A quartet of West Coast listed players found plenty of the football as the WAFL Eagles delivered an improved effort in a 62-point loss to East Fremantle on Saturday.
Last time the teams met in May the Eagles were facing massive availability challenges and lost by 123 points.
But in the return fixture at Mineral Resources Park, the WAFL Eagles lifted after a scoreless first term and matched the Sharks during the second and third stanzas before going down 14.14 (98) to 5.6 (36).
It was a match played in perfect conditions, and the Eagles were well-served by hard-running wingman Patrick Naish (30 disposals), Josh Rotham (27, 11 marks), Isiah Winder (26) and Greg Clark (23).
Asked to ruck along with Jack Williams, Rotham gave away plenty of size to 203cm Shark Jeremy Goddard but won 14 hit-outs and offered plenty around the ground.
Sharks product Williams booted a goal from his 14 disposals, while fellow key forward Hugh Dixon snared two majors against his former club.
Dixon’s second came after a strong mark at the top of the goalsquare following a driving ball inside 50 by Clark to start the third quarter – reducing the margin to four goals.
The Sharks blew the margin out late, kicking seven majors to two in the final stanza, with Jayden Johnstone and Cooper Nitschke kicking truly for West Coast.
Ethan Hansen and Mitchell Henderson were also strong contributors, both finishing with 21 disposals and four tackles.
Clark and Zac Langdon, in his second game back from long-term injury, both laid an equal game-high eight tackles.
DETAILS
West Coast Eagles 0.0 2.1 3.2 5.6 (36)
East Fremantle 4.4 6.6 7.13 14.14 (98)
GOALS
West Coast Eagles Dixon 2, Williams, Johnstone, Nitschke
East Fremantle Smith 3, Jansen, English, McGuire, Murphy 2, Bennett, Boekhorst, Goddard
BEST
West Coast Eagles Rotham, Naish, Clark, Winder, Henderson, Hansen
East Fremantle Boekhorst, Jansen, English, Schoenfeld, Eardley, Goddard
