Round 8 2021

Hawthorn v West Coast
Round 8, 2021

Allen in action. Photo: aflphotos.com.au

Date

Sun, 9 May 2021 (1.10pm EST)

Venue

MCG

Attendance

15,277

Result

Won by 38

Score

WCE 14.14.98 - 8.12.60 HAW

Brownlow

3 A.Gaff (WCE)
2 D.Sheed (WCE)
1 B.Ah Chee (WCE)

Ladder

7th

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West Coast broke through for an away win in 2021, overcoming a growing injury list to cruise past Hawthorn at the MCG. The two sides played out an ugly and goalless first term before the Eagles took control in the second with seven goals, and had the game on their terms thereafter to run out 38-point winners. The recalled Brendon Ah Chee starred with a career-high four goals and Dom Sheed had 35 possessions and five clearances.

Summary

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Hawthorn		0.3.3		3.6.24		5.10.40		8.12.60
West Coast		0.5.5		7.9.51		11.11.77		14.14.98

Goals: Ah Chee 4, Darling, Petruccelle 2, Kelly, Kennedy, Jones, Langdon, Waterman, Williams

Best: Gaff, Kelly, Naitanui, Darling, Ah Chee, Sheed, Redden, Sheppard

Injuries: Kennedy (calf)

Medical subs: (HAW) Morris, unused; (WCE) Foley for Kennedy (calf) in the fourth quarter

Jumper: Away, white shorts

Named sides

	West Coast				Hawthorn
B:	28.Cole	42.H.Edwards	5.Sheppard	B:	15.Hardwick	28.Hartigan	14.Scrimshaw
HB:	23.Witherden	35.Rotham	30.Nelson	HB:	1.Morrison	17.Frost	29.Jiath
C:	3.Gaff	4.Sheed	7.Langdon	C:	24.Cousins	5.Worpel	21.Phillips
HF:	15.Cripps	27.Darling	41.Ah Chee	HF:	19.Gunston	2.Lewis	26.Shiels
F:	21.Petruccelle	17.Kennedy	12.Allen	F:	39.Jeka	34.Koschitzke	20.Wingard
R:	9.Naitanui	11.Kelly	8.Redden	R:	7.McEvoy	3.Mitchell	22.Breust
I:	2.Waterman	10.Brander	31.Jones	I:	13.Hanrahan	17.Howe	4.Impey
	32.Williams				27.Hartley
E:	16.L.Edwards	24.O'Neill	29.Foley	E:	11.Nash	30.Greaves	35.Morris
	33.Ainsworth				36.Moore

In: Ah Chee, Williams

Out: Duggan (knee), Vardy (foot), Ainsworth (unused medical sub)

Late change: (HAW) Moore for Gunston (back spasms)

Quarter by quarter

Hawthorn were forced into a change moments before the bounce when Jack Gunston withdrew with back spasms, replaced by Dylan Moore.

From the coach

"I thought the first quarter we had good field position … we had pretty good supply. I thought Hawthorn defended really well. Their back six really held up. But the message at quarter-time was if we keep continuing to get that type of supply we think we can eventually convert. As much as we were disappointed we didn’t hit the scoreboard like we would’ve liked the game was – not on our terms – but we were comfortable where the game was.

"...It was important we had a good effort today. I said to our players – I know we get criticised for it a little bit – it’s not about winning away from home it’s about playing consistent football that we think stands up in the long-term. I don’t think we’ve been doing that consistently enough, in particular away. To play four quarters of the style we like, it starts with the contest like every club, but I felt like we played more of a complete four-quarter performance today than we have previous interstate trips.

"...I think our mids in general - and we’re missing Yeo, Shuey and Hutchings and now Duggan is out for a while - spreading the load is important, it’s not all about Tim (Kelly). Collectively our mids the last couple of weeks have stood up. Last week in particular against a really good midfield group in Fremantle, and they were a younger group today but they were still pretty fierce, still really highly regarded in our eyes their midfield."

From the papers

The West Australian

"Having won the centre clearances 14-7, West Coast’s centre-square control underpinned a 63-35 domination in inside 50 entries as they won their sixth game from their last eight starts at the MCG.

The might have had a couple of goals in the opening term but for Zac Langdon and Ah Chee being denied by centimetres, with the match remaining goalless at the first change.

Ah Chee opened the gates early in the second term, getting two in less than 30 seconds as the Eagles began to get some value for their control.

There was a variety of scoring sources, with inclusion Bailey Williams having three sets shots for the quarter, as West Coast got four in a row and seven goals to three for the term to move into pole position."

The Age

"The gulf in class in ball movement was most glaring in that the Eagles kicked three goals directly from kick-ins in the first three quarters. West Coast are known for their controlled kick and mark game, but on Sunday they mixed it up with plenty of quicker play.

Save for the first term, the Hawks did not defend the ground well, so it will be interesting to see how the Eagles fare in this respect against tougher opposition, like GWS, in two rounds’ time.

Space opened up in the third term. The Hawks’ midfield battled to get back into their defensive 50 and clog up the Eagles’ attack, and so scoring opportunities flowed more freely. Whether that was through fatigue or design is hard to tell.

One negative for the Eagles was the sight of Josh Kennedy finishing the game on the bench with ice on his calf. He has a history of calf injuries."

Reserves

Round 6 (8 May)

A decimated West Coast reserves side were massacred by East Fremantle, slumping to a record 125-point defeat. Fielding just six AFL-listed players and forced to borrow players to make up a team, the Eagles kicked the first goal of the match through Xavier O'Neill but failed to score again until right on the half-time siren, and added just two goals in the second half. O'Neill continued to press for a recall with 34 touches and defender Ben Johnson tallied 29 of his own.

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
East Fremantle		4.4.28		11.5.71		15.7.97		22.15.147
West Coast		1.0.6		1.1.7		2.4.16		3.4.22

Goals: Humble, O'Neill, Wilson

Best: O'Neill, Brayshaw, Johnson, Jamieson

Injuries: Deegan (leg)

Named side:

	West Coast
B:	52.Feeney	50.Fitzgerald	55.Flint
HB:	51.Marlin	66.McGee	38.Johnson
C:	54.Sinclair	45.Brayshaw	18.Sears
HF:	53.Humble	35.Wilson	61.Robilliard
F:	63.Hansen	40.Jamieson	39.Cameron
R:	67.Borgogno	26.Trew	60.Deegan
I:	58.Busher	62.Cary	59.Nitschke
	47.Paunich
E:	65.Hobbs	56.Hug

In: Trew, Fitzgerald, Cary, Sears, Wilson, Paunich

Out: L.Edwards, Williams, Foley, O'Neill, Ah Chee (AFL), Bentley (inj)

Late changes: Ainsworth, O'Neill for Busher (glute), Nitschke

WCE debut: Chris Paunich (Wembley), Ty Sears (Swan Districts), Jack Wilson (South Bunbury)

Injury list

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

Player		Injury		Expected return
Rioli		Suspension		15 weeks
Yeo		Groin		TBC (expected 6+ weeks)
Shuey		Hamstring		TBC (expected 6+ weeks)
Winder		Knee		TBC
Ryan		Shin		1-2 weeks
McGovern		Groin		1-2 weeks
Hurn		Calf		1-2 weeks
Barrass		Shoulder		Test
Vardy		Foot		Test
Venables*		Concussion		Indefinite
Hutchings*		Hamstring		Test

References

https://www.afl.com.au/matches/3071

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2021/101820210509.html