It’s a draw

West Coast played under the roof at Docklands Stadium for the first time in 2000 and left with the emptiest of feelings … it was a draw.

But moments from the end it looked like being worse. And certainly the umpires seemed to think St Kilda were the better side – they received all six Brownlow Medal votes.

In a fluctuating affair in a season in which the Saints would finish with the wooden-spoon, scores were level at quarter-time, St Kilda led by 13 points at halftime and West Coast, coached by Ken Judge for the third time, led by 15 at three-quarter time.

 

The home side kicked five goals in a row to hit the front but two late Eagles goals from Daniel Metropolis and Chad Morrison squared it up.

It finished West Coast 17-14 (116) to St Kilda 18-8 (116) and was the third of West Coast’s six draws. Peter Everitt finished with seven goals for the Saints from eight kicks.

200 for McIntosh

Twelve months after the Docklands draw the Eagles were back at the same venue facing St Kilda for a special occasion. And this time everything went according to plan.

It was Ashley McIntosh’s 200^th AFL game. He was the eighth Eagle to post a double-century for the club behind, in order, Guy McKenna, Chris Lewis, John Worsfold, Dean Kemp, Chris Mainwaring, Peter Matera and Glen Jakovich.

After being down early West Coast led at every change and won 19.11 (125) to 16.11 (107).

Troy Wilson, in his third game at 29, earned Brownlow Medal votes after he kicked a career-best seven goals. And it could have been more. He kicked 7.5.

If you can’t beat ‘em

Daniel Chick had played for Hawthorn against West Coast nine times over seven years. He had a 2-7 win/loss record against them. They were his bogey side. It was easily his worst record against any opposition

An East Fremantle product claimed by Hawthorn with selection #25 in the 1995 National Draft, he’d played 149 games in seven seasons and had won the Hawthorn best and fairest in 2000. But he wanted to return home.

Chick was traded to the Eagles for selection #8 in the 2002 National Draft, which the Hawks used to pick up Luke Brennan, who played 19 games for Hawthorn and nine games for Sydney.

After missing the first two games of the new season with his new club (because of a corked thigh that bled badly) Chick made his debut for West Coast in Round three, 2003 against St Kilda at Subiaco. It was a double celebration … it was his 150^th career game as well.

Having worn jumper #17 at Hawthorn, Chick was given the enormous honor of becoming just the second player in West Coast history to wear #17 for his new club.

It had been worn 267 times by Guy McKenna – fourth highest all-time in the AFL behind Michael Tuck (426), Jack Dyer (312) and Sam Newman (300) – and had not been worn since McKenna’s retirement in 2000.

Chick immediately took a liking to it when, after finishing so often on the wrong end of a scoreline in a match against West Coast, they won by 70 points.

Phil Matera kicked a career-best seven goals in his 121^st game and Michael Gardiner had a career-best 24 possessions to go with 38 hit-outs and earned three Brownlow votes against the club he would join five years later.

Beau Waters’ debut

Beau Waters was 11 days beyond his 18^th birthday when he made his debut against Essendon at Docklands in round three, 2004.

The hard-nosed 120-game premiership defender from Happy Valley in South Australia was the eighth youngest Eagle at the time and is now ranked ninth-youngest all-time.

The top 10? David Wirrpanda is and under current rules will always be the youngest at 16 years 268 days, followed by Andrew Embley (17/274), Michael Gardiner (17/288), Ben Cousins (17/296), Daniel Kerr (17/320), Brad Ebert (17/362), Chad Morrison (18/2), Scott Selwood (18/9), Waters and Chris Lewis (18/12).

 

It wasn’t the beginning Waters would have hoped for, but it was a brilliant introduction which could have gone either way or even finished in a draw except for James Hird.

West Coast, 30 points down at quarter-time, pulled the margin to one point at three-quarter time and hit the front when Ben Cousins goaled 15 seconds into the final stanza.

A memorable win beckoned and a dramatic final 30 minutes unfolded.

David Hille and Nathan Lovett-Murray goaled for Essendon to put them seven points up with 17 minutes to play before Phillip Matera and Andrew McDougall replied for West Coast. The Eagles by six.

Hird and Justin Murphy goaled for Essendon, Glen Jakovich replied for West Coast and at the 28-minute mark Matthew Lloyd, later to receive three Brownlow Medal votes, kicked his eighth goal for the Bombers.

Damien Adkins, in his 11^th game for West Coast, kicked a critical major for West Coast to level the scores with 2min 27sec to play.

It was knife’s edge stuff until Hird intervened. In a career in which he would play 20 times against West Coast for 12 wins, including three in finals without defeat, this was a moment he will remember fondly. He kicked the winning goal with 63sec to play. Essendon won 22.5 (137) to 20.11 (131).

Derby debut

Jaymie Graham became the seventh Eagles player to debut in a derby in round three, 2005. It was derby #21. He followed Andrew Donnelly, Brendon Fewster, Chad Morrison (#3), Andrew Embley (#9), Kane Munro (#12) and Paul Johnson (#17), and preceded Scott Selwood (#27), Adam Cockie (#29), Adam Carter (#38), Kurt Mutimer (#45) and Jack Petruccelle (#47).

