A promising glimpse

Brendon Fewster was a 193cm forward from West Perth who was never quite able to live up to his lofty draft ranking after being claimed by the Eagles with selection #3 in the 1995 National Draft behind Fremantle’s Clive Waterhouse and Fitzroy’s Matthew Primus.

He played 33 games with West Coast from 1996-99 and 37 games with Fremantle from 2000-02 after a cross-town trade.

But there was an early suggestion Fewster may just have been the long-term replacement for Peter Sumich, who retired at the end of 1997.

After playing Rounds 1-2-3 in 1996, Fewster had to wait until round nine, 1997 for his fourth game. But as the Eagles beat Essendon by 25 points at Subiaco and Peter Matera earned three Brownlow Medal votes in his 150^th game Fewster kicked a team-high four goals.

After missing round 10 with injury, he was immediately recalled in round 11 but after a goalless effort against St Kilda was cast aside. Not until the semi-final against North Melbourne 13 weeks later did he get another chance as his roller-coaster ride continued.

After eight possessions and two goals in a season-ending semi-final loss hopes sky-rocketed again.

The 1999 AFL Guide read: “Plucked from virtual obscurity (he) kicked some handy goals and looked the part. Will be part of the Eagles continued push to develop youth”.

It wasn’t to be. After 14 games including a final in 1998 and 13 games in 1999 he was moved on.

A win at the SCG

Wins have been hard to come by for West Coast against Sydney at the SCG. They copped a 130-point loss on their first visit in 1987 and have a cumulative SCG win/loss record of 3-16. So their 10^th visit in round nine, 1999 was both good and bad.

It was good because they enjoyed a 13-point win over the Swans to confirm their position two wins plus percentage clear on top of the ladder. Scott Cummings kicked five goals as Ben Cousins (32 possessions) and Peter Matera (31 possessions) dominated through the midfield, and Mitchell White (24 possessions, three goals) and Drew Banfield (13 possessions, two goals) received three and two Brownlow Medal votes respectively.

But it was bad because the Eagles have not won at the SCG since. Not once this century.

It’s not quite as bad as it sounds – they’ve only played there nine times – but it’s a drought coach Adam Simpson and his men will be keen to end as soon as possible.

A Braun century

Michael Braun has now been an ex-player for about the same time he was a dynamic West Coast midfielder, playing 228 games from 1997-2008, representing Australia in International Rules in 2004 and sharing in the Eagles’ 2006 premiership.

Like all ex-players, he is watching the Coronavirus pandemic and anxiously awaiting football’s return. He’s not affected in a football sense.

But he is affected in a business sense. Area Manager with Workforce Clothing since 2011, he is part of an organisation that manufactures “Hi Vis” clothing in China and distributes it across Australia to the mining, construction and building industries.

So as he contemplates his next move in that space the now 42-year-old from Echuca in Gippsland, drafted by the Eagles with selection #53 in the 1996 AFL National Draft, can reflect on his 100^th AFL game.

It was 17 years ago in round nine 2003 when the Eagles enjoyed a top-shelf 52-point win over Richmond at the Subiaco.

Heading into the game the two sides shared second spot on the AFL ladder with a 6-2 record.

Richmond led by nine points 50 seconds into the second quarter before West Coast kicked 11 unanswered goals to find themselves 61 points up. It was over 18 minutes into term three.

Phil Matera kicked two goals during this dominant run for a game-high five, and David Haynes, still only 21 in his 34^th game, kicked three on his way to a career-best four goals, a career-best 18 possessions and his first Brownlow Medal vote.

Braun, too, had 18 possessions as he became the 30^th player to play 100 games for the Eagles.

Wirra’s 200^th game

David Wirrpanda took some time consolidating his place in the West Coast side. That’s what happens when you debut at 16 as the youngest Eagles player all-time.

He played 12 games in his first three seasons before 24 games in 1999. A foot injury restricted him to eight games in 2000, but thereafter he was an automatic pick and from 2001 to 2007 his game count read a wonderfully consistent 21-21-19-22-20-24-24.

Then, in round nine, 2008 he became the 12^th Eagles player to 200 games for the club.

Fittingly, after seven losses in a row, the Eagles celebrated the milestone of one of the club’s all-time favorites with a 50-point win over fourth-placed Adelaide at Subiaco.

Driven by best afield Matt Priddis (34 possessions), two-vote ruckman Dean Cox and fellow midfielders Chad Fletcher (29 possessions, one vote) and Matt Rosa (35 possessions), they led at every change and triumphed 14-13 (97) to 5-17 (47).

It was a memorable day, too, for the debut of two Eagles youngsters - 19-year-old Tim Houlihan and 22-year-old Beau Maister, originally drafted as Beau Wilkes before changing his name to keep his mother’s maiden name alive.

