Round 11 2021

West Coast v Essendon
Round 11, 2021

Ah Chee in action. Photo: aflphotos.com.au

Date

Sat, 29 May 2021 (5.40pm WST)

Venue

Perth Stadium

Attendance

41,883

Result

Lost by 16

Score

ESS 12.15.87 - 11.5.71 WCE

Brownlow

3 D.Parish (ESS)
2 D.Sheed (WCE)
1 Z.Merrett (ESS)

Ladder

7th

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West Coast's hopes of a top-four finish took a huge hit with an upset loss to Essendon at Perth Stadium. On a wet night, West Coast kicked remarkably straight through the first half and held a 29 point lead during the second term, but the second half was a different story as the Bombers dominated play and rolled over the top of the home side in front of a stunned crowd. The Eagles' cause was not helped by the loss of stars Tim Kelly (knee) and Oscar Allen (concussion), adding to an already-lengthy injury list. Dom Sheed had a career-high 43 possessions but was wayward with his disposal, and Josh Kennedy kicked three goals.

Summary

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
West Coast		3.0.18		9.0.54		10.5.65		11.5.71
Essendon		2.4.16		5.7.37		9.8.62		12.15.87

Goals: Kennedy 3, Waterman 2, Ah Chee, Cripps, Darling, Petruccelle, Ryan, Sheed

Best: Sheed, Naitanui, Barrass, Kennedy, Redden, Hurn

Injuries: Kelly (knee), Allen (concussion)

Medical subs: (WCE) Waterman for Kelly (knee) in the second quarter; (ESS) Ham, not used

Jumper: Indigenous, blue shorts

Named sides

	West Coast				Essendon
B:	25.Hurn	37.Barrass	5.Sheppard	B:	15.Laverde	10.Francis	14.Haynes
HB:	10.Brander	35.Rotham	28.Cole	HB:	21.Heppell	17.Stewart	19.Hind
C:	3.Gaff	8.Redden	15.Cripps	C:	1.McGrath	7.Merrett	13.Cox
HF:	41.Ah Chee	27.Darling	4.Sheed	HF:	16.Perkins	25.Stringer	40.Snelling
F:	12.Allen	17.Kennedy	1.Ryan	F:	45.Waterman	26.Hooker	43.McDonald-Tipungwuti
R:	9.Naitanui	6.Yeo	11.Kelly	R:	34.Phillips	3.Parish	11.Zaharakis
I:	30.Nelson	21.Petruccelle	31.Jones	I:	20.Wright	4.Langford	27.Redman
	32.Williams				35.Guelfi
E:	42.H.Edwards	29.Foley	16.L.Edwards	E:	23.Jones	33.Ham	30.Zerk-Thatcher
	2.Waterman				29.Ambrose

In: Yeo, Jones (unused medical sub)

Out: H.Edwards, Waterman

Late changes: (ESS) Jones, Zerk-Thatcher for Wright (calf), Francis (ill)

Quarter by quarter

Having announced that Brandon Zerk-Thatcher would replace an ill Aaron Francis earlier in the weekend, Essendon were forced into another change with Harry Jones coming in for Peter Wright. The match was played in wet and slippery conditions after persistent rain throughout the day, although it generally held off for the first three quarters of play. The match was preceded by a rousing Welcome to Country to mark the Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round.

From the coach

"We lost field position, our last quarter, we lost a couple of players throughout the day who are pretty important to us, but we thought we managed that pretty well halfway through the second quarter. Conceding two or three goals late before halftime, then probably the weight of numbers, probably off turnover, they got us on the outside in the last quarter. We couldn’t win a contest in front of the ball, so we weren’t tough enough for long enough really.

"Having some players underdone, doesn’t help when you have two injuries, so Liam Ryan, Shannon Hurn, they’re both coming back from four or five (weeks), but that’s not an excuse, I don’t think we should dwell on that too much. We couldn’t win a contest in front of the ball late, they played really well, they got us on the outside, midfield depth, we probably didn’t have that in the last quarter and a bit, but got to give a lot of credit to Essendon.

