West Coast kicked off their 2016 campaign by cruising to a big win over the unfancied Lions in a high-scoring encounter. Reigning Coleman Medalist Josh Kennedy was in great form up forward, kicking eight goals and handing off a few more while tallying 25 possessions and 16 marks. Nic Naitanui dominated the ruck with 46 hitouts and gave his midfielders silver service, particularly Matt Priddis who racked up a massive 43 disposals.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 7.4.46 | 13.7.85 | 19.9.123 | 26.10.166 | ||||
| Brisbane | 5.2.32 | 7.4.46 | 11.7.72 | 15.12.102 |
Goals: Kennedy 8, Cripps, Hill 3, Bennell, Darling, LeCras, Naitanui 2, Ellis, McGovern, Redden, Yeo
Best: Kennedy, Priddis, Naitanui, Bennell, Shuey, Gaff
Injuries: Nil
Milestones: Redden WCE debut, Gaff 105th consecutive game (new club record)
Named sides[]
| West Coast | Brisbane | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 5.Sheppard | 16.MacKenzie | 26.Butler | B: | 27.Gardiner | 21.Merrett | 22.Paparone |
| HB: | 18.Ellis | 31.Schofield | 25.Hurn | HB: | 32.Mayes | 31.Andrews | 10.Rich |
| C: | 8.Redden | 11.Priddis | 6.Yeo | C: | 35.Lester | 3.Christensen | 28.Taylor |
| HF: | 15.Cripps | 20.McGovern | 44.Bennell | HF: | 11.Hanley | 25.McStay | 34.Freeman |
| F: | 2.LeCras | 17.Kennedy | 27.Darling | F: | 14.Walker | 23.Schache | 7.Bell |
| R: | 9.Naitanui | 3.Gaff | 13.Shuey | R: | 12.Martin | 5.Robinson | 38.Rockliff |
| I: | 14.Duggan | 33.Hill | 29.Lycett | I: | 2.Harwood | 4.Bastinac | 8.Bewick |
| 30.Nelson | 26.Cutler | ||||||
| E: | 21.Colledge | 34.Hutchings | 36.McInnes* | E: | 6.Green | 17.C.Beams | 18.Robertson |
(*McInnes replaced Lucas in selected squad)
Late change: (BRI) C.Beams for Merrett (illness)
New: Jack Redden (Brisbane/Glenelg)
Quarter by quarter[]
On a cloudy but fine Easter Sunday, West Coast went in as named, while Brisbane were forced to replace ill full-back Daniel Merrett with Claye Beams.
Club Champion votes[]
| Kennedy | 12 | Lycett | 5 | ||
| Priddis | 12 | MacKenzie | 5 | ||
| Naitanui | 11 | Redden | 4 | ||
| Gaff | 8 | Schofield | 4 | ||
| LeCras | 8 | Butler | 3 | ||
| Hill | 7 | Duggan | 3 | ||
| Yeo | 7 | Hurn | 2 | ||
| Bennell | 6 | Sheppard | 2 | ||
| Cripps | 6 | Ellis | 0 | ||
| Darling | 6 | McGovern | 0 | ||
| Shuey | 6 | Nelson | 0 |
From the coach[]
"It was a weird game, wasn’t it? Gill [McLachlan, AFL CEO]'s got his request; high scoring footy was at its best today. Not entirely happy about the defence, but we came across a team that really shaped and pushed hard through the corridor. Our ability to defend that was off a little bit. To concede 100 points from 43 entries is not good enough for our team defence.
It’s a bit of a trend of the competition at the moment. Teams are really taking you on with hands and playing pretty high octane football. Ability to score ourselves, obviously when we turned it over, we had free men everywhere. I think we can defend a little better.
...It’s probably just picking up the trends of the opposition you’re playing – what you can do to stop and what you can do to score. Getting that balance right has always been how we operate. It just became a really high scoring turnover game, all be it they scored nine goals from stoppages against us. There is a little bit to work on, but we are happy with a lot of the other things we have done."[1]
From the papers[]
The West Australian[]
"Brisbane attacked the contest from the outset in a manner few predicted, and kicked the first goal of the game through a 50 metre penalty paid to skipper Tom Rockliff.
