West Coast fell over the line against a gallant Melbourne in a wet, error-riddled home game. The visiting Dees were stronger around the contests and led at every change, but failed to convert enough chances and the Eagles were able to get their noses in front in the final term to bank a valuable four points and continue their long winning streak over the Demons. Matt Priddis had 15 tackles and a goal to go with 24 possessions and Scott Lycett worked hard to square his ruck battle with Max Gawn, picking up 18 touches.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 2.1.13 | 5.2.32 | 8.4.52 | 10.6.66 | ||||
| Melbourne | 2.2.14 | 5.4.34 | 8.10.58 | 8.12.60 |
Goals: Kennedy 3, Cripps, Darling, Duggan, Gaff, Hill, Lycett, Priddis
Best: Priddis, Shuey, Gaff, Kennedy, Hurn, Lycett
Injuries: Wellingham (corked hip)
Named sides[]
| West Coast | Melbourne | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 5.Sheppard | 16.MacKenzie | 37.Barrass | B: | 42.Wagner | 25.T.McDonald | 39.Jetta |
| HB: | 12.Wellingham | 20.McGovern | 25.Hurn | HB: | 29.Hunt | 28.O.McDonald | 45.M.Jones |
| C: | 7.Masten | 11.Priddis | 6.Yeo | C: | 5.Petracca | 23.Vince | 12.Tyson |
| HF: | 3.Gaff | 27.Darling | 33.Hill | HF: | 36.Garlett | 4.Watts | 43.Harmes |
| F: | 15.Cripps | 17.Kennedy | 2.LeCras | F: | 6.Dawes | 1.Hogan | 16.Kent |
| R: | 29.Lycett | 8.Redden | 13.Shuey | R: | 11.Gawn | 2.N.Jones | 7.Viney |
| I: | 14.Duggan | 22.Giles | 26.Butler | I: | 10.Brayshaw | 15.Stretch | 17.Frost |
| 30.Nelson | 30.Neal-Bullen | ||||||
| E: | 4.Sheed | 31.Schofield | 35.McGinnity | E: | 38.Newton | 32.Bugg | 35.Kennedy |
In: MacKenzie, Giles, Duggan, Nelson
Out: Schofield (soreness), Brown, Hutchings, McGinnity
Quarter by quarter[]
Both sides went in as named. Solid rain hit Subiaco half an hour before the opening bounce and hung around for the first quarter, making for slippery conditions and unattractive football.
Club Champion votes[]
| McGovern | 7 | MacKenzie | 3 | ||
| Priddis | 7 | Sheppard | 3 | ||
| Gaff | 6 | Butler | 1 | ||
| Lycett | 6 | Duggan | 0 | ||
| Shuey | 6 | Giles | 0 | ||
| Hurn | 5 | Hill | 0 | ||
| Kennedy | 5 | Masten | 0 | ||
| Barrass | 4 | Nelson | 0 | ||
| Cripps | 4 | Redden | 0 | ||
| Darling | 4 | Wellingham | 0 | ||
| LeCras | 3 | Yeo | 0 |
From the coach[]
"Melbourne were terrific today, but we won. We will take the win. We’ve got a lot to work on, but if we can’t enjoy the wins we are in the wrong business. We are really clear with where we are at and what we need to do. I was actually pretty happy how we handled the last quarter and fought it out, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.
"...I thought Melbourne were terrific all day and there wouldn’t be a stat that we won other than the score. We shouldn’t have won today. It’s a tight comp. Look at the Sydney v Carlton game. We need these wins to qualify for finals. We’ve got five weeks now to get as high as we can in that top eight.
"How did we win? We just got beaten up around the ball. They have got four or five hard and inside mids and they are young. We probably rotate more guys through there and we couldn’t find the right match up to get that ball out. Stoppages wasn’t exactly a concern, but once they got it in their front half we struggled to get it out. Our defenders held out pretty well to keep a team to 60 points with that much supply."[1]
From the papers[]
The West Australian[]
"The Eagles copped a first quarter hiding in contested possession but fortunately for them it only added up to a one point lead on the scoreboard.
