Eagles produce miraculous escape against Cats
Ladder-leaders West Coast produced one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the game as it came from nine goals down to beat Geelong by three points in the round 10 AFL clash at Kardinia Park this afternoon.

Trailing by 54 points midway through the third quarter, the Eagles turned it on to kick 12 of the last 15 goals of the match to post a thrilling 16.5 (101) to 15.8 (9 win over the Cats, whose season is all but over after being touted as an early premiership favourite.

Despite the best efforts of Cameron Mooney (17 touches, three goals) and Joel Corey (36 touches, five tackles), the Cats slumped to their seventh loss of the season, and the players were visibly shattered after the siren.

Geelong coach Mark Thompson said he was stunned by his team's second half fadeout and was at a loss to explain the defeat.

"We played the best footy in the first two-and-a-half quarters that we have for a long time so I was really pleased with that," he said.

"I spoke to them at half-time, all positive, and said OK we put ourselves in the position doing these things, lets just keep doing it.

"We weren't able to."

Missing inspirational captain Chris Judd through injury, the Eagles looked listless early on as the Cats shot to a 39-point half-time lead in front of a jubilant home crowd keen to see the Cats get their season back on track after six losses from their past seven outings.

The home side looked to have wrapped up the game as they went nine goals clear in the third quarter, but the Eagles stepped it up a gear as midfielders Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr spearheaded a memorable comeback.

The duo were simply awesome in the final term, both recording 31 touches and a goal for the match to inspire the team in the absence of Judd and lift the side to its first win at Kardinia Park since 1999.

Geelong looked a completely different side early on as it opened up a commanding 39-point lead at half-time.

The Cats stunned the Eagles in the first quarter, kicking seven goals to two with the wind at their backs, and then held the visitors to two goals in the second term while kicking three of their own.

Paul Chapman, Steve Johnson and Mooney all bagged first-half doubles for the Cats, while Corey had a mountain of possession with 21 disposals.

The Eagles missed Judd's presence in the midfield, with only Kerr (12 touches) and David Wirrpanda (15 touches) exerting any influence on the match.

The Cats continued their dominance after the break with the first two goals of the quarter, before Eagles ruckman Dean Cox kick-started the amazing sequence of goals for the Eagles, who clawed their back to within 36 points at the final change.

Tom Harley's loss was particularly telling for the Cats, who saw the Eagles dominate up forward after his departure as they kicked the first six goals of the final term.

Fittingly it was a brilliant goal from Kerr that gave the Eagles the lead, kicking truly from a set-shot from a tight angle in the right pocket to complete a 10-goal turnaround with eight minutes on the clock.

Despite a neat banana kick from Nathan Ablett that gave the Cats the lead once more just two minutes later, Adam Hunter sealed the win for West Coast with a running goal three minutes from time.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200606/s1654550.htm

That was a good game, almost as good as watching the Crows last night.

im not a big eagles fan but that was a gr8 match gotta admit eagles pretty good team

Quoted from Paula

That was a good game, almost as good as watching the Crows last night.

That must have been a great game for Crows fans, pretty boring for the rest of us, the Crows won sooooooooo easily....

I did'nt like the Final Quarter one but, the Eagles should've stayed behind 54 Points down at Three Quarter Time and Geelong Would've won and if only if it has Rained During the Match, Geelong Could've won easily.

Quoted from Jellyman32000

I did'nt like the Final Quarter one but, the Eagles should've stayed behind 54 Points down at Three Quarter Time and Geelong Would've won and if only if it has Rained During the Match, Geelong Could've won easily.

its all a big if  hehe,  

West Coast just pulled off another miraculous escape against Carlton today, they were 44 points down at one stage. I very nearly turned the Tele off in the last quarter, glad I didnt.   You have to give them credit, they never know when to lie down.

and they continued that persistence into the Preliminary Finals!

I'm for the Crows right now. Go SA

This time they only just hung on.  Good game though!

I agree totally Giz. I watched every moment and was disgusted by the wallowing self indulgent self pity by some of the Swans players and the sheer and utter disregard for the children handing out the medals by some players in the West Coast Eagles team. These darling little kids stood and waited to hand the medals to their heroes only to be dismissed as almost invisible by some players. The more self focused, ego driven, players for the Eagles were the one's who were dismissive of these kids. Unable to hold off with punching the air and raising their arms in triumph. Unable to take one second to acknowledge the kids who were their fans with a handshake and/or a pat on the head, back or shoulder. Such a shame!
Congratulations to the Eagles for winning such a nail biting game and commiserations to the Swannies. Losing by one point in such a closely fought grand final is nothing to be ashamed of.

Wirrpanda apologetic about snubbing children

West Coast defender David Wirrpanda says he is embarrassed he and some of his team-mates failed to shake the hands of the children who presented them with their AFL premiership medals.

Several Eagles, including Wirrpanda, have been criticised for failing to acknowledge the children during the post-grand final presentation at the MCG following the one-point win over Sydney.

Wirrpanda said that after seeing the footage of the presentation he was disappointed with himself.

"I've just seen the footage this morning, I didn't realise," he said.

"I'll be going out of my way to do what I can, whether it's sending a signed jumper or getting the family over and having dinner or whatever.

"The aura of the stadium and the pressure is just coming down and realising what we've just achieved, that's the only thing that's kind of bouncing around in your mind."

Wirrpanda said he was apologetic if people were offended by the behaviour of the Eagles.

"It's something that I'll make up to those young kids and hopefully the public over in Melbourne and the rest of the country don't look at it the wrong way," he said.

"If I had my time over again I'd cuddle the whole lot of them."

The Eagles have also drawn criticism as a result of two players swearing during post-match television interviews.


http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200610/s1753819.htm

I hear that the WCE are looking to change their name to the West Coast Turkeys.  Following their lacklustre performance against the mighty Lions yesterday, calling themselves turkeys would still be a bit ambitious.

I'm sorry lawnbowler, I know the feeling.

Eagles not expecting penalties

The West Coast Eagles do not expect to receive sanctions when they meet with the AFL Commission in Melbourne today.

The Eagles management and team leaders will be asked to explain the recent off field indiscretions by several players at the club.

Eagles coach John Worsfold says his club has learnt from its mistakes.

"The club is still extremely well run and very, very strong and will be better and stronger, both off the field and with player behaviour on and off the field in the future," he said.

Worsfold said he is looking forward to a frank discussion.

"You'd like to be able to answer the AFL's questions adequately, certainly to their expectation, which I think we can do," he said.

"And if there's areas we're short, we'll we're looking forward to their advice on how we can get better."

http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200704/s1909114.htm