The WAFL Eagles kicked off their season against East Fremantle, with the occasion marked by the official opening of the Sharks’ new home ground, The Good Grocer Park.

While there were plenty of positives to take away from the game, the Eagles ultimately succumbed to East Fremantle’s class and experience, falling by 49 points in a 20.11 (131) to 12.10 (82) defeat.

Senior coach Kyal Horsley said it was a good opportunity to get a closer look at the new game plan in action and how the team is settling in together.

“It was great opportunity to see our new game plan and the team chemistry of a group that featured 10 players playing their first game in Eagles colours,” Horsley said.

“There is nothing like a stress test against one of the best teams to get a look at the elements of the game plan, and how it stacks up.

“We started the game well, and despite kicking into a strong breeze, we went into the quarter- time break just seven points down on the back of some clearance dominance.

“Unfortunately, we lost our reigning Best and Fairest winner Harley Sparks with a sickening concussion in the first 10 minutes of the game, thankfully Harley is okay and was in good spirits on Sunday.

“Despite being able to trap the ball in our half and create enough front half stoppages and front half turnovers, we were unable to convert in front of goal, and we were unable to stop the Shark’s in transition.

“East Fremantle were able to rise to all of our challenges, and despite getting within 19 points in the final term, they were able to steady and kick away late.

“While disappointed with the result, we reviewed the game with clarity and have a clearer understanding of our strengths and deficiencies heading into round two against Subiaco.”

Top Performers:

Matt Flynn

Flynny had a dominant game, he did everything, hitouts, tackles, clearances, kicked goals, set goals up, had seven inside 50’s and took three contested marks. It was an imposing performance and credit to the attitude he has had.

Shannon Lucassen

Shannon played with the intensity that was well above game standard and led from the front with his effort and selflessness. He was having a big impact inside but with the restructure of the team due to injuries, he had to play multiple roles and played them all well.

Jack Petruccelle

Jack showed his resilience to even be out there, he was unwell at the start of the week and was touch and go to play. Despite not feeling great, lacking energy and only being able to stay on the ground for short bursts, he was able have a serious impact on the game, finishing with five goals.

AFL Listed Players:

Lucca Grego

Lucca’s work in the contest and ability to find a teammate where others panic is becoming a feature of his game. While he didn’t have the impact statistically that he would have liked, there were some good signs with his running patterns which will start to get him some reward in transition.

Bo Allan

Bo played the first half at halfback and the second half as an inside mid. He brought his running power, intent in the contest and work rate in both roles and had an impact creating drive in offence and turnovers in defence.

Coen Livingstone

Coen played as a forward-ruck and it was a solid game in both roles. He was able to win or half all contests while playing as a forward, and kicked two nice snap goals. He was imposing when he was in the ruck, collecting 15 hitouts and four clearances from limited time.

Jobe Shanahan

He couldn’t get into the game early and despite working hard it just wasn’t going his way. To his credit he kept working through it and had a solid second half, showing his courage and fearlessness in the air with a real highlight mark, which he then converted for his first goal.

Harry Barnett

Batman played as a key back and he took the learnings from last week into this week and grew in the role. His positioning was better this week which got him into more contests, he was rewarded with six marks, and he was able to use his physicality in the contest. He used the ball well by hand and foot in tricky conditions.

Harvey Johnston

Harvey played as a wing in the first half and halfback in the second half. He showed his flexibility and ability to play multiple roles, with the move being made to cover the loss of Sparks in our back half. Harvey acquitted himself well defensively and gave real drive offensively.

Malakai Champion

Mally got some attention all game from an old school lock down defender, which is a testament to his performances in the final two pre-season games. I thought he worked through it well, finishing with 10 touches and few shots at goal. The best thing about his game was that he turned his attention to how he could help the team, applying some intense pressure and creating multiple turnovers.

Rhett Bazzo

Rhett played tall, played small and was able to win or half his contest. His leadership and willingness to help others was clear. He used the ball well and chose the right options coming out of the back half, another step forward.