West Coast suffered a sixth straight loss to start the season, but only after giving hot favourites Essendon a massive scare. The Eagles burst out of the blocks in the Good Friday clash, with Jake Waterman kicking four first-quarter goals as the home side opened up a 22-point lead at the first break, and got out to 25 points in the second quarter. Essendon worked their way back, helped by some dubious umpiring decisions, and leveled the scores by the final change before pulling in front in the final term. West Coast made one final push with Jack Williams' third goal narrowing the margin to two points, but were unable to generate one last chance. Elijah Hewett returned from injury to record 22 dispoals and two goals in his best AFL game to date, and Tim Kelly also tallied 22 touches on his return.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 5.0.30 | 7.3.45 | 9.7.61 | 11.9.75 | ||||
| Essendon | 1.2.8 | 4.3.27 | 9.7.61 | 11.11.77 |
Goals: Waterman 4, J.Williams 3, Hewett 2, Cripps, Hunt
Best: Waterman, McGovern, Hewett, J.Williams, Baker, Graham
Injuries: Nil
Subs: (WCE) Gross for Dewar in the fourth term; (ESS) El-Hawli for Gresham in the third term
Jumper: Home, blue shorts
Named sides[]
| West Coast | Essendon | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 7.Ginbey | 42.Edwards | 19.Hough | B: | 14.Ridley | 32.McKay | 1.McGrath |
| HB: | 14.Duggan | 20.McGovern | 3.Baker | HB: | 25.Prior | 31.Reid | 27.Redman |
| C: | 44.Hutchinson | 17.Graham | 5.Hunt | C: | 21.Roberts | 9.Shiel | 28.Duursma |
| HF: | 1.Ryan | 2.Waterman | 15.Cripps | HF: | 37.Martin | 30.Caddy | 11.Gresham |
| F: | 34.J.Williams | 22.A.Reid | 16.Owies | F: | 10.Kako | 20.Wright | 23.Jones |
| R: | 25.Flynn | 11.Kelly | 9.H.Reid | R: | 2.Draper | 7.Merrett | 22.Durham |
| I: | 8.Hewett | 23.Maric | 27.Gross | I: | 8.Hobbs | 12.Settefield | 16.Perkins |
| 38.Davis | 43.Dewar | 29.Menzie | 41.El-Hawli | ||||
| E: | 13.Long | 32.B.Williams | 41.Brock | E: | 5.Tsatas | 17.Goldstein | 44.Day-Wicks |
In: McGovern, Kelly, Flynn, Hewett
Out: Allen (managed), Hall, B.Williams, Brock
Quarter by quarter[]
From the coach[]
From the papers[]
The West Australian[]
"Graham and Reid laid big tackles to earn free kicks after returning to the midfield, while Brady Hough won a vital ball in the middle through sheer will to set the tone.
The signs of selfless and desperate football had been missing but they were reaping rewards.
Meanwhile, the backline looked more settled and reliable with Jeremy McGovern (23 disposals and seven marks) in the side.
It led to a 22-point advantage at the first break, with the Eagles winning a quarter of footy for only the second time this season."[1]
Reserves[]
Round 3 (19 April)
A full-strength West Coast fell to Lathlain co-tenants Perth, remaining winless for 2025. The Eagles scrapped their way into the contest with a three-goal burst narrowing the margin to a point at half-time, but Perth ran away in the second half with five unanswered goals in the third term. Tom Cole had a team-high 32 possessions in response to being dropped, while fellow omission Bailey Williams had 21 touches and a goal to go with 25 hitouts.
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perth | 4.5.29 | 6.5.41 | 11.8.74 | 15.9.99 | ||||
| West Coast | 2.3.15 | 6.4.40 | 6.7.43 | 9.9.63 |
Goals: Champion, Rawlinson, Shanahan 2, Livingstone, Long, B.Williams
Best: B.Williams, Hall, Cole, Bazzo, Long Lucassen
Injuries: Nil
Named side:
| West Coast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 33.Bazzo | 41.Brock | 30.Barnett | |
| HB: | 79.Ewing | 28.Cole | 26.Allan | |
| C: | 24.Johnston | 29.Hall | 66.L.Yeo | |
| HF: | 10.Brockman | 13.Long | 21.Petruccelle | |
| F: | 37.Champion | 35.Shanahan | 39.Livingstone | |
| R: | 32.B.Williams | 31.Grego | 70.Lucassen | |
| I: | 50.Datson | 56.Edwards-Baldwin | 36.Rawlinson | |
| 58.Walsh | ||||
| E: | 75.Dronow | 61.McCarthy | 64.Mercer | |
| 59.Mumme |
In: Brock, Cole, Allan, Hall, B.Williams, Edwards-Baldwin
Out: Kelly, Flynn (AFL), Mouritz, Dronow, McCarthy, Mercer
Injury list[]
In the leadup to the match the following players were listed as injured or unavailable:
| Player | Injury | Expected return | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheed | Knee | Season | ||||
| Chesser | Ankle | 4-6 weeks | ||||
| Yeo | Ankle/knee | 4-5 weeks | ||||
| Jamieson | Ankle/knee | 1 week | ||||
| McGovern | Adductor | Test | ||||
| Hewett | Calf | Available | (not on official list) | |||
| Allan | Illness | Available | (not on official list) |
References[]
https://www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/7012
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2025/051820250418.html
- ↑ Mitchell Woodcock, The West Australian (18 April 2025), "Essendon forward Peter Wright boots six goals as Bombers overrun West Coast to break Eagles’ hearts": https://thewest.com.au/sport/west-coast-eagles/essendon-forward-peter-wright-boots-six-goals-as-bombers-over-run-west-coast-to-break-eagles-hearts-c-18415992
| 2025 season <--2024-25 offseason | Playing squad | Coaching panel | 2025-26 offseason--> |
|---|
| AFLW | Reserves |
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Pre-season : 1 (RIC) | 2 (NM) |