WEST COAST is through to the second round of the NAB Cup after recording a 35-point win over Essendon at Subiaco Oval on Friday night.
The Eagles set up the win with a dominant third term before eventually prevailing 1.17.8 (117) to 0.12.10 (82).
It was West Coast’s first victory in the pre-season competition since 2005.
Nic Naitanui ehanced his reputation as a genuine star in the making with 18 possessions, 21 hit-outs, seven clearances and four goals while Josh Kennedy and Mark LeCras chimed in with three majors apiece.
Chris Masten and Matt Priddis were busy contributors with 24 disposals each while Brad Sheppard and Luke Shuey showed some promising signs on debut.
For the Bombers, skipper Jobe Watson racked up a game-high 32 touches, Mark McVeigh and Brent Prismall battled hard while former Hawk Mark Williams booted three goals in his first match for the club.
The Eagles jumped out of the blocks with Kennedy and Ashley Hansen kicking goals in the opening two minutes before the Bombers clicked into top gear.
They moved the football quickly through the middle of the ground as they slammed on seven of the next eight majors with Jason Winderlich and Angus Monfries chipping in with two apiece to help the Dons to a 25-point lead at quarter-time.
Back-to-back majors from Williams saw Essendon open up a 30-point break early in the second term.
It appeared as if the Bombers would run away with the contest but Naitanui sparked his teammates into action with his work around the ground.
The Eagles were swifter in their movement of the football and responded with four unanswered goals, including a brilliant snap from Naitanui from an acute angle at the 22-minute mark to reduce the deficit to less than one straight kick.
West Coast thought they had regained the lead when Andrew Embley soccered one home in the dying seconds of the first half but the goal was cancelled after replays showed the ball had hit the post before the 2006 Norm Smith Medallist had got a boot to it.
Hansen’s second early in the third quarter gave the Eagles the back lead for the first time before Naitanui booted a super goal to give his side a 10-point buffer.
It was all one-way traffic from that moment as West Coast added a further five goals with LeCras chiming in with two as the margin blew out to 41 points at three-quarter time.
Majors from Kennedy and Naitanui made it 13 unanswered goals for the Eagles before the Bombers kicked the last three goals of the match to add some respectability to the scoreboard.
WEST COAST: 0.3.0, 0.8.5, 1.14.8, 1.16.12 (117)
ESSENDON: 0.7.1, 0.9.3, 0.9.6, 0.12.10 (82)
SUPER GOALS: WEST COAST: Naitanui
ESSENDON:
GOALS: WEST COAST: LeCras 3, Kennedy 3, Naitanui 3, Hansen 2, Rosa, Embley, Masten, Schofield, Nicoski
ESSENDON: Williams 3, Monfries 2, Winderlich 2, Jetta 2, Still, Reimers, Zaharakis
BEST: WEST COAST: Naitanui, Masten, Kennedy, Lecras, Priddis
ESSENDON: Watson, McVeigh, Prismall, Winderlich
INJURIES: WEST COAST: Nil
ESSENDON: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: Michael Vozzo (2), Matt Stevic (9), Troy Pannell (28)
CROWD 23,860 at Subiaco Oval
DARREN Glass will continue to captain West Coast in 2010.
Glass, who has led the Eagles for the past two seasons, will have Adam Selwood, Beau Waters, Matt Priddis, Josh Kennedy, Shannon Hurn and Dean Cox as his deputies.
The leadership structure is a shift away from West Coast's previous approach of having just one vice-captain to support the captain.
"The club has been developing this structure for a couple of years," Glass said.
"A lot of time and effort has been put into our leadership programs in the last few years and that is reflected in having six guys who can give me all the support I need."
"It is a demanding, but rewarding job being captain and it is great to be able to call on the experience and knowledge of all of those players."
Cox, who was vice-captain last season, welcomed the addition of new faces to the leadership group.
"The personnel in our squad has changed quite dramatically over the last few years and it has been good to see a number of those players emerge in a leadership role," Cox said.
"It is an exciting time for our club and the senior leadership group has an important role to play in assisting the development of the younger guys."
WEST COAST star Dean Cox is in doubt for the Eagles' NAB Cup opener against Essendon after suffering an abdominal strain prior to Christmas.
The four-time All-Australian ruckman injured his groin in West Coast's round 12 loss to Richmond last year and was restricted to just one game after that.
