For the second time in successive weeks, West Coast faced a club that had replaced its coach mid-week and there had been significant improvements post that decision.
This time they travelled to Melbourne to confront Carlton at Marvel Stadium, with former Eagles assistant coach David Teague in charge of the Blues.
Just as North Melbourne had been one of the big improvers after the appointment of Rhyce Shaw in a caretaker capacity, so too had Carlton made significant progress under Teague, again, from the outside, appearing to enjoy greater freedom under their interim coach.
Clearly, Teague would be searching for a different result to that endured by Shaw, with the Roos losing to the Eagles, but would relish the outcome of a senior contract which his counterpart had received despite a defeat in Perth.
Unfortunately for Teague, the match result was the same, but the personal outcome was not.
The Eagles imposed themselves on this contest early and should have won by a larger margin, such was their control of the game. A four-goal victory did not reflect the balance of play, particularly as the Blues kicked three late goals.
In his 150th AFL match, West Coast Eagles midfield bull Elliot Yeo relished the challenge of going head-to-head with his Carlton equivalent Patrick Cripps.
They were together at the toss of the coin and, while they did not spend 100 per cent of the game in each other’s company, it was an enthralling battle of two of the competition’s toughest gladiators. Yeo had the better of the clash, particularly after quarter time.
In concert with Luke Shuey and Andrew Gaff, he stepped up his influence in the second term when the Blues were threatening to produce an upset.
At the 10-minute mark of that quarter, Carlton led by nine points, before Shuey, Gaff and Yeo decided to take charge.
They turned that deficit into a 20-point half time lead and they were never again seriously threatened.
Yeo had 25 possessions, 16 of them contested, while Cripps also accumulated 14 contested touches from his 24 disposals.
Yeo generated four centre clearances and took six marks in a strong performance that went a long way towards claiming an important victory.
The midfield effort ensured a steady flow of opportunity and the Eagles small forwards enjoyed the supply, especially “Flying” Liam Ryan who kicked four goals and also put another entry in for the mark of the year.
He flew for a high ball, running with the flight of the ball into unknown danger, and pulled in a classic.
The other Eagles small forwards also had a decisive impact on the scoreboard. They kicked seven goals between them, with Ryan posting four goals, while Willie Rioli, Jack Petruccelle and Jarrod Cameron kicked one each.
But more than the obvious barometer of their influence, they also had 51 pressure acts between them, Cameron leading the way with 16 and Rioli racking up 14.
Round 20, 2019
Marvel Stadium
Carlton 4.1 6.3 8.6 11.9 75
West Coast Eagles 2.5 9.5 14.7 15.9 99
Goals
Carlton: Newman 4; Gibbons 3; Murphy, Walsh, McKay, Lang
West Coast Eagles: Ryan 4; Darling, Shuey, Waterman 2; Rioli, Cameron, Allen, Petruccelle, Kennedy
