What’s On | Round 15
West Coast Eagles v Essendon
Friday, June 24 | 6.40pm (AWST) | Optus Stadium / Whadjuk
Gates open 4.30pm

Get your scarves ready! The Bombers are heading to town for Friday night footy, and we want Optus Stadium packed with cheering Eagles supporters.

Tickets for the match are on sale through Ticketmaster right now, with more tickets to be released in the lead-up to Friday’s bouncedown, so pick up yours today.

Public Transport

Transperth’s Suburban Event Bus Network will not be running prior to Friday night’s match, so remember to plan your journey ahead on Friday with Transperth’s Journey Planner, and please click here for further information. Please note that buses will be operating at the completion of Friday’s match.

Public Transport is included in the cost of your match day ticket, with free travel three hours either side of the match. If asked, please show your ticket to the driver or inspector.

Do the Right Thing, Use the Right Bin

The West Coast Eagles are passionate about reducing waste, and over the past three years our Rethink Your Waste match has helped raise awareness of the environmental challenges we have here in WA.

Our fans have done a great job at reducing waste contamination at Optus Stadium; and we are encouraging all fans once again to do the right thing, and use the right bin at all Eagles matches played at Optus Stadium.

Crown’s Cheer to Win competition

In a special giveaway, members will have the chance to ‘cheer to win’ – simply be in your seat at quarter time to win the ultimate Crown experience, including one night in a Crown Towers Premier Club Suite, Valet Parking, and a $1000 Crown gift card.

Curtain Raiser – WA Inclusion Football Academy

The West Coast Eagles are committed to providing inclusion opportunities for people with an intellectual disability who love footy, by playing host to a curtain raiser involving the WA Inclusion Football Academy. Friday's curtain raiser gets underway from 3.40pm.

Match Day activations

Head to the Southern Oval from 4.30pm on Friday for some great kids’ activities. We’ll have a giant inflatable course, and various temporary tattoos applied by the West Coast Eagles fairies.

If you’re heading through Gates A or B from Perth Stadium train station, 96FM will provide the afternoon’s soundtrack with various games and giveaways on offer.

AGL’S Tower of Power

The West Coast Eagles’ proud energy partner, AGL, will be on hand behind section 131 for AGL’s Tower of Power, giving fans the chance to win a limited edition Andrew Gaff Sherrin.

Any Eagles fan, young or old, can chance their arm and have a go, so head to the Western Concourse behind section 131 pre-match, or during quarter time, half time or three-quarter time for your chance to win.

Mobile Ticketing

Tickets for Reserved Seat members are now available to download in the official West Coast Eagles App.

Avoid match day delays by downloading the official West Coast Eagles app and logging in to your West Coast Eagles account now, ahead of Sunday's match. We strongly recommend not to leave this until the last minute, in case you encounter problems, and to save your tickets to your phone wallet to ensure no delays.

Instructions on how to use mobile ticketing are available here, and instructions on how to forward your ticket to a family member or a friend are available here.

The West Coast Eagles Membership Services team will be available at the box offices B, C, and E from 4.30pm on Friday to answer any questions; however, please arrive early if you think that you may require assistance with your tickets.

If you have any issues with your tickets, please attend the match and the Membership Services team will assist; there is no need to miss the match solely for this reason.

Seat Return Program

Can’t make it to the match? Our Seat Return Program is available for Friday’s match. If your seat successfully sells, you’ll receive a credit towards your 2023 membership renewal.

For more information, including a step-by-step guide to returning your seats, please click here.

Credits will not apply if your seat does not sell, or if you do not attend and do not return your seat.

Auzzie’s Flight

Be sure to be in your seats from 6.20pm* to catch Auzzie’s pre-match flight around Optus Stadium.

