1. The West Coast Eagles had a sluggish start against Richmond at Mineral Resources Park, leaking important goals early in the first term to come into the quarter time break with a 26-point deficit. This proved too difficult to come back from for the Eagles, despite kicking seven goals to Richmond’s six after the first break. Senior coach Michael Prior has earmarked the team’s starts as something to work on going forward, with the Eagles being held goalless in all but one of their first quarters this season.

2. Scoreboard pressure has also been a major focal point this season, and on Saturday afternoon West Coast showed their improvement in this area, finishing the day with their second-highest score in the club's history. GWS recruit Aimee Schmidt was important in this area, with three goals from 12 disposals, while skipper Emma Swanson also hit the scoreboard with two of her own.

3. Swanson again proved she’s the right woman for the top job, carrying the load to finish the day with a ‘player of the day’ accolade from the senior coach, as well as 22 disposals, seven tackles and five marks. The midfield bull also notched up 10 contested possessions, seven inside 50s and four score involvements, in her most impressive performance of the season. Vice-captain Dana Hooker was also amongst the best for the day, with 24 disposals (14 contested), three marks and six clearances.

4. But, the senior leaders are bearing a brunt of the weight across the ground, with Richmond beating the Eagles in key areas, including inside 50s (40 to 25), clearances (30 to 22), and marks inside 50 (eight to five). Richmond also had more scoring opportunities, to finish the match with 18 scoring shots, to West Coast’s 10.

5. But, there are signs of improvement, with West Coast’s Ashton Hill (11 disposals, six intercepts) having her best game of the season after two years on the sidelines due to an ACL injury. Debutant Emily Bennett (six tackles) also did some good things with the ball in her first game in the blue and gold, while youngster Mikayla Bowen (10, four) also continues to develop her craft as an outside midfielder. 2021 recruit Evie Gooch was also her consistent self, finishing the day with 13 disposals and six intercepts.