West Coast and Melbourne have different ways to win prelim final, writes Matthew Lloyd
MELBOURNE midfield group is far superior to that of the Eagles but West Coast’s great strength is their height at both ends of the ground. This final can go either way, writes MATTHEW LLOYD.
TODAY’S clash in the west boils down to control versus chaos.
The steady West Coast Eagles trying to contain the frenetic Melbourne game style.
You could not have two more contrasting game styles.
Under Adam Simpson the West Coast Eagles love be able to control the speed of
the game by owning possession of the ball through elite field kicking and countless
uncontested marks.
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Simon Goodwin, by contrast, wants a chaotic game where the ball is flowing from one end of the ground to the other at breakneck speed.
It will be fascinating to see which side can get the game on their terms first, once the initial heat and nervous energy seeps out of the game.
Melbourne could not come into this game with any more momentum or confidence, which was built off the back of a huge win against the Eagles in Round 22 in Perth.
That victory secured the Demons their first finals berth since 2006.
Simon Goodwin was delivered the chaotic game he wanted from the first bounce.
The Demons kicked the first four goals of the match through Mitch Hannan, Sam Weideman, Alex Neal-Bullen and James Harmes.
Melbourne was just too quick for the Eagles early on but to the Eagles’ credit, they were able to wrestle back momentum and hit the front in the last quarter before Melbourne scored the last three goals to win by 17 points.
It was a season-defining victory.
Melbourne’s midfield group led by Max Gawn is far superior to that of the Eagles and it is an area in which they can ask serious questions of their Western Australian opposition.
The West Coast Eagles great strength comes in the form of their height at either end of the ground with the likes of Tom Barrass, Jeremy McGovern, Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy.
I don’t believe there is a better quartet of key position players in the AFL.
With a game won more often than not through the midfield, Melbourne’s onballers need to dominate the stoppages if the Demons are to win.
It is not necessarily the case for the Eagles.
As good as Elliot Yeo and Luke Shuey are, Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy are the Eagles most important players.
West Coast has an imposing 12-0 record when the two of them have played together this year.
Kennedy and Darling were instrumental in their finals win against Collingwood when the game was on the line in the last quarter.
The Eagles midfield did lift but all Kennedy and Darling need is half a chance and they will beat their direct opponents more often than not.
One Eagles big man will be less comfortable. Scott Lycett would have had a sleepless night last night.
Max Gawn averages 16 hit outs to advantage a game compared to Lycett’s four.
Gawn will also push back into defence to support his key defenders to help nullify the influence of Kennedy and Darling.
Lycett needs to push hard forward himself to keep Gawn accountable to allow Kennedy and Darling some one-on-one contests with Oscar McDonald and Sam Frost.
If Lycett or Vardy for that matter can manage to kick a goal on Gawn in the process, it’s a
massive bonus.
This game is a flip of the coin, but I’m tipping the Eagles in a close one by 15 points.
BURNING QUESTIONS
Who will James Harmes put the tag on?
Elliot Yeo is a big game player and after 36 disposals and nine inside 50s in the first final
against Collingwood, Harmes will go after him aggressively. He will look to curtail Yeo’s influence forward of centre andat the stoppages because the Eagles midfield relies heavily on him.
Who will Jordan Lewis play on?
Lewis has had a strong finals series and has shown his worth through football smarts and experience. Neville Jetta and MichaelHibberd allow him to drop off his player as they take
the two most dangerous small forwards. Today he will have to take Willie Rioli, Jamie Cripps
or Liam Ryan who you do not want to give an inch to. I will watch Lewis with great interest
today as he will have to be more accountable than in previous weeks.
How much is the home ground advantage worth to the Eagles?
The Perth Stadium crowd is deafening and the Eagles are a five goal better side at home with 60,000 screaming fans behindthem and virtually no crowd support for the opposition. Not leaving Western Australia for a month will certainly have freshenedthem up physically and mentally. I know Melbourne did beat them at Optus Stadium in Rpund 22 but doing it again in a big finalwill be extremely difficult.
Originally published as West Coast and Melbourne have different ways to win prelim final, writes Matthew Lloyd