Australian Football

Match Report

AFL matches that "follow the script" have been refreshingly rare in 2017, but if one game more than any other was likely to go as expected, it was Sunday's match between West Coast and Brisbane, with the young Lions not only making the league's longest road trip, but doing so without the suspended Dayne Zorko, the injured Daniel McStay and the "managed" trio of Eric Hipwood, Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry. Ultimately, that left Brisbane far too undermanned to take on the skill of the Eagles at their 'fortress' of Subiaco and the home side did they should have done, winning all four quarters to record a victory of more than 11 goals.

The two sides swapped early goals, with Ben Keays kicking the first major for Brisbane in the second minute, and Jack Darling responding for the Eagles very soon after. From there it was very slow going, with each side adding only a behind until Darling marked and kicked his second at the 17-minute mark. The game suddenly opened up from there, with Lion Josh Schache levelling the scores via his first goal and the Eagles then kicking two in a row before Sam Skinner, making his AFL debut along with teammate Jacob Allison, ran in to kick his first career goal to see Brisbane within five points at the quarter-time break.

A 10-minute period early in the second term was basically when the match was won and lost. Mark LeCras kicked off a burst of five West Coast Eagles goals three and a half minutes in, and Josh Kennedy, Dom Sheed and Sam Mitchell followed up with one each before LeCras bookended the period with his second. That burst took the Eagles out to a 34-point lead, and for the Lions there would be no coming back. The rest of the term was even and dour, neither side scoring a major, and the long break came with West Coast holding a 35-point lead.

It was slowing going early in the third quarter, Kennedy's third goal at the nine-minute mark the first major from either side in almost half an hour of play. A toe-poke goal from Skinner continued his impressive debut to reduce the margin back to 34 points but then Eagle Luke Partington, also making his AFL debut, kicked his first 'big time' goal to extend West Coast's lead to 40 points. Each side added one further goal for the term, the Eagles 41 points to the good at the last end-change.

The final quarter could have been named 'The Josh Kennedy Show' the Eagle spearhead dominating the term, kicking three majors and missing two other shots, taking his match tally to six goals. Liam Duggan and Elliot Yeo took the home side's goal total for the quarter to five, with Brisbane's only major for the term a late one to Tom Rockliff. The full time siren saw West Coast winners by 68 points, a result which saw the Eagles sneak back into the eight at the expense of Essendon.

Kennedy was outstanding for the winners, his six-goal hall taking him to within four majors of Coleman Medal leader Joe Daniher, a remarkable achievement given he has missed five matches through injury this year. Dom Sheed (29 disposals, two goals) was also influential in the Eagles' win. For Brisbane skipper Dayne Beams led from the front with a remarkable four-quarter effort that yielded 41 possessions and six tackles.

With their finals fate back in their hands, the Eagles will take on St Kilda - another top eight contender - at Docklands on Sunday, while Brisbane will return home to the Gabba to host the Western Bulldogs (ninth, 10 wins) in Saturday's twilight match.

GOALS
West Coast: Kennedy 6; Darling, LeCras, Sheed 2; McGovern, Mitchell, Partington, Duggan, Yeo
Brisbane: Skinner 2, Keays, Schache, Bastinac, Rockliff

BEST - AFL.COM.AU 
West Coast: Sheed, Kennedy, Duggan, Gaff, Mitchell, Redden
Brisbane: Beams, Rich, Bastinac, Martin, Witherden, Taylor

BEST - WATODAY.COM.AU 
West Coast: Kennedy, Sheed, Shuey, Yeo, Mitchell, Petrie
Brisbane: Beams, Rich, Bastinac, Witherden, Taylor, Keays

INJURIES 
West Coast: Nil
Brisbane: Nil

UMPIRES: J.Dalgleish, R.O'Gorman, C.Deboy

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy