Round 23 2021

Brisbane v West Coast
Round 23, 2021

Yeo against his old side. Photo: aflphotos.com.au

Date

Sat, 21 August 2021 (4.35pm EST)

Venue

Gabba

Attendance

21,845

Result

Lost by 38

Score

BRI 19.11.125 - 13.9.87 WCE

Brownlow

3 D.Zorko (BRI)
2 D.Rich (BRI)
1 E.Yeo (WCE)

Ladder

9th

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West Coast's disappointing season fizzled out with a loss to Brisbane confirming they would miss the finals for the first time since 2014. Needing to win to give themselves a chance of finishing inside the eight, the Eagles fought their way back from 29 points down in the first quarter to maintain pace with Brisbane for most of the match, but the Lions put their foot down early in the last to end the contest, with most of the interest then centring on whether Brisbane would be able to make up enough percentage to move into the top four, which they managed with just seconds to spare. Nic Naitanui made his care for All-Australian selection with a career-high 53 hitouts along with 24 possessions, and skipper Luke Shuey led all comers with 35 touches.

Summary

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Brisbane		7.2.44		10.4.64		13.6.84		19.11.125
West Coast		3.3.21		8.5.53		10.7.67		13.9.87

Goals: Darling, Ryan 3, Cripps, Vardy 2, Allen, Jones, Waterman

Best: Naitanui, Yeo, Shuey, Ryan

Injuries: Allen (concussion)

Medical subs: (WCE) Petruccelle for Allen (concussion) in the third quarter; (BRI) Mathieson, not used

Milestones: Yeo 150th game, Brander final appearance, Hutchings final appearance, Vardy final appearance

Jumper: Clash, white shorts

Named sides

	West Coast				Brisbane
B:	42.H.Edwards	37.Barrass	28.Cole	B:	27.Gardiner	31.Andrews	37.Starcevich
HB:	29.Foley	35.Rotham	23.Witherden	HB:	14.Birchall	35.Lester	10.Rich
C:	3.Gaff	6.Yeo	36.West	C:	6.McCluggage	33.Bailey	7.J.Berry
HF:	15.Cripps	27.Darling	16.L.Edwards	HF:	11.McCarthy	25.McStay	15.Henry
F:	1.Ryan	12.Allen	31.Jones	F:	4.Ah Chee	3.Daniher	23.Cameron
R:	9.Naitanui	4.Sheed	13.Shuey	R:	46.McInerney	17.Lyons	9.Neale
I:	2.Waterman	19.Vardy	30.Nelson	I:	12.Cockatoo	18.K.Coleman	20.Prior
	10.Brander*				21.Fullarton
E:	7.Langdon	32.Williams	21.Petruccelle	E:	13.T.Berry	36.Mathieson	24.Adams
	34.Hutchings*				38.Ballenden

In: H.Edwards, Rotham, Waterman, Jones, West, Brander

Out: McGovern (hip), Sheppard (concussion), Kennedy (finger), Kelly (knee), Redden (illness)*, Petruccelle, Langdon (medical sub)

Late changes: (WCE) Hutchings for L.Edwards (hamstring); (BRI) Adams for Andrews (hamstring)

(*Brander replaced Redden in the 22, Hutchings added to emergencies)

Quarter by quarter

Both sides made late changes, with West Coast replacing Luke Edwards with Hutchings and Brisbane switching Harris Andrews with fellow defender Marcus Adams. The game started in fading sunshine.

From the coach

"I thought our boys were pretty brave, obviously not at Brisbane’s standard, but we were a little bit undermanned and obviously both teams had a lot to play for. I thought we played with spirit, we just weren’t good enough in the end, we didn’t handle their pressure in the last half. Having said that, it was game on at three quarter time, I think a couple of goals late in quarters hurt us, actually our forward 50 stoppage goals two against, went the full length of the ground, gave them that little buffer, but ran out of steam in the end, and obviously didn’t go our way.

"They elevated their pressure, we couldn’t sustain what we were doing, a couple of costly, undisciplined free kicks down the field. Or a free kick after a point, pushed it out to 17 points. Obviously Brisbane were playing for a larger margin and they really challenged that, and we were playing to win as well, so we opened the game up a little bit because we wanted to win, we didn’t want to just deny Brisbane an opportunity to play top four, so we went a bit harder at that sense, so you’ve got to take those risks in the last quarter. So it blew out in the last 10, 15 minutes. But overall, we hung in there and we fought pretty hard, we just weren’t good enough.