Classy midfielder Daniel Kerr, who also had his 2009 season blighted by a groin injury, is on track to play against the Bombers at Subiaco Oval on February 12.
"Kerry's certainly on target for it but Coxy's going to have to do a bit of work over the next couple of weeks and show that he's coping with that work before we'd say he's going to play in that first NAB Cup game," West Coast coach John Worsfold said.
"The issue he had at the end of last year, we're pretty comfortable he's overcome, but he's had a small abs strain in the meantime, so he's on track to be back out there training next week."
"Kerry, we've been pretty lucky with, (he) hasn't had any real dramas and Coxy's had this little setback, but it's only a minor one so we're still comfortable that he's getting the work in that he's needing to."
WEST COAST wingman Tim Houlihan's preparation for the 2010 season has been hampered by a lacerated foot.
The 20-year-old was injured in a domestic accident while visiting family at home in Victoria's Wimmera region during the Christmas-New Year holiday break.
Houlihan has been unable to train with his teammates since returning this week.
He will undergo tests on Thursday to the severity of the injury.
Taken with pick 43 in the 2006 national draft, Houlihan has played 15 AFL matches.
WEST COAST utility Beau Waters will be sidelined for six weeks after scans revealed a problem in his left knee.
The 23-year-old underwent an arthroscopy on Monday night.
The injury is a blow for Waters who has not played an AFL game since round 10, 2008 due to a a dislocated elbow.
Named best clubman for the 2009 season in recognition of the important role he played off the field, Waters first injured his elbow during a WAFL match for Claremont.
When the injury did not respond as expected, Waters opted for surgery which saw him miss all of this year's campaign.
WEST COAST defender Mark Nicoski is on the verge of signing a new two-year deal with the Eagles.
Nicoski has agreed to terms and is expected to put pen to paper very soon.
The 25-year-old was elevated from West Coast's rookie list in 2004 and has played 81 games.
The imminent re-signing of Nicoski means young midfielder Jamie McNamara, who has managed 21 appearances since making his AFL debut in 2007, will be given the chop.
September 12th 2009 04:30
WEST COAST skipper Darren Glass has joined elite company after winning his second club champion award on Friday night.
Glass polled 340 votes to win the award ahead of the much-improved Shannon Hurn (329), classy small forward Mark LeCras (328), utility Quinten Lynch (296) and midfielder Matt Priddis (288).
The 28-year-old defender who also won the top honour in 2007 becomes the Eagles' fifth multiple club champion, joining four-time winners Ben Cousins (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005) and Glen Jakovich (1993, 1994, 1995, 2000) and dual winners Chris Judd (2004, 2006) and Guy McKenna (19889, 1999).
In other awards, Beau Waters won the Chris Mainwairing Medal for best clubman while impressive young midfielder Chris Masten was named rookie of the year.
Meanwhile, Tyson Stenglein suprised the crowd at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre by announcing his retirement.
Stenglein, who joined West Coast at the end of 2004 after 106 games with Adelaide, played 102 matches for the Eagles and was an integral part of the club's 2006 premiership side.
The 29-year-old still had a year left on his contract but believed the time was right to call it quits.
"I weighed up a lot of options and I decided that that (retirement) is the best option for me and the footy club going forward," Stenglein said.
"I was once told by a wise man, 'The best time to start thinking about retirement is before the boss does'."
Stenglein joins fellow premiership players David Wirrpanda, Adam Hunter and Chad Fletcher in retirement.
The top ten votegetters
1. Darren Glass 340 votes
2. Shannon Hurn 329 votes
3. Mark LeCras 328 votes
4. Quinten Lynch 296 votes
5. Matt Priddis 288 votes
6. Adam Selwood 288 votes
7. Andrew Embley 274 votes
8. Matt Rosa 261 votes
9. David Wirrpanda 221 votes
10. Josh Kennedy 215 votes
WEST COAST premiership player David Wirrpanda has announced his retirement from AFL football.
Wirrpanda said his body was in good enough condition to allow him to play on next season but he wanted to give the club's younger players more game time.
"I still believe I can keep going but I think the right thing to do on behalf of this football club and development is to actually move on," Wirrpanda said.
"With the young blokes like (Scott) Selwood coming through, (Tom) Swift, young (Shannon) Hurn, you've got a lot of younger players cementing their positions, especially in the backline."
"The best thing for them is to get game time, it'll just grow their footy. I thought if I keep playing I'd take that opportunity away from them."
