Round 17 2017

Fremantle v West Coast
Round 17, 2017

Duggan played his best game to date. Photo: aflphotos.com.au

Date

Sun, 16 July 2017 (2.40pm WST)

Venue

Subiaco Oval

Attendance

38,722

Result

Won by 30

Score

WCE 11.8.74 - 5.14.44

Brownlow

3 S.Hurn (WCE)
2 L.Duggan (WCE)
1 C.Blakely (FRE)

Ladder

8th

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West Coast beat an inaccurate Fremantle in the final Western Derby to be held at Subiaco Oval, in a match that never reached any great heights. Fremantle threatened in the final term as they narrowed the margin to 16 points but unlike in recent weeks the Eagles were able to steady with a couple of late goals to run out 30 point winners. Skipper Shannon Hurn won the Ross Glendinning Medal with a career-high 34 possessions and fellow half-back Liam Duggan had his best game with 31 disposals.

Summary

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Fremantle		0.3.3		2.8.20		3.13.31		5.14.44
West Coast		4.1.25		5.4.34		9.6.60		11.8.74

Goals: Kennedy 3, Darling, LeCras 2, McGovern, Petrie, Priddis, Sheed

Best: Duggan, Hurn, McGovern, Sheppard, Gaff, Redden

Injuries: Nil

Named sides

	West Coast				Fremantle
B:	5.Sheppard	31.Schofield	37.Barrass	B:	38.Ryan	21.Hamling	34.Spurr
HB:	6.Yeo	20.McGovern	25.Hurn	HB:	15.Hughes	37.Johnson	19.Blakely
C:	3.Gaff	1.Mitchell	23.Jetta	C:	32.S.Hill	27.Neale	9.B.Hill
HF:	14.Duggan	27.Darling	15.Cripps	HF:	14.Weller	1.Ballantyne	8.Suban
F:	2.LeCras	17.Kennedy	34.Hutchings	F:	10.Walters	36.Cox	18.Tucker
R:	19.Vardy	11.Priddis	13.Shuey	R:	4.Darcy	7.Fyfe	16.Mundy
I:	4.Sheed	7.Masten	21.Petrie	I:	22.Kersten	43.Nyhuis	2.Logue
	30.Nelson				17.Crozier
E:	8.Redden	28.Cole	12.Wellingham	E:	39.Deluca	40.Collins	28.Grey

In: Kennedy, Schofield, Masten, Nelson

Out: Lycett (shoulder), MacKenzie (hamstring), Karpany (quad), Wellingham

Late change: Redden for Yeo (knee)

Quarter by quarter

Yeo was a late withdrawal due to a knee injury, replaced by fellow ex-Lion Redden. The game was played in overcast conditions.

First term

After a cautious start, McGovern found a leading Kennedy who goaled from a set shot to mark a successful return to action. Darling added a second after a big mark over Michael Johnson. Cripps had a kick around the body but it was punched through for a behind. Fyfe took a big pack mark inside 50 but hung his kick out to the right for Fremantle's first score. West Coast moved the ball quickly down the other end and Darling was able to take another strong mark and handed off to Petrie who ran in for the Eagles' third goal.

Fremantle dominated possession across their half-forward line and Stephen Hill had a kick from the pocket that was narrow. He had another chance shortly after but that shot went right. West Coast then went forward and Fremantle were unable to clear their defensive 50, a scrambled kick ending up with Priddis who banged it through on his left. Hayden Crozier nearly took a screamer inside his forward 50 and hurt a teammate, Brennan Cox, in the process as the Eagles mopped up. Fremantle pushed into the forward 50 in the final moments but the Eagles were able to hold them off, finishing the quarter 22 points up after holding the Dockers goalless.

Second term

Both sides arm wrestled for several minutes before Priddis won a free kick on the wing, then a 50 metre penalty as his man ran over the mark, however his set shot drifted left. From the kick-in, Redden found a leading Kennedy with a chip kick and the big man put it directly over the goal umpire. Fremantle went forward from the bounce and forced a throw-in from deep in the pocket, with Cox having a chance to goal but missing. Rookie Ryan Nyhuis took a big mark over Schofield but then kicked into him on the mark, and after a comedy of errors the Eagles went forward with Duggan having a chance to goal but sending it out on the full. Bradley Hill had a simple chance all alone inside 50 but it went begging. He got it again and hit an open Hayden Crozier but his kick also went left.

Fremantle finally goaled through Shane Kersten to bring the margin back to 20. Sheed won a free inside 50 and took the advantage but missed. Freo went the length of the ground and Nyhuis found an open Michael Walters but his dribble kick hit the post, before he was forced from the ground under the blood rule. West Coast brought the ball quickly down the wing and Petrie took a strong pack mark but his kick faded left. Gaff scrubbered a kick towards goal but it was rushed out of bounds by a defender. Fremantle went forward but Duggan outmarked Nick Suban for his 21st possession of the half. Suban got a chance shortly afterwards from an overlap handball and kicked Freo's second goal. Lachie Weller had a set shot from just outside 50 but it was punched through. Freo pressed again but Darling took another big mark to calm things down as the siren sounded with the Eagles ahead by 14.

Third term

Some quick movement through the middle from Gaff ended in a mark to Darling in the pocket, but his shot went across the face for a behind. Fremantle turned the ball over before they got out of the defensive 50 and McGovern had a set shot from the boundary which he put straight through the middle. Shuey won the next clearance and a clever tap-on by Kennedy resulted in a LeCras goal. Cox had a chance to respond for Fremantle but his set shot was away to the right. Mundy crumbed a ball at 50 but his shot went the wrong side of the goalpost. Bradley Hill added another behind on the run from inside 50, then another.

