Nic Naitanui in successful comeback as Eagles soar past arch rival Fremantle in practice match

JOSH Kennedy fired up forward to lead his reformed Eagles to another summer victory over arch rival Fremantle.

WEST Coast big gun Josh Kennedy fired up forward and led his reformed Eagles to another confidence-building summer victory over arch rival Fremantle as Eagles power ruckman Nic Naitanui completed an important comeback.

Kennedy booted five goals, with four of those in the first-half, and Naitanui survived a prescribed 60-minute return as West Coast completed an unbeaten three-match NAB practice series with a 19-point win — 13.8 (86) to 9.13 (67) — on Thursday night.

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Exciting draftee Dom Sheed also effectively sealed a premiership season Round 1 debut against the Western Bulldogs late this month with another polished display.

News_Image_File: The Dockers’ Matt De Boer lands awkwardly after marking against the Eagles at Patersons Stadium.

The classy left-footer capped his game with a clever running goal early into the final term when Naitnaui slammed on a bone-jarring shepherd to send gutsy Dockers follower Lachie Neale flying and Sheed running onto an open goal face and the Eagles a 27-point lead.

Naitanui, 23, was making his first appearance after a summer-long recovery from agonising groin problems and was eased back into action with an on-ball running assignment and occasional ruck tap duties in the final term.

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West Coast’s innovative attacking system under new coach Adam Simpson smashed the Dockers by 84 points as well as handled premiership fancies Sydney at Blacktown by six goals ahead of the final full dress rehearsal against their bitter local enemy.

West Coast had a busy bunch of midfielders with distinct intention to win possession and pump the ball quickly and long into their scoring zones and apparently trying to beat Fremantle’s renowned defensive zoning and press.

The tactic established substantially less disposals overall for the Eagles with Fremantle forced to run with handball and shorter passing when in possession and regular big ball-winners Michael Barlow, David Mundy, Daniel Pearce and emerging follower Lachie Neale racking up hefty touches around midfield.

News_Image_File: Nic Naitanui got through his first game for 2014.

West Coast was well served by Kennedy’s presence and goal-finishing and more exciting signs from classy small forward sharpshooter Mark LeCras who also had effective stints on the ball where Matt Priddis, Luke Shuey and Sharrod Wellingham were all productive in generating scoring chances.

Giant Dockers ruckman Aaron Sandilands engaged in a spirited shootout around stoppages and on the ball against a tandem West Coast rotation of veteran Dean Cox, Callum Sinclair, Scott Lycett and Naitanui through the ruck.

Naitanui started as the substitute while star Dockers midfielder Nat Fyfe missed his second straight pre-season outing after the classy playmaker also sat out last week’s clash in Melbourne against the Western Bulldogs.

Fyfe, the Dockers reigning fairest-and-best, has had a week away from the main training track down as well as he recovers from a cork in his knee.

Feisty forward Hayden Ballantyne was also out as he nursed a cork in his thigh.

Fyfe and Ballantyne are tipped to recover in time to play against the Pies.

News_Image_File: Stephen Hill of the Dockers jumps to avoid being tackled by Jamie Cripps.

Naitanui was injected 23 minutes into the second term with West Coast up by two points and the big marking target up forward had an immediate impact with a free-kick from a shove in the back from veteran Dockers key defender Luke McPharlin.

Naitanui was sent into a ruck-roving role to start the second-half as Eagles plans to get the important big on-baller valuable run into his late summer match-conditioning ahead of a possible start in the official season against the Bulldogs on March 23.

Naitanui soared above a four-man pack to take a trademark big grab on the wing just three minutes after the long interval to thrill a crowd of around 15,000.

Eagles fans were in chorus with boos and jeers for Dockers on-ball tagger Ryan Crowley too.

The clash was scrappy at times early with a healthy intensity and both sides full-on with their more expected in-season match-ups including Crowley running with dangerous Eagles midfielder Luke Shuey and big Eric Mackenzie taking on Freo forward ace Matthew Pavlich.

Pavlich only played the second-half of the one-sided clash with the Eagles last month and was rested after the long break this outing having won just two possessions and kicking only one goal in a classy defensive shutdown from the close-checking Mackenzie.

News_Image_File: The Eagles’ Eric Mackenzie looks to get rid of the ball as a Michael Walters looms.

West Coast continued their summer-long experiment with former Melbourne small defender Jamie Bennell getting another assignment to run-with classy Dockers forward goal-shark Michael Walters.

Beefy big Eagles utility Mitch Brown also had time running with the dangerous Walters, in a repeat of their match-up when West Coast hammered the Dockers by 14 goals at Joondalup three weeks ago.

Another imposing experiment West Coast continued to reveal pre-season tactic to load their forward line at times with four big marking targets with resting rucks Cox, Naitanui or Sinclair as well as Kennedy and Darling around the goal mouth.

It encouraged a swift and lengthy penetration of kicking from around the midfield where recognised long kicking defender Shannon Hurn spent lengthy periods operating from a wing.

Dockers giant Sandilands also spent stints lurking forward when he rested off the ball as big Jack Hannath primed for an engagement with the Pies as back-up ruckman while big Zac Clarke continues his recovery from a knee injury.

Clarke looks set to miss at least another fortnight and projected to be available for a return into Round 2 against Gold Coast in Perth on March 29.

Match Details

West Coast: 2.2 7.5 11.6 13.8 (86)

Fremantle: 3.2 5.4 7.8 9.13 (67)

Goals:

West Coast: Kennedy 5, LeCras 2,Sheed 1, Darling 1, Sinclair 1, Cripps 1, Rosa 1, Collegde 1.

Fremantle: Pavlich 1, Sandilands 1, Barlow 1, Walters 1, Hannath 1, Sheridan 1, Taberner 1, Duffield 1, deBoer 1.

Best:

West Coast: Kennedy, LeCras, Priddis, Shuey, Yeo, Hurn, Wellingham.

Fremantle: Barlow, Neale, Mundy, Sandilands, McPharlin, Duffield, Crowley.

Umpires: Dean Margetts, Luke Farmer and Jeff Dalgeish.

Crowd: 14,000 (Approx)

Played at Patersons Stadium in Perth.