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West Coast v St Kilda
Round 3, 2014
S14r003
The team celebrates winning Masten's 100th game and Colledge's first. Photo: aflphotos.com.au
Date
Sat, 5 April 2014 (4:40 PM WST)
Venue
Attendance
36,448
Result
Won by 25
Score
WCE 12.11.83 - 8.10.58 STK
Brownlow
3 M.Priddis (WCE)
2 L.Dunstan (STK)
1 L.Montagna (STK)
Ladder
1st
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West Coast were given a scare by an unfancied St Kilda in a scrappy affair, the Saints going into halftime with a slight lead before the Eagles clicked into gear in the second half. Youngsters Andrew Gaff and Brad Sheppard were among few Eagles to stand up, with Dean Cox getting on the scoreboard in his 276th appearance (equaling Glen Jakovich's club record).

Summary[]

1/4 time 1/2 time 3/4 time Final
West Coast 3.2.20 5.4.34 8.8.56 12.11.83
St Kilda 1.5.11 6.6.42 7.8.50 8.10.58

Goals: Cripps, Ellis, Kennedy 2, Brown, Cox, Darling, Priddis, Shuey, Sinclair

Best: Priddis, Darling, Cox, Gaff, Ellis, Glass, Sheppard, Bennell

Injuries: LeCras (arm), Masten (corked thigh), Selwood (ankle)

Reports: Shuey for striking T.Curren

Sub: Schofield for LeCras (arm) in the first quarter

Milestones: Cox 276th game (equal club record), Masten 100th game, Colledge AFL debut

Named side[]

West Coast St Kilda
B: 44.Bennell 23.Glass 1.Brown B: 24.Dempster 33.Gwilt 19.Gilbert
HB: 24.Rosa 16.MacKenzie 6.Yeo HB: 34.Wright 21.Delaney 29.Webster
C: 7.Masten 11.Priddis 3.Gaff C: 14.Geary 7.Hayes 22.Ray
HF: 12.Wellingham 17.Kennedy 18.Ellis HF: 4.Jones 12.Riewoldt 11.Montagna
F: 2.LeCras 27.Darling 15.Cripps F: 43.Templeton 37.Maister 35.Saunders
R: 20.Cox 10.Selwood 13.Shuey R: 1.Hickey 20.Armitage 26.Curren
I: 9.Naitanui 5.Sheppard 21.Colledge I: 16.Newnes 28.Stanley 5.Savage
22.Sinclair 36.Dunstan
E: 31.Schofield 29.Lycett 4.Sheed E: 38.Dunell 6.Ross 18.Longer

In: Colledge

Out: Hurn (knee)

Late change: Schofield for Wellingham (groin tightness)

New: Brant Colledge (Perth/Attadale JFC)

Quarter by quarter[]

West Coast brought in debutant Colledge to replace the injured Hurn, and Schofield got a late call-up for his first game of the year when Wellingham withdrew with groin tightness. The matchup between two undefeated but unrated teams began under clear skies.

First term[]

St Kilda gave up a free kick before the opening bounce for a centre square infringement. Naitanui pumped the ball inside 50 where a quick Priddis kick was marked by Shuey. After spending some time on the deck following heavy contact, he converted to give West Coast a quick start. Down the other end, former teammates MacKenzie and Beau Maister met heavily in a marking contest. Shuey had a chance at a second when his tagger Tom Curren held onto him at a stoppage, but missed the set shot. Saints defender Sam Gilbert limped off with an ankle injury and was later replaced by sub Shane Savage. LeCras got free running inside 50 but was chased down and his pass went wide. Deep in the pocket at the other end, Yeo was penalised for a throw but Maister failed to convert. He had another chance when he got on the end of a great pass from Eli Templeton and MacKenzie was forced to concede a free, and this time put it through to level the scores. A flying shot by Jack Newnes went out on the full but Yeo was called for playing on while out of bounds. Clint Jones then missed a sitter running into goal to give the Eagles a let-off. Down the other end, a beautiful pass by Kennedy was spilt by Sinclair. West Coast forced a number of stoppages just metres out from goal to no avail.

