A Fremantle team on the rise, pushing for finals in front of their home crowd, the late withdrawal of star forward Josh Kennedy through illness and the threat of rain.

It all created cause for some nervous tension pre-game, in the lead-up to RAC Derby No.50. Throw in some missed opportunities in the first quarter, when the West Coast Eagles led 2.5 to 1.2 and the level of anxiety rose exponentially.

As Adam Simpson addressed his team at quarter-time the precipitation depicted on the meteorology radar became reality, a light drizzle growing heavier by the word. The Eagles, early in the season, had struggled in greasy conditions. How would they cope with this?

Simpson hadn’t even made it back to his coaches box when his midfield until began to answer the question.

On an evening when Nic Naitanui played his first game at home in 12 months, albeit with a vast majority of Dockers fans in the house, he quickly showed how effective he could be under the 6-6-6 rule introduced by the AFL.

Against an old foe – Aaron Sandilands was rushed back for his first game in a year – Naitanui initiated some clean centre clearances and was the instigator of an amazing onslaught. It would have been impressive in dry conditions, but this was mesmerising as the Eagles rattled on eight goals.

It was almost as simple as starting with a centre bounce, Naitanui palming it to advantage – even to his own in one instance – the Eagles storming forward, finding a target and then converting. They would then take it back to the middle and do it all again.

In roughly 30 spell-binding minutes, the Eagles effectively put the game to bed, leading by 54 points at the main break. During that second quarter blitz, rookie forward Jarrod Cameron kicked three goals while ruckman Tom Hickey pushed forward and kicked two goals.

The Naitanui-Hickey combination was devastating, particularly through this period of the game.

In addition to Cameron’s purple patch, who finished with four goals, Jack Darling and Jamie Cripps also kicked four each to cover the loss of dual Coleman medallist Kennedy.

Through the midfield Luke Shuey continued his stellar form, Elliot Yeo relished the challenge of going head-to-head with Dockers star Nat Fyfe, while Dom Sheed and Andrew Gaff were outstanding.

Gaff was booed by the Fremantle crowd every time he touched the ball and most of them were hoarse at game’s end after he accumulated a game-high 35 possessions.

While Fremantle missed their opportunities, kicking just 2.19 for the game, they did enjoy an advantage in inside 50 metre entries, 60 to 50, but the Eagles’ defence was again supreme.

Brad Sheppard, who won the Glendinning-Allan Medal as best afield, Shannon Hurn and returning stars Jeremy McGovern (suspension) and Tom Barrass (injury) were simply outstanding. Combined with Lewis Jetta, who used the ball exquisitely, Liam Duggan and Jackson Nelson, the Eagles had all the answers.

They launched many counter-attacks from their back half while holding the Dockers to their lowest ever Derby score. Fremantle did not kick their second – and final goal of the game – until the 25 minute mark of the third term.

Round 16, 2019
Optus Stadium

West Coast Eagles            2.5          10.7        14.7        19.8        122
Fremantle                        1.2           1.7         2.14        2.19        31

Goals – West Coast Eagles: Darling, Cripps, Cameron 4; Hickey 2; Ah Chee, Masten, Yeo, Shuey, Rioli.
            Fremantle: McCarthy, Walters.