The West Coast Eagles, a boisterous home crowd at their backs, surged to an impressive 25-point win against the Gold Coast Suns at Optus Stadium today.

The Eagles scored a pulsating 12.10 (83) to 8.10 (58) victory after being forced to come from a point behind at the last change.

Urged on by more than 38,000 vocal fans – the biggest crowd at the stadium for 18 months – the  Eagles found another gear in the last quarter to put a “W” in the box alongside round one of the 2021 season.

Despite the oppressive heat, the Eagles were brave and worked through the draining conditions to out-last their rivals.

Key forwards Oscar Alen (four goals), Josh Kennedy (two) and Jack Darling (two) were a ubiquitous force throughout and their influence was decisive when they kicked five goals to one in the final quarter.

In the end it was a satisfying and hard-earned victory against one of the competition’s emerging young teams.

Allen, Kennedy and ruckman Nathan Vardy kicked goals in the early part of the final quarter to break the game open and put the Eagles in charge.

When the hosts kicked the first three goals in the opening four minutes it seemed they were on a mission to emphatically atone for a humiliating loss 12 months ago at the Suns home ground of Metricon Stadium.

The combination of Nic Naitanu and Tim Kelly out of the middle was devastating and with the ball coming into the attacking arc at such speed the Suns defence had all sorts of issues with Allen, Darling and Kennedy.

Allen kicked two of those three goals on a day when he produced one of the most commanding displays of his burgeoning career.

If it continued in this manner it was going to be brilliant start to the new season. But the young Suns were having none of it.

Even without young gun Matt Rowell, who appeared to suffer a serious knee injury in the opening term, the Suns slowly but methodically worked their way back in the contest.

With experienced players David Swallow and Touk Miller setting a wonderful example others followed and by three-quarter time the Suns enjoyed a one point advantage.

Had it not been for the efforts of Dom Sheed through the middle, veteran Shannon Hurn, Tom Cole and Tom Barrass down back the Eagles might well have been out of the contest.

Sheed, the loping, indefatigable left-footer, accumulated 34 possessions and with Hurn was outstanding throughout.

Kelly and Liam Duggan also won their share of the ball while Andrew Gaff worked his way into the game.

Kelly was solid throughout, but was particularly damaging in the second half, his crumbing at full tilt a feature of a quality performance that saw him finish with 28 possessions.

While the team’s big names imposed themselves when it mattered, some who are looking to establish themselves were also prominent with the game on the line.

Zac Langdon and Jack Petruccelle are known for their running capacity and when others were spent, they continued to exert themselves and had some important moments. 

Details
West Coast Eagles            3.3          5.4          7.7          12.11     83
Gold Coast Suns                2.4          4.5          7.8          8.10        58

Goals:
West Coast Eagles: Allen 4; Kennedy, Darling 2; Cripps, Vardy, Ryan, Petruccelle.
Goals Coast Suns: King  3; Miller, Sexton, Swallow, Holman, Weller.

Best:
West Coast Eagles: Sheed, Allen, Hurn, Barrass, Cole, Kelly.
Gold Coast Suns: Swallow, Miller, Witts, Lokosius, Ballard, Anderson.

Injuries: West Coast Eagles (nil). Gold Coast Suns: Rowell (knee)

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