The WAFL Eagles suffered a narrow five-point defeat to East Perth on Friday night, to 8.12 (60) 10.5 (65).

“The challenging conditions made for a tight, see-sawing contest with neither team able to gain any real ascendancy throughout the night,” coach Kyal Horsely said.

“In what became a tight and somewhat frustrating final quarter, we weren’t able to capitalise on our opportunities, while East Perth made the most of theirs.

“To our players’ credit, the will to win was evident, we gave ourselves every chance in that last quarter to get the win and unfortunately we couldn’t finish our work off.”

Top 3

Oli Francou

Oli’s physicality stood out in the tough conditions, particularly his ability to power out of stoppages. He finished with a game-high 11 tackles and 16 contested possessions and was recognised by his teammates both during the game and post-game for his fierce attack on the ball and his will to win.

Harry Schoenberg

Harry’s class with ball in hand was evident. His ability to create time and space where others couldn’t have a strong impact on the game. He led the team in score involvements and finished with a goal.

Harvey Johnston

Harvey split his time between wing and half-forward and transitioned well between offence and defence. He produced multiple crucial defensive efforts and helped set up important scores. His performance looked above the level.

AFL Listed Players

Fin Macrae

Fin worked hard as an inside midfielder and was clean with his ball use. He consistently created time and space for teammates and generated multiple score involvements and two scoring opportunities for himself.

Lucca Grego

Lucca provided strong drive off half-back. His ball security, courage in the air, composure and ball use stood out, particularly given the difficult conditions. He was rewarded with a very nice goal on the run.

Matt Flynn

‘Flynny’ had an even battle with Scott Jones in the ruck. His ability to drop back and support defence was important, finishing with a team-high three intercept marks.

Clay Hall

Clay played on the wing and worked extremely hard defensively, including multiple goal-line saves. He matched that effort offensively to challenge East Perth’s defence.

Tom Gross

Tom was dangerous all game as a forward, often finding space in threatening positions. Unfortunately, due to conditions and breakdowns up the field, he wasn’t rewarded for his work rate.

Fred Rodriguez

In his second game in defence, Fred looked more composed and confident. He defended well and provided strong rebound from the back half.

Sandy Brock

Sandy used his speed to save multiple goals and worked hard both offensively and defensively. His ball use was excellent, finishing at 92% efficiency in tough conditions.

Jack Williams

Jack played primarily as a key defender and looked comfortable from the opening bounce. He read the play well, cut off angles, competed strongly, and didn’t lose a one-on-one contest.

Tyrell Dewar

Tyrell split his time between wing and half-forward and had an impact both ways, which was difficult given the conditions and limited opportunities for those roles.

Jake Miles-Wrency

Jake continues to develop well in defence. He looked comfortable in marking contests and is growing in confidence with his ball use, finishing with 11 disposals.

Harry Barnett

Harry played as a key forward/ruck in conditions that challenged tall players. He competed strongly in the air and followed up well at ground level, finishing with two tackles inside F50 and three score involvements.

Malakai Champion

Malakai played as a high forward in a role that was difficult on the night. To his credit every time he got involved, something positive happened, finishing with four score involvements.

Matt Owies

Matt played deep forward and worked extremely hard to get goal side. While not always rewarded, he still impacted the game with three score involvements and important outnumbered aerial contests which set scoring opportunities for others.

Tylah Williams

Like the other small forwards, Tylah’s work rate, speed, and patterns were strong throughout the game. Unfortunately, he didn’t get rewarded due to the conditions.