It was a battle of the birds at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday, the WAFL Eagles conquering the West Perth Falcons with a thrilling eight-point victory.
It was perfect conditions for football, the Eagles returning to their home ground for the first time since round nine, and the fans were ecstatic to witness the 17.12 (114) to 16.10 (106) triumph.
The Eagles added experience to their lineup this week with premiership stars Jack Darling and Dom Sheed both suiting up, while Rhett Bazzo made his successful return to footy after spending time on the sidelines with a groin injury.
West Perth started the game hot, with dangerous forward Tyler Keitel kicking the first four goals of the game.
Luke Meadows kicked the Falcon’s fifth-straight major, before Eagles midfielder Jai Culley stopped the onslaught with an impressive goal from a shrug-off tackle to put the Eagles’ on the board.
West Coast started to gain some momentum, with Jack Darling applying a crucial smother inside forward fifty that resulted in an around-the-body snap from Culley for his second goal of the game.
Clay Hall opened his account with a huge bomb from outside fifty to bring the Eagles back to within eight points, before Harry Barnett kicked the Eagles' fourth-straight major with an elite goal from deep in the pocket.
West Coast took the lead early in the second term, an error from a West Perth kick-in resulting in a goal to Tyrell Dewar.
The Falcons responded off the boot of Keitel, who kicked his fifth goal for the game, before an unfortunate ‘deliberate’ call against Eagle Loch Rawlinson gifted West Perth another goal through Aaron Black.
While West Coast were strong through the midfield and produced some impressive passages of play, the visitors took an 11-point lead into the half time break.
The Eagles started strongly in the third term, Coby Burgiel adding to the scoreboard, followed by a goal to young big man Archer Reid to put the blue and gold in front.
The score was see-sawing back and forth for majority of the third quarter, before West Coast created some breathing space with a 22-point lead, thanks to goals from Reid, Shannon Lucassen, Harvey Johnston and Jordyn Baker.
The Eagles were playing with spark and composure, and while the Falcons kicked a couple of goals late in the term, Darling delivered his first WAFL goal since 2015 on the three-quarter time siren to give West Coast a 15-point buffer going into the final term.
The fourth quarter swung back in West Perth’s favour, Jack DeMarte kicking three out of their four goals to open the term.
It was a nail-biting final five minutes of the game, the lead darting from team to team, before Darling sealed the deal in the dying seconds with his second goal, securing West Coast’s fourth win of the season.
WEST COAST 4.4 6.7 13.11 17.12 (114)
WEST PERTH 5.2 8.6 11.8 16.10 (106)
GOALS
West Coast: Reid 3, Culley, Lucassen, Dewar, Burgiel, Darling 2; Hall, Barnett, Johnston, Baker. West Perth: Keitel 6; DeMarte 4; Black, West 2; Meadows, Patterson.
BEST
West Coast: Culley, Chesser, Sheed, Darling, Reid, Baker, Sparks. West Perth: Keitel, Nelson, West, Meadows, Bevan, DeMarte.
