West Coast has gone down in the battle of the Mineral Resources Park co-tenants, losing to Boorloo (Perth) in the NAIDOC Week clash by 62 points on Sunday.
The Eagles made seven changes coming off a stirring win over East Fremantle, with AFL emergencies Ryan Maric and Sandy Brock coming out of the selected line-up pre-match.
West Coast’s lack of size proved telling as the Demons dominated in the air, taking 127 marks to 56, and feeding a hungry forward line as the Eagles fell to a 12.18 (120) to 9.4 (58) defeat.
There were strong signs in the engine room for West Coast, with tough nut Tom Gross (23, two goals), newly re-signed young gun Elijah Hewett (29, five inside 50s) and Harry Schoenberg (33, four) fighting hard.
But West Coast lacked Boorloo’s attacking edge, with Aaron Clarke feasting with six majors, while big men Blake Schlensog (three) and Josh Edwards (two) did the damage early.
Emerging half-back Lucca Grego (26, five inside 50s) was a standout for West Coast, providing dash and dare through the centre square, while skipper Callum Jamieson fought hard after being swung from attack to defence.
Ex-Geelong duo Charlie Constable (37 disposals) and Brandan Parfitt (32) were instrumental for the Demons.
Boorloo got the game’s opening goal within a minute through Schlensog but the Eagles responded with the next three majors.
In a fast and furious 13 minutes, Matt Owies, Sasah Kernutt and Justin Prior nailed goals to open a handy buffer as West Coast’s engine room got on top.
The Demons soon fought back with a vengeance and the Eagles’ undersized backline was under siege.
Twin towers Schlensog and Edwards wreaked havoc in the air and kicked two goals apiece for the term as Boorloo took a five-point lead into the first change.
The Demons put the foot down in the second stanza, piling on four more goals, with Gross’ excellent tackle and set shot finish provided a rare highlight for West Coast.
West Coast lifted the attacking threat in the third, with Owies second goal from the pocket on the run finishing an excellent team move down the outer wing, breaking a six-goal unanswered burst for the Demons.
The respite was only brief.
Gross kicked his second from a 50m penalty after a nice spot up kick from Fred Rodriguez but goals were hard to come by in the final term as the Demons secured a convincing victory.
The defeat leaves West Coast with a 6-7 record and in seventh spot on the WAFL ladder, a win and percentage behind East Perth (7-6) in fifth in the race for finals.
The Eagles have the bye next round.
Details
WEST COAST: 3.1 4.3 8.3 9.4 (58)
BOORLOO: 4.0 8.5 14.8 18.12 (120)
GOALS
West Coast: Owies 2, Gross 2, Cipriani 2, Kernutt 2, Datson
Boorloo: Clarke 6, Schlensog 3, Edwards 2, Paton 2, Johnston 2, Davis, Kluske, Byrne
BEST
West Coast: Schoenberg, Gross, Grego, Hewett, Macrae, Flynn
Boorloo: Clarke, Constable, Schlensog, Parfitt, Byrne, Edwards
