[TAR] West Coast Eagles: The New Breed (7th: 4-4, 109.48%)

[Ezuma]

2008 AFL Premiership Season

Round Six

Saturday, April 26 @ Telstra Dome


Team Selection

F: Armstrong - Seaby - Waters
HF: Embley - Brown - LeCras
C: Braun - Kerr - Hurn
HB: Staker - Thomson - A.Selwood
B: Wirrpanda - Schofield - Spangher
Foll: Cox - Priddis - Stenglein
I/C: Butler - Masten - Nicoski - S.Selwood

Out: Quinten Lynch (suspension), Chad Fletcher (suspension), Brett Jones (broken hand), Ben McKinley
In: Mark Seaby, Scott Selwood, Brent Staker, Steven Armstrong

Milestones: Daniel Kerr (150 games)

Key Match-Ups

Definitely a battle of the midfields this week, as neither club really have a particularly strong forward line, and rely on their midfielders to drift forward and kick goals. The Bulldogs have the advantage in this area, with Brad Johnson and Jason Akermanis both potent goalkickers, with Akermanis able to carve up in the midfield.

vs.

Michael Braun vs. Daniel Giansiracusa

vs.

Daniel Kerr vs. Daniel Cross

vs.

Matthew Priddis vs. Scott West

vs.

Tyson Stenglein vs. Nathan Eagleton

vs.

Adam Selwood vs. Adam Cooney

​

 

[Ezuma]

Dogs overrun Eagles

Despite a spirited second-half performance from West Coast, the Western Bulldogs managed to hold on and kick away from the Eagles, winning 18.21 (129) to 14.8 (92).

The Eagles failed to score a goal in the first quarter, and didn't get their first score, a rushed behind, on the board until the 15-minute mark. A number of West Coast players didn't perform early on, and the lead could have been a lot bigger, but the Bulldogs missed a lot of easy shots on goal.

The Bulldogs scored the first three goals of the second quarter, and by the 12-minute mark, the score was 40-3, before David Wirrpanda snuck in a much needed goal for his side, followed up with another from Armstrong four minutes later.

Coach James Tyler revved up his Eagles at half time, and they came up blazing after the long break. They kicked the opening two goals in the opening two minutes, before fading out in the final ten minutes, allowing the Bulldogs to score three of their four goals for the quarter.

West Coast came out blazing once again in the final term, ramming home four unanswered goals to get within eight points, but the Bulldogs stood firm, and stopped the flow of Eagles goals, kicking all five of their goals in time on, eventually running away 37-point winners.

West Coast have lost another defender to injury, with Matthew Spangher leaving the ground late in the third term with a knee injury. They now have five key position players (Chad Jones, Adam Hunter, Josh Kennedy and Quinten Lynch) either injured or suspended, and it seems their young backline finally failed today, as they couldn't find a suitable match up for Brad Johnson, who ran Adam Selwood, Tyson Stenglein, David Wirrpanda and Mark Nicoski ragged all day, and Andrew McDougall kicked all five of his goals after half time.

West Coast have now dropped back to 12th spot on the ladder, and take on 5th-placed Carlton next week at Subiaco in what will be Chris Judd's first game at Subiaco Oval in opposition colours.

Western Bulldogs: 4.5 - 9.12 - 13.17 - 18.21 (129)
Goals: McDougall 5, Johnson 4, Boumann 2, Lake, Reid, Hudson, West, Ray, Eagleton, Akermanis
Best: Johnson, Grant, Griffen, McDougall, Murphy, Boumann
Injuries: Eagleton (concussion), Cross (torn hamstring), Lake (concussion)
Reports: Nil.

West Coast: 0.3 - 4.5 - 10.6 - 14.8 (92)
Goals: Brown 3, Armstrong 2, LeCras 2, Masten, Waters, Seaby, Schofield, Wirrpanda, Embley, Butler
Best: Cox, Kerr, Brown, Thomson
Injuries: Spangher (strained knee)
Reports: Nil.

​

 

[Ezuma]

Round 6 Review

Well, we are now a quarter of the way through the season, so it's time to have a look in depth of the Eagles' players, including their stats and their Dream Team performances so far this season.

Top 5 Disposals
1. Daniel Kerr - 136
2. Adam Selwood - 116
3. Dean Cox - 117
4. Michael Braun - 107
=. Matthew Priddis - 107

Not enough of the West Coast midfielders are getting enough of the ball. Tyson Stenglein is averaging 14.83 disposals a game and Andrew Embley is averaging 15.83, just two of the main midfielders in West Coast's squad. Players such as Shannon Hurn, Matthew Rosa, Chad Fletcher, Mark Nicoski and Chris Masten need to step it up on a weekly basis.

