | 2 | ||
Yeo | 10 | Hutchings | 2 | ||
Sheed | 9 | Priddis | 1 | ||
MacKenzie | 7 | Darling | 0 | ||
Jetta | 6 | Duggan | 0 | ||
Mitchell | 5 | Gaff | 0 | ||
Vardy | 5 | Hill | 0 | ||
Hurn | 4 | LeCras | 0 | ||
Sheppard | 4 | Nelson | 0 | ||
McGovern | 3 | Schofield | 0 | ||
Butler | 2 | Shuey | 0 |
From the coach[]
"It was disappointing, wasn't it? There was a lot of work done to get back in the game and get 10 points up with two or three minutes to go. We'll need to reflect more on that, but there were moments in that last few minutes where we lost our composure and some experienced players didn't handle it too well. There were a couple of luck plays, but a couple of plays I think we could've handled a bit better.
"...In the first half I thought our work rate was just not as good as Gold Coast's. Uncontested marks - we knew what they were going to do and we couldn't stop it. A lot of it was probably how we moved the ball and what we did once we entered our inside 50. Trying to equalise the game, trying to help the stoppages, all those things ebbed and flowed and we hung in there pretty well. We weren't playing at our best, but we were doing enough to stay in the contest. We started the last quarter a lot more assertive and worked a lot harder, and got back into the game and got in front.
"...We need more out of everyone, really. It's just an average level of performance at the moment. You've got to give credit to Gold Coast. They hung in there and they played four quarters. They're hard to beat up here, we get that, but we had our opportunities today."
From the papers[]
The West Australian[]
"The Eagles lacked Josh Kennedy's precision up front in the low-scoring encounter.
Kennedy suffered a calf injury last week and was sorely missed.
Their slingshot style of football couldn't pip the Suns in a match marred by errors from both sides.
Sam Mitchell produced another stellar performance with 33 disposals but was unable to drag his team across the line."
The Age[]
"The third quarter see-sawed for 12 minutes, with multiple lead changes as both sides tried to press their claims on the match. Yeo kicked two more for the Eagles, the first a clean set shot after a very short Sam Mitchell chip, while the second found him on the end of a coast-to-coast chain of possessions through the middle.
It was the Suns who were able to wrest the initiative and the advantage, with Lynch snapping truly for his third and Aaron Hall pinning Brad Sheppard in the goal square. Then Lynch found a running Ablett in the centre, whose kick found an open Alex Sexton.
Harbrow extended the Suns lead to a game-high 15 points late in the quarter, and he was also instrumental in defending that lead to the end of the quarter. They've got a favourable run home, but on the evidence of this game neither of these aspirants look like genuine finals quality."
Herald-Sun[]
"The nature of the goals must have had Eade wondering if his players listen to anything he says.
Lewis Jetta waltzed out of a stoppage and into the goal square for the first of the final term. Then Drew Petrie took an uncontested mark in the middle of a bunch of confused Suns defenders and converted for the second.
But the Suns refused to drop their heads.
Pearce Hanley’s desperation to win a one on two contest deep in the final quarter characterised their spirit."
East Perth report[]
Round 11 (5 June)
East Perth scored a resounding WA Day win over arch-rivals West Perth at Leederville Oval, extending their lead at every break to finish with a 46-point victory. Jack Redden had 29 possessions and two goals for the winners and fellow midfielder Luke Partington finished with three goals from his 22 touches. Scott Lycett made it through his return from injury but debutant Willie Rioli wasn't so lucky, sitting out the second half with tightness in his "good" hamstring after missing most of the year following surgery on the other leg.
Appearing for East Perth: Barrass, Cole, Gorter, Karpany, Lamb, Lycett, Masten, McInnes, Mutimer, Partington, Redden, Rioli (*first East Perth appearance), Rotham, Venables. Reserves: Bayok, Snadden, Watson.
Injury list[]
In the leadup to the match the following players were listed as injured:
Player | Injury | Expected duration | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Naitanui | Knee | Late 2017 season | (On LTI list 21/3/17, replaced by Petrie) | |||
Waterman | Foot | 6-7 weeks | ||||
Allen | Foot | 4 weeks | ||||
Kennedy | Calf | 3 weeks | ||||
Wellingham | Ankle | 1 week | ||||
Shuey | Calf | Test | ||||
LeCras | Hip | Test | ||||
Lycett | Shoulder | Test | (On LTI list 21/3/17, replaced by McInnes) | |||
Tunbridge* | Knee | 3 weeks | ||||
Watson* | Ankle | Test |
Links[]
http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2017/11/gcfc-v-wce
http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2017/182020170603.html
Mitchell van Homrigh, The West Australian (3 June 2017), "Suns pip Eagles in tight AFL encounter": https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/suns-pip-eagles-in-tight-afl-encounter-ng-s-1732923
Andrew Stafford, The Age (3 June 2017), "Suns prevail as Ablett stars, and Wright seals it": http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/gold-coast-suns-vs-west-coast-eagles-peter-wright-kicks-late-winner-20170603-gwjru9.html
Andrew Hamilton, Herald-Sun (3 June 2017), "Suns find Wright stuff to end Eagles hoodoo": http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/gold-coast-overcome-wayward-goalkicking-beat-west-coast-for-first-time-in-club-history/news-story/bf728d621503392a051bc2629269f258
2017 season <--2016-17 offseason | Playing squad | Coaching panel | 2017-18 offseason--> |
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JLT Series : 1 (GWS) | 2 (FRE) | 3 (MEL) |