Sydney won their way to the minor premiership in a howling gale, holding the Eagles goalless in the final term (despite a very favourable wind) and to six goals for the match. The result saw the Swans leapfrog Brisbane into top spot heading into the finals, while West Coast dropped to fourth but earned a home final against Carlton on percentage. Drew Banfield led the Eagles with 28 possessions and acting skipper Guy McKenna had 18 disposals and 8 tackles.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 5.5.35 | 5.7.37 | 9.11.65 | 12.13.85 | ||||
| West Coast | 1.2.8 | 4.9.33 | 6.10.46 | 6.14.50 |
Goals: Sumich, White 2, Lovell, Morrison
Best: McKenna, White, Cousins, Sumich, Waterman, McIntosh
Injuries: Pe.Matera (corked thigh)
Milestones: Lyle final appearance
Records: WCE lowest score vs Sydney
Named sides[]
| West Coast | Sydney | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 9.Lyle | 11.McIntosh | 8.Metropolis | B: | 27.Chapman | 6.Dunkley | 30.Bayes |
| HB: | 30.Pe.Matera | 50.Turnbull | 17.McKenna | HB: | 39.Heuskes | 1.Roos | 34.Luff |
| C: | 39.Waterman | 2.Kemp | 3.Mainwaring | C: | 29.Garlick | 12.Dyson | 11.Maxfield |
| HF: | 21.Schofield | 7.Gehrig | 42.Morrison | HF: | 19.O'Loughlin | 17.Mooney | 9.Grant |
| F: | 35.Cousins | 4.Sumich | 12.White | F: | 5.O'Brien | 4.Lockett | 24.Kickett |
| R: | 22.Downsborough | 1.Heady | 18.Evans | R: | 15.Stafford | 14.Kelly | 8.Cresswell |
| I: | 6.Banfield | 31.Heatley | 5.Lovell | I: | 3.Lewis | 32.McPherson | 7.Seymour |
| E: | 36.Hart | 28.Lewis | 44.Wirrpanda | E: | 42.Arnott | 31.Carey | 35.Mangin |
In: Downsborough, White
Out: Donnelly (groin), Lewis
Late changes: (WCE) Lewis, Wirrpanda for Kemp (groin), Heatley; (SYD) Arnott for Lockett (knee)
From the papers[]
The Age[]
"To three-quarter-time, they were effectively dead even, the Eagles always trailing but never out of it under the stewardship of Guy McKenna, that smooth operator at half-back. Only in the last term did the home side truly dominate.
The Swans are formidable, to be sure, for they have the chemistry that marks all winning sides. Without Lockett on Saturday, they shared the load as they had to, drawing a brilliant performance in the ruck from Greg Stafford and a bullocking on-ball effort from the rough diamond Daryn Cresswell.
Eade rotated half a dozen players at full-forward knowing that he could never replace Lockett, and was best served there by Kickett, who snared three goals. Nine Swans kicked goals.
West Coast was overwhelmed in the end, but certainly not disgraced. The conditions were against them, and Dean Kemp's withdrawal before the game, plus Peter Matera's injury five minutes from the opening bounce, scarcely helped."[1]
WAFL[]
Round 21 (31 August)
Claremont (Pyke, Marshall) vs East Perth
West Perth (Symmons, Smoker) vs Swan Districts
Perth (Sikora) vs South Fremantle (Ph.Matera)
East Fremantle vs Subiaco
Injury list[]
In the lead-up to the match the following players were listed as injured or unavailable:[2]
| Player | Injury | Expected duration | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jakovich | Knee | Season | ||||
| Worsfold | Knee | Season | ||||
| Fewster | Knee | Season | ||||
| Downsborough | Corked thigh | Test | ||||
| Ball | Hamstring | Test | ||||
| Hart | Heel | Test |
References[]
http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/1996/161819960831.html
| 1996 season |
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<--1995-96 offseason | 1996-97 offseason--> |