Eagles tame toothless TigersTim Clarke, Perth | August 29, 2009
FOR a game that supposedly meant nothing, there were an awful lot of meaningful storylines in the first game of this year's final home-and-away round.
On the surface it was two teams in the bottom five, with West Coast's comfortable 17.23 (125) to 6.9 (45) victory over Richmond confirming its 2009 improvement, while also solidifying the size of the task facing Damien Hardwick next season.
Underneath, the clash had numerous emotional undercurrents.
Graham Polak's first game back in his home town since his horrific ordeal. Jade Rawlings' last game as Richmond coach and Mark Coughlan and Nathan Brown's final appearances as players for the Tigers.
The same landmark being reached for Eagles Chad Fletcher and Adam Hunter, the latter cruelled by a chronic shoulder complaint in what should have been his prime.
David Wirrpanda's late withdrawal after partner Shannon went into labour in the afternoon added another element of theatre for another player with an uncertain football future.
And centre stage, over-arching it all, was Ben Cousins, returning to Subiaco Oval to take on the club he once loved, and the supporters that mostly still love him.
After an initial reception as warm as the night was cold, Cousins' every touch was met with part cheer, part jeer from the Eagles faithful, who have never quite come to terms with how their golden boy became so tarnished, and why their team had to suffer.
With the Eagles' No. 1 tagger Adam Selwood trailing him - an indication of how much John Worsfold still rates his former spiritual leader - Cousins still found the football 28 times, but was powerless to curtail his ex-employer.
The Eagles should have had the contest wrapped up after the first quarter, which saw them score 12 times from 15 forward entries, but only four of them majors.
The Eagles sprinted out to a lead which threatened to get embarrassing for the visitors, and did in the end. Cousins' spat with one of his successors, Brad Ebert, sparked some life into the Tigers, with Polak's first goal since his return from the injuries suffered in his collision with a Melbourne tram paying back some of the luck that deserted him so horribly last year.
Two jagged goal-square bounces beat two Eagles players to the line, and gave the former Docker his brightest football moment in a dark year.
But Nick Naitanui continued to make his mark at the stoppages, and Tom Swift's incessant need to tackle allowed West Coast to kick four of the last five goals of the half and take a decisive lead.
With Fletcher's efforts summing up why the Eagles have not sought to extend his career - hit and miss being the easiest way to sum up his disposal - Coughlan and Brown were both trying hard to advertise their wares to potential suitors without either really convincing. And so as the past caught up with plenty of those on show, one passage from Naitanui and a complete game from Swift, showed the draft which came after the Eagles' worst ever on-field season could prove to be one of the best.
Naitanui's leap, tackle, gather, crunch and handball in one sustained blur of arms and legs in the third quarter raised the volume among the crowd to levels only Cousins once induced. And while Swift, like Coughlan, has also endured two knee reconstructions in too short a time span, he showed an intensity and poise which the Richmond man could only aspire to.
With Brett Deledio fighting a lone hand with 10 possessions in the third quarter, it equated to only a point to his team on the scoreboard as the Eagles' massive superiority gave it 6.4 for the quarter.
And the main beneficiary was fittingly Mark Le Cras, consistently the Eagles' brightest spark this season in the forward line, and occasionally in midfield, who finished with five goals, the last of which summed up the Tigers' miserable year.
Jordan McMahon's attempt to kick to himself and play on ended with a footpass straight to the West Coast forward, whose verbal volley towards the Tiger may be repeated many times by Hardwick in the months of pre-season to come.
WEST COAST 4.8 9.14 15.18 17.23 (125)
RICHMOND 1.3 5.5 5.6 6.9 (45)
GOALS
West Coast: LeCras 5, Staker 3, McKinley 2, Ebert, Hurn, Kennedy, Embley, Swift, Spangher, Lynch.
Richmond: McMahon, Deledio, Polak, Tuck, Edwards, Morton.
BEST
West Coast: LeCras, Swift, A Selwood, Hurn, Lynch.
Richmond: Deledio, Cousins, Jackson, Edwards, Tuck.
INJURIES: Wirrpanda replaced in selected team by McNamara.
West Coast:
UMPIRES: James, Grun, H Ryan.
CROWD: 39,017 at Subiaco Oval.
MAIN MEN
As one of the past greats made his return to the Eagles' nest, so one of the potential successors to his midfield crown in Tom Swift rose to the top under the Friday night lights. His high-kneed running style may have caused his teammates to compare him to a trotting horse, but the desire to win the football where it hurts, leading all-comers in contested ball and tackles, indicated Swift is no show pony.
TURNING POINT
There wasn't one, as the tide was constantly against Richmond from the first bounce. Four Eagles goals in the first 10 minutes set the tone for the evening and while Ben Cousins and Brett Deledio toiled, there was nothing really to be positive about for the Tigers. Dean Polo's triple clangers in the first half summed up the night and the season for Tigers fans.
THE UPSHOT
West Coast finishes with twice as many wins as the annus horribilis of last year, and with stalwarts Fletcher and Hunter riding off into the sunset, the massive progression of Shannon Hurn and Mark LeCras was mirrored on the night. For Richmond, a year that had such optimism before the first bounce ended in round 22 as it started in round one, with a convincing loss and a massive rebuilding job for Damien Hardwick.
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