Round 18 2019

Melbourne v West Coast
Round 18, 2019

Date

Sun, 21 July 2019 (2.50pm CST)

Venue

Traeger Park

Attendance

7,164

Result

Won by 13

Score

WCE 14.7.91 - 11.12.78 MEL

Brownlow

3 D.Sheed (WCE)
2 B.Fritsch (MEL)
1 C.Oliver (MEL)

Ladder

3rd

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West Coast came out on top in an arm-wrestle with Melbourne, winning by 13 points in their first game for premiership points in Alice Springs. The Eagles opened up a 32-point lead early in the second term but Melbourne fought back late in that quarter to close to within a point at the main break, and looked to be running over the top of the Eagles in the third term but West Coast were able to find goals late to take the points. Dom Sheed had 34 touches and kicked a vital last-quarter goal, and Jack Darling had nine marks and kicked four goals.

Summary

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Melbourne		1.5.11		7.8.50		10.10.70		11.12.78
West Coast		5.1.31		8.3.51		10.4.64		14.7.91

Goals: Darling 4, Kennedy, Petruccelle 2, O.Allen, Rioli, Ryan, Sheed, Waterman, Yeo

Best: Darling, Sheed, Gaff, Yeo, Redden, Jetta

Injuries: McGovern (ankle)

Milestones: Watson AFL debut

Named sides

	West Coast				Melbourne
B:	25.Hurn	37.Barrass	5.Sheppard	B:	8.Lever	1.May	39.Jetta
HB:	23.Jetta	20.McGovern	28.Cole	HB:	35.Petty	17.Frost	14.Hibberd
C:	3.Gaff	6.Yeo	7.Masten	C:	29.Hunt	4.Harmes	2.Jones
HF:	39.Cameron	27.Darling	44.Rioli	HF:	6.Lewis	5.Petracca	31.Fritsch
F:	1.Ryan	17.Kennedy	12.O.Allen	F:	13.Oliver	21.Preuss	3.Salem
R:	16.Hickey	8.Redden	13.Shuey	R:	11.Gawn	7.Viney	10.Brayshaw
I:	2.Waterman	4.Sheed	21.Petruccelle	I:	41.Lockhart	40.C.Wagner	30.Neal-Bullen
	30.Nelson				42.J.Wagner
E:	26.Watson	31.Schofield	32.Williams	E:	48.Dunkley	33.Baker	19.Hannan
	43.M.Allen				38.T.Smith

In: Waterman, Petruccelle

Out: Naitanui (ankle), Cripps (abductor)

Late change: Watson for Hurn (calf)

New: Francis Watson (Claremont/Yardgee JFC)

Quarter by quarter

West Coast replaced injured skipper Hurn with debutant Watson. The match was played in perfect but warm conditions.

From the coach

"It was a grind. It ebbed and flowed. I think in the first quarter we started pretty well, but the scoreboard probably wasn’t a true reflection of the game. I think we kicked 5.1 and they kicked 1.5, so we sort of knew the contest was tighter than that. The game got away from us in the second and third quarters; the third quarter was pretty tight but the second quarter, in particular the second half of the second quarter we couldn’t stop the marking in their front half. We tweaked a couple of things at three quarter time. I think they might have lost a couple of soldiers as well, so we sensed the fact that we had a reasonably fresh group of players, albeit we had a couple of niggles ourselves. We found a way in the last quarter.

"...We loved coming here. There’s a great support network here for AFL but also for West Coast. We’ve had a really good time. It’s a shorter flight than Melbourne, so we’ll take that. But we understood Melbourne had played here a few times before, so we knew there was an advantage. The ground was fine. The win was a bit blustery but not ridiculous, so we’ve had a good experience.

"...We’re getting good practice at recognising opportunities to stand up. We didn’t do that last week; that was probably our first game we’ve lost that’s been a close one for a long time. It looked like we ran out of juice as well. I felt Melbourne, the injuries really hurt them today. It looked like with the conditions and the way the game was going, it looked like that had a part to play today. Their best was well and truly matching ours and they probably had their noses in front until they lost a couple."

From the papers

The West Australian

"West Coast led by 20 points at quarter time and while the conditions changed slightly, quick ball movement to give forwards better chances of scoring was crucial.

The Eagles extended their lead to 32 points during the second quarter and the game looked over.

But Bailey Fritsch turned the game for the Dees. The Demons were desperate for a touch of class inside 50 and Fritsch provided it with his left foot.

The former defender kicked three goals for the term including a set shot after the half-time siren to reduce West Coast’s lead to only one point."

The Age

"For much of the second half it looked like a classic banana skin game for an Eagles side chasing a top-four finish, and a Demons side trying to take something from a disappointing campaign.

It wasn't until the last term the Eagles could break clear and even then it was only with four or so minutes to play that Sheed put his boot into a long kick which rolled end-over-end over the goal line to lock in a 13-point win in Alice Springs.

The Eagles dominated early, led by 32 points, before the Demons stirred thanks to the dare and deft kicking of Bayley Fritsch. The dynamic Dees utility kicked four goals, pulled in 10 marks and showed why he could be a key player for the embattled team to rally around in the final weeks of the season.

But as good as Fritsch was and as regularly as Clayton Oliver (34 possessions) could find the football, Melbourne couldn't regularly create goals or defend and transition in a way to truly trouble the reigning premiers.

What Melbourne did well was compete and contest, that was what kept them in the game - but in the end the relentless run of the Eagles eventually proved telling."

Reserves

The West Coast WAFL side had a bye.

Injury list

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

Player		Injury		Expected return
Venables		Concussion		Season
Naitanui		Ankle		Indefinite
Cripps		Abductor		3-4 weeks
Duggan		Ankle		3-4 weeks
Hutchings		Hamstring		2 weeks
Vardy		Knee/ankle		1-2 weeks
Ah Chee		Calf		1 week
Foley		Calf		1 week
Smith*		Hamstring		TBC
Bines*		Hernia		2 weeks
Edwards*		Foot		2 weeks

References

https://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2019/18/melb-v-wce

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2019/111820190721.html