West Coast Eagles prove things are never as bad as it seems with win over Richmond

West Coast had won just one quarter out of 16 in the first month of their season. That had come after three win and two wins seasons in the last two years - one of which had produced the club’s second wooden spoon.

Suddenly hope springs eternal. Hours after West Coast’s WAFL team celebrated its first win in 660 days by beating reigning premier East Fremantle, the Eagles AFL team swamped an undermanned Richmond after a sluggish first quarter.

Jake Waterman - his career in jeopardy at the end of last season because of ulcerative colitis, kicked a career best six goals.

Elliot Yeo, injured and unfit for much of the last four seasons, had 26 disposals and 14 clearances to go with two goals. Harley Reid had 27 disposals and seven clearances to go with his first quarter goal.

Tim Kelly had 29 to go with eight clearances. The key members of West Coast’s midfield are all in form - suddenly a West Coast derby against Fremantle next week looks winnable.

The first 20 minutes had nightmare written all over it for an Eagles team that had developed an unhealthy habit of following more competitive performances like their 26 point loss to Sydney in Gather Round, with an absolute howler the following week.

The Tigers, stripped of experienced key players at either end of the ground and of Tim Taranto’s muscle through the middle, had one card to play and they played it: Speed.

With the speed came pressure and the Eagles were caught on the back foot.

Liam Baker got hold of them in the midfield. Shai Bolton did likewise in attack. The ball travelled quickly in fast play situations and the West Coast defenders couldn’t keep up.

Mykelti Lefau had the first on the board from a simple lead up on Tom Barass from a centre square clearance. Bolton kicked two for the term and could easily have three or four.

West Coast needed to steady off the back of something and it came from an unlikely source - Jack Darling. After just one goal in four games he hung onto to a chest mark 25 minutes in. Darling has always been a straight kick and this was no exception.

Then it was a Darling handball that found Reid whose snap gave the Eagles their second.

Waterman got involved to give them a third. Then he stayed involved throughout the second quarter to give them the clear upper hand in the match and a 19 point half time lead.

Yeo had taken control of the midfield. He went to the half time break with 17 disposals, nine clearances and seven score involvements points to be one of two West Coast players who were the game’s most dominant until the main break.

And the other was an Eagle too, Waterman kicking three second quarter goals to go with the one in the first term as the Eagles ran up their highest first half score in three years in and eight goal second quarter blitz.

And not far behind them was another West Coast mid - Kelly going to the break with 15 disposals and five clearances.

Reid was doing his bit - one centre square break creating one of Waterman’s goals. A Darling kick had fed another one and Darling should have had a second of his own but missed an around the corner.

An extraordinary 11 goals had come from stoppages in a half between the two teams as both tried to get assertive around clearances and there was precious little in the way of defence.

One thing’s for sure - it was good for the West Coast fans to watch. After just five wins in 53 games they were lapping up the scoring spree and the sudden enterprise shown by their team.

And once the edge had come off Richmond’s pace attack - there was no bone structure in their team to hold it all together. Adem Yze had the choice in defence of either playing key defenders Tyler Young and Ben Miller who are inexperienced, or Nick Vlastuin and Nathan Broad who were undersized.

In truth the way the ball was coming down the field at them he could have had Stephen Silvagni and David Dench back there and it wouldn’t have mattered.

It was all coming out of stoppage. By three quarter time the Eagles had a 39-20 edge overall and a 12-7 edge at centre square. Yeo had had 12 of them, Reid and Kelly six apiece.

Reid had had 13 disposals and five clearances in the third term alone and he was charging through the traffic out of the front end

It meant a 44-30 inside fifty edge and an unassailable 42 point lead on the scoreboard. Richmond crept closer in the final term but it was too little too late. The Eagles are on the board in 2024. And Fremantle are suddenly on red alert for a Western Derby that has suddenly taken on fresh meaning.