West Coast fought hard despite wind, rain and the pre-bounce loss of their two first-choice ruckmen but ultimately fell short of premiership favourites Hawthorn. The Eagles led at every change but a late Hawthorn charge saw them win by 14 points and move to within half a game of West Coast in the battle for a top-two finish. Andrew Gaff continued his strong season with 35 possessions and late call-up Scott Lycett made the most of his opportunity with 20 possessions and 39 hitouts.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 5.3.33 | 6.5.41 | 9.6.60 | 11.8.74 | ||||
| Hawthorn | 3.3.21 | 5.5.35 | 8.8.56 | 13.10.88 |
Goals: Kennedy 4, Cripps, Darling 2, Hutchings, Rosa, Shuey
Best: Gaff, Priddis, Shuey, Kennedy, Schofield
Injuries: McGovern (hamstring)
Reports: LeCras for rough conduct on J.Frawley
Sub: Rosa for Sheed at three-quarter time
Named sides[]
| West Coast | Hawthorn | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 12.Wellingham | 31.Schofield | 25.Hurn | B: | 24.Stratton | 17.Lake | 5.Mitchell |
| HB: | 26.Butler | 20.McGovern | 5.Sheppard | HB: | 14.Birchall | 12.Frawley | 6.Gibson |
| C: | 24.Rosa | 11.Priddis | 7.Masten | C: | 40.Hartung | 9.Burgoyne | 16.Smith |
| HF: | 3.Gaff | 17.Kennedy | 2.LeCras | HF: | 33.Rioli | 25.Schoenmakers | 26.Shiels |
| F: | 22.Sinclair | 27.Darling | 15.Cripps | F: | 19.Gunston | 2.Roughead | 22.Breust |
| R: | 29.Lycett | 6.Yeo | 13.Shuey | R: | 18.Cegler | 15.Hodge | 3.Lewis |
| I: | 4.Sheed | 10.Selwood | 18.Ellis | I: | 28.Puopolo | 10.Hill | 8.Duryea |
| 35.McGinnity | 7.McEvoy | ||||||
| E: | 33.Hill | 34.Hutchings | 21.Colledge | E: | 31.Litherland | 37.Anderson | 4.Suckling |
In: Lycett, McGovern, Butler, McGinnity
Out: Naitanui (bereavement), Barrass, Hill, Hutchings
Late change: (WCE) Hutchings for Sinclair (knee), (HAW) Suckling for Lake (soreness)
(*Note: Naitanui withdrawn on Friday and replaced in selected side by Lycett, Colledge added to emergencies)
Quarter by quarter[]
Already without Naitanui after the death of his mother on Friday, the Eagles' ruck stocks were further depleted when Sinclair pulled out on game day with a knee injury. His place was taken by midfielder Hutchings, while Hawthorn's Brian Lake withdrew with soreness and was replaced by Matt Suckling. Veteran Rosa started as the sub, with Taylor Duryea in the vest for Hawthorn.
Club Champion votes[]
| [1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaff | 11 | Darling | 2 | |||
| Kennedy | 10 | McGinnity | 2 | |||
| Shuey | 10 | Hurn | 1 | |||
| Lycett | 9 | Masten | 1 | |||
| Priddis | 7 | Yeo | 1 | |||
| LeCras | 5 | Butler | 0 | |||
| Hutchings | 4 | Ellis | 0 | |||
| McGovern | 4 | Rosa | 0 | |||
| Schofield | 4 | Selwood | 0 | |||
| Sheppard | 4 | Sheed | 0 | |||
| Cripps | 2 | Wellingham | 0 |
From the coach[]
"I thought we did throw everything at them but it wasn't good enough in the end, was it. So we're disappointed in the loss but I think we'll take some confidence out of the game. We were dealt a bit of adversity tonight, but when the game was up for grabs we didn't take our opportunities. So we're disappointed but we're also positive about where we're at.
...
