1. There was a lot of attention on the players who were absent from this West Coast Eagles team, particularly in the midfield. With Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff, Tim Kelly, Elliott Yeo and Dom Sheed all missing, it was identified as an area of concern. The Eagles would need big efforts from Xavier O’Neill, Connor West, Patrick Naish, Luke Edwards and others. They delivered with O’Neill gathering 24 possessions, Naish 23 possessions, West 16 and Edwards 15 before succumbing to injury and gave the Eagles the drive they needed through the middle. Naish and Edwards also kicked goals, Edwards his first at this level after a sizzling pass from Liam Ryan in the second term.

2. It’s rare that teams can concede around 20 inside 50 entries and still win. But that was the case in this clash. The Eagles trailed the count 42-61 but scoring efficiency was crucial to staying in the contest, kicking a remarkable 14.3 (87) to Collingwood’s 10.14 (74). In a game that ebbed and flowed with eight lead changes, West Coast had the answers snatching back the advantage with a Willie Rioli mark and goal giving them a two-point lead 21 minutes into last quarter, galvanising the position through a Jake Waterman snap two minutes later and then cementing it with a precision kick after a strong mark from Jack Darling at the 26-minute mark.

3. In recent years Nic Naitanui has had some epic battles with his Pies counterpart Brodie Grundy. This was another. Naitanui had 26 hit out-outs to Grundy’s 33, but the palm downs to advantage were nine apiece. Naitanui was also damaging around the stoppages collecting 15 of his 16 contested possessions and he enjoyed strong support from recruit Hugh Dixon. Grundy had 19 touches. Dixon, alternating forward and on ball, Dixon had 16 possessions and six marks and was efficient with his ball use.

4. Given the lop-sided inside 50 count the Eagles’ defensive unit was exceptional. Led in the air by Jeremy McGovern and Tom Barrass, they thwarted many Collingwood forward parries. And they had strong support from Alex Witherden, the team’s highest possession winner with 28 disposals, an emerging Luke Foley, veteran Shannon Hurn and the ultra-consistent Liam Duggan. McGovern and Barrass took eight intercept marks between them, but were equally adept with destroying the ball and generally made the right decisions around offence and defence.

5. Premiership defender Liam Duggan is often under-rated in his role, but he has long been an important element of the back six. He has also shown his versatility and when required has been cast in the role of midfielder. When they were forced to sub Luke Edwards out of the game at three-quarter time to bring Josh Rotham into the fray, Duggan assumed his role in the engine room. He moved seamlessly into the middle and was again a key contributor. He had 19 possessions and took 10 marks, four of them when switched into the cauldron of the middle.