But it wasn’t long before the Eagles responded, with Naitanui finding rare space in the forward 50 to mark and convert a goal of his own.
Bennell and Kennedy kicked another two in quick succession and it appeared the game may be over early, if not for some fight shown by the inexperienced visitors.
Allen Christensen led from the front as the Lions began to land a few blows on their highly fancied opponents, and by quarter time they trailed by only 14 points.
That was about the extent of the Lions’ challenge, as the floodgates opened in the second quarter."[2]
The Age[]
"In today's round one outing against Brisbane, Naitanui took six marks and notched up 22 possessions, to go with his 46 hit-outs , and two goals.
...As a result of his sterling on-ball efforts, the Eagles managed to build up a 39-point lead at half-time.
At that stage Priddis had 28 possessions. His previous best against Brisbane was 32, earned in 2007. He slowed a bit after half-time so his career best remains the 45 he had against Hawthorn in 2008.
And while West Coast forward Josh Kennedy kicked eight, he also gave off four other chances to hard-running teammates sitting alone in the goal-square".[3]
East Perth report[]
Round 1 (19 Mar)
Claremont thrashed a disparate East Perth by 76 points in the WAFL season opener at Leederville Oval, with Dom Sheed tearing a pectoral muscle and Kane Lucas suffering a head knock in the third term to add injury to insult. Key defender Tom Barrass stood up well under pressure and Fraser McInnes had 12 marks and 10 hit-outs in a good all-round display.
Appearing for East Perth: Barrass, Brophy, Cole(*first East Perth appearance), Colledge, Giles*, Hutchings, Karpany, Lamb, Lucas, McGinnity, McInnes, Partington*, Redden*, Sheed. Reserves: Adamson, Allen
Round 2 (25 Mar)
A much improved showing from East Perth, who fought back from a big half-time deficit to close within 4 points of reigning premiers Subiaco before the Lions consolidated to run out 31 point winners on Good Friday. Mark Hutchings was one of the Royals' best with 23 possessions and 8 tackles, with Kane Lucas and Tom Lamb also tallying 23 disposals.
Appearing for East Perth: Adamson, Allen (*first East Perth appearance), Barrass, Brophy, Cole, Giles, Hutchings, Karpany, Lamb, Lucas, McGinnity, McInnes, Partington. Reserves: Snadden
Injury list[]
In the leadup to the match the following players were listed as injured or unavailable:
| Player | Injury | Expected duration | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheed | Pectoral | 10 weeks | ||||
| Brown | Finger | 8 weeks | (Placed on LTI list 24/3/16, replaced by Colledge) | |||
| Mutimer | Hamstring | 4-6 weeks | ||||
| Wellingham | Knee | 4 weeks | ||||
| Masten | Ankle | 1-2 weeks | ||||
| Jetta | Calf strain | Test | ||||
| Waterman* | Glandular fever | Indefinite | ||||
| Tunbridge* | Back | 4-6 weeks | ||||
| Adamson* | Knee | Test |
References[]
http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2016/1/wce-v-bl
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2016/181920160327.html
- ↑ westcoasteagles.com.au (28 March 2016), "Full QA transcript: Adam Simpson": http://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/news/2016-03-28/rd-1-full-qa-transcript-simpson
- ↑ Nick Rynne, The West Australian (27 March 2016), "Eagles smash Lions in season opener": https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/afl/a/31196786/afl-latest-eagles-v-lions/
- ↑ Brad Elborough, The Age (27 March 2016), "Josh Kennedy kicks eight as Eagles trounce Lions": http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/josh-kennedy-kicks-eight-as-eagles-trounce-lions-20160327-gnryru.html
| 2016 season <--2015-16 offseason | Playing squad | Coaching panel | 2016-17 offseason--> |
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NAB Challenge : 1 (ADL) | 2 (GC) | 3 (ESS) |