"For our players to go through a game like that, it's new for us to be in such a pressure game. We're disappointed we didn't play out the full four quarters, but we'll take a lot from this. A lot of it will be positive.
"I think some of our players realise that they can stand up against good sides. There were different conditions tonight; we haven't performed too well in the wet in the past. I thought for the most part we dug in, there's still belief there. Look, we're fighting for top-two at the moment, you wouldn't have thought that'd be the case at the start of the year so we're up and about, we're really excited. We're still aiming to finish as high as we can obviously, so what will be, will be. But tonight we got beaten by a better side."
From the papers[]
The West Australian[]
"But the last quarter belonged to the Hawks. They kicked five goals to two to ease 14 points clear of the plucky Eagles.
Their great players rose to the top. Rioli took a screamer 20 metres from goal, Burgoyne slid past Eagles defenders to put his team 10 points clear. Jarryd Roughead, well held all night, produced the right foot snap that proved the sealer.
Mitchell had been good all night but his eight last quarter touches included four clearances.
The Eagles always looked capable when they went forward with Kennedy kicking one last quarter goal to bring his tally to four, but they could not get the ball forward often enough."[2]
The Age[]
"They led the reigning premiers by 12 points at quarter-time, albeit with the use of a strong breeze.
And they maintained a six-point advantage at half-time – all without their two first-choice ruckmen, Nic Naitanui and Callum Sinclair – who have been crucial to their performances this season.
Both pulled out late – Naitanui due to the unexpected death of his mum on Friday and Sinclair due to injury.
Scott Lycett in his 27th game and just his fifth of the season, was forced to lead the ruck, with support from McGovern."[3]
Herald-Sun[]
"When the irrepressible Cyril Rioli goaled 12 minutes into the final term, the Hawks were 10 points clear and had had the past eight scoring shots. It looked over.
Goals against the tide to Matt Rosa and then Josh Kennedy had the Eagles in front by three points as they dared to dream for a time.
The Eagles were missing probably the best ruck combination in the competition this season, with Nic Naitanui and Callum Sinclair both late omissions.
Out-of-favour big man Scott Lycett was heroic after being recalled for his first game since Round 5, battling hard throughout, with defender McGovern providing valuable chopouts in the ruck as he showed there’s not much on a footy field he can’t do."[4]
East Perth report[]
Round 20 (8 August)
East Perth beat Claremont by 10 points in a forgettable match at Leederville. Kane Lucas had 31 possessions and Jackson Nelson had 24 disposals and two goals.
Appearing for East Perth: Adamson, Barrass, Bennell, Brophy, Colledge, Karpany, Lamb, Lucas, Main, Nelson, Newman. Reserves: Powell
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 | (Placed on LTI list 23/7/15, replaced by Newman) | |||
| Tunbridge | Ankle/shoulder | Season | ||||
| Duggan | Knee | Season | ||||
| Cavka | Ankle | Season | ||||
| Waterman | Glandular fever | Ongoing | ||||
| McInnes | Hamstring | 8-10 weeks | ||||
| McGovern | Hamstring | Test | ||||
| Masten | Knee | Available | ||||
| Maginness* | Foot | Season |
References[]
http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2015/19/wce-v-haw
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2015/101820150808.html
- ↑ West Coast Eagles Year Book 2015, p.45
- ↑ Mark Duffield, The West Australian (8 August 2015), "Hawks too polished for Eagles": https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/29216524/hawks-too-polished-for-eagles/
- ↑ Brad Elborough, The Age (8 August 2015)), "Hawthorn close on top-two berth with victory over West Coast": http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/hawthorn-close-on-toptwo-berth-with-victory-over-west-coast-20150808-giusjn.html#ixzz3iIK1voq2
- ↑ Braden Quartermaine, Herald-Sun (8 August 2015), "Gutsy Hawks down Eagles in wild west": http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afl-2015-season-hawthorn-defeats-west-coast-by-14-points-at-subiaco-oval/story-fni5f22o-1227475283381
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