Round 7 2021

West Coast v Fremantle
Round 7, 2021

Kelly was best on ground. Photo: aflphotos.com.au

Date

Sun, 2 May 2021 (2.40pm WST)

Venue

Perth Stadium

Attendance

n/a

Result

Won by 59

Score

WCE 20.12.132 - 11.7.73

Brownlow

3 T.Kelly (WCE)
2 A.Gaff (WCE)
1 D.Sheed (WCE)

Ladder

8th

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West Coast returned to the winners' list in emphatic fashion and continued their recent dominance over Fremantle, overcoming a mounting injury list and a last-minute lockout of the home fans to record an 11th consecutive Derby win. The first half was a shootout with both sides taking full advantage of their forward entries, West Coast leading at the main break after kicking five of the last six goals of the half. They then put the clamps on Fremantle in the second half, restricting the Dockers to just two goals to run away with a 59-point win. Tim Kelly won his first Glendinning-Allan Medal with a career-high 42 possessions, to go with 13 clearances and nine tackles, and fellow ex-Cat Jamaine Jones turned in one of his best AFL performances, kicking two goals from 21 touches.

Summary

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
West Coast		4.2.26		11.4.70		17.8.110		20.12.132
Fremantle		4.0.24		9.3.57		11.5.71		11.7.73

Goals: Darling, Kennedy, Waterman 3, Brander, Cripps, Jones, Langdon 2, Gaff, Petruccelle, Vardy

Best: Kelly, Gaff, Shuey, Redden, Naitanui, Kennedy, Rotham, Darling

Injuries: Cripps (leg)

Medical subs: (WCE) Ainsworth, not used; (FRE) Duman for Hughes (shoulder) in the second term

Jumper: Home, blue shorts

Named sides

	West Coast				Fremantle
B:	23.Witherden	42.H.Edwards	5.Sheppard	B:	5.Hughes	2.Logue	6.Conca
HB:	30.Nelson	35.Rotham	14.Duggan	HB:	27.Chapman	36.Cox	14.Wilson
C:	8.Redden	11.Kelly	2.Waterman	C:	9.Acres	8.Brayshaw	11.Aish
HF:	21.Petruccelle	27.Darling	7.Langdon	HF:	43.Frederick	37.Lobb	12.Crowden
F:	15.Cripps	17.Kennedy	12.Allen	F:	3.Serong	20.Taberner	10.Walters
R:	9.Naitanui	4.Sheed	3.Gaff	R:	4.Darcy	7.Fyfe	33.Conca
I:	10.Brander	19.Vardy	28.Cole	I:	16.Mundy	18.Tucker	28.Schultz
	31.Jones				38.Watson
E:	24.O'Neill	29.Foley	32.Williams	E:	44.Duman	34.Western	19.Blakely
	33.Ainsworth				22.Meek

In: H.Edwards, Kennedy, Petruccelle

Out: Barrass (shoulder), McGovern (groin), O'Neill, Ainsworth (medical sub)

Quarter by quarter

Both sides went in as named, with Ainsworth and Taylin Duman the medical subs. The match was played in bright sunshine, but in front of empty stands after a last-minute government decision to ban crowds due to recent community coronavirus transmissions.

From the coach

"Yeah, we were obviously disappointed after last week, we just wanted to get back to playing our roles, playing our system. The four-quarter effort was there today, the first time for probably the year, so really proud of our players. I do think both teams obviously had some injury issues, and when they lost (Ethan) Hughes in the second quarter maybe, up to half time it felt like it was going to be up to 170 to 160 sort of scoreboard, so whoever got in their forward line scored. We worked pretty hard to reduce that in the second half. I thought our mids stood up, particularly in the third quarter, and allowed us to have the field position we were looking for. Our forwards finished off the good work.

"...I think (the Fremantle midfielders) have been in tremendous form, we didn’t really go in with a tag this week. We really ummed and ahhed about whether we should. We play to win, I suppose, and that was the message before the game, just have a swing, sort of thing. So, we backed in our players. Our challenge is to be consistent every week, and I think a lot of clubs are finding that difficult, and we’re no different. So, I’m really proud of the players today, and really proud of their performance. But the challenge is going to be can we consistently do that home and away, and it starts next week against Hawthorn.

