West Coast finally broke through to end a losing streak, besting Essendon in a high-scoring Friday night clash. The Eagles stunned the visitors with a six-goal second term, and slowly pulled ahead in the second half, opening up a 22-point lead late in the game before a couple of Essendon goals closed the margin and had fans nervous in the dying stages. Josh Kennedy wound back the clock with five goals and Willie Rioli kicked three to go with his 19 disposals.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 3.3.21 | 9.3.57 | 13.6.84 | 16.11.107 | ||||
| Essendon | 5.5.35 | 7.10.52 | 10.13.73 | 14.13.97 |
Goals: Kennedy 5, Cripps, Rioli 3, Darling, Ryan 2, Waterman
Best: Kennedy, Rioli, Cripps, Yeo, Shuey, Darling, Duggan
Injuries: Nil
Substitutes: (WCE) Witherden, not used; (ESS) Ham, not used
Jumper: Home, blue shorts
Named sides[]
| West Coast | Essendon | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 25.Hurn | 37.Barrass | 14.Duggan | B: | 29.Kelly | 15.Laverde | 14.Ridley |
| HB: | 31.Jones | 35.Rotham | 6.Yeo | HB: | 27.Redman | 21.Heppell | 19.Hind |
| C: | 36.West | 11.Kelly | 8.Redden | C: | 11.Snelling | 7.Merrett | 22.Durham |
| HF: | 15.Cripps | 27.Darling | 44.Rioli | HF: | 9.Shiel | 4.Langford | 42.D'Ambrosio |
| F: | 1.Ryan | 17.Kennedy | 2.Waterman | F: | 20.Wright | 25.Stringer | 23.Jones |
| R: | 32.B.Williams | 13.Shuey | 3.Gaff | R: | 2.Draper | 6.Caldwell | 37.Martin |
| I: | 19.Hough | 21.Petruccelle | 33.Bazzo | I: | 8.Hobbs | 16.Perkins | 24.Bryan |
| 40.Jamieson | 35.Guelfi | ||||||
| E: | 23.Witherden | 29.Foley | 39.Clark | E: | 12.Cutler | 33.Ham | 30.Zerk-Thatcher |
| 42.H.Edwards | 45.Waterman |
In: Rotham, Kelly, Ryan
Out: McGovern (ribs), Sheed (shin), Nelson
Quarter by quarter[]
Both sides went in as named. The game was played in fine but chilly conditions.
From the coach[]
“It’s a bit of relief, I suppose. It’s been a long time between drinks. Really happy that we got a win. We’ve been working pretty hard for a few weeks now trying to get a little bit of our system and identity right. It would’ve been a pretty good game to watch. High scoring and some really good passages of play from both sides, and in the end it could have gone either way. I think from half-time of the Adelaide game we’ve seen slow improvement and we’ve got some players back as well. Talent helps everything. I think we’ve grown the last two or three weeks and to get a win at home with a crowd – I think 41,000 tonight – so they turned up and we put on a good show.
“...I can’t remember the last time we had everyone together in the front half. We’re missing Oscar Allen, but for the most part that was a pretty experienced forward line. We are going through a transition phase and a rebuild, but we’ve got some good senior players coming back into form and some availability, so we still think there’s a pretty good side there underneath what we need to do with the draft and playing the kids. Getting that balance is important. I thought the senior players played well tonight.
“I thought our ball movement hurt us a little bit in the first quarter. We had some turnovers that to be honest have been costing us a lot this year off the half-back line. If you’re forever trying to build your game up from D50, that happens a little bit. You try and be brave and you miss a kick here or there and you go into your shell. I suppose what we’ve done a little bit differently is we’ve maintained enthusiasm for our ball movement and we’ve got a little bit better at the contest and started winning some centre bounces and got field position, then the game looks a bit different.”[1]
From the papers[]
The West Australian[]
"It waas an old West Coast asset that dragged them from 14 points down at quarter time to a five point lead at half-time: Efficiency.
It was a trait they were renowned for from 2018 to halfway through 2021 but has been missing for almost all of this year. West Coast kicked 6.0 for the term to Essendon's 2.5.
And while Wright had booted three first-half goals and provided a dominant target in attack, he had also missed four times.
All could and should have been kicked. At the other end, Kennedy nailed a bender from his favourite forward pocket at Optus Stadium for one of his three goals straight."[2]
The Age[]
"Quickly, the Bombers were out by 22 points, and it looked like last week’s Eagles revival was an aberration.
