Match

West Coast Eagles vs St Kilda

Commentary / 29 Jun 2023

Pre Game

00:00
The Eagles have generated 44.3 percent of their score from clearances this season, which is the highest percentage in the AFL. Conversely, the Saints have generated 65.1 percent of their score from intercept possessions this season, which is also the highest percentage in the AFL.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:19
A fast start for the Saints with a goal from the opening centre bounce clearance. St Kilda is ranked sixth at winning centre bounce clearances and averages 9.2 points per game from this source.
01:37
West Coast also conceded a goal last week from the opening centre bounce. The Eagles concede an average of 20.4 points per game from this source (ranked last), which is almost double the AFL average of 10.4 points.
05:22
The first score of the game for the Eagles came from a forward 50 stoppage. West Coast has averaged 7.2 points per game from this source and kicked at least one goal from these stoppages in each of their last 11 games.
06:28
SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Oscar Allen)
07:22
West Coast scored its first goal of the game from its first forward half intercept. The Eagles have scored from only 28.3 percent of these intercepts this season (ranked last) and average 15.7 points per game from these chains.
08:59
West Coast is matching St Kilda for contested possessions (12-10) early in the game. The Eagles are ranked last for contested possession differential this season and lost this measure by a season-high 55 last week.
12:03
After St Kilda had the first four inside 50 entries of the game, West Coast has had four of the last five and matched the Saints for field position.
14:40
The Saints have lost possession from 45.7 percent of their kicks into the forward 50 this season (ranked last). Today, St Kilda has not taken a mark from its first seven entries and after kicking the opening goal had some issues connecting.
18:11
The goal to Jack Darling came from a forward 50 stoppage. West Coast has already had seven such stoppages in its forward 50 compared to two for St Kilda with the Eagles having an early 3-1 lead in forward 50 tackles that has helped lock the ball in their forward 50.
19:28
SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Noah Long)
20:27
A brilliant goal from the impressive Noah Long makes it three goals in a row for the Eagles. West Coast has not won any of its last 21 quarters, and this is already its highest score in an opening quarter since Round 3.
22:48
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mitch Owens)
22:58
An excellent piece of play from Mitch Owens led to the last goal for the Saints. Owens is ranked No.1 in the AFL for winning post-clearance contested possessions this season and has already won two such possessions today that have led to his two goals.
24:31
Eagles Interchange - Dom Sheed off due to the blood rule.
26:24
Both teams are recording high pressure ratings of over 200 in the opening quarter with a number of around-the-ground stoppages (24) contributing to this. Eagles captain Luke Shuey has already applied five tackles and is the No.1 pressure player on the ground.
26:56
Eagles Interchange - Jack Petruccelle off due to the blood rule.
28:56
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Max King)
29:13
St Kilda has won the last five clearances of the game. with the last of these by Max King giving the Saints a forward 50 stoppage goal. St Kilda has scored from only 53.1 percent of its forward 50 clearances this season which is ranked in the bottom-4.
30:30
SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jamie Cripps)
30:48
West Coast has scored two goals from its two centre bounce clearances this quarter. The Eagles have kicked three of their four goals from stoppages and rely on this source for scores more than any other team in the competition.
33:12
A much improved quarter from a spirited Eagles team. West Coast won post-clearance contested possessions 21-16, matched St Kilda for inside 50 entries, won the tackle count (28-25), and recorded its highest pressure rating for an opening quarter this season.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
00:12
Today is the first time that the Eagles have won any quarter since the third quarter of Round 9 against Gold Coast.
03:06
West Coast has a 15-1 lead in marks this quarter with a 27-6 advantage in disposals in a period of possession control.
03:23
SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Jack Darling)
03:34
Saints Interchange - Josh Battle and is possibly out for the game.
04:45
West Coast now leads 5-1 in forward 50 tackles and 6-0 in smothers with this pressure helping to keep the ball in its forward half and force St Kilda to defend.
06:02
St Kilda has conceded 389 disposals per game to its opposition which is more than any other team. West Coast also looks to be trying to maintain possession of the ball and draw the St Kilda players out of their defensive system.
06:59
SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Bailey J. Williams)
07:16
Another excellent long-range set shot from West Coast gives it a game-high 14-point lead. The goal followed an intercept in the midfield, and the Eagles lead 12-6 in such intercepts and 12-0 in points scored from these chains.
09:25
Saints Interchange - Sebastian Ross off due to an injury.
10:06
St Kilda is still yet to take a mark in its forward 50. The Saints average only 10.4 such marks per game (ranked 16th), and have not taken more than ten such marks in a game since Round 10.
12:25
SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Ryan Maric)
12:36
West Coast now leads 17-3 in forward half marks including 5-0 in forward 50 marks following the last goal to Ryan Maric. All three scores this quarter for the Eagles have followed an intercept in the defensive half and controlled ball movement.
14:03
A third centre bounce goal for West Coast who has now kicked the last four goals of the game. The Eagles have averaged 43 points across its last six games, but have already exceeded that today.
16:06
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
16:34
Luke Shuey has been prominent today for the Eagles with seven kicks at 100 percent efficiency, an equal game-high four score involvements that include two assists, three clearances, and a remarkable nine tackles (averages five per game).
19:55
SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jack Williams)
20:07
None of the scores this quarter for the Eagles have come from forward half chains with West Coast able to move the ball fluently from its back half. The last two goals kicked by Jack Williams and Elijah Hewett were their first AFL goals.
23:03
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Anthony Caminiti)
23:17
The goal to Anthony Caminiti ends a run of five goals to the Eagles. St Kilda has won the contested possession count 26-13 this quarter, but West Coast has recorded a kicking efficiency of 91 percent and leads 41-10 in marks.
