West Coast overcome 22-year first but lose Josh Kennedy in victory

A historically poor quarter wasn’t enough to keep the Eagles down, but the win has come at a cost with the loss of a star player.

The Eagles finished the season on a high.

The West Coast Eagles have taken down North Melbourne in their final game of the 2020 season, but it has come at a cost.

As the team overcame a nightmare start to the game, star forward Josh Kennedy was left sitting on the bench with his head in his hands.

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Kennedy injured his ankle in the second quarter after landing awkwardly in a marking contest, coach Adam Simpson provided an update at halftime.

“It’s something new,” he said.

“He can’t feel it, it doesn’t hurt but it’s swollen a little bit so we’ll just have to wait and see about getting him back on or not.”

He took no further part in the game as the Eagles went on to secure the 7.6 (48) to 4.10 (34) victory.

AFL live scores: Round 18 match centre

Not great news for Josh.

A loss wouldn’t have affected the Eagles’ place on the ladder, but they started in disastrous fashion when they failed to hit the scoreboard in the first quarter for only the third time in the club’s history.

The last instance came way back in round 21, 1998 against St Kilda.

Earning the win lifts them currently into third place on the ladder as they await Richmond and Geelong’s games.

If both the Tigers and Cats win the Eagles will drop back to fifth place on the ladder and secure a home elimination final.

If one of the two wins the Eagles will finish in fourth and face either Port Adelaide or Brisbane in a qualifying final. If both teams lose they’ll remain in third.

Livewire forward Liam Ryan once again provided the spark the Eagles needed as they rebounded from the opening quarter woes to flip the script on North.

Liam Ryan goes bang!#AFLNorthEagles pic.twitter.com/fy7NOiQf2F

— AFL (@AFL) September 17, 2020

Currently sitting second last on the ladder, North can still claim the wooden spoon provided the Adelaide Crows can pull off a miracle and defeat Richmond by more than 11 goals on Saturday.

Originally published as West Coast overcome 22-year first but lose Josh Kennedy in victory