After a couple of relatively “soft” wins to open the season, West Coast was expecting a tough challenge from St Kilda. They got what they banked on, with the tenacious Saints proving difficult to shake.

Indeed in the third quarter, the Saints had kicked out to better than a two goal lead and it was looking ominous, particularly after the early loss of another quality player before quarter time.

On this occasion it was Mark LeCras, who fractured the same arm that gave him so much grief in 2013. While he was making his way to hospital to get scans on his damaged limb, his teammates were undergoing an extensive examination from the Saints.

After half-time however, when senior coach Adam Simpson and his assistants re-evaluated the methodology, the Eagles changed the course of the match and piloted the club to an important victory.

The Saints’ domination in the first half was built around the performance of veteran Leigh Montagna through the midfield. To that point he had 19 possessions and was the man most responsible for the Saints holding an eight-point advantage.

Matt Rosa, the most prolific ball-winner in the club’s opening two games, was cast in the role of stopper thereafter and successfully quelled influence of Montagna, who was held to just eight touches in the second half.

In addition, outstanding work by Eric Mackenzie, fast assuming the mantle as the most accomplished of key defenders in the competition, closed down and then controlled Nick Riewoldt.

With Matt Priddis, Scott Selwood and Andrew Gaff racking up big numbers through the midfield, the Eagles controlled play and a couple of others stepped up to lift the team out their mid-game lethargy.

It seemed that half-back Brad Sheppard took it upon himself to impose his will on the game and his attack on the contest in the early part of the third term sent a message around the team’s state of mind.

The same could be said of Jack Darling, who attacked the ball with great ferocity, either on the lead or at ground level and he did not win possession, he tackled with clear intent.

Unfortunately, the victory did comer at a price, with Chris Masten (hamstring), Luke Shuey (suspension), Darren Glass (hip), LeCras (arm) and Matt Rosa (ill) all absent from the team that tackled Geelong in round four.       

LAST THREE CLASHES

Round 3, 2014
Saturday, April 5 – Patersons Stadium
West Coast Eagles 3.2  5.4   8.8 12.11   (83)
St Kilda   1.5  6.6   7.8   8.10    (48)
Goals: West Coast Eagles – Cripps, Kennedy, Ellis 2; Sinclair, Cox, Shuey, Brown, Priddis. St Kilda – Dunstan, Montagna, Riewoldt 2; Maister, Templeton.
Attendance: 36,448

Round 11, 2013
Sunday, June 9 – Etihad Stadium
West Coast Eagles   3.5   4.7       7.9 12.12    (84)
St Kilda 4.2   6.7      9.10 11.14  (80)
Goals: West Coast Eagles – Darling 3; Embley, Priddis, Mackenzie 2; Cox, Naitanui, S Selwood. St Kilda – Milne 5; Maister 2; Saad, Riewoldt, Stanley, Dennis-Lane. Attendance: 23,795

Round 8, 2012
Sunday, May 20 – Patersons Stadium
West Coast Eagles 6.2  13.6   15.7   18.13   (121)
St Kilda    1.4    5.5   11.10 13.13   (91)
Goals: West Coast Eagles – Cox 5; Waters, Shuey, Naitanui 2; Gaff, Sheppard, Darling, Hill, McGinnity, Lynch, Schofield. St Kilda – Riewoldt 4; Cripps 2; Saad, Armitage, Steven, Dal Santo, Gilbert, Milne, Millera.
Attendance: 38,174  

WEST COAST'S RECORD AGAINST ST. KILDA (1987 to Round 3 of 2014)
Played: 41 (10 night, 2 twilight) - 22 (home) - 19 (away) including 0 finals - 53.7% home, 46.3% away.
Won: 23 (7 night, 2 twilight) - 16 (home) - 7 (away) - 56.1% games won (of 23 won - 69.6% home, 30.4% away).
Lost: 17 (2 night) - 6 (home) - 11 (away) - 41.5% games lost (Of 17 lost - 35.3% home , 64.7% away).
Drawn: 1 (1 night) - 0 (home) - 1 (away) - 2.4% games drawn.
Home games:  22 (16 won, 6 lost) - 0 Finals - 72.7% won home, 27.3% lost home.
Away games: 19(7 won, 11 lost, 1 drawn) - 0 Finals - 36.8% won away, 57.9% lost away 5.3%.

Former West Coast Eagles-listed players to be listed by St Kilda
Dale Kickett (2 games West Coast in 1991, 21 games St Kilda in 1992). [Also played 15 games Fitzroy in 1990, 8 games Essendon 1994 and 135 games Fremantle 1995-2002].
Jason Heatley (3 games West Coast 1995-1996, 53 games St Kilda 1997-1999).
Fraser Gehrig (115 games West Coast 1995-2000, 145 games St Kilda 2001-2008).
Michael Gardiner (129 games West Coast 1997-2006, 52 games St Kilda 2008-2011).
Beau Wilkes (Maister) (23 games West Coast 2006-201, 23 games St Kilda 2012-round 13, 2014).

Former St Kilda-listed players to play for West Coast
Peter Melesso (7 games for St Kilda 1983-1985, 6 games West Coast 1989-1990).
Peter Freeman (5 games for St Kilda 1988-1990, 0 games West Coast 1992-1993).
Phil Narkle (48 games for St Kilda 1984-1986, 18 games West Coast 1987-1990).
Paul Harding (62 games for St Kilda from 1989-1991, 43 games for West Coast from 1992-1994).
- Premiership Player for West Coast in 1992. [Also played 12 league games for Hawthorn in 1987-1988].
Ian Dargie (10 games for St Kilda in 1989, 1 game for West Coast in 1991).
David Sierakowski (93 games for St Kilda from 1993-2000, 10 games for West Coast from 2001-2003).
Jamie Cripps (16 games for St Kilda in 2011-2012, 17 games for West Coast from 2013-round 2,  2014).
Mark Hutchings (0 games for St Kilda when on their rookie list in 2010 - not elevated, 16 games for West Coast 2013-14).