John Worsfold, too, made his coaching debut in derby #15, Andy Lovell (#3), Scott Cummings and Chad Rintoul (#9), Brent Tuckey (#15), Jamie Cripps (#37) and Cale Morton (#38) played their first game for the Eagles in a derby.

Graham’s debut coincided with Ashley Sampi’s 50^th game and came as West Coast beat Fremantle by eight points. Down by five points at three-quarter time, they took charge via five goals in 10 minutes from Ashley Hansen, Dean Cox, Chad Fletcher, Hansen and Quinten Lynch, and were 27 points clear with 15 minutes to play.

But Graham was given an early lesson in derby football .. they are never over until the final siren. Josh Carr goaled twice for Fremantle and when Jeff Farmer did likewise it was game on. The last three minutes were a dire struggle before the Eagles prevailed 12.16 (88) to 12.8 (80).

Daniel Kerr took three Brownlow Medal votes to begin an astonishing round three streak, taking maximum votes four years in a row from 2005-08.

In 2006 Kerr’s blitz continued in a win against Richmond at Subiaco in David Wirrpanda’s 150^th game. In 2007 it was in a derby win. And in 2008 it was in a derby loss in Scott Selwood’s debut, when Aaron Sandilands was an unlikely last-goal hero.

Career best at two venues

Luke Shuey kicked a career-best five goals and earned three Brownlow Medal votes in round three, 2012, and grabbed two slices in football history. He set the record for most goals and most Brownlow votes in an AFL game ever at Blacktown Stadium.

It was the first AFL game at the original home of the GWS Giants, and the last.

West Coast led 11.4 to 2.0 at quarter time and won 23.12 (150) to 10.9 (69) in front of a crowd of 6875 in the Giants’ third AFL game.

Scott Selwood topped the Eagles possession count with 31 but he had to be content with second spot on the ‘most possessions in a game at Blacktown’ records. Callan Ward had 36 for the home side.

Eagles' biggest win at the MCG

West Coast have played 87 games at the MCG for 35 wins. Their biggest win at headquarters came in round three, 2013 when they thumped Melbourne by 94 points 27.15 (177) to 13.5 (83).

Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy kicked five apiece to head 12 individual goal-kickers, while Chris Masten (39) and Matt Priddis (33) were the major ball-winners. Masten (3), Priddis (2) and Kennedy (1) took the Brownlow Medal votes.

Perfect Priddis

In round three, 2016 Matt Priddis celebrated his 200^th AFL game in a fashion he could barely have prescribed better. Aside from a finals win, it was the best. A 33-point win against cross-town rivals Fremantle at Subiaco and three Brownlow Medal votes.

The 2014 Brownlow Medallist had 31 possessions, eight tackles and 10 clearances in a 12.20 (92) to 8.11 (59) win which also celebrated Adam Simpson’s 50^th game as Eagles coach.

 

First win at Optus

West Coast produced a staggering 13-minute final quarter blitz to post their first win at the magnificent new Optus Stadium in round three, 2018 beating Geelong by 15 points in a fluctuating thriller.

Having lost in round one to Sydney as they christened their new home, a win was a must.

It didn’t look likely when the Eagles kicked just eight goals in the first 116 minutes and were 15 points down 16 minutes into the final stanza. It was 8.11 to 10.13. And Tim Kelly had kicked the Cats’ 10^th goal.

But an amazing transformation followed. Jack Darling started it with goals at the 19-minute mark and the 22-minute mark before Liam Ryan (24), Dom Sheed (26), Mark LeCras (28) and Sheed (29) again followed.

They went from 15 points down to 21 points up in 13 minutes.

Tom Hawkins kicked an inconsequential goal late for Geelong but West Coast won 14.11 (95) to 11.14 (80) and in a flash a premiership year was up and going.

Dom Sheed took the three Brownlow votes for 30 possessions and his two match-deciding goals late in the final term.

Twelve months ago

As the entire Eagles playing group ponder what might have been had the scheduled round three clash with Geelong at Optus Stadium gone ahead on Saturday night Josh Rotham could be excused for a little self reflection.

It was Saturday, April 6, 2019 against Collingwood at the MCG, a replay of the 2018 grand final. Rotham made his AFL debut in front of a crowd of 60,878.

A local boy at the start of his third season, Rotham became player #246 on an all-time West Coast playing list which has since stretched by three with the debut of Jarrod Cameron (#247), Francis Watson (#248) and Tim Kelly (#249).

It was the third-biggest home-and-away crowd ever to watch an Eagles game, behind only the 62,957 at the round 13 MCG clash  with Collingwood, and 62,586 at the round one game of 2007 against Sydney at Stadium Australia after the two clubs had met in the 2005-06 grand finals.

Against the Pies, the Eagles trailed by 11 points at quarter-time, but kicked 14.6 to 8.9 thereafter and won 15.8 (98) to 11.10 (76). Andrew Gaff had 35 possessions for three Brownlow votes, Dom Sheed 24 possessions and three goals for two votes, and Jamie Cripps 18 possessions and four goals for one vote.