Top 5 Marks
1. Dean Cox - 50
2. Quinten Lynch - 33
3. Mitch Brown - 32
4. Daniel Kerr - 31
5. Ashley Hansen - 30

West Coast aren't taking enough marks inside 50, most of their marks are taken in midfield or in the defensive 50, which is proven, with Lynch kicking 9 goals from his 33 marks, and Hansen managing just two goals so far this season. Mitch Brown has worked hard so far this season, despite being thrown forward and back in a team stripped of key-position options.

Top 5 Goalkickers
1. Daniel Kerr - 9
=. Quinten Lynch - 9
3. Michael Braun - 7
=. David Wirrpanda 7
5. Chad Fletcher - 6

There is just one key forward in that list. David Wirrpanda is a goalsneak, but is often used to fill in holes in defence or create run off half-back, so he is not a permanent forward fixture. Kerr, Braun and Fletcher aren't notable goalkickers, so that is proof they are having to find goals elsewhere, due to the lack of consistency from LeCras, McKinley, Lynch, Embley, Hansen, Seaby and Armstrong.

West Coast's Numbers
#2 in Kicks (1213)
#1 in Marks (553)
#1 in Frees For (78)
#1 in Disposals (1994)
#1 in Handball Receives (781)
#7 in Hitouts (187)
#3 in Inside 50s (318)
#1 in Contested Possessions (514)
#1 in Contested Marks (167)
#6 in Clearances (186)
#7 in Centre Breaks (101)

Despite being one of the better sides statistically, the Eagles are 12th on the ladder with a long injury list and a forward line that is continually failing to perform. Coach James Tyler has a huge task ahead of him to rebuild this side and get some consistent winning form.

​

 

[Ezuma]

2008 AFL Premiership Season

Round Seven

Friday, May 2 @ Subiaco Oval


Team Selection

F: Armstrong - Brown - Seaby
HF: LeCras - Hansen - Embley
C: Braun - Kerr - Masten
HB: Hurn - Staker - A.Selwood
B: Wirrpanda - Schofield - Thomson
Foll: Cox - Priddis - Stenglein
I/C: Waters - S.Selwood - Nicoski - Butler

Out: Matthew Spangher (knee)
In: Ashley Hansen

Milestones: David Wirrpanda (200 games)

Key Match-Ups

The one and only thing on the supporters' minds going into this match is Chris Judd's return to WA... in opposition colours. Fans from both West Coast and Carlton would love to see Judd go up against his good mate Daniel Kerr, but Adam Selwood is likely to get the tagging job. West Coast have a task ahead of them to stop Carlton's potent midfield dishing it into Brendan Fevola and Brad Fisher.

vs.

Adam Selwood vs. Chris Judd

With the cracks in West Coast's defence finally starting to show in last week's 37-point loss to the Bulldogs, tonight is the opportune time for the young defenders in Will Schofield and James Thomson to prove themselves. With Brent Staker's return to the side last week bringing some valuable experience to the backline, allowed Mitch Brown to start forward last week, and he has been named in the full forward position tonight.

vs.

Brent Staker vs. Brendan Fevola

Tonight is also the chance for West Coast's underperforming foward line to regain some form, against one of the weakest backlines in the competition (probably apart from their own). Dean Cox will need to supply his rovers in Kerr, Selwood, Matt Priddis, Tyson Stengelin and Chris Masten with quality hitouts so as to create enough opportunities for their forwards to kick plenty of goals.

vs.

Dean Cox vs. Matthew Kreuzer



​

 

[Ezuma]

West Coast steamroll the Blues

West Coast have blasted their way into form with a 95-point thumping of the Chris Judd-led Blues. The Eagles kicked at least five goals or more in every quarter, including nine in the final term to finish the game 26.18 (174) to Carlton's 11.13 (79).

It was Carlton who kicked the first goal of the match, with Brad Fisher kicking truly from a free kick 30 metres out. West Coast replied soon after, kicking their way to a lead which they would never give up.

With both sides aiming to take advantage of their opponent's weak backline, the game looked as if it would be a shootout, with the scoreling reading 6.2 to 5.4 at quarter time. West Coast kicked the first two of the second term, and hopped away to a 21-point lead at half time.

The previously struggling West Coast forward line was able to take advantage of a weak opposition defence, with Steven Armstrong, Mark LeCras, Ashley Hansen and Mitch Brown all scoring 13 goals between them. Matthew Priddis, who was heavily tagged by Jordan Bannister all day, played the majority of the final term in the forward line, and kicked four of his five goals in that season-changing final quarter.

The pure dominance of the West Coast side in the second half would send chills through their opposition camps, especially considering they did it without captain Darren Glass, Adam Hunter, Josh Kennedy, Quinten Lynch and Chad Fletcher.

West Coast, who undergo extensive clearance and speed drills at training, finished with 43 of the 68 clearances, including 24 centre breaks. They also entered their forward 50m 68 times, and holding Carlton to just 11 forays into their forward line after half time.

