So close…but it’s a draw
West Coast, sitting seventh on the AFL ladder at round 19 2003, faced Geelong at Kardinia Park in round 20 knowing a win would cement a finals berth. They didn’t get it, but they got as close as was humanly possibly without doing so.
Having started hot favorites against a Cats side 13th on the ladder, the Eagles trailed at each change. From 16 points down at halftime they cut the deficit to three points at three-quarter time but Geelong weren’t about to lie down.
Geelong got the all-important first goal of the final term through Matthew McCarthy, a highly-rated utility in his 11th game and younger brother of ex-Collingwood and Port Adelaide player John McCarthy, who died when he fell from Nevada roof top in 2012 aged 22.
Phil Matera cut it back to three points before David Haynes put West Coast in front for the first time 10 minutes from the end.
But a 19-year-old Gary Ablett Jnr, still with hair, took a McCarthy handpass and goaled from 40m straight in front to stem the Eagles rally. It was Geelong by three with three and a half minutes to play. West Coast had the ball camped in their scoring half.
Chad Fletcher had three handballs in a play sequence but when it came time to kicking it he missed a straight-forward chance on his preferred left foot. Geelong by two.
Rowan Jones, receiving by hand after some exhilarating work from Chris Judd, had a much tougher snap on his non-preferred left. He missed too. Geelong by one.
With 72 seconds to play an undersized Daniel Kerr put his body on the line to spoil a certain saving mark in defence for Geelong big man Ben Graham. The ball spilled loose and Steve Johnson cleared from the last line of defence.
Jones pulled down a brilliant high mark and played on quickly by hand to Michael Braun. He bombed it long to the square and off hands it fell to Phil Matera. But his snap was smothered off the boot and Geelong cleared again through Tom Harley. Like Ablett, it was an older version of the now Sydney CEO with hair.
Suddenly, the whistle blew. Nobody knew why. The ball was taken all the way back to Jones on the opposite side of the ground. He’d played on in front of his mark. Fully 15 seconds was put back on the clock.
With 30 seconds to play Jones chipped short down the line into the pocket. Braun, running with the flight of the ball, leapt fearlessly and marked on his chest. Privately he would have been relieved that the Geelong defender running at him was the scrupulously fair Brenton Sanderson. Somebody else might have put him into the middle of next week.
Braun had a kick from 52m near the boundary line. A goal would win it for West Coast. He hit it sweetly but is sailed across the face of goal and crashed into the right goal post. Scores were level.
Harley marked the hurried kick-in near the centre circle and dished to Ablett but the siren beat them. It was a draw. Fletcher had 30 possessions, Phil Matera kicked four goals and Braun collected one Brownlow vote.
West Coast beat Melbourne the following week and made the finals despite a loss to Fremantle in round 22.
Make or break again
Twelve months later, at round 19 2004, West Coast were equal seventh on premiership points but 10th on the ladder. They faced Carlton at Subiaco in round 20 knowing that they may need to win their last three to play in September.
In round 20 they hosted a Carlton side out of contention and cruised to a 62-point win thanks to a brilliant three-vote performance from Chris Judd, a sterling effort from Dean Cox in the ruck, and 26 possessions from David Wirrpanda.
With two games to play they were still outside the eight, but a round 21 win over Fremantle, followed by a round 22 win over Melbourne, not only put the Eagles into the finals but it knocked out a Dockers side that at round 19 had been sixth.
A decisive derby difference
One of the sweetest statistics for Eagles fans over the years was the progressive western derby tally board after round 20, 2005. It read West Coast 17, Fremantle 5. Plus 12.
Never before and not since has the difference between the clubs been so big, but at the time it was a sweet bonus that came with a 48-point Eagles win in derby #22.
Sitting on top of the ladder going they went into the match against a Fremantle side in a seven-team dogfight over three finals positions and separated by a solitary win.
West Coast led all the way and despite easing the pressure early in the final quarter, allowing Fremantle to almost double their score, they won 19.14 (128) to 12.8 (80).
Daniel Kerr had 29 possessions, including 22 contested possessions, to pick up three Brownlow Medal votes. But for the first of what would be three derbies in a row the Glendinning Medal went to Chris Judd.
A double banger from Q
Twelve months apart on opposite sides of the country Quinten Lynch put together a double-barrel round 20 blitz in 2006-07. He kicked 15 goals to mastermind two strong West Coast wins and picked up six Brownlow Medal votes.
In 2006, as the Eagles crept towards a third premiership, he kicked a career-best eight goals in a 62-point win over Brisbane at the Gabba as Michael Braun (35 possessions) and David Wirrpanda (31 possessions) dominated the middle of the ground.
