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Writer's pictureChris Nice

Eagles roll Demons to secure Grand Final spot


The Eagles book a spot in September. Photo: Paul Kane/Getty Images AsiaPac

A superb West Coast outfit has annihilated a disappointing Melbourne by 66 points at Optus Stadium, confirming its seventh Grand Final appearance and the first against Collingwood.


The Eagles were far superior to that of their opposition for the entirety of proceedings, with Adam Simpson's men keeping Melbourne goalless for the opening half, before the Dees kicked 7.7 (49) to close out the match.


Melbourne were outclassed in every facet of the game, with their uncharacteristic turnovers, inability to penetrate the scoreboard and sloppy ball use allowing West Coast to rule the Demons out of contention following a whopping 10.9 (69) first half.


Jack Redden was among the best for the Eagles, finishing his afternoon with 31 disposals, while the combined efforts of Nathan Vardy and Scott Lycett was enough to negate the influence of Max Gawn.


The big ruckman wasn't the only Demon to have a quiet afternoon amid the chaos, with Nathan Jones (17 disposals) and Tom McDonald (goalless) among several Melbourne stars to have little influence on the contest.


Angus Brayshaw was the best for the Dees in their forgettable preliminary final, amassing 29 disposals and seven inside 50s.


Josh Kennedy. Photo: Paul Kane/Getty Images AsiaPac

Josh Kennedy meanwhile starred up forward for West Coast with four first half majors, while fellow goalkickers Jack Darling, Mark LeCras and Jamie Cripps were just as damaging with three goals apiece.


The four were pivotal to the Eagles' crushing start, with an unanswered four-goal term rattling their opposition, whose quarter was plagued by poor ball use and errant handballs.


West Coast's inaccuracy in front of goal - 4.8 (32) - served as the only blemish on an otherwise flawless quarter, with all four majors sourced from Melbourne turnovers, three of which occurred in the centre of the ground.


A nervous start from the Demons was almost to be expected given the gravity of the situation, yet the visitors failed to rectify their jittery opening to the match, allowing the Eagles to swoop in to great effect.


Kennedy got the ball rolling just five minutes into the quarter after intercepting a Melbourne handball in defence, before Jamie Cripps followed up minutes later to establish a handy buffer for the Eagles.


West Coast's blend of fluidity and pressure stood marked throughout the entire term, with their ability to pounce upon turnovers and willingness to put their bodies on the line serving as a defining feature of the term.


Their selfless acts nevertheless saw Jeremy McGovern taken from the field with hip concerns after the All-Australian heroically attempted to nullify a groundball, yet it did little to deter West Coast's ferocity or his tack on the ball.


As the Eagles' stars in Luke Shuey, Redden and Kennedy dominated the term, Melbourne had no such heroes, with Jones, Gawn and Jack Viney registering a combined six touches for the term.


The Demons nonetheless continued to dodge bullets left, right and centre, with a series of narrow misses and opportune free kicks warding off irreversible damage to their Grand Final aspirations.


But the Eagles' prolific style of play continued to shine through, with the capitalisation upon Melbourne's costly turnovers resulting in goals to Darling and Cripps as the margin ballooned out to 29 points at quarter-time.


West Coast's sheer domination only carried into the second term, with Adam Simpson's men all but ending Melbourne's hopes of a Grand Final berth thanks to a six-goal unanswered term.


Whatever superb showings the Eagles' exerted during the quarter were matched by deplorable ones from the Demons, with the visitors down in inside 50s (33-20), tackles (31-19) and marks inside 50 (10-0) as their ball use did little to improve.


With the hallmarks of Melbourne's game - strong contested ball, quick scoring and tackling pressure - noticeably absent, the damage only worsened for the Dees at the onset of the quarter, with Kennedy firing through his second and then third within the space of two minutes.


Christian Petracca is wrapped up. Photo: Photo: Paul Kane/Getty Images AsiaPac

Despite a foot complaint to Luke Shuey dampening the explosive beginning to the quarter, the star midfielder returned midway through the term to play a crucial role in obliterating the Demons.


The Eagles' flying start showed no sign of slowing down, with a trademark leap and goal from Liam Ryan inflicting even more pain upon the Demons.


It would only intensify after an unorthodox major to Mark LeCras - kicked off the back of his heel on the goal line - brought the margin to 54 points with 13 minutes left to play, before Kennedy's fourth major solidified a 10-goal difference between the two sides.


Even a 50m penalty to Charlie Spargo failed to produce a much-needed major, with Darling responding up the other end of the ground to end the half with a 63-point in favour of the Eagles.


While goals at last came for the Demons during the third term, the game was well and truly over as the Eagles casually piled on a further five goals.


With the visitors fighting tooth and nail to secure their majors, West Coast conversely seemed to expend very little effort in slotting theirs, with their class a cut above that of their deflated opposition.


After a quiet opening half, Clayton Oliver at last showed some flair with ball in hand, with the young Demon putting through Melbourne's first goal of the match after a torturous first half.

Yet the Eagles retaliated immediately, with a LeCras dribbler restoring the half-time advantage.


As both sides exchanged majors throughout the term through Jake Melksham, Cripps and Mitch Hannan, in the first 10 minutes of the quarter, the see-sawing margin nevertheless saw the Eagles firmly in control.


Jack Darling secures his third. Photo: Photo: Paul Kane/Getty Images AsiaPac

Despite Melksham kicking true to register Melbourne's first consecutive major for the afternoon, some explosive run from Ryan through the centre of the ground served as another reminder of the Eagles' class, with Daniel Venables capping off the sterling passage of play with a goal.


With LeCras and Darling each putting through their own classy majors - the latter's the product of an insane bounce from a quickfire snap - one final major from Joel Smith rounded out the quarter.


But at that point, the Eagles already had their sights set on next week, with the 61-point deficit at the final change more than enough.


As self-preservation entered the minds of the home side during the final quarter, Melbourne capitalised with two goals, yet much like the previous term, the effort required to secure them seemed to be of monumental proportions.


With the air all but taken out of the game, James Harmes and Sam Weideman added their names to the scoreboard.


Yet three final majors to Mark Hutchings, Willie Rioli and Redden undid the Demons' last-gasp efforts, with the latter's closing major solidifying the final margin of 66 points.


West Coast will travel to the MCG next Saturday to take on Collingwood in what is set to be a captivating Grand Final, with the clash marking the first time the two sides will have met in that one day in September.


WEST COAST 4.8 10.9 15.10 18.13 (121) MELBOURNE 0.3 0.6 5.9 7.13 (55)


GOALS

West Coast: Kennedy 4, Darling 3, Cripps 3, LeCras 3, Redden, Ryan, Hutchings, Venables, Rioli Melbourne: Melksham 2, Weideman, Harmes, Oliver, Hannan, Smith


BEST West Coast: Redden, Kennedy, Darling, Hurn, Lycett, Yeo, Ryan Melbourne: Brayshaw, Oliver, Harmes, Neal-Bullen, Viney


INJURIES

West Coast: Nil Melbourne: Nil

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