"That's where I spoke to Woosha and I thought to myself, for this club to go further I have to sacrifice my position in order for the younger blokes to get more experience.
The 30-year-old is the third Eagle to call it quits this season, joining fellow premiership players Chad Fletcher and Adam Hunter.
Wirrpanda made his debut in 1996 at the tender age of 16 and finished with 227 games and 131 goals to his name.
He now plans on spending more time with his family and working full-time with the Wirrpanda Foundation which promotes strong role models and healthy life choices to Indigenous children.
Meanwhile, West Coast midfielders Matt Rosa (hip and ankle), Andrew Embley (ankle), Matt Priddis (knee) and Adam Cockie (plate removed from shoulder) will all have post-season surgery.
WEST COAST has finished the season in impressive fashion, thumping a hapless Richmond side to the tune of 80 points at Subiaco Oval on Friday night.
The Eagles got the early jump and were never seriously challenged as they romped to a convincing 17.23 (125) to 6.9 (45) victory.
The result was West Coast’s biggest-ever win over the Tigers at home.
It was a bitterly disappointing performance from Richmond in what was Nathan Brown and Mark Coughlan’s last game with the club. The injury-plagued pair were told ahead of the match that they would be de-listed.
West Coast also said farewell to two of its players - premiership midfielder Chad Fletcher played his last match while Adam Hunter who was also a member of the 2006 grand final winning side announced his retirement earlier on Friday due to ongoing shoulder problems.
Tom Swift showed he is a star of the future with a team-high 26 possessions, 10 marks and one goal while Adam Selwood (26) was also prolific.
Matt Spangher (24) and Shannon Hurn (23) were busy in defence while Fletcher collected 20 touches.
West Coast had 10 individual goal kickers for the match - Mark LeCras the most effective with five while Brent Staker chipped in with three majors.
For the Tigers, Brett Deledio tried hard all night and finished with 28 possessions and one goal while Ben Cousins racked up 28 disposals in his first game at Subiaco Oval against his former side.
Richmond kicked the first goal of the match through Jordan McMahon but the rest of the term belonged to the Eagles
They dominated the clearances and moved the football quickly through the middle of the ground as they slammed on four unanswered goals to establish a 23-point lead at quarter-time.
West Coast should have been further in front at the first change but they booted eight behinds, including two posters in the opening stanza.
LeCras kicked his second after Luke McGuane was penalised for a deliberate rushed behind and it appeared to be a matter of how far for John Worsfold’s men.
But the Tigers lifted their rating and responded with majors from Deledio, Graham Polak and Shane Tuck to close to within 11 points at the 13-minute mark of the second quarter.
The Eagles steadied through LeCras before adding a further three majors to open up a 33-point break at half-time.
Any hopes Richmond had of getting back into the contest were quashed in the third term by West Coast who piled on six unanswered goals to open up a match-winning 72-point lead at three-quarter time.
WEST COAST: 4.8, 9.14, 15.18, 17.23 (125)
RICHMOND: 1.3, 5.5, 5.6, 6.9 (45)
GOALS: West Coast: LeCras 5, Staker 3, McKinley 2, Ebert, Hurn, Kennedy, Embley, Swift, Spangher, Lynch
Richmond: McMahon, Deledio, Polak, Tuck, Edwards, Morton
BEST: West Coast: Swift, LeCras, Adam Selwood, Spangher, Hurn, Glass, Naitanui
Richmond: Deledio, Cousins, Edwards
INJURIES:West Coast TBC
Richmond: TBC
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: West Coast David Wirrpanda replaced in selected side by Jamie McNamara.
Richmond Matt White replaced in selected side by Jayden Post
UMPIRES: James, Grun, Ryan
CROWD: 39,017 at Subiaco Oval
WEST COAST has made it three wins a row with a 38-pont victory over North Melbourne at Subiaco Oval on Saturday.
The Eagles broke the game open in the third term before withstanding a last-quarter surge from the Kangaroos to prevail 17.8 (110) to 10.12 (72).
Some of the gloss was taken off the win for West Coast with promising youngsters Mitch Brown and Chris Masten suffering knee and ankle injuries respectively.
Adam Selwood continued his consistent season with a game-high 33 possessions and one goal while Matt Priddis (27) and Tim Houlihan (27) were also instrumental in the win.
Quinten Lynch was a busy contributor with 25 touches and 10 marks while Nic Natainui was influential in the ruck with 20 hit outs.