Redden kicked into the path of Kennedy who held onto it but pushed his kick right. Nelson slipped at an inopportune moment in the middle and Connor Blakely had a running shot but kicked the Dockers' 13th behind. Fremantle again continued to dominate territory but couldn't find a path to goal and an intercept mark by McGovern led to a quick transition and a second goal for the term to LeCras, the 400th of his career. Walters answered late in the term for the Dockers, their first since halftime, as Schofield tangled with Suban and Hayden Ballantyne. Vardy won a decisive ruck knock to Mitchell who hit a leading Kennedy outside 50, but a 50 metre penalty turned it into an easy goal for the spearhead on the siren.

Final term

LeCras and Stephen Hill wrestled insido the Eagles' forward line and the latter popped his shoulder as the pair hit the deck. Ballantyne gave Fremantle a sniff with the first goal of the quarter. A flying shot by Weller just snuck across the face as Hill returned to the field, before Walters kicked his second to narrow the margin to 16. They went forward again but Sheppard chopped it off. Sheed was run down inside defensive 50 but the free kick was paid against Suban for a push in the back.

A kick into the teeth of goal in the Kennedy direction was rushed through for a behind to make the margin 17 points. A speculative kick by Kennedy off the left was marked courageously by Darling running back with the flight, and he nursed the ball through to give the Eagles a but more breathing space. Sheed won a 50-metre penalty on the wing as Mundy ran through the mark, and snuck the ball in from 45 to make sure of the result. Fremantle gave away another 50 metre penalty and the ball ended up with Kennedy in the pocket just inside 50, but his kick was narrow all the way. Darling nearly marked in the final seconds but Fremantle were able to mop up as the siren sounded, giving West Coast an even five-goal win.

From the coach

"I thought we deserved to win the game. I thought we started well, probably overused it a little bit in the back of the first and most of the second quarter, and they missed some opportunities, no doubt. And they won the supply battle almost all day. But I thought we played some pretty good footy at stages, and we hung on well in the last quarter which has been a bit of a challenge for us lately. So that, with five changes to the side, and some good signs with some young kids as well as our leaders. Duggan, Barrass and Nelson and these guys, we want to get more of those guys through our side. Our leaders also played well as well. I wouldn't say it was a complete game, a lot of mistakes both ways, and to Fremantle's credit they always pressed and their pressure was elite. So we'll take the win.

"We got caught up in the happy handball. We overused it slightly in the first quarter and we got rewarded, so I think our players didn't react to Fremantle's pressure in that second quarter. We got it out of our back half reasonably well, but once we got it centre-back we continued to go with the shape and the handball and that got us into a bit trouble. And we lost the contest with the midfield battle, so workrate dropped a little bit and theirs picked up.

"...Our backs stood up pretty well today. I don't know how many intercept marks they took and how many goals they saved. And we got lucky on a couple with them missing some easy shots. But we don't want to rely on our backs to save the day. We did today, a little bit."

From the papers

The West Australian

"LeCras effectively sealed the win for West Coast with successive goals during the third quarter.

Fremantle kicked five points between LeCras’ two majors in a decisive period where they could have wrested back some genuine momentum in the game.

LeCras kicked truly from 40m out at the 23-minute mark to sink the boot into Fremantle’s hopes and celebrated his 400th career goal at AFL level in style.

West Coast were far from convincing in posting just their second win in their past five games in Perth."

The Age

"As the siren sounded to end the third term, West Coast forward Josh Kennedy kicked his third goal of the game. The Eagles had 9.6 on the board from 31 inside 50s. Fremantle had been forward 47 times for a return of 3.13.

Kennedy may have returned to West Coast's line up just in time. He was clearly short of a run and he spent way more time on the bench that he usually does.

But just having him on the ground made matching the Eagle forward line up difficult. Kennedy, Jack Darling and Drew Petrie had each booted a goal in the opening term as the Eagles opened up an early advantage.

Kennedy finished with three goals, taking his season tally to 37; just eight behind Sydney's Lance Franklin, who leads all-comers. The reigning Coleman medallist was playing in his first game since he injured his ankle in the Eagles round 10 loss to GWS."

East Perth report

Round 17 (15 July)

East Perth struggled in slippery conditions against the Fremantle-affiliated Peel Thunder at Leederville Oval, going down by 28 points after the Thunder were able to seize control in the third term. Luke Partington continued to press for senior selection with 28 possessions and fellow youngster Tom Cole had 25 touches in a strong performance off half back.

Appearing for East Perth: Cole, Giles, Gorter, Hill, Lamb, McInnes, Mutimer, Partington, Rotham, Snadden, Watson. Reserves: Bayok, Waterman.

Injury list

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

Player		Injury		Expected duration
Allen		Foot		Season
Naitanui		Knee		Late 2017 season		(On LTI list 21/3/17, replaced by Petrie)
MacKenzie		Hamstring		2-3 weeks
Venables		Toe		2-3 weeks
Butler		Hamstring		2 weeks
Rioli		Hamstring		1 week
Waterman		Foot		Available
Kennedy		Calf		Available
Tunbridge*		Knee		1 week
Bayok*		Hamstring		Available

References

http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2017/17/fre-v-wce

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2017/081820170716.html