After a tight first half the Eagles ran out comfortable winners by 49 points. Key forward Josh Kennedy got the season off to a great start, kicking seven goals, while Josh Hill had a promising West Coast debut against his old side.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Bulldogs | 4.3.27 | 8.5.53 | 10.11.71 | 12.15.87 | ||||
| West Coast | 6.2.38 | 10.6.66 | 16.9.105 | 21.10.136 |
Goals: Kennedy 7, Hill 3, Cox, Hams 2, Darling, Embley, Gaff, Lynch, Masten, Naitanui, Schofield
Best: Kennedy, S.Selwood, Priddis, Schofield, Rosa, Naitanui
Injuries: Nil
Sub: Embley for Kerr at three-quarter time
Milestones: Hill WCE debut
Named sides[]
| West Coast | Bulldogs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 8.Waters | 23.Glass | 31.Schofield | B: | 2.Murphy | 36.Lake | 22.Addison |
| HB: | 10.S.Selwood | 16.MacKenzie | 25.Hurn | HB: | 25.Hargrave | 37.Markovic | 30.Howard |
| C: | 7.Masten | 11.Priddis | 24.Rosa | C: | 4.Cross | 14.Smith | 10.Wood |
| HF: | 33.Hill | 21.Lynch | 3.Gaff | HF: | 13.Giansiracusa | 19.Jones | 17.Cooney |
| F: | 27.Darling | 9.Naitanui | 13.Shuey | F: | 29.Dickson | 23.Roughead | 7.Higgins |
| R: | 20.Cox | 37.A.Selwood | 4.Kerr | R: | 27.Minson | 5.Boyd | 42.Picken |
| I: | 32.Embley | 17.Kennedy | 28.Smith | I: | 1.Grant | 3.Wallis | 21.Liberatore |
| 43.Hams | 40.Dahlhaus | ||||||
| E: | 35.McGinnity | 26.Butler | 44.Weedon | E: | 48.Panos | 8.Veszpremi | 33.Djerrkura |
New: Josh Hill (Western Bulldogs/Claremont)
Club Champion votes[]
| Kennedy | 25 | MacKenzie | 15 | ||
| Priddis | 22 | Rosa | 15 | ||
| Darling | 20 | Waters | 15 | ||
| Hurn | 19 | Masten | 14 | ||
| S.Selwood | 19 | Schofield | 14 | ||
| Cox | 18 | Shuey | 14 | ||
| A.Selwood | 17 | Hill | 13 | ||
| Naitanui | 16 | Lynch | 11 | ||
| Gaff | 15 | Embley | 10 | ||
| Glass | 15 | Smith | 7 | ||
| Hams | 15 | Kerr | 4 |
From the coach[]
"I think (it was) a pretty consistent start over the four quarters considering we had a few players who looked a little bit out of touch early - just cleanness around the ball. But they worked their way into the game and it's a credit to them. Guys like Rosa and Shuey, who haven't had much footy, and Kennedy took a while to get going (laughs).
"...We've been asked consistently about the replacements for LeCras and Nicoski, but that's the reason you have 46 players and not a squad of 22. You have players who have got to make sure they're doing the work and are ready for opportunities to come. Obviously Hill, via a trade, and Hams has been on the list for two or three years but has been building up to be an AFL footballer. It's great to see them get some rewards.
"...They're (midfield) developing players still too - Selwood and Shuey and Masten. So we're really pleased with their development and we always know that that's a big part of the rate of improvement of the side. We know we still need to get better as a team to become a team that everyone thinks is one of the favourites. No one has really put us in that bracket yet."[1]
From the papers[]
The West Australian[]
"The Eagles nailed the first two goals before Giansiracusa tortured Shannon Hurn with one goal in his three set shots in four minutes to make sure his team settled and stayed in the hunt.
With tall Bulldogs defenders Dale Morris and Tom Williams missing through injury, West Coast immediately set about trying to stretch their opponents down back as Cox, Kennedy, Jack Darling and Quinten Lynch all patrolled the forward line.
Kennedy, who booted 10 goals in the first clash between the two clubs last year, set about going on another rampage.
He booted the first of his five goals in the opening half after just 41 seconds to belie the pre-season problems he had suffered with the painful foot injury plantar fasciitis and lack of game time."[2]
The Age[]
"Smith's fourth goal came in spectacular fashion early in the third term as he was thrown to the turf in a tackle from Eagles fullback Darren Glass before the teenager bounced to his feet and soccered the ball through to narrow the gap to six points.
But the Eagles powered ahead as Naitanui produced a blind turn around Jordan Roughead and a pirouette around Brian Lake to hand the Eagles a 23-point advantage.
West Coast kicked 6.3 to the Bulldogs' 2.6 in the pivotal third term and Cox kicked a running goal at the seven-minute mark of the last quarter to push the margin out to 38 points as the Eagles took control."[3]
WAFL results[]
Round 1 (17-18 Mar)
Subiaco vs West Perth (Strijk)
Perth (Smith, McInnes) vs Claremont (Swift, Neates, Stevenson, Hamp, McGovern)
Bye: South Fremantle, Peel, East Fremantle, East Perth, Swan Districts
Round 2 (24 Mar)
Claremont (Neates, Hamp, McGovern) vs East Perth
West Perth (Mascoulis) vs Swan Districts (Newman)
Peel (Lycett) vs Subiaco
South Fremantle vs Perth (Tunbridge)
Bye: East Fremantle
Round 3 (30 Mar-1 Apr)
South Fremantle vs Subiaco
Perth (Butler, McInnes, Tunbridge) vs Peel (Lycett, Wilson)
East Fremantle (Brown, Sheppard, Dalziell, Stevens, Brennan) vs Claremont (Swift, Weedon, Neates, Stevenson, Hamp, McGovern). Papertalk played reserves.
East Perth vs West Perth (Mascoulis)
Bye: Swan Districts
Injury list[]
In the lead-up to the match the following players were listed as injured:
| Player | Injury | Expected duration | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LeCras | Knee | Season | ||||
| Nicoski | Hamstring | 12 weeks | ||||
| Strijk | Quad | 2 weeks | ||||
| Kennedy | Foot | Test | ||||
| Lynch | Hamstring | Test |
References[]
http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2012/071820120401.html
http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2012/1/wb-v-wce
- ↑ The West Australian (2 April 2012, p. GAM16), "Word for word"
- ↑ Steve Butler, The West Australian (2 April 2012, p.GAM8), "Young guns grab baton to run Dogs ragged"
- ↑ AAP, The Age (1 April 2012), "Kennedy kicks seven as Eagles thump Dogs": http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/kennedy-kicks-seven-as-eagles-thump-dogs-20120401-1w67n.html
| 2012 season |
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