The Eagles shared the load in front of goal with David Wirrpanda, Callum Wilson and Ben McKinley booting three goals apiece while Mark LeCras, Josh Kennedy and Priddis chipped in with two each.
For the Roos, skipper Brent Harvey led from the front with a team-high 31 disposals while Brady Rawlings (30) tried hard all day.
Liam Anthony continued the impressive start to his AFL career with 29 touches while Leigh Adams booted three goals.
West Coast kicked with the aid of the breeze in the first term and the football was camped inside their forward 50 early but they had to wait until the 14-minute for the first goal of the match with Wilson converting from close range.
The Kangaroos applied relentless pressure all over the ground in a scrappy opening stanza and were rewarded for their hard work when Adams dribbled one home to give his side a two-point advantage at quarter-time.
North got the first goal of the second term through Corey Jones but their joy was short-lived as the Eagles got their running game going and hit back with four unanswered majors in a 12-minute burst, including two from Wirrpanda to skip out to a 16-point lead.
Goals from Adams and Matt Campbell ensured the Kangaroos were in touch at the main break with West Coast holding a 10-point buffer.
With Naitanui exerting his influence in the ruck the Eagles were able to dominate the stoppages and slammed on five of the first six goals of the third term, including a brilliant goal from Adam Selwood while he was laying on the deck to blow the margin out to 34 points.
Hamish McIntosh stopped the rot momentarily before goals from Wilson and McKinley saw West Coast go into three-quarter time with a commanding 40-point lead.
The Roos did all the attacking early in the final term and kicked the first three goals of the quarter through Drew Petrie, Andrew Swallow and Adam to close to within 20 points.
Priddis gave his side some breathing space with his second after Michael Firrito gave away a 50m penalty for running through the mark but the Kangaroos refused to give in and remained within striking distance after Todd Goldstein kicked truly from the pocket.
Any hopes North had of pulling off a come-from-behind victory were quashed by West Coast who responded with goals from Wilson and McKinley before LeCras capped off a solid win for the Eagles with a major after the siren.
WEST COAST: 1.2, 6.3, 13.7, 17.8 (110)
NORTH MELBOURNE: 1.4, 4.5, 6.9,10.12 (72)
GOALS: West Coast: Wirrpanda 3, Wilson 3, McKinley 3, Kennedy 2, Priddis 2, LeCras 2, A. Selwood, Embley,
North Melbourne: Adams 3, Jones, Hansen, Campbell, McIntosh, Petrie, Swallow, Goldstein
BEST: West Coast: A.Selwood, Lynch, Houlihan, Glass, Hurn, Wirrpanda,, Naitanui
North Melbourne: Harvey, Rawlings, Anthony, Adams, Petrie
INJURIES:West Coast Brown (ankle), Masten (knee)
North Melbourne: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: Rosebury, Hendrie, Keating
CROWD:32,472 at Subiaco Oval
WEST COAST midfielder Matt Priddis has signed a new two-year deal which will see him remain with the Eagles until at least the end of the 2011 season.
Priddis has played 61 games for the club since being elevated off the rookie list in 2006.
The 24-year-old who has been West Coast's most prolific ball-winner this season said he wanted to be a part of the club's exciting future.
"I think everyone at the club is pretty excited about what the future holds and I want to be a part of that," Priddis said.
"We have some very talented young players on the way up and we are all looking forward to challenging for a position in the finals and building from there."
WEST COAST ruckman Dean Cox will miss the rest of the season with an ongoing groin problem.
Cox suffered the injury against Carlton in round 10 that was expected to heal during the mid-season break but after a six-week absence the Eagles star broke down again in the club's loss to undefeated ladder leaders St Kilda in round 15.
The four-time All-Australian ruckman flew to Adelaide last month where he and star midfielder Daniel Kerr consulted a groin specialist in a bid to get to the bottom of their respective problems.
While Kerr was ruled out for the remainder of the year earlier this month, Cox hoped to be back for the last two rounds of the home-and-away season.
The 28-year-old was put on a specialised program and while his progress has been encouraging the club believed it wise not to risk Cox.
"There was just no point trying to push through for the sake of possibly one game," Cox said.
"We have taken a conservative approach with this program and that is certainly the way to go.
"Progress has been good and for the next three weeks I will just offer as much support as possible to the other players as we look towards completing a strong finish the season."
TonyK
Cibbuano
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