Australian Football

Match Report

The Eagles and the Bloods faced off in the Qualifying Final, with a shot at the minor premiers in a Grand Final playoff up for grabs. The records for this contest state that from 1973, teams that have lost this match but ended up making it to the premiership decider have seen two flags won in this fashion. That second coming was just two years ago when the Eagles lost to the Redlegs but then nicked the 2011 flag which saw the end of the Bulldogs dynasty. This type of match is a first-time encounter between these two teams, having never met in a Qualifying Final before today. But again, are not strangers to each other in finals, they ran into each other in consecutive finals series in 2002 and 2003 in sudden death scenarios, the Eagles taking an Elimination Final and the Bloods in a Preliminary Final respectively. When the Eagles fronted up in the 1991 series in their first year as a merged team, they were eliminated in straight sets after a 1st Semi-Final against the Bloods but revenge would finally come in the 1996 eliminator. Curiously, the recent dominant period of Central District saw them fight their way to the flag this way on three occasions during their premiership run during the noughties, with only the 2006 flag eluding them on the same path. During the 2013 minor rounds, the Bloods took two victories against the Eagles. The first came in Round 2 at Woodville with a 72-point pummelling, then their Round 15 match at Richmond where the Bloods took a 51-point win.

A curious maneuver by West coach Andrew Collins for the concluding round encounter at Richmond last weekend where he left key personnel out would see them cop a 71-point smacking form the Eagles, but it could probably be attributed to wanting his front-liners fresh for this game. Seven days and 10 changes later, this match took a different look altogether. The opening quarter was almost equally fought, both sides taking two goals each but the behinds made the difference on the board at quarter-time which would have the Eagles ahead by two points, 2.3 to 2.1. The Eagles' second term would see them seemingly breaking the shackles, poor discipline by the Bloods contributing to several free-kicks and 25-metre penalties. After kicking 5.4 to a lowly 1.3, the Eagles would be ahead by 21 points going into the half-time break. Collins would tweak his team structure again during the break, when play resumed the effects were immediate. The Eagles caught a case of the inaccuracy bug and were restricted to 1.5 for the third quarter, the Bloods reeling them back in to a two-point deficit by the final change after they kicked six goals without a miss. The Bloods would lose their captain early in the final term, but the Bloods wouldn't stop despite this as they overtook the Eagles, who still battled with inaccuracy. Westies would kick 5.1 to the Eagles' 3.4, booking a 2nd Semi-Final against the Redlegs with a stirring seven-point victory.

The Bloods named Travis Tuck as their best afield, while the Eagles named Campbell Heath as their best on ground.