This was already an absorbing battle. And then came the moment that ensured this game would forever remain fondly in the hearts of the West Coast Eagles faithful.
With scores level deep into the last quarter – and the ball deep in the Eagles defensive zone – there was nothing to suggest we were about to see something extraordinary.
From a scrimmage around the defensive 50 metre arc, tough on-baller Elliot Yeo thumped the ball out of congestion, along the deck where it was gathered 20 metres away from the congestion by Mark Hutchings.
The disciplined minder, who had a free rein in this game, collected the loose ball, deliberated and passed it down the line to Liam Ryan. The smooth moving Ryan looked inboard and hit up key forward Josh Kennedy between the back of the centre square and the attacking 50 metre arc.
While Kennedy assessed his options, Ryan kept running, a Melbourne opponent trailing in his wake.
A pack of players had congregated around the logical drop zone for the Kennedy kick, at the top of goal square. The dual Coleman medallist punched the footy deep, Ryan had circled the assembled throng. And then he launched!
The little man soared high above the pack and sat on the shoulders of Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn, who had set himself to take the defensive intercept. Instead, Gawn will spend of the rest of his life as the extra in this amazing clip, with Ryan the star in one of the great marks of all time.
Coincidentally, on this night when the club wore its 2019 Indigenous guernsey for the first time, another high flier – Aussie the Eagle – was released from his perch high in the stands by Ashley Sampi, who snared the 2004 AFL mark of the year with a spectacular snare over the top of Demon Adem Yze at the MCG.
While the leap of Ryan was the unquestionable highlight, even more significant was the resultant goal which put the Eagles six points clear.
After trailing by 19 points late in the third quarter that was a part of a stunning reversal, triggered by the grunt work of Yeo at the coalface. He would finish with 26 possessions – 19 of them contested – and clamp 19 tackles on the Demons as he willed his team to victory.
In conjunction with Luke Shuey, whose performance was punctuated by two exceptional goals, the second of them in the opening minute of the final term, Andrew Gaff and Dom Sheed, the Eagles midfield ensured they were in touch and then kicked away to a 16-point victory.
Up forward Kennedy was at his imposing best, kicking four telling goals, and in partnership with Willie Rioli, in his first game of the season, always threatened against the Melbourne defence. Jamie Cripps was typically energetic, working high up the ground to connect defence and attack.
Riioli, who missed the first eight rounds with a foot injury – which flared in the final training run ahead of the club’s season opener against Brisbane – started on the bench and took barely a minute to announce his return.
He gathered a loose ball just inside the attacking 50 metre arc and managed to roll it through from the flank to herald his arrival back to elite football.
Defensively, West Coast was again outstanding – all-Australians Shannon Hurn and Jeremy McGovern – setting the tone with exceptional performances. Hurn had a staggering 33 possessions at half-back to continue his stellar form.
Round 9 v Melbourne
Optus Stadium
West Coast Eagles 3.2 5.4 7.6 13.7 85
Melbourne 3.4 5.8 8.12 9.15 69
Goals – West Coast Eagles: Kennedy 4; Cripps, Rioli, Shuey 2; Sheed, Darling, Ryan.
Melbourne: Garlett 3; Petracca, Hunt 2; Jones, Smith.
