After falling to East Fremantle by 125 points in round six, the Eagles WAFL team arrived at Shark Park today with a point to prove.
And the revenge mission was deemed a success, with the side taking home a 15.9 (99) to 6.12 (48) point victory.
Mark Hutchings (26 disposals, five marks, nine tackles), Alex Witherden (25, four, three) and Xavier O’Neill (23, two, five) were amongst the best of the bunch, but it was a three-goal haul from Kieran Hug, Jarrod Gartlett and Zac Langdon which laid a security blanket over the scoreboard.
The match begun in a hotly contested and overly congested midfield, with many of West Coast’s younger players battling it out with the harder and more mature bodies of East Fremantle, but momentum began to swing in the Eagles’ direction early in the second term.
After coming into the quarter time break with level scores, the Eagles got to work managing multiple clearances and inside 50 entries through pacey midfielder Hutchings (six inside 50s), captain Hamish Brayshaw (six) and Jarrod Brander (four).
From there, conversion was the side’s only issue, with two behinds unable to prominently bolster the scoreboard, but Joey Deegan came to the rescue with a major midway through the quarter, which pumped up the Eagles’ lead to eight points.
East Fremantle then attacked the ball with ferocity and were able to notch up a few repeat inside 50 entries of their own, but these also resulted in two points.
The Sharks were then kept scoreless for the rest of the term, and the Eagles took over with Hutchings and Xavier O’Neill bagging one goal apiece.
In the third term Bailey Williams joined in the goal-fest with a one of his own, and after two behinds from East Fremantle, superboot Hug was able to snap three within five minutes, including one from the 50 metre arc.
The Sharks pushed back with two goals and three behinds late in the third quarter, but the Eagles kept coming, with final term goals from Langdon, Brayshaw, Gartlett and Hutchings handing West Coast a 51-point victory.
Jamaine Jones must also be commended for his impressive fourth quarter snap from 50 metres out, with nobody in the forward line to kick to, the goalsneak stood up and finished the job himself.
WEST COAST: 2.3 5.5 9.7 15.9 (99)
EAST FREMANTLE: 2.3 2.5 4.10 6.12 (48)
GOALS
West Coast: Gartlett, Hug, Langdon 3, Brayshaw, Deegan, Hutchings, O’Neill, Williams
East Fremantle: Bockman, Boekhorst, Burton, English, Monaghan, Teakle
BEST
West Coast: Hutchings, Hug, Witherden, O’Neill, Brander, Ainsworth
East Fremantle: Boekhorst, Baskerville , Davies, Bockman, English, Smith