They were guilty of attempting to play dry weather football on a day when it was wet and heavy. They were also guilty of not digging in hard enough around the contest, where the Demons clearly held an edge.
Melbourne snuck away to a two goal lead off the back of goals to Garlett and Matt Jones at the start of the game but the Eagles, gradually adjusting their play to the conditions, got the last two goals of the term to narrow the gap at the first change.
Significantly Melbourne’s grunt midfielders Viney and Nathan Jones were prominent in the term with 12 and nine touches between them."[2]
The Age[]
"The Eagles went from 13 points down early in the second term to be leading by a goal seven minutes later, through some solid work from a couple of big men in the forward line.
Kennedy kicked two goal and Scott Lycett one, both while opposed to Demons youngster Oscar McDonald. Then late in the third term, when the margin had again got out to 12 points, Kennedy, Jack Darling and Jamie Cripps all added goals in the space of eight minutes to give their side the lead.
Every time the Eagles threatened, it was Priddis that gave them the chance to do so.
Priddis' work in the packs was outstanding and he was almost a lone hand in providing plenty of pressure on the Melbourne midfield at times."[3]
PerthNow[]
"The visitors had 20 more contested possessions for the first half, but couldn’t make it count on the scoreboard.
Even more galling for coach Paul Roos was the first 15 minutes of the third term, which Melbourne again controlled but could only add five consecutive behinds.
When Garlett broke than run by nailing his third goal from a set shot at the 17-minute mark, the Demons led by two goals.
Kennedy kicked his third just a minute later in an important reply and the Eagles had pinched the lead when Jamie Cripps kicked truly from a tight angle late in the quarter.
But they would go to the final change again on the back foot, after Sharrod Wellingham’s horror kick-in blooper was punished by Dean Kent just 30 seconds before three-quarter time."[4]
East Perth report[]
Round 18 (23 July)
East Perth continued their run into the finals with a hard-fought 8 point win over Claremont. The Royals built up a sizeable lead by half-time and were able to withstand a last-term Tigers fightback. Paddy Brophy had a career-high 27 possessions in the backline and Patrick McGinnity responded to his omission from the AFL side with 27 of his own.
Appearing for East Perth: Adamson, Brophy, Brown, Cole, Colledge, Ellis, Hutchings, Jetta, Karpany, Lamb, McGinnity, Mutimer, Partington, Sheed, Tunbridge.
Reserves: Bennell.
Injury list[]
In the leadup to the round, the following players were listed as injured or unavailable:
| Player | Injury | Expected duration | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naitanui | Achilles | 2-3 weeks | ||||
| McInnes | Hamstring | 2-3 weeks | ||||
| Ellis | Calf | Test | ||||
| Schofield | Concussion | Test | ||||
| McGovern | Thumb | Test | ||||
| Priddis | Thigh | Available | ||||
| Cole | Illness | Available | (not on official list) | |||
| Lucas* | Knee | Season | ||||
| Waterman* | Glandular fever | Indefinite | ||||
| Colledge* | Hamstring | Test |
References[]
http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2016/18/wce-v-mel
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2016/111820160723.html
- ↑ westcoasteagles.com.au (23 July 2016), "Full QA transcript: Adam Simpson": http://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/news/2016-07-23/full-qa-transcript-adam-simpson
- ↑ Mark Duffield, The West Australian (23 July 2016), "Eagles hold off the Demons": https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/afl/a/32133508/eagles-hold-off-the-demons/#page1
- ↑ Brad Elborough, The Age (23 July 2016), "Eagles find a way to get home over Dees": http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/afl-season-2016-west-coast-eagles-find-a-way-to-get-home-against-wasteful-melbourne-demons-20160723-gqcd9p.html
- ↑ Braden Quartermaine, Perth Now (23 July 2016), "Eagles survive to keep top four hopes alive": http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/west-coast-defeats-wasteful-melbourne-by-one-goal-to-keep-top-four-hopes-alive/news-story/341632a89bdea927d17a9a715b5fa5e3
| 2016 season <--2015-16 offseason | Playing squad | Coaching panel | 2016-17 offseason--> |
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NAB Challenge : 1 (ADL) | 2 (GC) | 3 (ESS) |