An undermanned West Coast has made it seven consecutive wins after overcoming a depleted Greater Western Sydney by 25 points in front of a sparse Spotless Stadium.
Although the margin remained tight for most of the game, the Eagles remained in control of majority of proceedings, despite the high-profile absences of Luke Shuey, Nic Naitanui and Jeremy McGovern, the latter of whom was a late withdrawal.
The Giants too had their own notable omissions, but may have their stocks further exhausted with Phil Davis and Matt de Boer more than likely missing next week through injury.
West Coast's midfield might of Andrew Gaff (31 disposals), Jack Redden (28, 13 clearances) and Elliot Yeo (27) proved to be far to strong for the Giants, despite 200-gamer Callan Ward (disposals) fought tooth and nail in an attempt to will his side to victory.
Jack Darling provided the firepower up forward for the Eagles with four first half goals, while Shannon Hurn was again at his reliable best down in defence.
From the onset, the Eagles were well on top early, with Darling continuing his influential presence from last week after being rewarded an easy goal following a Heath Shaw block in the goal square.
Far more fluent around the ball, the Eagles stood marked against their jittery opposition in the initial stages of the term, pressing the ball into their attacking half.
With the wind to their backs, West Coast pummelled the Giants up forward, yet were only able to add one other major to their total through Jake Waterman, whose goal was once again the product of a nervy GWS defence.
Despite repeated inside 50 entries, the swirling wind proved to be troublesome for the visitors as they piled on six behinds to their previously kicked two goals.
The blustery conditions proved to be difficult for the Giants too, with the home side unable to progress the ball from their half-back line for a significant portion of play.
A flurry of behinds from GWS frustratingly kept them out of the contest, but after breaking free from their defence, the Giants began to ramp up their intensity to great effect.
Desperate for a response, Callan Ward in his 200th game broke the game open, bursting from through the centre of the ground in order to gift Jeremy Cameron the Giants' first with three minutes remaining on the clock.
The Giants made it back-to-back through Ryan Griffen only moments later - which was brought about through finding some much-needed space - leaving the margin at three points at quarter-time and most importantly, the game on even terms.
With the wind now on their side, the Giants made good use of the conditions with Zac Langdon putting the Giants in front for the first time of the match after three Eagles defenders spoiled each other in the previous marking contest.
The milestone man in Ward similarly continued his sublime style of play, slotting his second from the pocket after a deserving, albeit overacted, free kick.
Searching for an answer to the Giants' aggression, Darling proved to be the only man capable of steering the Eagles back into control, after converting his second of the day against the howling wind.
The Coleman contender added his third and fourth not long after outmuscling his opponents up forward, and with a Liam Duggan intercept goal to continue their fiery passage of the play, the Giants slumped to rock bottom.
Losing momentum at an alarming rate, the home side faltered as the Eagles continued to soar, with the latter booting 5.1 from their 14 entries, opposed to the Giants' 3.4 from 16 entries.
As GWS' pressure began to dip in the West Coast ascendancy, their defence reverted to their stagnant state and had subsequent difficulty moving the ball up the ground.
With their ball movement stifled and suffering as a result, so did the Giants' execution by foot, which plummeted to 45 per cent efficiency; statistics eerily similar to the subpar standards of last week.
Getting out of their rut in the final minute of the term, a Daniel Lloyd goal courtesy of a rare precise kick for the day from Griffen cut the margin back to 11 points at half-time.
Even with Tim Taranto stamping his presence on the game with the opening goal of the third term to put the margin back to single figures, the occasion was still soured with Matt de Boer forced out of the game with a hamstring complaint.
With Willie Rioli leaping onto the scene with a stunning mark and goal soon after, a Cameron put through his second in immediate retaliation, it did little to faze the Eagles who commanded the opening half of the game.
As Jamie Cripps and Jack Redden dominated the centre of the ground - with the latter ending the term with nine clearances - the Giants failed to find any spark following a Lloyd major.
One of their players who could have provided the much-needed spark, Lachie Whitfield, was temporarily sidelined after injuring his shin in a marking contest, further stagnating the GWS offensive.
The injury woes only worsened for the Giants, with co-captain Phil Davis receiving an accidental elbow to the head in a pack mark with four minutes left in the term.
Unconscious before he hit the ground, Davis managed to eventually hobble off the field with help from the club medicos.
