The West Coast Eagles broke their 308 day drought since their last win, triumphing over North Melbourne in a dominant second half to take home their first four points of the season by a margin of 17.
Round 10 last year was their previous win, defeating St Kilda in front of a home crowd by 28 points, and now they’re back on the winners list after the better part of 10 months in front of a packed Optus Stadium.
Kicking four unanswered goals to start the second half, the Eagles took the lead off the Roos and never gave it back, with a strong team effort getting them over the line.
West Coast youngster Brady Hough spoke to SportFM this morning.
“When we looked at it at quarter time we actually thought the game was a lot on our terms for a lot of that first quarter… it was those costly turnovers and little cough ups that they took advantage of and got some easy goals,” he said.
“I actually think towards the back end of the last quarter, we felt like we were building, the crowd got involved and then as soon as we came out in that second quarter and we kicked a few quick ones… everyone was just up and about.”
The weekend saw Willem Duursma and Cooper Duff-Tyler slot their first majors in AFL footy, both of them walking away with two at the final siren.
Jobe Shanahan in his second season added two goals to the Eagles’ tally, as did third year giant Archer Reid.
“Willem Duusrma on the weekend, he showed what he can do, his defensive pressure and then turning that into his offensive game, he got a few from outside 50.”
“Cooper Duff-Tyler, for someone that big to be so clean around his feet and knees, it’s pretty special. And his follow up work and how clean he is… he’s going to be a star.
“Jobe Shanahan, he was great. We always knew he was going to be a star, and Archer Reid up forward looks very strong. There’s so many, Hamish Davies, Bo Allen out on the wings, they run so hard every week. So yeah, there’s a lot to touch and I probably missed a few as well.”
New fan favourite Milan Murdock kicked a fourth quarter sealer, but is now expected to spend a stint on the sidelines after suffering a moderate grade hamstring injury.
“He’s been in a professional system for a long time and he’s stepped in and done exactly what he’s been doing for a lot of years in the WAFL… if he gets that hamstring right, I’m sure he’ll be right back in and having an impact again very soon.”
They now head over to Adelaide to face Port on Sunday, hoping to close the gap after their 73 point loss in a preseason match against the side.
The match is scheduled for 12:00 ACDT, translating to a 9:30am start for the Eagles, a time many of the players wouldn’t have played at since their high school days.
“It’s always a hard game playing Port Adelaide at home. They have a strong fan base over there and they get very rowdy.”
“We’ve reviewed our last match and we know exactly what we did wrong. We know how to come out and we know how to fix that… this is just the start of the momentum and hopefully we can keep it rolling. We’re absolutely going over there with the mindset to bring home the four points.”
West Coast are hoping to string two wins together for the first time since round 20 and 21 of the 2021 AFL season.
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