West Coast has defeated Port Adelaide by 41 points at Optus Stadium, after a second half scare, during which Port Adelaide sliced West Coast’s lead of 55 points midway through the third quarter to 26 points.
The match was keenly anticipated following last year’s epic elimination final, which ended in a goal after the siren in extra time to Luke Shuey.
West Coast’s day got off to a horrendous start, with Shuey injuring his hamstring in the opening minutes - further weakening a midfield already missing Dom Sheed - as the star midfielder went off with less than three minutes played and didn’t return.
Mark LeCras opened the scoring with a brilliant drop punt from deep in the pocket, following an impressive smother, but Port Adelaide’s response came swiftly as Jared Polec snapped a goal almost immediately afterwards.
Port skipper Travis Boak was everywhere, and combined with Robbie Gray and Ollie Wines to rack up possessions at will throughout the early part of the match.
Both sides had opportunities taking the ball forward, but with a loose man in each defence, the kicking skills weren’t as precise as they needed to be to find targets.
Jamie Cripps won a free kick directly in front and converted, before Josh Kennedy finished off an aggressive fast break through the centre corridor to give the Eagles a 12-point lead.
After their less than ideal start, it got better and better for the Eagles, who finished the quarter as Jack Darling stripped Daniel Houston of the ball and ran inside 50 to nail a goal.
In the second quarter, the Eagles’ much-vaunted defensive set-up proved to be the difference between the two teams.
The Eagles controlled the clearances all quarter, and by half-time led the stat 26-15, but the Power were once again set up with a loose man in defence, so these clearances often amounted to little.
Once they did win the ball, however, their ball movement was completely ineffective.
Jeremy McGovern was faultless across half-back, while Brad Sheppard, youngster Tom Cole, and Elliot Yeo – while the latter wasn’t in the midfield – helped to completely cut Port Adelaide out of their forward 50.
Kennedy and Darling continued to be focal points up forward for the Eagles, and each scored their second goal in the first half of the quarter.
Despite being without two of their prime midfielders, the Eagles’ midfield was served brilliantly by Andrew Gaff and Jack Redden, who both went into half-time with 20 disposals.
While the aerial dominance of Kennedy and Darling was pronounced, the Eagles kicked away when a series of younger forwards snared goals.
Jack Petrucelle scored his first AFL goal, while Willie Rioli and Jake Waterman also got involved.
On one of the few occasions Port Adelaide managed to get the ball inside fifty with any conviction, Aidyn Johnson competed brilliantly against two Eagles and won a free kick, kicking Port Adelaide’s only goal in a wretched quarter.
Port Adelaide were well-served by their stars, but had far too many passengers, and were looking well down in contested ball, skill, and system.
The second half began in similar fashion, with Kennedy slotting his third and fourth in quick succession, before Rioli and Redden also snared majors in the first half of the quarter as things started to look dire for Port Adelaide
Robbie Gray’s tireless work rate at last seemed to rub off on his teammates, and out of nowhere a comeback materialised.
Charlie Dixon stamped his authority up forward with some strong marking, as a resurgent Power outfit kicked five goals in a row either side of three-quarter time.
Sam Gray, following a quiet first half, got on the scoreboard to get Port's resurgence underway, while Riley Bonner kicked a sensational goal from outside 50 and Jack Watts showed class from a long-range set shot.
Had Charlie Dixon converted better – he finished with 1.3 from six shots – Port Adelaide may have made something of their comeback, but a shot to bring the margin back to twenty points went amiss.
From then on, the Eagles steadied.
Mark Hutchings kept a cool head to extend the margin back over five goals, before Petrucelle showed off his abundant speed to kick his second goal.
Darling, who will in all likelihood receive Brownlow votes for his six contested marks and excellent defensive pressure, iced the game with a pack mark and goal.
West Coast's winning streak is now sitting at six games, but they will face a rebounding Greater Western Sydney side away next week, while Port Adelaide will be keen to bounce back from their largely disappointing showing in the Showdown against Adelaide.
WEST COAST 4.1 9.3 13.4 16.6 (102) PORT ADELAIDE 2.1 3.2 8.2 9.6 (60)
BEST
West Coast Eagles Darling, Redden, Gaff, Kennedy, Yeo, Hutchings
Port Adelaide: R Gray, Boak, Wines, Houston, Dixon
GOALS
West Coast Eagles Kennedy 4, Darling 3, Petrucelle, Rioli 2, Redden, Cripps, Waterman, Hutchings, LeCras
Port Adelaide S Gray, Johnson 2, Polec, Motlop, Watts, Dixon, Bonner
INJURIES
West Coast Eagles Luke Shuey (hamstring)
Port Adelaide Nil
TALKING POINTS
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