In an exhilarating contest under Friday night lights, the West Coast Eagles have come from behind and claimed a nail-biting 10-point victory over the Gold Coast Suns at Optus Stadium.
Securing their first win since round 10, the Eagles produced a high-pressure and high-intensity final term to edge ahead and hold on for the 15.7 (97) to 13.9 (87) triumph.
Trailing by 17 points at half-time, West Coast looked up against it but dug deep to secure a maiden victory for interim coach Jarrad Schofield in front of a raucous home crowd.
The Eagles kicked nine goals to five in the second half, with co-captain Liam Duggan booting the go-ahead major before Jamie Cripps slotted an incredible checkside on the run to clinch the victory.
West Coast’s fourth victory for the season lifted them two wins clear of bottom-two teams Richmond and North Melbourne – who face off in round 21 – and consigned the Suns to their 10th road loss for the campaign as they remain in search of a victory away from home.
Exciting second-generation Eagle Clay Hall made his highly anticipated AFL debut and showed a lot of promise at the elite level, while milestone-man Brady Hough impressed with 19 disposals and six marks in his 50th game.
Jake Waterman continued his dominant form up forward and finished with four goals, while Tim Kelly was a ball-magnet, managing a game-high 31 touches.
Suns’ midfielder Matt Rowell starred around the ground, finishing with 30 disposals and a game-high nine tackles, while Ben King, Mac Andrew and Ben Long were damaging with three majors each.
A first-quarter head clash saw West Coast defender Harry Edwards subbed out of the game after failing a concussion test, with Hall entering the game for the first time in the blue and gold.
A slippery surface made for some scrappy football at times, but Gold Coast found the ball in their forward line, kicking five goals to the Eagles four in the second term.
While West Coast managed to bring the margin back to within five points with goals through Waterman, Zane Trew, Oscar Allen and Ryan Maric, the visitors responded and took a 17-point lead into the main break.
Emerging forward Tyrell Dewar stepped up in the second half, kicking two goal in the third quarter, with West Coast working hard to reduce the margin, and taking a two point lead half-way through the term.
Gold Coast weren’t letting up, locking the ball in their forward fifty and responding through King, Long and Brayden Fiorini, before a three-quarter-time buzzer-beater from Waterman brought the Eagles back within nine points heading into the final term.
The Eagles upped the pressure gauge as the clock ticked down, edging within two points with eight minutes left to play in the game.
Co-captain Duggan opened his account on the scoreboard with an outstanding goal pulled out of the contest, before Cripps sealed the deal for the Eagles with his first goal of the game, extending the margin to 10 points in the dying minutes.
WEST COAST 2.2 6.2 11.4 15.7 (97)
GOLD COAST 3.3 8.7 12.7 13.9 (87)
GOALS
West Coast: Waterman 4; Allen, Dewar 2; Darling, Trew, Maric, Williams, Ryan, Duggan, Cripps. Gold Coast: Andrew, Long, King 3; Graham, Witts, Anderson, Fiorini.
BEST
West Coast: Darling, Duggan, Yeo, Allen, Kelly, Waterman, Williams. Gold Coast: Anderson, Witts, Rowell, Andrew, Flanders, Powell.
INJURIES
West Coast: Harry Edwards (concussion)
Gold Coast:
SUBSTITUTES
West Coast: Clay Hall
Gold Coast: Malcolm Roses
Crowd: 38,671 at Optus Stadium
