Round 1 2020

West Coast v Melbourne
Round 1, 2020

Barrass marks in front of empty stands. Photo: aflphotos.com.au

Date

Sun, 22 March 2020 (3.20pm WST)

Venue

Perth Stadium

Attendance

n/a

Result

Won by 27

Score

WCE 12.6.78 - 7.9.51 MEL

Brownlow

3 D.Sheed (WCE)
2 A.Gaff (WCE)
1 J.Viney (MEL)

Ladder

3rd

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West Coast opened their 2020 premiership campaign with a comfortable win at home against Melbourne. In front of empty stands, and with a pre-game announcement that the season would be officially postponed indefinitely at the conclusion of the match due to the coronavirus crisis, the Eagles broke the game open with a four-goal burst late in the first term, and held the Demons at arm's length from there on. Andrew Gaff tallied his usual 30 possessions despite the shortened game time, and Dom Sheed kicked two goals from 22 touches.

Summary

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
West Coast		5.1.31		7.3.45		11.6.72		12.6.78
Melbourne		0.4.4		3.6.24		5.9.39		7.9.51

Goals: Ryan 3, Ah Chee, Sheed 2, Darling, Gaff, Jetta, Kelly, Petruccelle

Best: Naitanui, Gaff, Sheed, Ah Chee, Shuey, Ryan, Hurn

Injuries: Nil

Milestones: Kelly WCE debut, Hickey 100th AFL game

Jumper: Home, blue shorts

Named sides

	West Coast				Melbourne
B:	5.Sheppard	37.Barrass	25.Hurn	B:	39.Jetta	1.May	8.Lever
HB:	23.Jetta	20.McGovern	14.Duggan	HB:	28.O.McDonald	4.Harmes	14.Hibberd
C:	3.Gaff	6.Yeo	10.Brander	C:	15.Langdon	13.Oliver	20.Tomlinson
HF:	8.Redden	27.Darling	4.Sheed	HF:	30.Neal-Bullen	31.Fritsch	7.Viney
F:	1.Ryan	17.Kennedy	15.Cripps	F:	9.Spargo	25.T.McDonald	10.Brayshaw
R:	9.Naitanui	11.Kelly	13.Shuey	R:	11.Gawn	5.Petracca	18.Melksham
I:	30.Nelson	21.Petruccelle	41.Ah Chee	I:	38.Brown	36.Pickett	41.Lockhart
	16.Hickey				12.Bedford
E:	32.Williams	31.Schofield	34.Hutchings	E:	34.Hore	26.Weideman	6.Jackson
	2.Waterman				32.Sparrow

New: Tim Kelly (Geelong/South Fremantle)

Quarter by quarter

Both sides went in as named. The match was played in fine and clear, but eerie, conditions, with the absence of a crowd magnified by the AFL announcement in the hours before the match that the season would be shut down indefinitely.

From the papers

The West Australian

"The Dees were good around the ball, but wasteful with it. The Eagles more than held their own at stoppages but even when they lost them, they caught Melbourne's attacks in defensive pincer movements.

They set up brilliantly behind the ball to blunt Melbourne's attacks and picked them off in defence.

For the Eagles, the game was a reminder of what they have had, an indication of what they may have gained, and a surprise or two about things they might not have been aware of.

Nic Naitanui was the dominant ruckman on the ground against Max Gawn and Andrew Gaff brought his own ball which he ran up and down the wing all day."

The Age

"Brendon Ah Chee, who has been in the AFL system since the 2011 draft but was playing just his 37th game – and only ninth in more than two seasons at the Eagles – kicked two goals in less than a minute in the first term.

He was delisted at the end of last season and ended up on the Eagles rookie list. And with Willie Rioli benched while he waits notice of a ban due to alleged urine sample tampering, Ah Chee found himself in the round one side.

He only kicked those two goals, but Ryan and Dom Sheed can thank him for a couple that they kicked. Tim Kelly, in his first game in Eagles colours since moving from Geelong, wasn’t bad either."

Reserves

Due to the pandemic, no reserves match was played.

Injury list

In the leadup to the round the following players were listed as injured or unavailable (expected returns are estimated based on club's description):

Player		Injury		Expected return
Venables		Concussion		Season		(placed on inactive list 4/3/20)
Rioli		Suspension		Indefinite
Foley		Pubic bone stress		Indefinite
Cameron		Pubic bone stress		4-6 weeks
Cole		Fractured thumb		4-6 weeks
Darling		Cheekbone		Test
Allen		Ankle		Test
Williams		Hamstring tightness		Test
Kennedy		Elbow		Available
McGovern		Achilles		Available
Duggan		Sprained thumb		Available

References

https://www.afl.com.au/matches/2043

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2020/111820200322.html