And in 2007, at home to Richmond at Subiaco, he kicked seven goals in a 31-point Eagles win. Daniel Kerr’s 31 possessions earned him two votes, and Adam Hunter’s 14 possessions and three goals was good enough for one vote.
Remember Tim?
Do you remember Tim Houlihan? He was man of the moment for the Eagles in round 20, 2009 and is the good news of story of this flashback.
Originally from Harrow in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, he was drafted by West Coast from the North Ballarat Rebels in the 2006 National Draft just 12 months after he had won the 1500m/3000m double at the 2005 Australian Junior Track & Field Championships.
Not surprisingly, he’d won the endurance beep test and the 3km time trial at the 2006 Draft Camp, which was enough to convince the Eagles recruiting team to take him with pick #43. He played eight games as a 19-year-old in 2008, picking up 20 possessions on debut, and seven more games in 2009.
In round 20, 2009, in his 13th game, he had 27 possessions in a 38-point win over North Melbourne at Subiaco. Only Adam Selwood, with 33 possessions, had more, while Matt Priddis also had 27. Callum Wilson, in his third game, kicked three goals to share goal-kicking honours for the home side with Ben McKinley and David Wirrpanda.
The umpires voted Priddis (3), Selwood (2) and Houlihan (1). And the 2010 AFL Guide said of Houlihan: “ … with his enormous running capacity, shapes as an exciting prospect on the wing”.
He missed the first nine games of 2010 with a foot injury, and despite some outstanding form in the WAFL and being named an emergency five times, he couldn’t break into the side. De-listed at season’s end, he was taken back as a 2011 rookie but never played at AFL level again.
He played with South Adelaide in the SANFL in 2012, hoping to earn another chance in the AFL, but retired suddenly before the start of the 2013 season aged 23.
Houlihan, knocked out in a sling tackle in the last game of 2012 after several concussions earlier in his career, had been diagnosed with a brain trauma injury. In consultation with specialists in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne he became the second ex-AFL player after Melbourne’s Daniel Bell to retire under these circumstances.
The good news is that seven years on Houlihan is doing fine. He’s living in Perth and, as his Linkedin profile says, he is a private wealth advisor with Shaw and Partners.
A 200-game spoon
From all reports David Rodan is a really nice fella. Now an AFL goal umpire, he was the first Fijian-born AFL player to reach 100 games and ended up with 185 games for Richmond, Port Adelaide and Melbourne from 2002-13, and was popular wherever he went.
But West Coast games record-holder Dean Cox could be excused for holding just a tiny grudge towards Rodan after he spoiled his 200th game. And not only did he spoil it, he handed the big ruckman a most unwanted milestone present. A dirty rotten wooden-spoon.
Cox, who had begun his career on the rookie list, became the 14th member of an Eagles 200 Club that now numbers 25 in round 20, 2010.
Set to play 13th-placed Port Adelaide at Football Park, West Coast sat at the bottom of the AFL ladder, two-games behind 14th-placed Brisbane and 15th-placed Richmond with three games to play.
It was always going to be a big ask to avoid the club’s first wooden-spoon, with games against ninth-placed North Melbourne and second-placed Geelong to close out the season, but it would have been nice to mark Cox’s double century with a win. Especially after they’d lost on the last kick of the day to Brisbane in round 19.
On a wet Saturday night in Adelaide the Eagles trailed at each change and by 17 points at three-quarter time. It was 4.10 to 7.9. And worse when Jay Schulz added the Power’s eighth major five minutes into the final stanza.
Andrew Strijk pulled one back before Josh Kennedy did likewise. Then Matt Rosa. And at the 25-minute mark, five minutes from the final siren, Luke Shuey levelled the scores.
It was a case of get it and bang it forward. Both sides did exactly that and for four and a half minutes there was no score.
Then Port 99-gamer Troy Chaplin kicked deep inside 50. It came off hands and spilled into the pocket. Ashley Smith, in his sixth game for West Coast, went off the ground to clear the area.
Just as Scott Selwood was about to do likewise Port’s Tom Logan dived on the ball, gathered and fired out a handpass to Rodan. In a flash he snapped across his body from 20m. It missed, but a point was enough. Port won 8.13 (61) to 8.12 (60).
Matt Rosa topped the West Coast possession count with 26, Strijk kicked three goals in his eighth game and Andrew Embley earned one Brownlow Medal vote. Cox had 23 possessions, including a team-high 13 contested possessions, an equal team-high two contested marks, and a game-high 29 hit-outs.