"...I think our mids played a pretty strong part in that third quarter, we converted, we’re pretty good at converting in our front half. The forwards work really well together to provide each other space and options. And our shape behind the ball in terms of how we defended, I thought, was a lot better than last week. We just went so far away from what we do. So that was our focus this week, really. Obviously, we were quite public about how disappointed we were, and sometimes you’ve just got to accept it. So, the players did, I did, and we didn’t have to win today, we just had to play a better brand. And I thought that we did that. And without a crowd, we were really disappointed, as a club, we obviously take a big hit financially, and we miss an opportunity to play in front of our fans. But, it is what it is, you’d rather do that than be in lockdown, so we understand why. But, we had a real sense of purpose about trying to play. Our staff as well had tried so hard to get people here, and to play like we did, hopefully we made our supporters proud of us."

From the papers

The West Australian

"Twice down by two goals, West Coast took a 13-point lead to the major break on the back of a 23-17 clearance edge as Kelly set the tone.

It was clinical in front of goal but that didn’t make the match any less fierce, with players from both sides requiring running repairs.

The Dockers copped the worst of it, with youngster Heath Chapman playing on after appearing to dislocate his shoulder in the early going before Ethan Hughes was put out of the game by a crunching Brad Sheppard bump in the second quarter.

West Coast were sparked to life by Jamaine Jones’ best moment as an Eagle, with the former Geelong forward outfoxing defender Nathan Wilson to snap a classical crumbers goal, and by the end Jones had played his best game as an AFL player."

The Age

"The 52nd derby was poised for a thrilling finish but West Coast stamped complete authority across the ground early in the third term and entered attack at will, their efficiency breaking Fremantle’s spirit as the floodgates opened. The home side’s 59 per cent efficiency inside 50 proved the difference, the Dockers going at just 44.

The class and inside dominance of Andrew Gaff and Kelly proved pivotal to the game’s momentum swing, the pair getting on top in the clearances, with Kelly’s 23 contested possessions quelling Fremantle’s midfield.

The Dockers weren’t helped by wasteful forays forward that were compounded by defensive howlers the Eagles capitalised from, and they clicked into cruise control to finish the term with six goals and a 39-point buffer.

Taylin Duman was activated as Fremantle’s injury substitute after Ethan Hughes succumbed to a shoulder complaint, while teammate Heath Chapman was also troubled with a shoulder injury."

Reserves

Round 5 (2 May)

An undermanned West Coast was blown out by the Fremantle-affiliated Peel, with the Thunder increasing their lead at every change to finish up 79 points ahead. Xavier O'Neill responded to being dropped from the senior side with 28 possessions, and Jarrod Cameron kicked three goals.

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Peel Thunder		6.2.38		13.4.82		17.9.111		24.12.156
West Coast		3.1.19		6.2.38		10.4.64		12.5.77

Goals: Cameron 3, Ah Chee, Jamieson 2, Deegan, L.Edwards, Hansen, Humble, Robilliard

Best: Borgogno, O'Neill, Cameron, Jamieson, Ah Chee

Injuries: Nil

Named side:

	West Coast
B:	55.Flint	58.Busher	51.Marlin
HB:	38.Johnson	66.McGee	52.Feeney
C:	54.Sinclair	45.Brayshaw	57.Bentley
HF:	61.Robilliard	41.Ah Chee	59.Nitschke
F:	63.Hansen	40.Jamieson	39.Cameron
R:	67.Borgogno	16.L.Edwards	26.Trew
I:	62.Cary	60.Deegan	50.Fitzgerald
	53.Humble
E:

In: Ah Chee, Borgogno, Hansen, Cary, Fitzgerald, Humble

Out: H.Edwards, Jones, Ainsworth, Foley, Williams (AFL), Hutchings (inj)

Late changes: O'Neill, Foley, Williams for Trew (ill), Cary, Fitzgerald

WCE debut: Daniel Borgogno (East Fremantle)

Injury list

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

Player		Injury		Expected return
Rioli		Suspension		16 weeks
Yeo		Groin		TBC (expected 8+ weeks)
Shuey		Hamstring		TBC (expected 8+ weeks)
Ryan		Shin		3-4 weeks
McGovern		Groin		2-3 weeks
Hurn		Calf		Test
Petruccelle		Hamstring		Test
Kennedy		Ankle		Test
Cripps		Ribs		Test
Venables*		Concussion		Indefinite
Ah Chee*		Knee		Test

References

https://www.afl.com.au/matches/3062

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2021/081820210502.html