WEST Coast's finals hopes are almost dead and buried after the Eagles suffered a 34-point loss, 17.11 (113) to 11.13 (79), to Sydney at Patersons Stadium yesterday.
Sydney unleashed a midfield master class to secure the win, moving the defending premier within two points of second spot.
In contrast, West Coast is now two wins adrift of eighth place and highly unlikely to reach the finals.
Although the Eagles will start favourites against the Bulldogs (away) and Gold Coast over the next fortnight, they must produce huge upsets in order to beat the likes of Essendon (away), Geelong and Collingwood (MCG) in the run home.
Sydney is now a game clear inside the top four before Sunday's match with a resurgent Richmond at the SCG.
In a further blow for West Coast, star midfielder Luke Shuey was subbed off at half-time after suffering a hamstring injury.
The Swans dominated the midfield battle, with Daniel Hannebery (40 possessions, two goals), Kieren Jack (30 possessions, two goals) and Josh Kennedy (29 possessions, one goal) all starring.
Such was Sydney's dominance, it led the inside-50m count 43-20 at three-quarter-time, with their 37-point lead at the final change proving too much to run down for the Eagles.
West Coast skipper Darren Glass was a rock in defence, but the Eagles struggled to create many clear-cut opportunities for their star-studded forward line.
The Swans' sublime skills in close at the stoppages proved to be the difference, allowing them to win the clearance battle and set up wave after wave of attacks.
Hannebery and Kennedy had 24 possessions and two goals between them in the opening term as the Swans took a six-point lead into the first break.
Shuey, who had missed three games with a hamstring tear, seemed to aggravate the injury in the second term, robbing West Coast of one of their best midfielders.
AAP
No comments:
Post a Comment