It was a result that condemned the Eagles to the 2010 wooden spoon. And just as Peter Matera deserved better in his 250th game Cox had every right to be disappointed. Rodan had spoiled the party.
Six for Nicoski
Mark Nicoski only hit the scoreboard 17 times in his first 87 games from 2004-10, kicking one goal 14 times and two goals three times.
He did kick a goal in the 2005 grand final loss to Sydney, when he was among the better West Coast players running off half back, but if you were looking at the time to back the ex-rookie from Subiaco to kick six goals in a game it would have been ‘write your own ticket’.
His 2010 season, in which he’d been used as a defensive forward, was cut short by major shoulder surgery at round 12, and he spent the rest of the year as a mentor to the club’s young small forwards.
So highly was he regarded that he received the 2010 Chris Mainwaring Medal as Best Clubman, but it wasn’t exactly an overwhelming endorsement for his goal-kicking prowess.
Yet now, going on 10 years later, Nicoski is one of just 24 players in Eagles history to have kicked six or more goals in a game.
His big goal square moment came in his 105th game in round 20, 2011 when West Coast played Richmond at Subiaco. He kicked 6.2 in a 57-point win as Jack Darling and Brad Ebert kicked four and Daniel Kerr (34 possessions) picked up three Brownlow Medal votes.
It was a highlight of a season in which Nicoski kicked 41 goals from 25 games, failing to hit the scoreboard only eight times and finishing third on the Eagles goal-kicking list behind only Josh Kennedy (59) and Mark LeCras (47).
It was an effort which saw the 27-year-old described by assistant-coach Peter Sumich as the most improved player on the West Coast list.
Little did anyone know that at 27 the end of his career was just around the corner. He played his 112th game in the 2011 preliminary final and never played at AFL level again after tearing a hamstring tendon in the 2012 NAB Cup grand final.
Still, he got his six goals. Can you name the other 23 Eagles players to do so?
Peter Sumich, with 30 games or six or more goals, and Josh Kennedy, with 21 after his seven-goal bag last weekend, are runaway leaders at the top of the list. And Scott Cummings (8), Ross Glendinning (6), Phil Matera (6), Mark LeCras (4), Brett Heady (4), Quentin Lynch (3), Jack Darling (2), Troy Wilson (2) and Chris Lewis (2) are the other multiples.
The other 13? Ashley McIntosh, Ben McKinley, Stevan Jackson, Laurie Keene, Chris Waterman, Daniel Metropolis, Troy Ugle, Phil Scott, Don Holmes, Fraser Gehrig, Peter Matera, Jason Ball and … Mark Nicoski.
The votes to a veteran
Dean Cox was nine days beyond his 31st birthday when West Coast played Geelong at Subiaco in round 20, 2012. It was his fifth against sixth in his 246th game. He had 23 possessions (13 contested), 45 hit-outs, five clearances and three contested marks. And he earned three Brownlow Medal votes in a five-point Eagles win.
It was a phenomenal performance from a veteran player in a phenomenal game in which West Coast won by five points after trailing at every change.
It was a crazy game. First the Eagles looked gone, then they looked safe, and eventually they had to survive a late scare to take the points.
Andrew Gaff goaled to level the scores just before three-quarter time but a Taylor Hunt behind put the Cats back in front. A Quinten Lynch goal 57 seconds into the final term swung things around again. And again when Chris Masten answered a goal for Jonathan Simpkin goal for Geelong.
Gaff made it 11 via and 18 via Lynch with still 16 minutes to play. And after Jimmy Bartel pulled one back for Geelong Matt Priddis made it 18 points again. Still 13 minutes to play, but the Eagles didn’t score again.
A goal for Geelong from Josh Walker seven minutes from the final siren gave Geelong a sniff, and when Steve Johnson made the difference just five points it was game on. Still a minute to play but the Eagles shut it down, with Cox playing a critical role in the closing stages.
Yet, as good as Cox was, it wasn’t the three-vote game that ranks highest among West Coast players for age or experience. Not even close. And not even Cox’s best.
At the time the oldest player to have polled three votes was Rob Wiley. That was all the way back in round 6, 1987 against North Melbourne at Subiaco. He was 32 years 40 days.
The most experienced was Glen Jakovich. He polled three votes in his 269th game in round 21, 2003, when the Eagles beat Melbourne at Subiaco. He was 30 years 153 days.
Cox would go on to match the Jakovich mark in round 19 2013 when he collected three votes in his 269th game against Gold Coast at Subiaco. But he was only 32 years 2 days – still younger than Wiley.
