1. West Coast already had their foot on the throat of Collingwood by the middle of the third term, but a decisive moment came at the 15 minute mark of the quarter. At a centre bounce, Nic Naitanui swatted the ball with his left hand, over his right shoulder towards the attacking goal, but it was gathered by Pies midfielder Adam Treloar. Eagles skipper Luke Shuey charged down Treloar as he attempted a clearing kick, took clean possession off his opponent’s boot and then delivered the footy lace out to Oscar Allen. He then went back and slotted his third in what was a classic play.

2. Clearances out of the middle had been important as the Eagles moved to arrest a strong start from Collingwood. In the first quarter, after a long ball out of a centre bounce, Josh Kennedy held off Pies defender Jordan Roughead to kick the first of seven goals. And in the second term another clean break out of the middle set up Allen for the first of his three goals in what was a strong contribution from the young forward who was also more than useful as Naitanui’s foil in the ruck.

3. Midfield gun Tim Kelly is starting to find his feet in his new environment, developing a deeper understanding of the system and the nuances of his teammates. The balanced on-baller, a low-to-the-ground vacuum in congestion, rivalled Kennedy for best-on-ground honours with a 30-possession performance. He had 13 contested possessions, nine ground ball gets, disposed of the footy at 90 percent  and racked up 10 score involvements.

4. The stats sheet shows that the Eagles lost the battle in some areas that are usually key determining factors. They conceded contested possessions (-15), ground ball gets (-25) and inside 50s (-2) but still won the game convincingly. And it came down to efficiency and pressure. The Eagles distributed the ball at 78 percent effectiveness, led the tackle count 48-37 and took 14 marks to eight inside 50. The ultimate measure of efficiency was the scoreboard – kicking a remarkable 18.3, led by Kennedy who kicked 7.0.

5. Tough doesn’t go anywhere near describing the week that Liam Ryan had with the tragic death of his nephew and god son on his way to school during the week. But he bravely committed to play and when he kicked a goal in the final term it was an emotional moment for the popular small forward as he kissed the black armband wrapped around his left bicep and pointed skyward. He also launched another 'Ryan Air' contender for mark of the year when he soared above Matthew Scharenberg on the wing in the last quarter.