In the final game played at Subiaco Oval, West Coast won through to the finals in sensational circumstances, downing league leaders Adelaide to leapfrog Melbourne into eighth place. The Eagles went into the match needing to win by at least 20 points to pass the Demons on percentage, and although they led for most of the match the Crows threatened to take their finals berth away when they closed to within three goals in the final term, before majors to Lewis Jetta and Jack Darling ensured that the match would not be West Coast's last of 2017. The retiring Sam Mitchell led the way with 34 possessions and skipper Shannon Hurn had 24 touches and 11 marks.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 4.1.25 | 8.4.52 | 13.5.83 | 15.10.100 | ||||
| Adelaide | 1.1.7 | 5.5.35 | 7.10.52 | 10.11.71 |
Goals: Cripps 3, Hutchings, LeCras 2, Darling, Gaff, Jetta, Kennedy, Petrie, Redden, Shuey, Vardy
Best: Mitchell, Gaff, Hurn, Shuey, Priddis, Cripps
Injuries: Petrie (cut head), McGovern (shoulder)
Named sides[]
| West Coast | Adelaide | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | Barrass | MacKenzie | Sheppard | B: | Laird | Hartigan | Lever |
| HB: | Hurn | McGovern | Duggan | HB: | Kelly | Keath | Brown |
| C: | Gaff | Priddis | Sheed | C: | Smith | Sloane | Atkins |
| HF: | Yeo | Darling | Redden | HF: | Douglas | Lynch | Cameron |
| F: | Petrie | Kennedy | LeCras | F: | McGovern | Jenkins | Betts |
| R: | Vardy | Mitchell | Shuey | R: | Jacobs | B.Crouch | M.Crouch |
| I: | Cripps | Jetta | Partington | I: | Knights | Seedsman | Mackay |
| Hutchings | Milera | ||||||
| E: | Nelson | Schofield | Waterman | Beech | Greenwood | O'Brien |
In: LeCras
Out: Hill
Quarter by quarter[]
Both sides went in as named. The final match at Subiaco Oval was played in sunny and warm conditions.
Club Champion votes[]
| McGovern | 15 | Jetta | 7 | ||
| Darling | 13 | Sheppard | 7 | ||
| Gaff | 13 | Duggan | 5 | ||
| Yeo | 12 | Kennedy | 5 | ||
| Shuey | 11 | LeCras | 5 | ||
| Barrass | 10 | Petrie | 5 | ||
| Cripps | 10 | Sheed | 5 | ||
| Hurn | 10 | Hutchings | 4 | ||
| Mitchell | 10 | Priddis | 4 | ||
| Redden | 10 | Vardy | 3 | ||
| MacKenzie | 8 | Partington | 1 |
From the coach[]
"Yeah, we left it til the last four minutes to qualify [for finals]. I am not sure if that has happened before, it probably has. We have been in those positions a lot this year coming into the last quarter and been in a good position to win. To do that today in such an important game and it has been a pretty emotional week as well with players retiring left, right and centre and the last game at Subi, East Perth fighting for a finals spot as well, so we are pretty proud of the players and the resilience shown during the week to stay pretty focused on the process and then to kick the last couple of goals was important as well and some individuals stood up late in the game.
"...It is really hard to play on emotion all day. Our focus all week was to stick to the process. To not know the result of what we needed to do until yesterday - the fact that we were a chance [for finals] was the pleasing part, we didn't want to go into the game having to win by 100 points, so the stars aligned. I obviously feel a bit for Melbourne at the moment, but that is footy.
"...We didn't go into too much detail [about the finals equations]. We spoke at three-quarter time about winning the quarter and we would qualify. I didn't go into the 'we need to win by this much', but we tried to get out there late in the game when we got headed and we were down in terms of making the finals, we sent some messages through that scoring was important. Jetta in the last 10 minutes stood up with some important plays and obviously Jack's mark late in the game was important as well."
From the papers[]
The West Australian[]
"West Coast’s best win of the year showcased the intensity and tackling pressure that has been missing for much of the season and will give them hope of doing some damage in this year’s flag race.
Josh Kennedy was denied three successive Coleman Medals after finishing with one goal as the Eagles won successive games for the first time since round eight.
The Eagles spearhead missed two critical set shots in the final term when the Eagles desperately needed some breathing space, but his teammates stepped up to deliver in a grandstand finish.
Mitchell was prolific on a stage with massive consequences for West Coast, finishing the game with 34 disposals in a critical performance from the four-times premiership star."
The Age[]
"As this crazy AFL season almost demanded, the make-up of the top eight came down to the last home and away game; to the last five minutes. Lewis Jetta and Jack Darling kicked the game's last two goals to give the Eagles the margin they needed. They finished 0.5 per cent in percentage ahead of the unlucky Melbourne.
Midway through the third term, when Mark LeCras kicked his second goal for the quarter, the Eagles led Adelaide by 41 points and were only one more goal away from overtaking Essendon and finishing in seventh. It wouldn't surprise anyone that former Hawthorn champion Sam Mitchell was leading the way for his new side and he finished the game with 34 disposals.
The win earned West Coast an elimination final spot against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval."
East Perth report[]
Round 23 (26 August)
East Perth were eliminated from the finals race by the ladder-leading Subiaco, with the Lions piling on seven goals in the third quarter to put the match beyond the Royals' reach, running out 42-point winners. Sharrod Wellingham provided a reminder of his class with 30 possessions and two goals, and forgotten ruckman Jonathan Giles tallied 45 hitouts and a goal.
Appearing for East Perth: Cole, Giles, Gorter, Hill, Karpany, Lamb, Masten, McInnes, Mutimer, Rioli, Schofield, Waterman, Watson, Wellingham. Reserves: Bayok, Rotham.
Injury list[]
In the leadup to the match the following players were listed as injured:
| Player | Injury | Expected duration | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen | Foot | Season | ||||
| Lycett | Shoulder | Season | ||||
| Butler | Shoulder | Season | (On LTI list 3/8/17) | |||
| Venables | Toe | Season | ||||
| Naitanui | Knee | Late 2017 season | (On LTI list 21/3/17, replaced by Petrie) | |||
| LeCras | Hamstring | Test | ||||
| Tunbridge* | Hamstring | Season |
Links[]
http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2017/23/wce-v-adel
Dale Miller, The West Australian (27 August 2017), "They’ve done it! The Eagles are in the finals after 29-point win over Adelaide": https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/theyve-done-it-the-eagles-are-in-the-finals-after-29-point-win-over-adelaide-ng-b88580828z
Brad Elborough, The Age (27 August 2017), "West Coast v Melbourne: Eagles leave Demons on finals outer": http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/west-coast-v-melbourne-eagles-leave-demons-on-finals-outer-20170827-gy59r7.html
| 2017 season <--2016-17 offseason | Playing squad | Coaching panel | 2017-18 offseason--> |
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JLT Series : 1 (GWS) | 2 (FRE) | 3 (MEL) |