The West Coast Eagles were given an insight into the levels they must reach when over-powered by premiership fancies Melbourne at Casey Fields today.

The Demons gave the young Eagles a lesson in aggressive run and carry as they dominated through the corridor and put the Eagles under defensive pressure from the outset as they won 11.13 (79) to 0.1 (1).

The Eagles, the youngest team in the competition, simply did not have the tools or the experience to compete with the Dees who went into the match in second place on the ladder with the ambition of scoring a big win to leapfrog Brisbane.

That was always a big assignment, needing to win by more than 13 goals but they gave themselves a chance when asserting their superiority from the outset. In the end they required just one more goal to win the minor premiership after a desperate last quarter surge.

The Dees led 3.5 to no score at the first break with the game virtually out of reach at that early stage. It wasn’t just the scoreline that was a concern, but the inside 50 count was 13-0 and six of the Eagles had not had a possession.

And Melbourne scored all but one of those goals from a forward stoppage clearance.

Things got a little better from there, but the game was still played largely in Melbourne’s forward half and four goals in the last term gave them a shot at top spot.

Melbourne had clear winners all over the ground with a disciplined team performance giving them further belief in their game plan leading into the finals series with players impacting in every respect. Their effort was exemplified by forward Katie Hore who not only had 16 possessions and kicked two goals, but also clamped on nine tackles, most of them in the forward half.z

Unfortunately for the Eagles, captain Emma Swanson was impeded by hamstring soreness early in the match and while she battled it out she could not produce her usual output.

Importantly for the future of this team, youngsters Ella Roberts and Charlie Thomas were both outstanding.

First year star Roberts, playing forward and through the midfield, was the team’s highest possession winner with 22 disposals and seven marks, while Thomas had 19 touches in defence.

Experienced midfielder Aisling McCarthy also was busy and combative in the middle while Sophie McDonald worked opposed to Taylor Harris and Eden Zanker. But too much was left to too few as the Eagles were overwhelmed by a competition benchmark. 

Details
Melbourne                         3.5          5.8          7.12        11.13     (79)
West Coast Eagles           0.0          0.1          0.1            0.1          (1)

Goals – Melbourne: Hore, Zanker 2; Hanks, Paxman, Bannan, Fitzsimon, Heath, Mackin, Purcell. West Coast Eagles: Nil.

Best – Melbourne: Purcell, Hore, Birch, Paxman, Goldrick, Mithen. West Coast Eagles: Roberts, Thomas, McDonald, McCarthy.