After some tight contested football between the arcs, Nick Riewoldt had a chance from near 50 but pushed it across the face. In a blow to West Coast, LeCras was subbed out with an arm injury with Schofield coming into the game. After a patient build-up across half back, Shuey hit Kennedy with a pass inside 50 and he split the middle to give the Eagles a 3-point lead. West Coast had some promising entries inside 50 before eventually some Darling magic resulted in a Sinclair mark and goal. That was the final score for the quarter, with West Coast leading by 9 at the break.

Second term[]

West Coast dominated territory early in the second quarter, and finally got a reward when a great Sheppard kick hit a leading Kennedy, but he hooked the shot wide for a point. Some quick hands from Shuey found a running Ellis who finished well for a goal. St Kilda looked set for a quick answer before some Glass heroics won the ball back. It was short lived, as Riewoldt got loose after a turnover but sprayed his shot from 40m. He finally got on the board a few minutes later after beating Glass in a marking contest. Riewoldt had another opportunity from the next bounce when Eli Templeton found him on a hard lead, and made no mistake to narrow the margin to just 3 points.

As Selwood hobbled from the ground with a twisted ankle, West Coast finally got the ball inside 50 but only briefly. Yeo had a flying shot from outside 50 but put it out on the full. St Kilda had a fast break after a Riewoldt intercept on his defensive 50 and Rhys Stanley found Montagna who slotted it from a tight angle to give the Saints the lead. Darling had a chance to wrest it back for the home side after winning a free kick but missed to the near side. He made amends seconds later with a mighty pack mark at the top of the square from a Schofield kick, converting to give the Eagles a 4-point lead. Some desperate defence including a Priddis smother and a big Bennell spoil avoided giving the lead straight back, but only temporarily as Clint Jones was able to find space and handball to Luke Dunstan running into an open goal. From a free kick at 70m, Gwilt pumped the ball to the behind line where Montagna marked, then executed a perfect round-the-body kick to push the margin to 8 points. Montagna had a chance for a third for the quarter but Bennell was able to mark on the goal line. The half ended with the visitors up by 8.

Third term[]

West Coast had a chance to goal straight from the bouncedown after a Shuey clearance but a snap around the body by Darling went wide. A tough challenge by Kennedy on Gwilt under a floating inside 50 resulted in a bit of push and shove. St Kilda took the ball forward but it was intercepted by Sheppard and quickly sent to the other end, resulting in another chance for Darling but again he was wayward with the kick. Down the Saints' end, West Coast appeared to have a loose ball covered but a contentious 'below the knee' free kick was paid against Glass and Eli Templeton converted to put St Kilda 12 points ahead. Gaff sent a high ball inside 50 where Kennedy marked uncontested, but his shot missed to the right. West Coast continued to dominate territory and Cox marked a Rosa kick in the forward pocket, but his kick missed everything.

The ball was whipped down the other end but Ray and Templeton missed golden opportunities. A clever mark by debutant Colledge on the wing resulted in a scoring opportunity for Selwood, who was run down but able to hand off to Priddis who goaled on his trusty left to narrow the margin to 7. Then some great running by Gaff on the outer wing led to a gather by Naitanui and a quick handoff to Brown to run into an open goal. From the bounce, Colledge had a chance for his first AFL goal but missed narrowly to tie the scores. Selwood won a trademark head-high free in front of goal but sprayed his kick out on the full. Darling gathered a ball at the top of the 50 and found Cripps with his kick, and the former Saint squeezed through his set shot to give West Coast the lead for the first time in the half. The siren sounded with the ball in a pack on the wing and the Eagles leading by one straight kick.

Fourth term[]

West Coast went forward after Yeo won a free kick for holding the ball on the outer wing, and Ellis goaled after marking a very short kick inside 50 from Selwood. David Armitage tried to bang one through from 50m but got a bad bounce. Rosa floated a kick across the face where Cox marked one-handed with his back against the behind post. His kick around the body went through the middle but the umpire brought him back, and his second attempt missed everything. A Sheppard kick to the goalsquare was contested by Darling, and Cripps got front and centre to goal from the spoil and put the Eagles 17 points ahead. Sheppard set up the next forward attack and Schofield hit Kennedy on the chest, with the big forward kicking truly to extend the margin. St Kilda had a chance to kick one against the flow of play but Jack Newnes sprayed his shot to the right. Glass and MacKenzie were mopping up every Saints forward entry but West Coast had a couple of players under injury clouds with Ellis and Darling both coming off after copping heavy contact.