"...I think the stoppage numbers were pretty even, but it was more, if we got a clearance they got us on the spread, on the return of serve sort of thing, off a clearance win. It was turnovers more than stoppages, but yeah look, we had dominance in the ruck, I thought Nic played really well, didn’t take full advantage of that. We hopefully have a more rounded game than just rely on Nic."

From the papers

The West Australian

"The home side booted five consecutive goals through the middle of the second quarter, but goals to Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Kyle Langford would soon be worth their weight on gold as they pulled the Bombers back within striking range.

With Kelly and Allen out of action, and Yeo playing just 64 per cent of game time for 14 disposals, it looked like a huge ask to hold on and so it proved.

Adam Simpson was forced to throw the magnets around, with 195cm wingman Jarrod Brander summoned to defence and Brendon Ah Chee used to help patch-up the centre-square division.

The Bombers assumed control in the third term, kicking four goals to one. When Stringer nailed a beauty from the boundary line just before three-quarter time, the visitors were within a kick and when he followed it up with a snapped goal to start the final stanza, Essendon were in front for the first time."

The Age

"When former Eagle Alec Waterman gave the Bombers a double-digit lead with minutes to go, the Bombers had one of their best wins of the past decade.

Darcy Parish (36 disposals) and Zach Merrett (37) found plenty of the ball, Dyson Heppell (22) was steady at half-back while Kyle Langford (28) was also important, coming as Eagle Dom Sheed had 43 disposals and Nic Naitanui 40 hitouts.The Bombers trailed by almost five goals in the second term when the Eagles booted six for the quarter and had an unblemished nine on the board by half-time.

The Eagles’ lead was cut to 17 by half-time but became 25 early in the third term when Josh Kennedy converted in wet and slippery conditions.

However, the Bombers responded in style, booting four straight goals to trail by only three points at the final break."

Reserves

Round 8 (29 May)

West Coast's horror season continued with a touch-up from reigning premiers South Fremantle at Fremantle Oval. The Eagles were competitive in the first quarter but seven unanswered goals from the Bulldogs in the second term ended the match as a contest. Xavier O'Neill picked up 24 touches and six tackles and Zane Trew had 20 possessions.

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
South Fremantle		5.2.32		12.4.76		15.4.94		20.7.127
West Coast		3.3.21		3.4.22		5.7.37		9.7.61

Goals: Brayshaw 2, Ainsworth, Deegan, Garlett, Langdon, Marlin, Nitschke, Robilliard

Best: O'Neill, H.Edwards, Trew, Hutchings, Foley

Injuries: Busher (elbow), Hansen (head knock)

Reports: Vardy for striking C.Pearson

Named side:

	West Coast
B:	38.Johnson	58.Busher	62.Cary
HB:	18.Sears	50.Fitzgerald	51.Marlin
C:	26.Trew	33.Ainsworth	24.O'Neill
HF:	56.Hug	7.Langdon	60.Deegan
F:	63.Hansen	40.Jamieson	12.Garlett
R:	19.Vardy	45.Brayshaw	34.Hutchings
I:	52.Feeney	53.Humble	59.Nitschke
	61.Robilliard
E:	57.Bentley	67.Borgogno	47.Paunich

In: Cary, Garlett, Hansen, Humble, Nitschke

Out: L.Edwards, Foley, Yeo (AFL), Cameron (ankle), McGee

Late changes: H.Edwards, L.Edwards, Foley for Fitzgerald (hamstring), Feeney, Humble

New: Jarrod Garlett (Geraldton Railways)

Injury list

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

Player		Injury		Expected return
Rioli		Suspension		12 weeks
Cameron		Ankle		TBC
Winder		Knee		5 weeks
Shuey		Hamstring		TBC (expected 4+ weeks)
McGovern		Knee		4 weeks
Duggan		Knee		3 weeks
Witherden		Groin		1-2 weeks
Sheppard		Ankle		Test
Venables*		Concussion		Indefinite

References

https://www.afl.com.au/matches/3120

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2021/051820210529.html