Josh Kennedy

Bombers Nose Dive From Eight

janetl — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:57:58 -0500

Janet Linn reporting for AFANA from Subiaco Oval

West Coast Eagles fans have long memories. In 1993 Essendon won a match against the Eagles after the siren and on his triumphant run down the coaches' race, then Bombers' coach Kevin Sheedy showed his elation by waving his jacket helicopter-like over his head. To this day, depending on the outcome of the game, fans continue the tradition. In Round 18, it was West Coast fans whose jackets were flying at full time. The unfancied home team caused an upset by beating Essendon and ejecting them from the Eight, effectively ending their chance of Finals action in September.

While the Essendon team arrived in Perth undermanned with key players Matthew Lloyd, Mark McVeigh, Jason Winderlich and Alwyn Davey ruled out through injury, their flat performance came as a surprise given the high stakes. West Coast started the game looking sharp and full of run. Newcomer Callum Wilson found glory in his first game in Eagles' colors by scoring two goals from his first two kicks in league football. David Wirrpanda's class showed itself when he skimmed a ball off the pack after a bounce and popped it straight through the goalposts to give West Coast a 20 point lead before Essendon made any impact at all on the scoreboard. It wasn't until halfway through the first quarter that Heath Hocking managed a goal for the Bombers but the going was tough. West Coast defenders Darren Glass, Shannon Hurn and Mitchell Brown were on top and repelled the visitors every time they tried to attack. With only four minutes on the clock, Jay Neagle spun around and kicked a good goal for Essendon bringing the margin down to seven points. With the siren about to ring Josh Kennedy kicked to Hurn running free off the interchange bench and Hurn's handball to Ben McKinley resulted in a late goal for West Coast. At the change the Eagles were ahead by only 13 points but the statistics showed they were completely on top of the Bombers.

West Coast continued their good form in the second quarter and increased their lead to 29 points at half time. The Eagles' forward line was in great touch with Mark LeCras, Kennedy and Wirrpanda making the most of their opportunities. Another young Eagle Tom Swift kicked his first goal in AFL and the home crowd was lapping it up. Essendon tried hard with goals to Brent Prismall and Kyle Reimers but they looked underdone and had no answer to West Coast's determination.

During the half time break Essendon coach Matthew Knights no doubt spelled out his requirements loud and clear and the Bombers played with more intensity in the early part of the third quarter. Jobe Watson was busy as the Bombers dominated the forward fifty entries and narrowed the deficit to 20 points. Suddenly the momentum changed as the Eagles ignited and McKinley and LeCras kicked two goals in a minute. The Bombers rebounded through Neagle and Patrick Ryder to get back to within 19 points. Yet again West Coast had the answers, finishing the quarter with some classy teamwork from Kennedy and McKinley for a steadying goal.

Fans were treated to a close tussle in the final quarter as Essendon tried to break the Eagles stranglehold on the game. Reimers led the way with an inspiring run from the half back line, several bounces and a long goal. Courtenay Dempsey followed suit minutes later and the game threatened to turn Essendon's way. Hard finishing has not been a feature of the West Coast game this season and in recent weeks there has been intense media scrutiny on "tanking", the phenomenon of lowly placed teams deliberately trying not to win to ensure themselves a priority pick in the AFL draft. A loss in this game would have helped the Eagles stay below the four wins ceiling to achieve that priority pick and with Essendon challenging hard the opportunity to tank certainly presented itself. If tanking exists, the West Coast players and coaches were clearly not interested in taking advantage of it. When LeCras, McKinley and Swift slotted through a goal apiece to seal the game, a priority pick was the last thing on for the mind of West Coast players and fans. Subiaco Oval erupted in a sea of flying Eagles jackets and the Bombers were left to contemplate their prospects of making the Finals from outside the Eight. With their last four games against Brisbane, St Kilda, Fremantle and Hawthorn, Essendon have their backs against the wall and disappointment looks inevitable.


Scoreboard
West Coast 4.2 8.6 11.7 14.11 (95)
Essendon   2.1 4.1  7.6 10.8  (68)

Best
West Coast M LeCras, A Selwood, J Kennedy, Q Lynch, M Priddis, B McKinley
Essendon   K Reimers, A McPhee, A Lovett, T Pears, B Prismall, J Watson

Depleted Pies Unravel West Coast

janetl — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:26:53 -0500

Janet Linn reporting for AFANA from Subiaco Oval

Dazed Eagles supporters had their Finals hopes seriously undermined after an unexpected defeat by Collingwood at Subiaco Oval in Round 9. West Coast started better than the Magpies and led by two goals at the end of the first quarter. It was downhill from there on in with Collingwood running out very comfortable 22 point winners. Collingwood went into the game as underdogs with talented forwards Paul Medhurst, Alan Didak, Travis Cloke and Dale Thomas all sidelined by injury. In a standout game befitting the occasion - the AFL Indigenous Round - Leon Davis led the Magpies to victory in a game that put the magnifying glass on the Eagles' weaknesses up forward.

