Josh Kennedy kicks seven as West Coast Eagles confirm AFL flag credentials
West Coast kicked the biggest score of a bizarre season with a phenomenal 66-point mauling of Collingwood.
West Coast kicked the biggest score of a bizarre season with a phenomenal 66-point mauling of Collingwood in Perth that confirmed their legitimacy as a premiership contender.
Before the clash against the Magpies, coach Adam Simpson said the true test as to whether the Eagles had found their best would come against the Magpies and then Geelong.
The response to the first part of the challenge was resounding, with West Coast dominant against a fellow premiership contender at Optus Stadium.
After trailing at quarter-time, the Eagles kicked 13 goals in succession to demolish the Magpies and jump from 10th position into the top four.
West Coast’s 18.3 (111) edged by one point the score the top-placed Port Adelaide booted when thrashing the Crows in the Showdown in the season-resuming round in June.
Five-time premiership Hawk Dermott Brereton rated the Eagles “the team to beat” for the flag in analysis on Fox Footy after their triumph.
Best afield in the derby against Fremantle last Sunday, Josh Kennedy followed that by kicking seven goals against Collingwood when too strong for Darcy Moore and Jordan Roughead.
It is the biggest haul a key forward has kicked against the Magpies since fellow Coleman medallist Jeremy Cameron matched Kennedy’s tally in 2013.
Brisbane legend Jonathan Brown declared it the equivalent of kicking 15 goals in decades past given the restraints key forwards face now in terms of space and match style.
In preceding rounds Collingwood, which boasted the most miserly defence in the competition, had held Geelong to 35 points and Hawthorn to 27.
But with Nic Naitanui dominating the all-star ruck clash against Brodie Grundy and returning captain Luke Shuey among the Eagles midfielders running rampant, the Pies were sliced apart.
Collingwood suffered a significant blow when captain Scott Pendlebury was withdrawn just before the opening bounce with a stiff back and tight quads muscle.
But it was not until the second term that the Eagles rendered the Magpies’ defence second rate, although Pendlebury’s leadership was clearly missed.
The accelerator will be floored on a compressed season from Wednesday night when the AFL races through four rounds of football in just 20 days.
But after doing the hard yards in the initial hub in Queensland, the Eagles are clearly revelling in the comforts of home.
And the demands over the next four weeks are mild compared to the mayhem others will deal with as they spend at least the next month in Perth.
West Coast have six days to recover for a clash with the Cats before enjoying a bye in Round 10.
They then host Carlton once the Blues have cleared quarantine on August 9 and Hawthorn a week later.
A congested ladder, which sees only two games separating Port Adelaide from the 12th-placed Giants, adds interest to the 20-day streak of football.
The Saints under Brett Ratten are on the march but Essendon also made a move in Adelaide on Sunday, admittedly in contrasting fashion to the Eagles.
The Bombers drew level on wins with the Eagles, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs after denying the Crows their first victory of 2020 by three points at Adelaide Oval.
Essendon has a game in hand and play Brisbane, the Giants, the Suns and St Kilda over the next three weeks.
St Kilda created history with their accuracy when toppling Port Adelaide by 29 points on Saturday night. Their score of 12.1 (73) is the most accurate in VFL/AFL history.
Before last Monday, the Saints had never won a match at Adelaide Oval but now have successive wins over the Crows and Port Adelaide in the space of five days. But their optimism has been tarnished by the prospect that Dan Hannebery’s season may be over due to another hamstring problem, this time with the tendon.
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COLL have been conceding 42 points a game in 2020
— Swamp (@sirswampthing) July 26, 2020
WCE kicked 44 points against them in the opening half
@WestCoastEagles #AFLEaglesPies @AFL
Most accurate scores by winning V/@AFL teams
— Swamp (@sirswampthing) July 25, 2020
92.3% - 2020 R08 - STK v PORT 12.1 (73)
90.0% - 1994 R18 - stk v ess 18.2 (110)
88.9% - 1897 R13 - ess v sth 8.1 (49)
88.2% - 1929 R01 - coll v rich 15.2 (92)
87.0% - 2000 R15 - frem v syd 20.3 (123)
@stkildafc #AFLPowerSaints
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