Rookie Luke Dunstan goaled from a set shot after a soft free kick to reduce the margin to 16 and give St Kilda a sniff. Armitage left the ground under the blood rule after copping some friendly fire. Cripps ran into an open forward line and did the right thing, handballing over to the record-equaler Cox to kick a crowd-pleasing goal. With the players obviously spent, goals were at a premium in the final few minutes as the Eagles began to chip the ball around. Shuey hit Kennedy after a patient buildup but his kick just drifted the wrong side of the goalpost. Darling broke a tackle and kicked from a tight angle but hit the post. Shuey won a free for a head-high tackle inside 50 but his kick was narrow. From the resulting kick-out, MacKenzie went down heavily after running into Maister and won a free kick. West Coast were denied a final goal opportunity when Gwilt put his hands into Sinclair's back in the goalsquare in the dying seconds but no free kick resulted, with the siren sounding and the Eagles finishing ahead by 25.

From the papers[]

The West Australian[]

"The game was supposed to be a one-sided affair, but St Kilda surprised the Eagles early with a tough, contested performance in the midfield.

While they ended up on the wrong side of the result, it was a performance which showed the Saints won’t be the easybeats many were expecting this season.

St Kilda’s pressure in the opening stages of the match was impressive.

The young side hassled West Coast’s ball carriers, taking away their time and space and causing usually clean players to second-guess themselves."

The Sunday Times[]

"The Saints generated 148 contested possessions to the Eagles 137 and Simpson conceded that it is an area well short of satisfactory in his remake of West Coast three games into his coaching reign and ahead of what is likely to be a tight and heavily congested clash with Geelong in Geelong on Saturday.

“We knew that they were going to come out and hunt us and they did a really good job,” he said.

“We lost a lot of the inside ball. The contested ball, first possession, clearances and all the things that you base your game around.

“So to adjust to that we’ve got to get that right. I thought we broke even in the second half, but in the second quarter we lost our way a bit.”"

The Age[]

"Andrew Gaff continued his impressive start to the season, while Matt Rosa has added depth to the midfield brigade.

But if the Eagles give away the advantage in clearances and contested possession like they did on Saturday night, Adam Simpson's unbeaten run won't last very long."

East Perth report[]

East Perth were clinical in their demolition of South Fremantle, winning 20.8.120 to 8.5.53. Dom Sheed and Blayne Wilson were impressive, as was ruckman Scott Lycett who had plenty of the ball and kicked two goals.

Appearing for East Perth: Brennan, Butler, Carter, Hill, Hutchings, Lycett, McGinnity, McGovern, McInnes, Sheed, Smith, Wilson. Reserves: Karpany, Maginness, Main

Injury list[]

In the lead-up to the match the following players were listed as injured:

Player Injury Expected duration
Hurn Knee 4-6 weeks
Barrass Hip 3-4 weeks (placed on LTI 23/1/14, replaced on list by Sinclair on 20/3/14)
Waters Shoulder 2-3 weeks
Hutchings Back Test
Tunbridge Broken nose Test
Powell Shoulder Unknown (Rookies not officially on list)
Newman Jail Season

Links[]

http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2014/151820140405.html

http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2014/3/wce-v-stk

Nick Rynne, The West Australian (5 April 2014), "LeCras injured as Eagles down Saints": https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/afl/a/22407271/lecras-injured-as-eagles-down-saints/

Kim Hagdorn, The Sunday Times (6 April 2014), "Mark LeCras injured again as West Coast Eagles beat St Kilda": http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/mark-lecras-injured-again-as-west-coast-eagles-beat-st-kilda/story-fnhocxo3-1226875718213

Brad Elborough, The Age (6 April 2014), "Saints make Eagles work": http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/saints-make-eagles-work-20140405-36671.html

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