An undermanned West Coast recorded a seventh straight win, holding the Giants at bay for most of the day and keeping the home side goalless in the final term to win by 25 points. Jack Darling set up the win with four first-half goals and Elliot Yeo tallied 28 touches and eight tackles.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GWS Giants | 2.3.15 | 5.8.38 | 8.10.58 | 8.13.61 | ||||
| West Coast | 2.6.18 | 7.7.49 | 10.11.71 | 12.14.86 |
Goals: Darling 4, Waterman 3, Kennedy 2, Cripps, Duggan, Rioli
Best: Redden, Darling, Gaff, Yeo, Hurn, Lycett, Sheppard
Injuries: Nil
Milestones: Ah Chee WCE debut, Ainsworth AFL debut
Named sides[]
| West Coast | GWS Giants | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 25.Hurn | 37.Barrass | 5.Sheppard | B: | 19.Haynes | 1.Davis | 23.Shaw |
| HB: | 28.Cole | 31.Schofield* | 30.Nelson | HB: | Corr | Finlayson | Whitfield |
| C: | 14.Duggan | 8.Redden | 7.Masten | C: | 50.Reid | 3.Coniglio | 14.Tarrant |
| HF: | 15.Cripps | 27.Darling | 44.Rioli | HF: | 38.Lloyd | 27.Himmelberg | 5.Shiel |
| F: | 45.Waterman | 17.Kennedy | 2.LeCras | F: | 25.Keeffe | 18.Cameron | 24.De Boer |
| R: | 29.Lycett | 6.Yeo | 3.Gaff | R: | 37.Lobb | 2.Hopper | 8.Ward |
| I: | 41.Ah Chee | 36.McInnes | 34.Hutchings | I: | 32.Griffen | 17.Langdon | 13.Cumming |
| 33.Ainsworth | 20.Tomlinson | ||||||
| E: | 35.Rotham | 42.Bayok | 43.M.Allen | E: | 26.Simpson | 36.Perryman | 39.Mohr |
| 26.Watson* | 43.D.Buckley |
(Schofield replaced McGovern in 22, Watson added to emergencies)
In: Ah Chee, McInnes, Ainsworth, Schofield
Out: Shuey (hamstring), Naitanui (suspended), Petruccelle (ankle), McGovern (calf)
New: Brendon Ah Chee (Port Adelaide/South Fremantle), Brayden Ainsworth (Subiaco)
Quarter by quarter[]
Both sides went in as named. Windy conditions and occasional rain made ball-handling tricky.
Club Champion votes[]
| Barrass | 15 | LeCras | 9 | ||
| Darling | 15 | Rioli | 9 | ||
| Gaff | 15 | Schofield | 9 | ||
| Cripps | 14 | Nelson | 8 | ||
| Sheppard | 14 | Masten | 7 | ||
| Hutchings | 12 | Lycett | 6 | ||
| Redden | 11 | Ah Chee | 5 | ||
| Yeo | 11 | Cole | 4 | ||
| Waterman | 10 | Kennedy | 4 | ||
| Duggan | 9 | Ainsworth | 3 | ||
| Hurn | 9 | McInnes | 3 |
From the coach[]
"Yeah, I'm really proud of the players today. It was backs against the wall type of stuff and I think the resolve of the players, and belief, is quite high at the moment. They played with real spirit. I'm just looking through the stats and we had a couple of exceptional efforts, but we've done it as a whole and as a collective this week.
"Without seeing the replay, I would have thought (the midfield) was hopefully the same as past weeks. The guys who came in had to play similar roles, albeit a first-gamer (Ainsworth) versus Luke Shuey and Frase (McInnes) instead of Nic. But I thought they all played their roles really well. It was a high-stoppage game and a lot of density around the ball. In the end, it was just an arm-wrestle. We broke away. There were little moments every quarter where we just got a little bit of ascendancy."[1]
From the papers[]
The West Australian[]
"West Coast led by 14 early on, but GWS kicked four straight goals either side of quarter-time to lead by ten.
The Eagles reasserted themselves, with Darling kicking three of five straight goals for the visitors, as they regained the lead before halftime and never relinquished their advantage.
The Giants kicking efficiency, which was atrocious in their heavy loss to Geelong last week, was poor again.
On the odd occasion when did get a flow on and moved the ball quickly, they kicked some fine goals, but the Eagles pressure remained good throughout the contest."[2]
The Age[]
"Despite the wind disadvantage for West Coast in the second term, Darling exploded to life.
Giants defender Tomlinson will be having nightmares for months about matching up against the hulking Eagles forward who stepped up with Kennedy well contained by Aidan Corr.
Darling nabbed three for the quarter - his first a set shot from outside 50m with his right leg seemingly not hampered by the stiff breeze.
He then took two more contested marks, going back to take full reward on both occasions."[3]
East Perth report[]
There was a general bye as a WAFL representative side traveled to South Australia.
Injury list[]
In the leadup to the match the following players were listed as injured:
| Player | Injury | Expected return | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacKenzie | Toe | Indefinite | ||||
| Venables | Ankle | 8-9 weeks | (Placed on LTI list 26/4) | |||
| Ryan | Ankle | 8 weeks | ||||
| Brayshaw | Knee | 4 weeks | ||||
| Shuey | Hamstring | 2-3 weeks | ||||
| Vardy | Adductor | 2 weeks | ||||
| Sheed | Foot | 1-2 weeks | ||||
| Jetta | Calf | 1 week | ||||
| Naitanui | Suspension | 1 week |
Links[]
http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2018/8/gws-v-wce
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2018/182120180512.html
- ↑ The West Australian (14 May 2018, p.GAM16), "Word for word"
- ↑ Adrian Warren AAP, The West Australian (12 May 2018), "West Coast Eagles make it seven wins on the trot with 25-point triumph over GWS Giants at Spotless Stadium": https://thewest.com.au/sport/west-coast-eagles/west-coast-eagles-make-it-seven-wins-on-the-trot-with-25-point-triumph-over-gws-giants-at-spotless-stadium-ng-b88834253z
- ↑ James Buckley, The Age (12 May 2018), "GWS struggle continues, injury toll rises in loss to West Coast": https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/gws-struggle-continues-injury-toll-rises-in-loss-to-west-coast-20180512-p4zewr.html
| 2018 season <--2017-18 offseason | Playing squad | Coaching panel | 2018-19 offseason--> |
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JLT Series : 1 (PA) | 2 (FRE) |