Blue and gold supporters were treated to an entertaining intraclub as the West Coast Eagles took another step towards round one on Saturday.

The centrepiece of the club’s 2025 Fan Day, which drew an excellent crowd to Mineral Resources Park, the scratch match pitted teammate against teammate and there was no holding back.

While the strong gold team filled with senior stars ran away with the contest, the scoreboard mattered little.

More importantly, new coach Andrew McQualter got another look at his players executing the gameplan which is set to excite with dare and dynamism.

It’s a style that will have West Coast’s tall timber in attack licking their lips, and All-Australian Jake Waterman and co-captain Oscar Allen relished the slick ball movement.

Waterman’s sticky hands were on display throughout, and while he finished with four majors, he could’ve had at least a couple more.

Fresh from their Indigenous All-Stars appearances, Tim Kelly and Liam Ryan (four goals) also shone, while Naitanui Academy product Tyrell Dewar picked up where he left off against the Tigers from a wing.

Dewar bobbed up for the opening major for the youthful blue team, and his dancing feet made him tough to lay a hand on as he continued to push for round one consideration.

The blue line-up strung together some good moments, with Lucca Grego rebounding from defence, Harvey Johnston snaring a clever goal and Hamish Davis showing his forward craft with a straight conversion.

Ryan Maric also found plenty of the Sherrin across half-back, while opposite number Jack Hutchinson’s fierce attack and speed was outstanding.

It was a frenetic opening, with the teams going goal-for-goal in the first stanza.

Gold soon got on top, though, with big names getting involved.

Allen and Waterman, playing in a three-pronged attack with Archer Reid, both converted, with Liam Duggan slipping forward from midfield to snap as gold took a one-point lead into the first change.

It was one-way traffic in the second term, as gold capitalised on the breeze and the star-studded attack did the rest.

Duggan bombed his second from outside 50, Harley Reid unleashed a brutal fend-off on Maric and top draftee Bo Allan was assured beyond his years across half-back.

Settling into his role as a third tall defender, Reuben Ginbey was in everything and read the play time and time again to repel attacks in the air.

The teams switched after half-time, with West Coast’s first-choice backline facing up to the squad’s most noted goalkicking threats.

The competition for spots was evident with Jack Petruccelle lining up for the blue team and impressing with a couple of goals in the first half.

The speedster then joined the gold side in the final term, kicking two more majors, while Jamie Cripps, Matt Owies, Noah Long, Tyler Brockman and Ryan all had their moments as the gold side’s fleet-footed small forwards.

West Coast’s match committee will have plenty to ponder before selecting the team to travel to Hands Oval in Bunbury to face North Melbourne in the AAMI Community Series next Saturday.   

GOLD 5.1 11.6 14.9 21.13 (139)

BLUE 5.0 6.1 9.3 10.5 (65)