It took ten minutes before the game was any sort of spectacle with loose handballs, clumsy fumbles and poor foot skills the order of the day. There was a collective sigh of relief when John Anthony took a good mark in the forward pocket and scored the first goal for the Magpies at the 12 minute mark. West Coast also found some touch and booted a reply through David Wirrpanda who looked lively up forward. Brad Ebert got West Coast's second after a good handball from youngster Adam Cockie and Wirrpanda was inspirational with a classy tap down to Josh Kennedy who goaled towards the end of the quarter. Although the standard of football wasn't great and neither side looked particularly convincing, West Coast were ahead at the break.

Collingwood came out a different team in the second quarter. A poor decision by Adam Selwood at the first bounce saw Josh Fraser awarded a 50 meter penalty, bringing him within goal-scoring range. When his kick dropped short, Anthony took another contested mark in the square and converted. The intensity of the game increased although again the skills were lackluster and both teams over handled the football. Heath Shaw lifted the Magpies with a glorious 55 meter goal and narrowed the deficit to one point at the halfway mark of the quarter. Collingwood began to move the ball around better and their defensive players increased the pressure on the West Coast forward line. Anthony slotted another goal but Davis, Tarkyn Lockyer, Cam Wood and newcomer Brad Dick let West Coast off the hook when they missed opportunities. Wirrpanda was moved to defense when Harry O'Brien started to get the better of the duel and with him went any forward momentum for the Eagles. Collingwood went into half-time with an eight point lead after a strangely uninspiring half of football.

West Coast's defense sprang some leaks early in the third quarter. Leon Davis appeared to be moving around the ground solo, creating havoc and scoring goals and goal assists at will. The Magpies had their tails up and Leigh Brown and Lockyer had the skills to make inroads on the scoreboard. The Eagles could not pinpoint their forwards with any precision and it was finally left to Magpie Ryan Cook and his errant kick across goal to gift Ben McKinley with a goal. The busy Brad Dick wasted no time restoring Collingwood's lead with a good set shot on goal but West Coast worked the ball forward again and Kennedy and Daniel Kerr combined to give McKinley his second. The game became more interesting for a time as West Coast attacked the ball with more vigor and Kerr, Kennedy and Chris Masten lifted their team mates. Unfortunately for the Eagles, their finishing was substandard. Both Scott Selwood and Andrew Embley wasted golden opportunities up front. Collingwood went into the final break with a 20 point lead and looked solid but West Coast had everything to play for with a loss in this game making a chance of playing Finals in September very unlikely.

West Coast dodged several bullets in the opening minutes of the final quarter when Steele Sidebottom and Josh Fraser missed goals. Inexplicably, Leon Davis was still wandering around the field unmanned and this failure to show defensive discipline cost the Eagles big time. When the normally reliable Mark Nicoski kicked dangerously across goal, Davis, with his customary touch of brilliance, swooped and goaled. Two minutes later, he soared over a pack to take a mark, play on and goal. The game was effectively over at the halfway mark of the last quarter although Collingwood eased up a little and West Coast scored some late goals. In the end the score line flattered the Eagles who played one decent quarter and from then on were well and truly out-skilled and out-muscled.

Collingwood play at home in Round 10 against the inconsistent Port Adelaide and, with the probable return of some star players, they will start favourites. West Coast travel to Etihad Stadium to play Carlton and, with both teams coming off inglorious performances, it is hard to predict a winner. One thing, however, is sure. The loser of that game will be hard-pressed to win a Finals berth in September. Both teams, optimistic at the start of the season that they would make the Final Eight, have their season well and truly on the line.

Scoreboard
Collingwood 1.4 4.10 8.12 12.16 (88)
West Coast  3.4 3.8  5.10  9.11 (66)

Best players
Collingwood L Davis, S Pendelbury, D Swan, T Lockyer, S O'Bree, J Anthony
West Coast  D Glass, S Selwood, J Kennedy, A Embley, B McKinley, D Kerr