"...I think our leaders stood up well tonight, Nic had 23-odd possessions, 10 clearances, Luke had 13 clearances himself, so effort was there today. Energy and effort was there from the start, and unfortunately there’s been too many times this year where we haven’t brought that same intensity when we’ve needed to. So, we’ve got to learn and grow from that. But there was some positive signs tonight, in terms of the younger team, the spirit, learn a good lesson. We probably had our youngest backline for the last eight years, really, with Tom Barrass being our oldest player. And they’re (Brisbane) a very good forward-line as well. So, we’ll take some growth out of this game, whereas there’s been some games in recent times that have just been disappointing."

From the papers

The West Australian

"The Eagles came to play and got the first two goals of the match through youngsters Oscar Allen and Jake Waterman. But the Lions had far too much to play for with a top-four spot in the offing and quickly kicked into gear.

Despite West Coast controlling the centre square battle and edging Brisbane for inside-50 entries in the opening stanza, the Lions were dominant on the back of a series of intercepts and some enterprising run through the middle of the ground.

Thirteen years after the Eagles were forced to choose between prized WA youngsters Naitanui and Rich, the latter was a pivotal figure as Brisbane first took control.

The home side banged on seven consecutive goals by the first change, making it 15 first-quarter goals conceded by the Eagles in the space of seven days after last weekend’s early mauling from Fremantle."

The Age

"But the second quarter reminded the Brisbane Lions that they still had to win the match before they had the luxury of worrying about percentage. With Naitanui unstoppable, the Eagles surged back into the match, kicking five goals to three. They weren’t quite ready to give up on their season, regardless of what anyone else thought of their chances.

They closed the margin to four points before the Lions hit back with a late goal to Dan McStay – in career-best form – but the question was being asked of the home side. Their efforts were patchy and uneven, both from contest to contest and across their 22 players. And with every goal the Eagles kicked, win or lose, their task only got harder.

They needed a lift in intensity, and from a few players, and to play a bit smarter. They slowed things down, dropped a spare man back in defence wherever possible, and locked the ball into their forward half more effectively. But they couldn’t break the Eagles open, either. A 17-point lead at three-quarter time wasn’t going to cut it.

And quickly, in the final quarter, the Eagles reminded them they weren’t done. Jamie Cripps kicked the first of the quarter, then a second, to close the margin to five points. It was the signal to the Lions to go for broke, and they surged to book their third top-four-finish in three years."

Reserves

Round 20 (21 August)

West Coast remained anchored to the bottom of the ladder with a late loss to Fremantle-affiliated Peel Thunder at Rushton Park. The Eagles looked to be in control at half-time when they led by 38 points, but the home side came storming home to win by two points. Xavier O'Neill had 32 touches while Bailey Williams tallied an astonishing 58 touches.

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Peel Thunder		1.5.11		2.9.21		6.12.48		10.16.76
West Coast		5.2.32		9.5.59		10.7.67		11.8.74

Goals: Nitschke, Williams 2, Ainsworth, Deegan, Flint, Garlett, Marlin, Nitschke, O'Neill, Winder

Best: Williams, O'Neill, Ainsworth, Johnson, Brayshaw, Marlin

Injuries: Nil

Named side:

	West Coast
B:	18.Sears	51.Marlin	38.Johnson
HB:	63.Hansen	43.Collins	64.Curnow
C:	24.O'Neill	33.Ainsworth	57.Bentley
HF:	60.Deegan	22.Winder	61.Robilliard
F:	56.Hug	49.Garlett	59.Nitschke
R:	70.Sumich	45.Brayshaw	34.Hutchings
I:	50.Fitzgerald	55.Flint	53.Humble
	54.Sinclair
E:	62.Cary	52.Feeney	47.Paunich
	71.Young

In: Marlin, Curnow, Deegan, Garlett, Robilliard, Fitzgerald, Humble, Sinclair

Out: H.Edwards, Rotham, Jones, Waterman, Williams, Brander (AFL), Busher (elbow), Young

Late changes: Williams for Hutchings (AFL)

Injury list

In the leadup to the match the following players were listed as injured or unavailable:

Player		Injury		Expected return
Cameron		Ankle		Season		(on inactive list 1/6/21)
Duggan		Knee		Season
Sheppard		Concussion		TBC
Kelly		Knee		2-3 weeks
Hurn		Hamstring		1-2 weeks
Jamieson		Groin		1-2 weeks
Kennedy		Finger		Test
McGovern		Hip		Test
Rioli		Suspension		Available
Venables*		Concussion		Retired		(on inactive list 1/6/21)
Trew*		Back		Season
Ah Chee*		Hand		2-3 weeks
West*		Groin		Test

References

https://www.afl.com.au/matches/3158

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2021/181920210821.html