Bloods respond to back-to-back losses with 51-point win over Eagles

WEST Adelaide responded to back-to-back losses with a convincing 51-point victory over a disappointing Eagles at Richmond Oval on Saturday.

WEST Adelaide responded to back-to-back losses with a convincing 51-point victory over a disappointing Woodville-West Torrens at Richmond Oval on Saturday.

It was not a pretty win in the muddy, slippy conditions but it was a performance of conviction and spirit.

This was a win built on hard work, enthusiasm and a fierce desire for the contest. There was also the significant factor of the Bloods' superior ability to adapt to the conditions.

The Bloods have now earned nine wins and they climbed a game clear of fourth-placed Eagles.

"Sometimes as a coach you just admire the playing group," Bloods coach Andrew Collins said.

"I'm just so proud of what they were able to do.

"This was one of our more complete games of the year. We had what I call personal best performances out there from some players, particularly some of our younger players."

The Eagles were dealt a huge blow midway through the first quarter when Crows-listed Jared Petrenko had to be helped from the field after taking a heavy knock in a clash of bodies.

He was taken down the players race and did not return to the game.

The tone of the encounter was established early with plenty of mistakes and as expected in the testing conditions, little free flowing ball movement.

That was more an issue for the Eagles, who struggled to find any cohesion or confidence when in possession.

There was far too much sideways movement from the visitors although the Bloods' ability to retreat numbers created plenty of confusion for the Eagles.

Coughing up a swag of mistakes in defence, the Eagles were punished on the scoreboard by committed Bloods outfit ready to pounce on any opportunity.

The Bloods were far more desperate and constantly got numbers to the contest. And when not in possession, they harrassed opponents and their tackling pressure was relentless.

After building a 21-point half-time buffer, the Bloods bagged six goals in the third quarter to put the game all but out of reach of an Eagles side struggling for answers.

To borrow an aging cliche, the Eagles just did not turn up to play. And as the game lengthened the Eagles became undisciplined as frustration crept in.

The Bloods defence, led by captain Ryan Ferguson and Joel Tippett, blanketed the Eagles attack while Shane Birss, Travis Tuck and Ben Macreadie were extremely active on the ball.

Eagles coach Michael Godden said his side missed simple targets and was not competitive at the 50-50 contests.

"It was not a lack of talent or structure," Godden said.

"It was a lack of endeavour.

"We have been up for so long and were up against a club which had won one of its past five games and was going to make a stand on their home ground - and they did."

WEST ADELAIDE  2.2  5.6  11.8  13.9 (87)

EAGLES                  1.2  2.3    3.5    5.6 (36)

BEST - West: Ferguson, Birss, Tuck, Tippett, Macreadie, Schiller, Keough. Eagles: Lewis, Sumner, Raymond, Thompson.

SCORERS - West: Keough 4.1, Rankine 4.0, Birss, Beech 1.1, Tuck, Hill, Kirk 1.0, Macreadie 0.2, Bonney, Homburg 0.1, rushed 0.2. Eagles: Borholm, Day, Goldsworthy, Lewis, Mitchell 1.0, Allmond 0.2, Thompson, Ainger, Salter 0.1, rushed 0.1.

INJURIES - Eagles: Petrenko (concussion).

UMPIRES - M. Avon, T. Medlin, M. Schram.