West Coast take on North Melbourne next week, and will be sparked by the return of Adam Hunter and Quinten Lynch, and the possibility of Josh Kennedy to their team. But the question they have to ask is... who do they drop from such a dominant team?

West Coast: 6.2 - 12.4 - 17.11 - 26.18 (174)
Goals: Priddis 5, Armstrong 4, LeCras 4, Hansen 3, Masten 3, Brown 2, Seaby, S.Selwood, Cox, Butler, Nicoski
Best: Priddis, Stenglein, Cox, Kerr, Waters, LeCras, Armstrong
Injuries: Nil.
Reports: Nil.

Carlton: 5.4 - 8.7 - 10.9 - 11.13 (79)
Goals: Fisher 2, Waite 2, Browne, Pfieffer, Walker, Fevola, Judd, Murphy, Stevens
Best: Browne, Stevens, Murphy, Bannister
Injuries: Andrew Walker (broken ribs)
Reports: Jordan Bannister (tripping), Adam Bentick (striking), Setanta O'hAilpin (charging)

​

 

[Ezuma]

2008 AFL Premiership Season

Round Eight

Saturday, May 17 @ Gold Coast Stadium, Carrara

Team Selection

F: Armstrong - Lynch - Wirrpanda
HF: Hurn - Hansen - LeCras
C: Braun - Kerr - Embley
HB: A.Selwood - Hunter - Nicoski
B: Staker - Thomson - Waters
Foll: Cox - Stenglein - Priddis
I/C: Schofield - Masten - Brown - McNamara

Out: Sam Butler, Mark Seaby, Scott Selwood
In: Adam Hunter, Quinten Lynch, Jamie McNamara

Key Match-Ups

With Nathan Thompson out, North Melbourne will be relying on Leigh Brown and Corey Jones more than any of their other forwards to kick goals. This makes life a lot easier for the West Coast backline, and also allows Mitch Brown, Adam Hunter and Brent Staker to make forays up the ground if necessary.

vs.

Matthew Priddis vs. Brady Rawlings

Brady Rawlings always tags the opposition's best midfielder, and Matthew Priddis is surprisingly the one who has copped most of the attention so far this season. West Coast's problem is finding a match-up for North's Brent Harvey, who can tear opposition teams apart with his pace and great goal sense. Adam Selwood or Mark Nicoski may get the job.

vs.

Mark Nicoski vs. Brent Harvey

​

 

[Ezuma]

Eagles hold on in thriller

West Coast have fought back a gallant North Melbourne side to cling on to a four-point victory at Carrara. Seven goals were kicked in the first ten minutes of the final term, but West Coast hung on to win 14.12 (96) to 14.8 (92).

An innacurate West Coast side could have led by as much as 29 points at quarter time had they made the most of their opportunities. With 11 disposals at quarter time, Daniel Kerr looked set for a ripper of a game, but managed only 7 after quarter-time, including 6 in the last.

Adam Simpson and Brent Harvey led the way for the Kangaroos throughout most of the match, although they faded out in the final quarter. Beau Waters was surprisingly effective on half-back, opposed to Corey Jones, picking up 30 disposals 9 marks and holding Jones to just one goal.

West Coast relished the return of Adam Hunter, as he kept Leigh Brown to one goal for the first three quarters, as well as picking up 21 disposals, before Brown kicked two important goals in the second term. Brent Staker, Mitch Brown, Adam Selwood, Mark Nicoski and Shannon Hurn all rotated through the backline, with mixed effect.

Steven Armstrong's good form continued, finishing the game with 3 goals, and the return of Quinten Lynch saw two goals. Daniel Kerr was reported for striking in the first quarter and is likely to miss up to three or four weeks due to his bad record.

West Coast take on top-placed Adelaide next week at Subiaco Oval, for their second encounter for the year, after facing them already in round two at AAMI Stadium.

North Melbourne: 2.1 - 5.2 - 8.4 - 14.8 (92)
Goals: Brown 3, Tarrant 3, McIntosh, Power, Sinclair, Jones, Harvey, McMahon, Harding, Grant
Best: Tarrant, Power, Harvey, McMahon, Harding
Injuries: Nil.
Reports: Nil.

West Coast: 2.6 - 8.10 - 10.12 - 14.12 (96)
Goals: Armstrong 3, Cox 2, Lynch 2, Selwood, McNamara, Embley, Braun, Stenglein, LeCras, Hansen
Best: Waters, Cox, LeCras, Armstrong, Hunter
Injuries: Nil.
Reports: Daniel Kerr (striking)

​

 

[punterpupnroy]

Nice work mate fantastic update. Looking forward to the next update.

 

[Roofrom50]

This story still going mate?

 

[punterpupnroy]

Yeah this story was going heaps smoothly. I enjoyed each and every update. Hope you go back and continue it.