Australian Football

Match Report

The records flowed thick and fast after half-time at Subiaco on Sunday as a powerful West Coast outfit demolished Greater Western Sydney by 111 points in a "Mother's Day massacre. After the Giants had put in a reasonable second term, kicking five goals to six to trail by 33 points at the long break, the Eagles ran riot in the third and fourth quarters, kicking 19.3 to 6.3 to record a huge win and arrest a four-game losing streak. Josh Kennedy kicked an amazing 11 goals for the victors, to jump from 18th to second on the goal-kicking table.

GWS was competitive early in the match. After Kennedy kicked his first for the afternoon. Jonathan Giles kicked the opening major for GWS and at the 12-minute mark of the first quarter, the Giants found themselves a point ahead. But the Eagles then clicked into gear and goals to Matt Priddis, Jack Darling and Kennedy saw West Coast hold an even four-goal lead at the first break.

To the surprise of many, the Giants were took the game right up to the Eagles in the second quarter. Toby Greene kicked the first of the term for GWS and the Giants would go on to kick five for the term, with West Coast adding six of its own and the half-time margin of 33 points would not have seemed surmountable to Leon Cameron's me at the long break.

West Coast, however, had other other ideas. Asked to "reset" at half time by coach Adam Simpson, the Eagles ran riot in the third term, running in numbers and scoring seemingly at will. They kicked 10.0 for the quarter and led by 70 points at the last change of ends and the only questions that remained to be answered at that point were how many goals Kennedy would kick and by how much West Coast would win.

The procession continued, the Eagles kicking 9.3 to 3.2 to win in a canter. The Eagles final score of 30.8.188 was their second-highest ever, behind their 29.18.192 kicked against Brisbane in 1988, and the first time they had reached the 30-goal mark.

The win leaves West Coast in seventh place, with four wins from eight games and a very healthy percentage of 131.8. The Eagles will have a bye in round nine before taking on Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday week. The Giants also have a bye in round nine and will host Richmond at the Sydney Showground in round 10.

GOALS
West Coast: Kennedy 11; LeCras 4; Darling 3; Cox, Cripps, Hutchings 2; Priddis, Shuey, Gaff, Wellingham, Naitanui, Selwood
GWS: Hoskin-Elliott, Smith 2; Greene, Palmer, Tomlinson, Giles, Phillips, Lamb, Hunt, Kelly,

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
West Coast: Kennedy, Priddis, Hurn, Rosa, LeCras, Selwood, Cox
GWS: Greene, Ward, Palmer, Tomlinson, Kennedy, Kelly

BEST - WATODAY.COM.AU
West Coast: Kennedy, Hurn, Priddis, Selwood, Rosa, Cox
GWS: Ward, Greene, Palmer, Scully, Tomlinson, Shaw

COACHES' COMMENTS
Adam Simpson (WCo): Obviously really pleased with the performance. I thought we dropped away a little bit towards the end of the second quarter but we reset at half time and it was a pleasing result. Kennedy and LeCras work really well together. The connection was there with those guys.

Leon Cameron (GWS): You can sit here and make up excuses but we just didn't compete in the second half of the game. They came out of the blocks but I thought we steadied the ship a bit in the second quarter. But after half time we became a bit non-competitive and any which-way you look at it, that's where it was at. We couldn't win the ball in the middle of the ground and we couldn't stop their forward line.

INJURIES
West Coast: Nil
GWS: Nick Haynes (ankle)

SUBSTITUTES
West Coast: Xavier Ellis replaced Andrew Gaff during the third quarter
GWS: Jed Lamb replaced Nick Haynes during the first quarter

REPORTS
West Coast: Mark LeCras for rough conduct on Will Hoskin-Elliott in the first quarter
GWS: Nil

UMPIRES: Margetts, Mollison, O’Gorman