The Perth Demons hosted the WAFL Eagles at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday afternoon, defeating the blue and gold by 48 points and climbing off the bottom of the ladder.
In what was perfect football conditions, the Eagles battled with consistency and basic skill errors, and while inaccuracy in front of goal was prominent from both sides, Perth finished strongly to take the 13.16 (94) to 6.10 (46) victory.
Demons’ forward Aaron Clarke was a problem for West Coast’s defence, kicking five goals in the second half, while Charlie Constable dominated around the ground, finishing with a game-high 37 touches and seven marks.
Harley Sparks was West Coast’s main ball winner, finishing with a team-high 24 touches and five marks, while Jai Culley was dynamic with 17 touches and a game-high seven tackles.
Perth were hot out of the blocks, moving the ball well inside their forward fifty, and while they struggled to convert at first, a nice coast-to-coast passage of play resulted in Charlie Thompson hitting the scoreboard with the first goal of the game.
The Eagles had trouble moving the ball into their forward line with Perth’s pressure around the contest, but when they did, they were unable to connect with a teammate.
It was one-way traffic for majority of the quarter, before Jai Culley got on the end of a lucky toe-poke soccer goal and kicked West Coast’s first major of the game.
The Eagles needed to rectify some areas of concern after the quarter-time break, but Perth were too powerful and made it difficult for West Coast to gain any sort of momentum around the ground.
The scoreline in the second quarter was not reflective of the Demon’s dominance, their inaccuracy in front of goal kept the Eagles in the contest, and West Coast trailed by just 14 points at the main break.
The goal-kicking woes subsided in the third term for both sides, Eagles big man Archer Reid opened the second half with his second goal, returning the margin to just eight points.
Perth won the third quarter with four goals to three, and while Matt Flynn and Loch Rawlinson both featured on the scoreboard, West Coast were back to 23 points down heading into the fourth.
Young Eagles recruit Jason Gillbee suffered a nasty elbow injury in the final quarter, leaving the ground in the hands of trainers and did not make a return to the field.
The Eagles continued to struggle with forward-fifty connection and decision making with ball in hand, only managing one goal to Perth’s five in the final term, with the home side blowing out the margin to finish the game in what was a disappointing day out for West Coast.
PERTH 3.4 4.9 8.13 13.16 (94)
WEST COAST 1.3 2.7 5.7 6.10 (46)
GOALS
Perth: Clarke 5; Thompson, Schlensog 2; Gray, Kemp, Watson, Johnston
West Coast: Reid 2; Culley, Flynn, Rawlinson
BEST
Perth: Constable, Byrne, Schlensog, Watson, Davis, Stubbs
West Coast: Culley, Chesser, Barker, Bazzo, Mercer, Sparks