Wirrpanda, 295 days beyond his 28^th birthday on the day of his 200^th game, was the club’s fifth-youngest 200-gamer behind Ben Cousins (27/16), Glen Jakovich (27/100), Guy McKenna (28/8) and Ashley McIntosh (28/177).

After waiting 174 games to go from his first game to his 100^th game Wirrpanda raced from 100 to 200 in 113 games.

10 goals for JK

West Coast had a monster day out in round nine, 2011 when Josh Kennedy kicked 10 goals and they beat the Western Bulldogs by 123 points at Subiaco.

It was Kennedy’s first double-figure haul in just his third game for the Eagles and the third-biggest Eagles win at the time, since relegated to fourth on a list headed by the 135-point win over Adelaide in 1995.

The home side, sitting seventh on the ladder in a season in which they would go all the way to the preliminary final, showed no mercy in a win that had a tough consequence 12 weeks later when Rodney Eade was sacked as the Dogs coach and replaced by caretaker coach Paul Williams.

Kennedy kicked three goals in each of the first and second quarters, two in the third and two in the last as they piled on 10.4 to 0-0 to win 26-19 (175).

Luke Shuey kicked five goals for the first time in his career to go with 27 possessions but had to be content with two Brownlow Medal votes behind Kennedy’s three. Andrew Embley’s 34 possessions and two goals earned him two votes as Dean Cox enjoyed his 100^th AFL win.

Derby record for Rosa

It’s a badge of honour in Western Australia to play well in the derby, so the record for most possessions in a derby is pretty special.

It was held first by West Coast’s Don Pyke after he had 28 possessions in derby #1 in 1995, but quickly oved to Fremantle’s Dale Kickett after he had 32 possessions in derby #2.

West Coast’s Brayden Lyle had 33 possessions in derby #3 in 1996, but since then it’s been a tougher challenge to unseat the record-holder.

Fremantle’s Adrian Fletcher claimed the record with 39 possessions in derby #10 in 1999 and shared it with ex-teammate Peter Bell from derby #15 in 2002.

Fremantle’s Lachie Neale lifted the bar to 42 possessions in derby #41 in 2015, but West Coast reclaimed the mantle when Matt Rosa had a career-best 43 possessions in derby #35 in 2012. And there the record stands.

Rosa, from Warracknabeal via Ballarat in Victoria, joined West Coast via what turned out to be a recruiting coup in a busy trade period in 2004.

The club went into the 2004 National Draft with a reduced hand after they swapped selections #12 and #28 to Adelaide for Tyson Stenglein, picked up selection #29 from Melbourne for Paul Johnson, and selection #37 from Collingwood for Chad Morrison.

It turned out to be a master-stroke. Not only was Stenglein a very good player for the club but picks #29 and #37 produced a combined 387 games, 23 finals and three grand finals.

Pick #37 was Mark LeCras and pick #29 was Rosa.

Rosa’s career-best possession haul, topped off with a goal, came as West Coast beat Fremantle by 48 points at Subiaco to make it three derby wins on the trot and stretch their overall derby advantage to seven.

He picked up three Brownlow Medal votes as his side flexed their muscle in the second half after scores were level at half time, winning 11-18 (84) to 5-6 (36). Andrew Gaff and Shannon Hurn took the minor votes.

A dynamic duo

When you think of famous pairings where do you go? Maybe Adam and Eve, Batman and Robin, David and Goliath, Simon and Garfunkel, Tarzan and Jane, Romeo and Juliet, Lennon and McCartney?

What’s the Eagles equivalent?

Over the last nine years it has been Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling. They go together like eggs and bacon, or salt and pepper.

Since Darling joined Kennedy in the Eagles side in round one, 2011 the club has played 215 games and kicked 2979 goals. Together the twin forwards have kicked 900 of them. Or 30%.

But only twice have they kicked five or more in the same game.

The second and most recent was in round nine, 2013, when the Eagles beat the GWS Giants by 100 points at Sydney Showgrounds in Andrew Gaff’s 50^th game.

It was one-way traffic from the first bounce in the Giants’ 31^st AFL game as Kennedy (5.2) and Darling (5.2) together outscored the home side.

Chris Masten had a game-high 32 possessions to pick up three votes and Luke Shuey 27 possessions and a goal for two votes. Darling edged out Kennedy for one vote.

The other occasion when Kennedy and Darling each kicked five was six weeks earlier when the Eagles belt Melbourne by 94 points at the MCG.

Only three times in 215 games since 2011 have the two key forwards missed the same game. They were rounds 14-15-16 in 2018. Without them the Eagles lost to Essendon and Adelaide, who finished the year 11^th and 12^th on the ladder, and had an excellent 11-point win at Optus Stadium, when five players kicked two goals apiece.

Sixty-one times, or 28.4% of games, Kennedy and Darling have combined for six or more goals.

Only once in which they have both played were both held goalless – in round 11,2014 against North Melbourne at Subiaco. The Eagles lost 6-8 (44) to 12-10 (82).