Nevertheless, the Giants were down to just one fit man on the bench for the remainder of the quarter.
Although generally on top of the play for most of the quarter, West Coast were unable to truly bury their depleted opposition, scoring just the one extra goal from Josh Kennedy before closing off the last 10 minutes with no extra score.
With a 13-point deficit at three-quarter time, the Giants needed to dig deep to wrestle their way back into contention.
As Cripps kicked his fifth behind for the day, both teams were locked in a stalemate with neither able to properly assert themselves and break away.
It would be 15 minutes before Cripps kicked the first of the term, finally adding a major to go alongside his five behinds for the match.
Cripps' kick seemed to silence any potential fight from the Giants, as the weary home side struggled to muster any competitiveness and string together consistent football.
Although still searching for a spark, GWS had no response as they petered out of the contest - their two rotations down finally beginning to take its toll.
With time ticking away, a sealer from Kennedy and a final poster from Darling pushed the margin to a game-high 25 points, enabling the Eagles to jump to top position on the ladder, albeit temporarily.
West Coast will have their sights set on making it eight straight as they welcome back Naitanui against Richmond in Perth, while Greater Western Sydney will face off against an audacious North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 2.3 5.8 8.10 8.13 (61)
WEST COAST 2.6 7.7 10.11 12.14 (86)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Cameron 2, Ward, Griffen, Lloyd, Reid, Langdon, Taranto
West Coast: Darling 4, Waterman 3, Kennedy, Duggan, Cripps, Rioli
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Ward, Coniglio, Taranto, Whitfield, Lobb
West Coast: Gaff, Redden, Darling, Yeo, Waterman, Hurn, Barrass
INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: de Boer (hamstring), Whitfield (shin), Davis (concussion)
West Coast: Nil
TALKING POINTS
1. WEST COAST KEEP ON FLYING HIGH
A team almost forgotten about prior to the season, many would have dismissed the Eagles as a top-two team, let alone a top-eight contender.
But nevertheless, West Coast have proved they are the real deal, with their win against the Giants making it their seventh consecutive victory of the season.
With the potential to remain on top of the ladder following this week, the Eagles have flown under the radar this season despite their success and quality players.
With Shannon Hurn the general down back, the likes of Andrew Gaff and Elliot Yeo bursting through the centre and Jack Darling firing up forward, it's remarkable how the Eagles haven't been talked about a lot more this season.
Even with Luke Shuey and Nic Naitanui out of the side, West Coast are a formidable force who show no signs of relenting.
The Tigers may have a challenge come next week.
2. DARLING, OH DARLING
The potent forward line of the Eagles has been one which has attracted little attention, despite
Kicking 10 goals in his past three games, Jack Darling looks poised for another spectacular year following his groundbreaking four-goal haul against the Giants.
A strong mark coupled with his dangerous leads, Darling put the crowd in awe at his prowess, while the Giants struggled to find a way to shut him down.
Arguably the most in-form forward of the competition and one of the most damaging - with Ben Brown his only true rival - the West Coast lynchpin doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon.
A big bag next week, lock it in.
3. GIANT INJURY CONCERNS
Injuries continue to haunt the Giants, who look set to be without two of their key players in next week's clash against North Melbourne.
A heavy head knock to Phil Davis undoubtedly will see the co-captain miss next week, while Matt de Boer looks set for a stint on the sidelines after injuring his hamstring just before half-time.
With Lachie Whitfield also limping around the field with a sore shin, the Giants' list looks to become further depleted, as the lack of depth within the side becomes increasingly prevalent.
4. EAGLES ROCK THE MIDFIELD
Yeo, Gaff, Redden.
They're not necessarily names which come up first when discussing elite midfielders of the competition, yet their influence and stats tell otherwise.
The ever-reliable Andrew Gaff pulled together his fifth consecutive 30+ disposal game, with a stunning performance against the hapless GWS midfield laying the groundwork for his team's success.
Jack Redden was equally damaging through the centre of the ground with 13 clearances to go alongside his 28 touches, while Elliot Yeo was yet again impressive with 27 disposals.
Together, the underrated triumvirate swiftly dismantled the entire structure of the Giants and ultimately played a fundamental role in securing their seventh win of the season.
Throw Shuey and Naitanui into the mix when they return from injury and suspension respectively, and the Eagles' centre will be close to unstoppable.
Comentarios