1. Contested possessions may not be the be-all and end-all, but it is a factor in the Eagles struggles this season. Obviously circumstances and availability have contributed to the capacity of the players to compete, but regardless a -34 count in contested ball is always going to make life difficult.

2. The most obvious by-product of losing the battle at the coalface translates to the ball being at the wrong end of the ground. For the third week in succession the Eagles went inside the forward arc around 30 times while the opposition doubled it. The Eagles got away with it against Collingwood, but not against Sydney and Port who capitalised on their opportunities, conceding 34 to 65 in this instance.

3. Positives were few, but the effort of Tim Kelly was one of them. The classy midfielder had 30 possessions, 12 of them contested and sent the ball inside the forward 50 eight times. He started strongly with the first centre clearance which led to the opening goal to Jamie Cripps inside the first minute. Unfortunately there was a long wait – to the opening moments of the final quarter – before the next goal.

4. There was another positive, too. Luke Strnadica was recruited to provide cover in the event that Nic Naitanui would suffer an injury. That happened a fortnight ago against Collingwood and Strnadica required a little to build form in the WAFL. He competed well in the ruck and showed good athleticism with 11 possessions, three marks and nine hit-outs. For a ruckman he is still building and could be an important player in the revitalisation of the club.

5. The backline was again under enormous pressure and Tom Barrass continues to emerge as a front-line leader. His numbers were not as big as some, but six intercept marks were important. Barrass had 17 disposals and with Alex Witherden (34 touches) and Shannon Hurn (24 possessions) they held up under pressure – albeit a number of those were a result of going back and forth as they tried to find a way out of the Port press.