Seven for dad

With partner Lauren due to give birth, there were doubts over whether Josh Kennedy would play for West Coast against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in round nine, 2016.

The baby wasn’t expected until after the game the following week, but Kennedy didn’t travel with the team to Adelaide and had declared the birth of his first child would take priority. No baby no play.

Happily, things worked out for the best. Daughter Lottie ‘arrived’ ahead of schedule and the big full forward left his other half literally holding the baby to rush to the airport.

Despite his disrupted preparation he was the difference between a win and a loss in a game best remembered for the actions of Port skipper Tom Jonas which Andrew Gaff probably doesn’t remember at all.

Kennedy, in his 174^th AFL game, was a star as the Eagles’ ended a six-match losing streak interstate which had taken them to four different states.

He kicked seven of West Coast’s 14 goals in a 14.10 (94) to 13.8 (86) win in which the visitors hung on after leading by 37 points 11 minutes into the final term.

They went scoreless in the last 20 minutes, conceding the last four goals as their lead was whittled to 14 points six minutes before full-time and delighting when finally the final siren sounded.

It was the Eagles’ longest six minutes of the season. And six of their very best.

Kennedy’s seven-goal bag was the second highest at the Adelaide Oval, behind only Jay Schulz’ eight goals for Port 12 months earlier. It took Kennedy to 400 career goals as he continued down a path that would take him to back-to-back Coleman Medals.

Matt Priddis’ triple-double of 27 possessions, 10 tackles and 11 clearances included a career-best 26 contested possessions. This was – and still is – the  second-best contested possession tally in West Coast history behind Chris Judd’s 28 in 2006 and 12^th best in the AFL all-time.  

But all the talk after the game wasn’t about Kennedy’s match-winning effort up forward or Priddis’ supreme effort in the contest. It zeroed in on the Jonas elbow which put Gaff out of the game midway through the third quarter and sparked an old-fashioned brawl involving more than half the players.

Jonas, referred directly to the tribunal, chose to challenge the charge in the hope of having it downgraded from intentional to careless. But the tribunal rejected his claim in handing down the equal longest suspension since Essendon’s Dean Solomon was outed for eight weeks for striking Geelong’s Cameron Ling in 2008.

The Jonas ban, one week longer than it would have been had he not challenged the charge, was the equal of Campbell Brown’s six-match suspension for forceful front-on contact on Adelaide’s Aiden Riley in 2012.

It turned into a 13-week absence when a hamstring problem suffered late in his suspension meant he did not play again during the 2016 season.

Darling of a win

The record books will forever show that West Coast were the 2018 premiers. After finishing second on the home-and-away ladder two games plus percentage behind 2017-19 premiers Richmond, they beat third-placed Collingwood, fifth-placed Melbourne and then Collingwood again to win the flag.

But critical to the confidence the Eagles took into September was a commanding round nine win over Richmond at Optus Stadium.

After scores were level at halftime the home side kicked 13.8 to 6.3 in the second half to win 20-10 (130) to 12-11 (83).

Jack Darling kicked four goals in the second half on his way to an equal career-best six goals and two Brownlow Medal votes in front of a crowd of 57,616, which at the time was the biggest ever for an Eagles home game and today ranks second only to the 58,219 which saw West Coast win the round four derby against Fremantle in 2019.

He was pipped for three votes by teammate Elliot Yeo, who had 29 possessions and kicked a goal.

The brilliant Flyin’ Ryan

Liam Ryan was playing his 22^nd AFL game when West Coasted hosted Melbourne at Optus Stadium in round nine, 2019 in a re-match of the 2018 preliminary final.

He was already a premiership player and a cult hero with Eagles fans, but he took everything to the next level when he won a spot on AFL highlights reels for the next 20 years.

Single-handedly he decided a game which for most of the night seemed likely to go to the visitors.

With less than nine minutes to play and scores level after Melbourne had been in front at every change, Ryan provided just the circuit-breaker his team needed.

Down by 12 points at three-quarter time, the Eagles had hit the front via quick goals from Luke Shuey, Jamie Cripps and Dom Sheed before Jayden Hunt replied for the Demons.

Then came a play sequence that will be remembered forever.

Coming out of defence, Ryan found Josh Kennedy in space midfield, about 70m from goal. Ryan continued to run, put several metres on his opponent as Kennedy waited.

Finally, Kennedy kicked long to the goal square. With the ball in flight Ryan looped around the back of the contest, leapt up and found Max Gawn’s shoulders in the perfect position. He sat as if weightless on the big Melbourne ruckman to pull in what was later voted AFL goal of the year.

He converted from point blank range and West Coast were home.

Elliot Yeo, who had begun the match-winning forward thrust with a clever and aggressive knock on, earned three Brownlow Medal votes for 26 possessions and a career-best 16 tackles, while Sheed’s 33 possessions and a goal earned him one vote. Shannon Hurn, too, had 33 possessions while Josh Kennedy kicked four goals.