It was a disappointing day out for the WAFL Eagles, falling to Swan Districts by 24 points at Steel Blue Oval on Sunday.
A fourth-quarter fight back from the Eagles wasn’t enough to close the margin, the Swans’ convincing first-half lead solidifying their 16.8 (104) v 12.8 (80) victory on their home turf.
West Coast’s acting captain Trey Ruscoe opened the scoring for the game, before the Swans immediately replied through Jehb O’Donohue.
There was plenty of back-and-forth between the two sides in the first term, the Swans had a response for every positive effort the Eagles put forward.
Archer Reid kicked West Coast’s second, reading the ball well off the ground and finishing with a nice snap around the corner to put the visitors in front.
The Swans displayed quick and effective ball movement and capitalised on every one of West Coast’s errors.
While West Coast were very competitive in the first 15 minutes of the first term, the Swans kicked four unanswered goals to push out the margin and take the momentum.
Coby Burgiel kicked a much-needed goal for the Eagles on the quarter-time siren, holding the gap to an attainable 14 points at the first break.
West Coast started the second quarter well, Jack Williams opened his scoring account within the first 30 seconds after taking a strong mark just outside the goal square.
Harry Edwards was a pillar of strength for the Eagles for the entirety of the game, taking a number of intercept marks under extreme pressure and spoiling the Swan’s forward 50 entries at crucial points throughout the match.
The Eagles did well not to let the Swans run away with the lead, but a number of missed opportunities in front of goal held them at an arm’s length.
Despite some positive efforts from the blue and gold in the third term, the Swans opened the flood gates, kicking four unanswered goals, and finishing with six to the Eagles’ two.
Eagles veteran Andrew Gaff launched the final term with his first goal of the day, lighting a spark that West Coast desperately needed.
Jack Williams followed with another two consecutive goals of his own, reducing the margin to 26 points.
West Coast won the final term on the scoreboard, managing five goals to the Swan’s two, but it wasn’t enough to get them over the line.
Zane Trew (game-high 33 disposals, six marks) and Andrew Gaff (31 disposals, three tackles and a goal) impressed for the Eagles, while Clay Hall (23 disposals) and Jai Culley (19) played crucial roles around the ground.
Williams finished with 16 disposals and four goals in what was a positive performance for the 20-year-old forward.
Tom Edwards top-scored for the Swans, finishing with four goals, while Jesse Turner was dominant with 30 touches and two majors.
SWAN DISTRICTS 5.3 8.5 14.7 16.8
WEST COAST 3.1 5.4 7.4 12.8
GOALS
Swan Districts: Edwards 4; Kelly 3; Glass-McCasker, Turner 2; O’Donohue, Clarke, Chalcraft, McLachlan, Lynch. West Coast: Williams 4; Lucassen 2, Ruscoe, Reid, Burgiel, Rawlinson, Dewar, Gaff
BEST
Swan Districts: Turner, Clarke, Edwards, Rokahr, Chalcraft, Cipro. West Coast: Gaff, Williams, Trew, Edwards, Culley, Hall, Sparks
