Round two might be up in the air for now, but West Coast stars Jeremy McGovern and Elliot Yeo are glad the Eagles got their 2020 campaign off to a winning start against Melbourne yesterday.
Speaking to 96FM today, the dynamic duo said they were proud of the way the club parked the news of the AFL season’s imminent suspension and found a way to get the job done against the Demons.
To put it in context, the Eagles only learned of the impending season postponement a little more than an hour before the first ball was bounced at Optus Stadium.
McGovern said the side “felt good” about its performance against the Dees.
“We prepared all pre-season to play and I think the boys, we did everything we could on the day,” he said.
“We felt pretty comfortable out there and I thought the boys, we played a pretty good, holistic game.
“It was short and sharp; in and out. We’ll have to hopefully gain that winning spirit back when we come back.”
Yeo said he was particularly impressed with the output of the team’s onball brigade, including club debutant Tim Kelly, Dom Sheed, Andrew Gaff and new skipper Luke Shuey.
Kelly amassed 19 disposals and kicked a clutch goal in his first outing as an Eagle, while Sheed got his hands on the footy 22 times and slotted two majors.
Gaff racked up a team-high 30 disposals and Shuey led from the front with 27 touches, eight marks and five tackles.
“TK was doing some good things; Sheeda was doing some good things; Gaffy and Shuey were everywhere,” Yeo said.
“There was obviously some good signs. It’s just a shame that we can’t use that momentum to go into next week and go forward. But it is what it is.”
Both players admitted it felt strange running around in an empty Optus Stadium, but McGovern managed to find a silver lining in the situation.
“It was a bit weird. It doesn’t bother me, I’m a backman, so I liked no crowd,” he joked.
“I don’t get too many cheers down there. The forwards had nothing to celebrate and no one to celebrate with, which is good for me.
"It was definitely weird, but in a way it was fun as well. I actually enjoyed something different like that.”
