Essendon has stunned West Coast on their home turf, booting the first eight goals of the game before eventually running out as 28-point victors to keep their slim finals aspirations alive.
Jake Stringer kicked three first quarter goals, while Dyson Heppell carried on his rich vein of form with a classy 27-disposal performance to will his side to victory.
The Bombers now sit just one game outside the top-four, while the Eagles let their opportunity to jump one game clear on top of the ladder slip through the fingers.
West Coast were without Josh Kenendy, Jack Darling and Tom Barrass, but their problems tonight ran far deeper as they were taught a severe lesson in most facets of the game, particularly skill, ball movement, and intent.
Essendon completely dominated from the outset, putting on a clinic in close, led by Zach Merrett, Kyle Langford, and Heppell.
The first quarter was a complete and comprehensive destruction, as the Bombers won the ball in close and used blistering speed and precision - primarily through Adam Saad - to cut through the Eagles’ zone.
Their big players also feasted; twin All Australian keys Cale Hooker and Michael Hurley took 20 marks between them down back, Tom Bellchambers nullified his dangerous opposing rucks and exerted a large amount of influence himself, while Mitch Brown presented with aplomb, finishing with nine marks.
It was Brown who kicked the first goal, marking a wayward shot on the goal line, before Jake Stringer kicked his first barely a minute later.
Both goals were courtesy of some scorching ball movement off half-back, with first Saad and then Conor McKenna breaking the lines with ease.
Heppell led a midfield annihilation, and the Eagles were rarely even able to give their outgunned forwards an opportunity.
West Coast made shocking skill errors, while the Bombers looked like they hadn’t missed a target all year and were equally as proficient in front of goal.
Stringer and Bellchambers both converted set shots, repeatedly finding space forward, as they were fed beautifully by the trio of Merrett, Smith and Heppell.
Everything seemed to be going perfectly for the Bombers, as the ball deflected off an umpire straight to Orazio Fantasia, who found Stringer for his third goal, still with minutes to go in the first quarter.
Smith put a cherry on top of an outstanding first quarter, snapping a gem from the pocket with just seconds left, and they finished the quarter 37 points in front.
But Essendon’s raucous start was the only highlight of the match, as the game slowed significantly thereafter.
Smith picked up where he left off in the second quarter, adding his second goal to go with a stack of possessions, before Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti burst out of a forward 50 stoppage and running towards the boundary, snapped a possible goal of the year contender.
The Eagles possessed the ball much more, but their ball movement was stifled, through both lethargy on their part and pressure from their opponents.
After 11 minutes had elapsed in the second term, Nic Naitanui was collected high as he took the ball, and at last converted the Eagles’ first, ending a run of eight consecutive goals to the Bombers.
West Coast had most of the footy in their forward line for the rest of the quarter – and for most of the match - and despite peppering the goals, couldn’t convert major scores.
The third quarter was again very slow and sluggish, with Essendon evidently content with their lead.
They slowed the game right down, and made the Eagles kick long down the line, where Hooker and Hurley picked off spoils with ease.
Mark Baguley and Jamie Cripps were the only goalkickers of the quarter, as both sides missed very simple chances.
Most notabe of those was Scott Lycett, who was alone in the goalsquare and had only to get a tiny piece of his boot onto the ball as it meandered across the line, but his lumbering swing missed completely.
After McDonald Tipungwuti’s second quarter effort, it was goal for goal until the 18-minute mark of the last quarter.
Matt Guelfi opened the final term with a tumbling shot for goal from deep in the forward pocket bouncing through, yet as Mark LeCras gave Willie Rioli an easy goal, Smith - who went close to best on ground - curled his third goal through.
LeCras kicked the next for the Eagles, and at last the Eagles started to convert a few opportunities, via Luke Shuey and Cripps, but it was too little too late by a long way.
Over the course of nearly two quarters, the Eagles had brought the margin back from 49 to 22, but the score flattered the home side as they slumped to their third defeat of the season.
Fittingly Kyle Langford, who was super in the first half with 15 composed disposals, kicked a goal in the final minute to push the margin back to 28 points.
Even then West Coast had chalked up a total of 22 scoring shots to 20, but most of those shots were from long range or out wide, while when Essendon had ventured forward, they had always had targets loose in dangerous positions thanks to their blistering ball movement.
Essendon look now to be back in the finals race, with a potential eight-point game against North Melbourne next Sunday, while West Coast have dropped back to third and depending on the length of Kenendy and Darling’s absence, may struggle in upcoming matches against Adelaide, Greater Western Sydney and Collingwood.
