A classy and relentless Melbourne combination proved irresistible at Optus Stadium this evening overpowering the West Coast Eagles to win by 63 points.

While the Eagles battled it out to the end, they simply did not have the personnel to contend with one of the AFL’s premier outfits, the Demons winning 19.12 (126) to 9.9 (63).

With six Eagles players having just 10 games under their belts and several others with under 30 games of experience, the young Eagles were given an on-field education from the relentless Demons.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 09: Jake Waterman of the Eagles and Harrison Petty of the Demons contest the ruck during the round four AFL match between West Coast Eagles and Melbourne Demons at Optus Stadium, on April 09, 2023, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images via AFL Photos)

While they were clearly out-gunned West Coast did not yield in the fight, they just did not have the fire-power to compete with one of the competition’s premiership fancies.

The Eagles throughout the match still played some exciting football. The pressure from Melbourne made fast ball movement difficult but at times West Coast were able to dissect and run through the blue and red wall.

Led by indefatigable midfielder Tim Kelly, who racked up 36 possessions and two goals, the Eagles persisted but every time they hit the scoreboard it seemed Melbourne found a response. And generally the process was much simpler than the hosts.

PERTH - APRIL 09: Tim Kelly of the Eagles runs with the ball during the 2023 AFL Round 04 match between the West Coast Eagles and the Melbourne Demons at Optus Stadium on April 9, 2023 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos)

Bailey Williams, opposed to regular all-Australian ruckman Brody Grundy again stuck to his task in conjunction with makeshift support ruck Jake Waterman.

On occasions emerging players Reuben Gunbey, Luke Edwards and Jai Culley found themselves in the middle battling AFL silk in Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Jack Viney.

Clearly they will benefit from the experience.

While out-sized and at times out-witted by their opponents they continued to work while Kelly, Andrew Gaff, who also had 24 possessions, and Jayden provided great drive when they had the opportunity.

Oscar Allen finished with three goals while Jack Darling also offered a forward presence.

00:51

Allen drills one on the siren

West Coast continues to fight hard as Oscar Allen takes a solid mark and finishes strong from 50m

Down back acting skipper Tom Barrass, veteran Shannon Hurn and Liam Duggan held up for the most part but the heat from the Melbourne forwards was intense.

Players who came into the team, including mature aged recruits over the previous two seasons, Connor West and Greg Clark, worked hard while star utility player Elliot Yeo was subbed out of the game at three-quarter time as a strategic call.   

Details
Melbourne                       5.1          8.4          14.9       19.12     126
West Coast Eagles            2.2          4.4          6.8         9.9         63

Goals – Melbourne: McDonald 4; Fritsch, Petracca 3; Pickett, Spargo, van Rooyen 2; Chandler, Neale-Bullen, Viney. West Coast Eagles: Allen 3; Kelly 2; Hunt, West, Long, Petrevski-Seton.

Best – Melbourne: Oliver, Grundy, Petracca, May, McDonald, Fritsch.  West Coast Eagles: Kelly, Gaff, Allen, Hunt, Williams, Barrass.

Injuries: Nil

Attendance: 42,265