The Eagles came out on top of a tight arm-wrestle with Richmond, defying a short layoff and a lengthening injury list to prevail by 20 points. After a fast start, West Coast trailed at halftime but took control of the contest in the third term, then defended stoutly and held the Tigers goalless in the last to head into the mid-season bye on a winning note. Nic Naitanui was influential in the ruck with 33 hitouts (14 of them to advantage) and added a couple of goals, and Andrew Gaff continued his strong form with 31 touches.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | 4.2.26 | 8.3.51 | 10.6.66 | 10.10.70 | ||||
| West Coast | 4.3.27 | 7.6.48 | 12.8.80 | 13.12.90 |
Goals: Kennedy 3, Cripps, Darling, LeCras, Naitanui 2, Sheed, Yeo
Best: Naitanui, Gaff, McGovern, Yeo, Masten, Ellis, Priddis
Injuries: Cripps (corked quad), Schofield (glute)
Sub: Duggan for Cripps (corked quad) in the fourth quarter
Named side[]
| West Coast | Richmond | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 25.Hurn | 20.McGovern | 5.Sheppard | B: | 2.Grimes | 11.Batchelor | 25.Chaplin |
| HB: | 6.Yeo | 31.Schofield | 12.Wellingham | HB: | 31.Vlastuin | 18.Rance | 14.Houli |
| C: | 14.Duggan | 11.Priddis | 18.Ellis | C: | 5.B.Ellis | 26.Miles | 33.McIntosh |
| HF: | 33.Hill | 27.Darling | 7.Masten | HF: | 38.Morris | 3.Deledio | 4.Martin |
| F: | 2.LeCras | 17.Kennedy | 15.Cripps | F: | 24.Griffiths | 8.Riewoldt | 9.Cotchin |
| R: | 9.Naitanui | 13.Shuey | 3.Gaff | R: | 20.Maric | 28.Hunt | 6.Grigg |
| I: | 24.Rosa | 22.Sinclair | 4.Sheed | I: | 32.C.Ellis | 10.Edwards | 29.Vickery |
| 10.Selwood | 37.Menadue | ||||||
| Em: | 36.McInnes | 30.Nelson | 44.Bennell | Em: | 1.Newman | 7.Dea | 22.Gordon |
In: Rosa
Out: Butler (soreness)
Quarter by quarter[]
Both sides went in as named, despite speculation over McGovern following some heavy knocks the previous week. Duggan started as sub, with fellow draftee Connor Menadue filling that role for the Tigers.
Club Champion votes[]
| [1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naitanui | 13 | Sheed | 6 | |||
| Gaff | 12 | Sheppard | 6 | |||
| McGovern | 12 | Shuey | 6 | |||
| Ellis | 11 | Cripps | 5 | |||
| Priddis | 10 | Hurn | 5 | |||
| Kennedy | 8 | Rosa | 5 | |||
| LeCras | 8 | Wellingham | 3 | |||
| Schofield | 7 | Hill | 1 | |||
| Yeo | 7 | Selwood | 1 | |||
| Darling | 6 | Duggan | 0 | |||
| Masten | 6 | Sinclair | 0 |
From the coach[]
"We built ourselves up for this game, and I'm really proud of the boys with the way they handled that last quarter. There wasn't a lot of coaching going on up top, it was sort of over to them and I thought they handled it pretty well."
...
"The fact is Richmond are a good side, they've got some talented players and they play to a pretty good system. It seemed to be there for a while 'two goals to us, two goals to them'. It was a little bit of a game of momentum there, and we lost it towards the end of the first quarter and we lost it towards the end of the second quarter. I wasn't panicking but I was concerned at how the game was trending."
...
"It felt like Richmond probably were transitioning a little bit better than us at stages with their rebound, but I thought the supply was sort of there. In the second quarter we might have had only 11 inside 50s, but I thought for the most part with Nic in particular doing what Nic does, gives us an opportunity to be first on the ball."
From the papers[]
The West Australian[]
"In West Coast’s only home-and-away trip to the MCG this season, the contest with Richmond always shaped as a battle to see which side was the real deal as they jostled for spots in the top eight.
Both had their moments as momentum changed hands on several occasions during the first half.
West Coast big man Nic Naitanui dominated the ruck contest with Ivan Maric and was dangerous on the ground, with his aerial work often giving the Eagles’ midfield first use of the ball.
Naitanui also pushed forward to kick two goals in the first quarter."[2]
The Age[]
"The difference between the sides was seen most dramatically in West Coast's ability to take intercept marks – not simply in defence. This was due in equal measure to West Coast's intercepting abilities – headed by Jeremy McGovern – and Richmond's miscued kicks.
The match followed a distinct pattern. The Eagles would own the opening periods of quarters and build leads, then the Tigers would respond. Richmond even headed the Eagles at half-time after an impressive flurry in time-on.
But, in this game of spurts, West Coast always answered the Tiger retort. The Eagles literally had the answers. The decisive period was the early part of the third term, when the Eagles booted four goals without reply to build a 23-point lead."[3]
Herald-Sun[]
"Much was made of the Tigers trio of tall forwards but Eagles’ 24-gamer McGovern bolstered his All-Australian claims with another commanding aerial performance in defence.
West Coast won the first nine clearances of the night and superstar ruckman Naitanui again appeared to take the game away from the Tigers earlier in the third term with his spectacular ruck work and bruising follow-up around the stoppages.
Climbing over his opposite big man Ivan Maric, Naitanui helped ignite a run of four-straight goals early in the third term as Gaff continued to run free through the midfield and Josh Kennedy began to impose himself on Alex Rance, booting his third goal.
Priddis was another who continued a campaign widely rated even more special than last year, when he trumped the competition to win the Brownlow Medal."[4]
East Perth report[]
Round 13 (20 June)
East Perth held off East Fremantle at Leederville Oval, leading at every change to run out 21 point winners. Mark Hutchings kicked two early goals and finished with 31 possessions, aided by Kane Lucas with 30, while Murray Newman led the Royals' scorers with three goals.
Appearing for East Perth: Adamson(*WAFL debut), Barrass, Brophy, Cavka(*), Colledge, Hutchings, Lucas, McInnes, Newman, Powell. Reserves: Main
Injury list[]
In the lead-up to the match the following players were listed as injured or unavailable:
| Player | Injury | Expected duration | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacKenzie | Knee | Season | (Placed on LTI list 2/4/15, replaced by Lucas) | |||
| Brown | Knee | Season | ||||
| Tunbridge | Ankle/shoulder | Season | ||||
| McGinnity | Wrist | 3-4 weeks | ||||
| Lamb | Knee | 3 weeks | ||||
| McGovern | Thigh | Test | ||||
| Maginness | Foot | Unknown | (rookies not officially listed) |
References[]
http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2015/12/rich-v-wce
http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2015/141820150619.html
- ↑ West Coast Eagles Year Book 2015, p.39
- ↑ Shayne Hope, The West Australian (19 June 2015), "Eagles earn their stripes at the 'G'": https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/28504119/eagles-earn-their-stripes-at-the-g/
- ↑ Jake Niall, The Age (19 June 2015), "West Coast subdue Richmond for win on the road": http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/west-coast-subdue-richmond-for-win-on-the-road-20150619-ghsuie.html
- ↑ Jay Clark, Herald-Sun (19 June 2015), "Convincing Eagles secure vital victory": http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afl-2015-west-coast-defeats-richmond-by-20-points-in-round-12-at-the-mcg/story-fni5f22o-1227406348207
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