MeltMan
With The Power To MELT!
- Mar 22, 2021
- 1,585
- 2,461
- AFL Club
- West Coast
- Thread starter
- #276
TLDR?Well that was a lot of fun.
Richmond came to Perth with a slew of injuries and double travel in the wake of Gather Round.
To say they were vulnerable would be an understatement – in the circumstances, it is reasonable to expect that a team dealing with issues such as the Tigers are should be comfortably put to the sword by opponents.
But it was also against West Coast. A club that had won just 5 of its last 53 matches. After the positive signs shown against Sydney a week earlier in Mt Barker, it wouldn’t be out of place for the Eagles to capitulate yet again in the face of rising expectations.
After opening the season against three of the top four teams [Port Adelaide, GWS, Sydney], plus the Bulldogs, this match against an injured-depleted Richmond provided the first genuine opportunity to see what West Coast are capable of under less adverse conditions in the middle of the ground. With the Tiger onball representation reduced to L.Baker, T.Dow and J.Graham, they did appear to be ripe for the picking to a team that had just out-matched the Swans in both contested possessions and effective disposals.
Instead, Richmond won 7 of the first 8 clearances of the match and used their pace ahead of the ball to convert opportunities into goals. 20 minutes after the opening bounce and the score was 27-1 to Richmond’s advantage. The home fans were getting restless...
Enter Harley Reid.
With two players hanging off him, the 18-year old wins the clearance, feeds Cole with a handpass, whose kick then hits Darling on the lead. Goal.
At the next centre bounce, it is Reid that gets the ball to Yeo who clears out to Duggan to get the ball forward. From the ensuing stoppage, Reid pushes forward, takes the handball from Darling and snaps. Goal.
Then from the next centre bounce, Reid’s aggressive run ahead of the ball is what drags S.Bolton out of position to allow Kelly to break out of the front of the stoppage and hit Waterman. Goal.
Three goals in less than two minutes, the number 1 pick involved in each.
After struggling for the majority of the term, West Coast went into quarter time with all the momentum. That momentum then carried into the second quarter as confidence levels rose and the Eagles midfield became rampant, providing the attack with plenty of opportunity, which were in turn converted into goals. By half time Yeo had 8 clearances, Kelly 5. Waterman was the primary beneficiary up forward, kicking 4 goals before half time. An 8 goal quarter saw a 19 point lead at the main break.
The match was a complete shoot-out, with neither team providing much in the way of defence, particularly around stoppage. In a strange nod to the members of the 1987 team that spoke to the squad before it took to the field, this match was being played in a style more reminiscent of their era. Whether the current team could maintain the level of pressure and effort on display throughout the second half remained to be seen.
Once again, enter Harley Reid.
When the game was at a tipping point, it was he who rose and asserted that his team would remain on top.
H.Reid: 3rd quarter statistics
- 13 disposals
- 6 contested possessions
- 5 clearances
- 3 inside 50s
- 3 score involvements
- 207 metres gained
In just his 5th game of senior football.
+16 inside 50s and 10 scoring shots to 2 saw the margin blow out to 42 points at three-quarter time and the contest effectively ended.
With the Tigers broken and looking ahead to the bye, a 1.5 last quarter in front of goal from West Coast spoilt the icing on the cake and failed to deliver the scoreboard margin that was perhaps warranted by the level of dominance by the club on-field.
Despite the late-game profligacy, this 39 point result is the biggest win for the club since Round 18, 2021.
Granted, Richmond were very depleted and travel-fatigued, but you can only perform against the opponent that is there on the day. For the first time in almost three years, West Coast out-matched the opposition in all areas of the ground – indeed, some of those figures concerning the level of dominance are quite startling:
The 66 points scored from clearances in this match is also the equal-5th highest for the club in the last 10 years.
- +38 contested possessions
- +23 clearances (2nd biggest differential for club in the last 10 years)
- +21 inside 50s
- +28 disposals
- +27 ground ball gets
- +503 metres gained
From the 27 minute mark of the second quarter until the first minute of the fourth quarter, West Coast led the clearances 22-3, the inside 50s 27-3 and the contested possessions 53-26.
Regardless of the quality of the opponent, that is a demolition. There were significant periods of play where the Tigers could barely even touch the ball. What more could possibly be asked for?