Hungry Jack’s Whopper Goal

If a West Coast Eagles player kicks a goal from outside 50m at a home qualifying match during the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season at Optus Stadium then supporters and fans will be offered a free “Whopper Goal” voucher. The voucher entitles a supporter or fan to one free Whopper. To claim the “Whopper Goal” voucher, a member or fan must download and register for the Hungry Jack’s App and opt-in to receive the voucher when prompted, up until 3 hours after the Whopper Goal is kicked. The voucher will be sent to the user on the Wednesday following the match. For more information, click here.

Contactless Payment

All food and beverage outlets at Optus Stadium now accept payment by credit or debit card only. If you do not have access to credit or debit card, cash can be exchanged for a complimentary ‘Cash Card’ via Cash Exchange points located around the Stadium. Optus Stadium event day staff will direct you to the nearest Cash Exchange point at the Stadium. For more information, please click here

*Subject to COVID-19 restrictions.

WEST Coast has climbed off the bottom of the ladder in thrilling style, surviving a late charge from Essendon to win a rollicking Friday night shootout at Optus Stadium by 10 points to snap a nine-game losing streak. 

Led by five-goal star Josh Kennedy, the Eagles flicked a switch offensively and kicked their highest score for the season, winning 16.11 (107) to 14.13 (97) and saluting in front of their home fans for the first time in 2022. 

The match looked settled when Kennedy booted his fifth goal 21 minutes into the final term, but back-to-back goals from the Bombers left them with a fighting chance late. 

Key defender Tom Barrass took a clutch mark in defence in front of Bomber Peter Wright to steady his team, with the crowd of 40,933 erupting on the siren after a season starved of that winning feeling.  

Equally disappointing this season, the Bombers undid the ground made up in an impressive win against St Kilda last week with a worrying performance in which they were picked apart.

After breaking away to a 22-point lead early, they fell victim to a West Coast team that had nothing to lose and played on at every opportunity, with their forwards feasting as a result. 

Kennedy bagged his best return since 2020, while Willie Rioli and Jamie Cripps had excellent games with three each, and Jack Darling booted two, with the Eagles kicking 100 points for the first time since round nine last year. 

They wound the clock back with their incredible efficiency, losing the inside-50 entries 58-42 but kicking accurately, including a 10.0 run through the middle stages of the match. 

As accurate as the Eagles were through periods, the Bombers wasted their chances, with the dangerous Wright booting 4.4. 

It meant their advantage in the midfield, where Dylan Shiel (26 and nine clearances) and Zach Merrett (28 and seven inside 50s) fought hard, was wasted after a strong start.  

The Bombers' forwards looked like being match-winners early, with Jake Stringer booting two long-range goals, while Wright did as he pleased in the first quarter, finding the many gaps in the Eagles' backline.

Late goals to spearheads Darling and Kennedy, in what was turning into a tall forward shootout, gave the Eagles some momentum though and they kept it going in the second term. 

Their efficiency inside 50 and accuracy was most pronounced in the second quarter, going into attack 12 times for 6.0 compared to the Bombers' 16 entries for 2.5.

Essendon controlled the stoppages and dominated contested ball, but it couldn't convert that advantage on the scoreboard and allowed the Eagles to bounce too easily out of defence. 

It was the tale of the night, when one bottom four team enjoyed a pressure release and another left with an unwanted spotlight now on it. 

WEST COAST         3.3       9.3        13.6         16.11 (107)
ESSENDON            5.5       7.10       10.13       14.13 (97)    

GOALS 
West Coast: Kennedy 5, Cripps 3, Rioli 3, Darling 2, Ryan 2, Waterman
Essendon: Wright 4, Stringer 3, Guelfi 2, Martin 2, Jones 2, Perkins 

BEST
West Coast: Kennedy, Rioli, Cripps, Yeo, Shuey, Darling, Duggan 
Essendon: Shiel, Merrett, Stringer, Wright, Kelly, Martin  

INJURIES
West Coast: Nil 
Essendon: Nil  

SUBSTITUTES 
West Coast: Alex Witherden (unused)
Essendon: Brayden Ham (unused)