WEST COAST 0.1 1.6 2.12 6.16 (52)
ESSENDON 6.2 8.4 9.7 12.8 (80)
GOALS
West Coast: Cripps 2, LeCras, Rioli, Naitanui, Shuey
Essendon: Stringer 3, Smith 3, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Baguley, Bellchambers, Guelfi, Brown, Langford
BEST
West Coast: Yeo, Schofield, Hurn, Gaff
Essendon: Heppell, Merrett, Smith, Hooker, Stringer, Bellchambers, Saad, Langford
INJURIES
West Coast: Nil
Essendon: Redman (ankle)
TALKING POINTS
1. ONE QUARTER TO RULE THEM ALL
The Eagles outscored the Bombers after quarter-time by nine points – and by 21 after the Bombers stopped attacking – but by then, the damage was done.
Above all, Essendon served up an absolutely electric display throughout the first 40 minutes, and then joined the Eagles in mediocrity for the remainder of the night.
Adam Saad showed exactly why they chased after him so hard, as he broke three tackles and took two bounces en route to setting up the first goal of the match.
He, Conor McKenna and Brendon Goddard had the ball zinging from end-to-end and they caught their opponents off-guard.
With such pace on the ball, Jeremy McGovern was always forced to defend Mitch Brown’s lead instead of zoning off to intercept, allowing mid-sized forwards Devon Smith and Jake Stringer – the other two off-season imports – to kick five goals during their game-winning streak.
The Bombers shut up shop for the rest of the night, particularly as Jackson Nelson went to work playing a tagging role on Saad, but while their opponents were sloppy, that sort of play will be able to challenge anyone if they can emulate it.
2. KEY OUTS
Media commentators have been in a frenzy pointing out the absence of Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy, which was perhaps fair enough following tonight.
At least one of the duo has lined up for the Eagles in every match they have played since round 6, 2009.
For a bit of context, that was seven days after another absentee tonight – David Zaharkis – produced the most famous moment in Anzac Day history.
Having two such powerful forwards for so long clearly has left the Eagles unprepared for adjusting to a new setup.
Fraser McInnes, Willie Rioli, Liam Ryan and Jake Waterman all failed to tally 10 disposals, while Mark LeCras limped over the line with 11.
Only Jamie Cripps, with 16 and two goals emerged with nay credibility.
Even more damning, given the prolificity of Essendon’s half-backs, was that McInnes, Waterman, Ryan and LeCras managed just three tackles between them.
The Eagles blooded Jarrod Brander last week, but he had just five disposals and was subsequently dropped.
They have nine days to come up with a solution – draftee Oscar Allen has performed solidly at WAFL level – or, more likely, pray for a return to health for one of their injured stars.
3. FREE KICK WEST COAST?
Four umpires has been by some labelled as a farce, and while there where plenty of reasons this game was difficult to watch, from any point of view, the main one was the over-umpiring and the inexorable free kick count after quarter-time.
The count finished on 33-17, significant for two reasons.
First of all, it’s just way too many - the average per game last year was 39, and still everyone thought it held up the flow of the game too much.
Secondly, the disparity was in favour of the team who were struggling with fundamentals as simple as kicks and handballs.
The “noise of affirmation” can for once, not be brought into question, as the Eagles’ fans were typically too gloomy to put any audible pressure on the umpires.
While some complacency certainly set in and the Bombers did on a few occasions abandon their discipline with regards to their tackling, West Coast supporters were scoffing at a few questionable umpiring decisions which went in their favour.
It’s well documented that West Coast typically receive more free kicks than the opposition, particularly in Perth, and it can be attributed their game style.
The Eagles hate getting tackled, and so move the ball on quickly, while Elliot Yeo, Jack Redden and Luke Shuey are terrific tacklers themselves, and rarely cough up silly free kicks like most inside midfielders do on occasion.
Their backs are good enough to attack the ball in the air and not hang onto their opponents thereby conceding free kicks, while Josh J. Kennedy, Jack Darling and Nic Naitanui worry defenders into hanging onto them, drawing frees for themselves.
A free kick count doesn’t always have to be even, and this doesn’t apply at all for tonight..
The midfield was lackadaisical, Darling and Kennedy were out, and, in their frustration, the Eagles looked to lash out and become slightly violent at times.
An explanation for the free kick count is completely beyond comprehension.
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