Both records would stand until round 13, 2017 when Sam Mitchell was judged best afield in a 13-point Subiaco win over Geelong. He was 34 years 246 playing his 318th AFL game.
Overall, 16 West Coast players have polled three Brownlow votes beyond the age of 30 a total of 34 times. Matt Priddis leads the way with seven, with four in six weeks as a 30-year-old in 2015 and three as a 31-year-old in 2016.
Cox (5) is next best from Ross Glendinning (3), Dean Kemp (3), Chris Mainwaring (2), David Hart (2), Peter Matera (2), Shannon Hurn (2), Wiley (1), Dwayne Lamb (1), Jakovich (1), Andrew Embley (1), Michael Braun (1), Darren Glass (1), Josh Kennedy (1) and Mitchell (1).
A day out for Priddis
West Coast were facing an uphill battle to sneak into the finals going into round 20, 2014. They were 11th on the ladder two wins outside the eight. But they were determined to at least have a say on what happened.
And so they did, beginning with Collingwood at Subiaco. The Magpies were clinging to eighth spot as they travelled west but left with a 60-point hiding that saw them slip to ninth. They would eventually finish 11th.
Matt Priddis was the star. He amassed 42 possessions for three Brownlow Medal votes as the Eagles led all the way to win 19.12 (126) to 10.6 (66). It was the second of his three 40+ games and now sits equal seventh on the club’s all-time list.
Steve Malaxos’ 48 possessions in 1987 remains the club record, followed by Chris Mainwaring’s 45 in 1990 and Priddis’ 45 in 2008. Priddis, Matt Rosa and Chris Masten each had games of 43 possessions, while Priddis’ 42 was matched by Andrew Gaff.
In the big win over Collinwood West Coast amassed 441 team possessions. To put that in perspective, against Geelong on Sunday they had 299. Even with the reduced game time this year it’s a massive difference.
Gaff (34), Masten (32) and Luke Shuey (31) joined Priddis at the high-possession party, while Sam Butler (32) and Mark Hutchings (31) did likewise with career-best hauls. Jack Darling and Scott Lycett kicked four goals.
Sweeter than Sweet
Will Schofield qualified for Eagles life membership with his 150th game in round 20, 2016. And it came with a little extra sweetener. It was a 46-point win over Fremantle at Subiaco in derby #44.
The Eagles were six points down at quarter time but cruised home 17.8 (110) to 9.10 (64) thanks to a seven-goal haul from best afield Josh Kennedy, 33 possessions and two votes from Matt Priddis.
It had been a long journey for Schofield, a teammate of Port Adelaide’s Travis Boak at the Geelong Falcons in the 2006 TAC Cup, was drafted by the Eagles with pick #50 in a 2006 National Draft in which the club also picked up Mitch Brown (#16), Eric Mackenzie (#29), Tim Houlihan (#43) and James Thomson (#80).
He played only 15 games in his first three seasons before becoming a cornerstone of the Eagles defensive group in 2010 and playing in the 2015 grand final loss to Hawthorn.
As he closes in on 200 games during the Covid-19 season of 2020, stuck on 192 games, the 31-year-old will reflect on another season in which he played only 12 games – and was positively overjoyed.
The 12th game was the 2018 grand final win over Collingwood, when he played 100% game time, mainly on Jordan DeGoey, to make amends for the 2015 grand final loss to Hawthorn.
It added an extra line to his CV … premiership-winning life member.
Derby #48
Brad Sheppard enjoyed a similar thrill two years later when he earned Eagles life membership club in a win in derby #48 in round 20, 2018.
Pick #7 overall in the 2009 National Draft from East Fremantle, Sheppard played his 150th game as West Coast, led by 26 possessions, two goals and three Brownlow Medal votes and a Glendinning/Allan Medal, thumped Fremantle 21.16 (142) to 13.6 (84). Andrew Gaff and Jack Redden each had 33 possessions and Jack Darling and Jamie Cripps kicked four goals.
But there was no extra line for the Sheppard CV. Only a heart-breaking hamstring injury in week one of the finals that cost him a place in the 2018 premiership win.
Four for Flyin’ Ryan
It seems a long time ago now amid the chaos of Covid-19 but Liam Ryan will remember round 20 last year very well. It was his 34th game against Carlton at Docklands and he kicked a career-high four goals in a 24-point Eagles win. Luke Shuey was best afield as Jackson Nelson played his 50th AFL game and ex-Brisbane draftee Elliot Yeo, now a 132-game Eagle, his 150th AFL game.