But the Bombers started making their own mistakes, and the more accurate Eagles kept making them pay. Old hands were prominent: Kennedy; Jack Darling; Jamie Cripps; Rioli. All had two goals to their names by half-time.
After seven lead changes, that was enough for the Eagles to take a five-point lead into the break, and then it was back on again. The third quarter brought four more lead changes, but it was Rioli, Jake Waterman and Ryan that consolidated a narrow Eagles advantage.
Ryan’s second goal, snapped as he was dragged to ground by a desperate Mason Redman late in the third quarter, was a team-lifter, the one that really gave the Eagles belief that the game was there to be won."[3]
Reserves[]
Round 10 (25 June)
A strong West Coast side, featuring 14 AFL-listed players including Nic Naitanui, broke through for their first win of 2022, stunning South Fremantle at Lathlain Park. The Eagles had the best of Souths throughout, and put the result beyond doubt when they held the Bulldogs scoreless in the third term. Harry Edwards had a league-record 23 marks and Naitanui kicked two goals and had 26 hitouts in limited minutes.
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 4.3.27 | 6.7.43 | 9.9.63 | 13.12.90 | ||||
| South Fremantle | 1.3.9 | 4.6.30 | 4.6.30 | 7.7.49 |
Goals: J.Williams 3, Johnstone, Naitanui, Naish 2, Clark, Foley, Nelson, Winder
Best: Naitanui, H.Edwards, Clark, Naish, O'Neill, Foley
Injuries: Nil
Named side:
| West Coast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 22.Winder | 63.Hansen | 53.Henderson | |
| HB: | 10.Petrevski-Seton | 56.Creasey | 54.Browne | |
| C: | 30.Nelson | 26.Trew | 43.Naish | |
| HF: | 60.Deegan | 34.J.Williams | 61.McCarthy | |
| F: | 71.Johnstone | 45.Strnadica | 51.L.Young | |
| R: | 9.Naitanui | 49.Culley | 24.O'Neill | |
| I: | 75.Eastough | 48.Kemp | 64.Mercer | |
| 59.Nitschke | ||||
| E: | 58.Levien | 67.Penny | 18.Pobjoy | |
| 55.A.Ryan |
In: Naitanui, O'Neill, Nelson, Petrevski-Seton, Strnadica, Kemp
Out: H.Edwards, Foley, Rotham, Witherden(AFL), Feeney (ankle), A.Ryan
Late changes: Clark, H.Edwards, Foley, Witherden for Eastough, Kemp, Mercer, Nitschke
Injury list[]
In the leadup to the match the following players were listed as being injured or unavailable:
| Player | Injury | Expected return | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen | Foot | Indefinite | (on inactive list) | |||
| Cole | Ankle | Indefinite | (on inactive list) | |||
| Chesser | Ankle | Indefinite | (on inactive list) | |||
| L.Edwards | Groin | Indefinite | (on inactive list) | |||
| McGovern | Ribs | TBC | ||||
| Joyce | Ankle | TBC | ||||
| Langdon | Ankle | 2-3 weeks | ||||
| Dixon | Ankle | 1-2 weeks | ||||
| Naitanui | Knee | Test | ||||
| O'Neill | Knee | Available | ||||
| Kelly | Flu | Available | ||||
| Petrevski-Seton | Flu | Available | ||||
| Ryan | Flu | Available | ||||
| Strnadica | Health protocols | TBC | (not on official list) |
References[]
https://www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/3928
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2022/051820220624.html
- ↑ westcoasteagles.com.au (27 June 2022), "Pressing questions: Round 15": https://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/news/1159308/pressing-questions-round-15
- ↑ Mark Duffield, The West Australian (25 June 2022, p.168), "Cream that is JK rises as Eagles climb off bottom"
- ↑ Andrew Stafford, The Age (24 June 2022), "West Coast revival: Eagles snap nine-game losing streak with win over Bombers": https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/west-coast-revival-eagles-snap-nine-game-losing-streak-with-win-over-bombers-20220624-p5awhj.html
| 2022 season <--2021-22 offseason | Playing squad | Coaching panel | 2022-23 offseason--> |
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| AFLW 2022, Seven (Spring 2022) | Reserves |
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Pre-season : 1 (FRE) | 2 (FRE) |