As could be expected with the best outing seen in many years, the list of positives was both long and detailed, as attested by the 11+ pages seen within this thread already.
Rather than retrace what others have already posted here, I’ll write of three narratives.
Elliot Yeo
It is so easy to forget just how good Yeo is when fully fit.
27 disposals, 19 contested possessions, 15 clearances, 15 ground ball gets,13 score involvements, 2 goals.
Easily one of the most dominant midfield displays that will be seen this season. Is it Qatar, or the new fitness team (or indeed, both) that have provided us with the reminder of his ability – if so, we can only wonder on what may have been had they been enacted earlier.
The tragic in me however wants to believe that his renaissance is because the footballing Gods have chosen him to fulfil the task of mentoring H.Reid and granted restored health to complete it.
Harley Reid
Buckle-up folks, we’re about to watch the greatest player of this generation take down the competition whilst wearing the wings and number 9.
The hype is real – it was always going to be real. There are just too many cameras, clicks, posts and articles written over such a long period, that when an anomaly like Reid comes along, the volume of content validates itself. Any deficiencies that exist will be magnified – and despite spending two years under the presumptive number 1 pick microscope, none were found. When that happens, you know something very rare is about to occur.
What has been surprising is how rapid his adaptation to the highest level has been. It was only 7 weeks ago when he looked lost during general play and could only manage 7 disposals off the half-back flank. The evolution seen from there is frankly terrifying in the most positive of ways.
After just a handful of senior matches a rookie has become the performance barometer of the club. Incredible stuff.
Obviously, a lot is getting cycled in regard to the fends, shrugged tackles and breakaway runs, but to me perhaps the most impressive piece of play was this one:
View attachment 1961747
Reid finds himself in a one-on-one marking contest with B.Miller for Hunt’s kick up the wing. Miller is listed as 198cm and 98kg, yet Reid is able to hold his position and protect the drop of the ball whilst Miller loses his feet. From there, Reid is able to gather the ball off the ground, have the awareness to evade D.Rioli who was closing in rapidly, and then handball to Darling whilst still moving backwards, which results in a spot-up to Yeo for goal.
The level of difficulty involved in that brief moment of play is immense. 65% of players in the competition see that ball fisted out of bounds. Another 20% will gain possession only to be claimed by D.Rioli. 10% may get to evade D.Rioli but then miss with the handball. It is my opinion that only 5% of players could execute that piece of play – and yet Reid made it look damn easy as an 18-year old.
This is why he is such a rare talent, he can create goals from situations that are far beyond the capabilities of most players. And this is just the beginning.
Jake Waterman
Everyone loves a story about someone overcoming adversity. Everyone loves to see a key forward kicking a bag of goals as well. Waterman did both in one of the great feel-good performances of the year.
18 disposals, 13 marks, 8 contested marks, 11 score involvements, 6 goals.
Those 6 goals kicked are the most in a match by an Eagle since J.Kennedy kicked 8 in his farewell game in 2022.
His total of 8 contested marks during is the equal-11th highest of all-time and fell just one short of the combined total from Richmond.
He also covered 14.2km – more than any other West Coast player.
Waterman’s career thus far has been typified by things going against him – being a key forward at a time when the two in front will finish their careers as 1st and 2nd in the all-time goal scoring list for the club – then see a younger rival move ahead once the selection opportunity arises. Only to then have his own body send him to the sidelines for almost a year.
For him to have such a day out against Richmond is a slice of just reward for an incredible amount of determination and effort that he has shown during what have no doubt, been lonely and fearful times.
I still see Waterman as the best one-on-one marking forward in the team. With Darling nearing the end, perhaps now will be the time when things start to fall Jake’s way.
Sunday against Richmond was a bright glimpse into the future. By owning contest, clearance and retention, West Coast largely prevented the Tigers from touching the ball for significant periods.
That is the intended gameplan in action and being executed.
The club is putting together a team that will in time be very strong at contest and stoppage, but also will be very hard to disrupt by tackle. If they get the balance right, with pace on the outside, it has every reason to be a frightening combination for the rest of the competition.
As for this season, other opponents will not be anywhere near as weak as Richmond were, and certainly won’t provide the defensive leniency around stoppage that was given by the Tigers.
Clouds will return, rain shall fall. But the days in between when the sun shines shall also get shorter too.
And for now, whilst the sun remains shining in this moment, I’m going to enjoy it.
