Welcome to the seventh episode of Rosco's Rivalries - thanks to Hungry Jack's.
Our inaugural club captain relives some of our classic clashes with Brisbane.
Watch the video, read the article on some of our epic battles and take the quiz below!
https://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/rivalry
Round 16, 1988
In an unusual quirk in 1988, the West Coast Eagles met Brisbane at the WACA Ground on two occasions.
The Bears surrendered their round three match against the Eagles, scheduled for their home venue at Carrara, as they were unable to play due to an unseasonal, sustained period of torrential rain.
The hierarchy at Brisbane were under the impression that there had been a fixture flip, but the Eagles were having none of that and the second game was also played in the west.
Perhaps the pragmatic attitude of the Eagles in insisting the round 16 game be played in Perth raised the hackles of the Bears because they found significant improvement in the return bout.
After being pumped by 118 points in the early game, the Bears were certainly up for the fight on this occasion.
Led by Mark Withers, who had a game high 39 possessions and four goals, Mark ‘Chocco’ Williams and John Fidge, the Bears took the game up to their hosts. Full forward Warwick Capper also chimed in with three goals.
The Eagles needed to call on all their class to squeeze through with wingman Chris Mainwaring leading the charge with defender Michael Brennan. Up forward Laurie Keene showed his capabilities with a five-goal haul, while Brent Hutton also kicked three majors.
Eventually the Eagles endured by nine points against the Bears who would finish 13th of 14 teams while West Coast advanced to its first ever finals series.
Round 5, 1992
Anticipating how a club, particularly one so young and with such a young list, would respond to a grand final defeat was the great unknown for the West Coast Eagles venturing into the 1992 season.
The previous year, just the club’s fifth in the expanded VFL competition, they finished three goals clear at the top of the premiership table, advanced to the grand final against Hawthorn, but ultimately came up short on the game’s biggest occasion.
Going into 1992 it was expected to see a strong resolve from the competition’s latest powerhouse, but the Eagles made a stuttering start to the season – the most alarming indication of their struggles to push aside the ghosts of ’91 – coming in the round five clash against the Brisbane Bears.
The Bears entered the competition alongside the Eagles in 1987, but were a patch work quilt of a team, assembling players from all over the country as they cobbled a playing list.
Unlike the Eagles, who had already played a significant role in finals, the Bears’ highest finish was 10th, they had twice been at the foot of the table and in the other two completed seasons, they were second last.
But none of the accounted for anything as the Eagles travelled to Carrara on the Gold Coast – now the home ground of the Suns. There was an expectation the Eagles win, but the Bears had other ideas.
While the Eagles led at every change, the Bears hung in and with three minutes remaining, scores were level.
When classy centreman Dean Kemp initiated a chain of possession from half-back and then finished with a brilliant goal, the Eagles led by a goal with 37 seconds on the clock.
The Eagles won the footy out of the middle; a scrambled kick forward was chopped off by Brisbane and it was pumped deep in attack where young forward Ray Windsor took a strong mark.
As he walked in for his shot the siren sounded, he split the middle and Brisbane had snatched a draw.
The quality players in the Eagles line-up – Kemp (best on ground with 31 possessions), Peter Matera, Chris Lewis and Chris Mainwaring got their hands on the ball often enough, but the Eagles wasted opportunities up forward.
Round 12, 2003
An inspired first half from teen sensation Chris Judd saw West Coast lead by eight goals at the half and they were never going to allow the advantage to slip from that moment forward.
It was a remarkable individual and team performance against one of the great teams of the modern era. The Lions were stunned by the pace, brilliance, dare and skill of both Judd, individually, and this rising West Coast team.
Judd was outstanding to half-time, kicking five goals, while skipper Ben Cousins, emerging on-baller Chad Fletcher, ruckman Michael Gardiner, the dangerous Andrew Embley, Drew Banfield and Glen Jakovich were all solid contributors.
Victory was achieved in the absence of dynamic small forward Phil Matera while Alastair Lynch kicked eight goals for the Lions in a rare defeat for the dual premier at the GABBA.
Remarkably, Judd did not receive top votes in the Brownlow Medal for his stellar performance – that honour went to his skipper, Cousins.
Round 23, 2011
One man’s pain can be another’s gain and on this dank and miserable evening in Brisbane, Chris Masten made the most of the absence of midfield maestro Daniel Kerr.
Masten battled for opportunity in a season which started poorly when he was subbed out of the first game against North Melbourne with a knee injury and had played just eight games going into this clash.
In some earlier games he had been the starting sub, as he was against Essendon, when limited ground time impeded his capacity to impact games.
Kerr was ruled out of this match with a back injury after a heavy clash against the Bombers and that opened up the chance for Masten to start in the midfield, where he duly punched out one of the best performances of his 50-game career.
After a slow start, Masten was central to a recovery which saw West Coast retrieve a 29-point deficit in the middle of the third quarter to score an important eight-point win, securing fourth spot with one game remaining.
Masten had 31 possessions, 22 of them in the second half, including three goals, as he led the Eagles to an important win.
The hard-working midfielder was ably assisted by Matt Priddis, who relished the conditions and gathered 24 touches, typically most of them coming at stoppages and sending the Eagles forward.
Quinten Lynch was also effective across half-forward, Nic Naitanui did some wonderful work in the ruck after Dean Cox was forced into the red vest after copping an errant elbow above the eye, and Andrew Gaff continued to impress with his ball-gathering skills.
In addition Scott Selwood continued to build on his reputation as the best tackler in the business, Luke Shuey began to have an influence on the contest and both Pat McGinnity and Shannon Hurn were hard-nosed in defence.
Head-to-head
West Coast Eagles v Brisbane
Played: 49
Won: 35
Lost: 13
Drawn: 1
Highest score: 29.18 (192) - round 3, 1988
Lowest score: 8.10 (58) – round 1, 2019
Greatest winning margin: 131 points – round 20, 1992
Greatest losing margin: 100 points – Round 17, 1999
Longest winning sequence: 8 games – round 7, 1987 to round 12, 1991 and round 18, 2012 to round 23, 2018
