Australian Football

Match Report

West Coast has comfortably accounted for Adelaide at Subiaco on Saturday night, running away to win by 56 points. Despite the margin, the Crows lost no friends as they put up a very brave performance in their first match since the untimely death of their coach Phil Walsh. They led at quarter time but the Eagles took control after that, winning the second and last quarters by big margins. After the match the players and coaches from both sides formed a large tribute circle in the centre of the ground as a tribute to Walsh, with many Adelaide players visible emotional. 

The Eagles got in an early roll and, with goals to Mark LeCras, Elliot Yeo and Matt Priddis inside the first eight minutes, it looked like they might blow Adelaide away from the very start. But the Crows got on a remarkable roll of their own after that, kicking six of the next seven majors - two to Charlie Cameron, two to skipper Taylor Walker and one each to Eddie Betts and Josh Jenkins. Jack Darling got the only one at the other end of the ground in that period, and it was the Crows by 14 points at the first change.

Adelaide fell away badly in the second term, and the Eagles took full advantage. Andrew Gaff and LeCras got them going with goals at the two and five-minute marks, and when Yeo and Darling added further majors at the 11 and 14-minute marks, West Coast was out to a 13-point lead. It didn't stop there, and four more goals via Josh Kennedy, Scott Selwood, Sharrod Wellingham and Josh Hill saw the Eagles go into the long break leading by 40 points.

To their credit, the Crows turned things right around in the third term. After Luke Shuey put the Eagles 46 points clear inside the first minute, Matthew Wright got the ball rolling for Adelaide with his first a couple of minutes later. Gaff responded for West Coast but the next two went Adelaide's way to Tom Lynch and Walker before Gaff's third made the difference 40 once more. The Crows finished the quarter strongly, and goals to Brodie Smith and Riley Knight saw them back within 29 points and a vague chance at 'orange time'. 

Unfortunately for Adelaide that chance was snuffed out almost soon as the last term began, with Yeo kicking his third within 50 seconds. Shuey, Dom Sheed and Chris Masten added goals in the next few minutes, and the Eagles were 55 points clear after 10 minutes. The Crows fought on after that, each side kicking three further goals, and the final siren saw West Coast 56 points to the good. 

Best for the winners included Gaff (36 disposals, three goals), Shuey (31 touches, two goals) and LeCras (23 possessions, two goals) while the Crows better players include Patrick Dangerfield (36 disposals, eight tackles), Rory Laird (31 possessions and seven marks) and Matt Crouch (28 touches, five tackles).

The second-placed Eagles will take on Collingwood (seventh) next Saturday at Docklands, while Adelaide faces another emotional match, playing Port Adelaide (where Walsh was also an assistant coach) in the second Showdown of 2015.

GOALS
West Coast: Gaff, Yeo 3; Kennedy, LeCras, Hill, Darling, Shuey 2; Priddis, Selwood, Wellingham, Masten, Sheed, Cripps
Adelaide: Walker 3; Jenkins, Betts, Knight, Cameron 2; Lynch, Wright, Smith

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
West Coast: Gaff, Shuey, Naitanui, Masten, LeCras, Priddis, Yeo
Adelaide: Dangerfield, Talia, Laird, Crouch, Henderson

BEST - WATODAY.COM.AU
West Coast: Gaff, LeCras, Shuey, Priddis, Naitanui, Yeo
Adelaide: Dangerfield, Laird, Crouch, Smith, Douglas, Betts

INJURIES
West Coast: Nil
Adelaide: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
West Coast: Mark Hutchings replaced Xavier Ellis in the fourth quarter
Adelaide: Cam Ellis-Yolmen replaced Nathan van Berlo in the third quarter

UMPIRES: Margetts, Harris, Dalgleish

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Matthew Campbell, Jason Dunstall, Tony Shaw, Barry Hall