Eagles soar in hunt for top four position

Damien Hardwick declared the time for contenders to stand up had arrived and West Coast and St Kilda responded in style.

Courtney Walsh

3 min read

8:33PMAugust 16, 2020.

Updated 9:03PMAugust 16, 2020

West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui continues to give the Eagles first use of the ball from rucking contests. Picture: Getty Images

On a day reigning premiership coach Damien Hardwick declared the time for contenders to stand up has arrived, flag favourite West Coast continued its surge towards the top with another emphatic win.

The Eagles are on the hottest streak in the competition and posted their seventh win in succession when they defeated Hawthorn by 32 points at Optus Stadium in Perth.

West Coast sits fourth, level with Geelong and St Kilda on eight wins, and a victory behind Port Adelaide and the Lions, who share top spot and have already secured a finals berth.

But the Eagles, who held Hawthorn scoreless in the opening term and were dominant in the air, have a game in hand on those rivals with a third of the season remaining.

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However, the value of finishing in the top two, which usually guarantees those sides a home qualifying final, may not necessarily be an advantage this season.

King of the pack: Liam Ryan.#AFLEaglesHawks pic.twitter.com/qr4E2t1Nvn
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) August 16, 2020

The AFL is yet to decide how the finals series will proceed, or where the grand final will be played, with differing COVID-19 quarantine restrictions in states posing a challenge.

But West Coast have indicated they are prepared to spend a fortnight quarantining in a hotel in Perth if it enables them to host at least one final at home, should they earn the right.

West Coast’s task will become tougher in the latter stages of the season when they rejoin the hub in Queensland following next Sunday’s clash against the Giants in Perth.

The Eagles have recently focused on strengthening their ability to handle the more slippery conditions they will face in Queensland at night. It was a hurdle early in their slow start to the season.

They will rejoin the hub with a clash against the defending premiers Richmond in Round 14 but face only one other rival currently in the eight in St Kilda in the run home.

Assessing the final stanza of the season, Hardwick declared; “This is where sides will stand up and hopefully we are one of those sides.”

The Tigers will tighten the race for a top four spot, and the double-chance, should they defeat the Gold Coast on Monday night in Brisbane in what now looks like a race in six.

Collingwood is in seventh spot but ailing with a long injury list, while Melbourne appear the best-placed of clubs that stretch down to the Suns in 13th to claim a finals spot.

Hunting for a double-chance, St Kilda were ruthless when defeating Essendon by 35 points on the Gold Coast earlier on Sunday, in the process denting the Bombers finals hopes.

The Saints game day preparation for the victory was far from ideal. A delay on their bus ride from Noosa to the Gabba meant they had to forego their regular warm up for the match.

But St Kilda captain Jarryn Geary said the ability to overcome obstacles was crucial to negotiating the challenges of the 2020 season.

“We spoke about needing to adapt on the fly, not to make excuses … and today was not ideal, (but) we have spoken about it through this whole scenario, to control what we can control … and today was another example of that,” he said.

When assessing the importance of Monday night’s game against the Gold Coast, Hardwick broke from the usual cliche trotted out by coaches.

“It is so tight. There are any one of 13 sides still in it at the moment. These games are really eight-point games from our point of view,” Hardwick said.

The game between West Coast and Richmond on August 27 is an example. So, too, St Kilda’s clash against Brisbane at the Gabba next Sunday.

St Kilda has three matches against current top eight clubs to come, as well as outings against Hawthorn and the ninth-placed Giants.

Hawthorn’s triple premiership captain Luke Hodge, who spent the past two seasons of his career with the Lions, described St Kilda as a “youthful and energetic” side.

With Aaron Naughton dominant in attack, the Western Bulldogs put the hapless Crows to the sword in an important percentage boosting win that keeps them in the race for the eight in the first match played on Sunday.