25:30
SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Ryan Maric)
25:42
Some slick team work led to the last goal for Ryan Maric. Noah Long provided the assist and it was the fifth score the impressive Long has been involved in. The Eagles now lead 37-19 in points scored from stoppages.
28:02
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Anthony Caminiti)
28:12
A pair of forward 50 marks for the Saints provided the last goal for Anthony Caminiti. These were the first forward 50 marks of the game for St Kilda who trail 2-7 in this measure. Both goals for St Kilda this quarter have come from forward half stoppages.
28:19
Eagles Interchange - Luke Shuey off due to an injury.
29:48
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
30:39
The highest kicking efficiency recorded in any quarter this season by any team is 85.5 percent by Hawthorn against Brisbane in the third quarter of Round 13. West Coast has recorded kicking efficiency this quarter of 88 percent.
30:54
Eagle fans are appreciative of the first-half performance of their team. West Coast has dominated uncontested marks (59-23), restricted St Kilda to forward half kicking efficiency of 45 percent, and kicked an accurate 7.1 from set shots including 5.0 from beyond 40 metres.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
01:22
West Coast has recorded a post-clearance pressure factor this season of only 157 (ranked equal-last). Today the Eagles lead 189-161 in this measure.
01:34
Eagles Interchange - Jack Darling off due to an injury.
03:02
The Saints are conceding 19.1 intercept marks per game this season, which is not only the most this year, but also 1.4 more than any other team on record. West Coast leads 8-7 in intercept marks today.
03:14
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Dougal Howard)
04:34
Some strong forward half pressure by the Saints led to the last goal for Jack Higgins. St Kilda leads 6-2 in forward 50 tackles this quarter after only applying three such tackles in the first half.
07:34
St Kilda has denied West Coast uncontested marks early in the third quarter. The Saints lead 7-3 in this measure in this term after the Eagles dominated this count in the first half.
09:18
St Kilda has now kicked the last three goals in the game and has played much better this quarter. The Saints have kept the Eagles to just 38 percent kicking efficiency and are recording a pressure rating of over 240.
11:13
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mitch Owens)
11:22
A third goal for Mitch Owens who continues to have a standout season. St Kilda leads the inside 50 count 8-3 this term and their strong pressure is being led by Brad Crouch who has already applied 15 tackles.
14:30
SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Oscar Allen)
14:42
Another accurate long-range set shot from Oscar Allen ends a run of four goals to the Saints. Since Round 7, Allen has now kicked an exceptionally accurate 21.1.
16:03
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
17:24
SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jack Petruccelle)
19:37
An excellent crumb from Jack Petrucelle led to the last goal for the Eagles. Petrucelle has been used in a variety of roles lately and has attended a career-high 13 centre bounces today in a central midfield role.
20:32
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Dan Butler)
21:30
SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Elijah Hewett)
21:53
A hard ball get and accurate snap from Eiljah Hewett gives the Eagles their second goal of the game from a forward 50 stoppage and their third goal in a row. Hewett has five score involvements today that include three score launches and two goals.
23:54
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Dan Butler)
24:28
Dan Butler was not involved in any scores in the first half but has recorded four score involvements in this quarter including a return of 2.1 from three shots at goal.
26:29
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jade Gresham)
27:57
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jade Gresham)
28:08
Jade Gresham has recorded a team-high six score involvements today including the last goal and has been the No.1 ranked player on the ground this quarter with nine disposals, six contested possessions, and four score involvements.
30:56
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mason Wood)
31:13
St Kilda is slowly starting to gain ascendancy in this game with big advantages this quarter in inside 50 entries (16-7), ground balls (30-18), forward half marks (12-1), and shots at goal (10-3).
32:54
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Anthony Caminiti)
33:33
The Saints kicked 6.5 to 3.0 for the Eagles in the third quarter and started to dominate territory (65 percent time in forward half) and win contested possessions (42-31). St Kilda scored from eight of its 13 clearances in the third quarter and now leads 53-43 in points scored from stoppages.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:07
St Kilda won both of its games in Western Australia last season, having won only one of its previous 11 games in WA.
01:24
A career-high four goals for Mitch Owens and some slick ball movement from the Saints gives them the lead. St Kilda has generated eight inside 50 entries from 18 defensive 50 chains, while West Coast has just four inside 50 entries from 27 such chains.
04:03
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
05:53
Since half time, St Kilda leads 17-2 in forward half marks after West Coast won this count 20-7 in the first half. The Eagles lead 7-6 in forward 50 marks with both teams having issues finding a forward target.
06:15
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
07:40
In his return game today, Jamie Cripps has applied a team-high 12 tackles which includes a career-high eight tackles in the forward 50.
08:27
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Mason Wood)
09:12
St Kilda leads 19-8 in midfield intercepts since half time with this helping the Saints to an advantage in inside 50 entries (22-10) in the same period.
10:37
Saints Interchange - Bradley Hill off due to an injury.
12:19
St Kilda has had the last nine scores in the game for a return of 4.5 with West Coast having to defend repeat entries and finding it difficult to control the ball as it did in the first half.
13:20
SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Jack Williams)
14:45
Shannon Hurn has recorded a game-high 532 metres gained from his 28 disposals and 95 percent kicking efficiency. The kicking precision of Hurn has been crucial in the ball movement of the Eagles today.
15:21
SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Jack Petruccelle)
16:58
Brad Crouch has applied a career-high 17 tackles today which also equals the most in a game by any player in the AFL this season. West Coast leads the tackle count 85-65 which is well up on its season average (61.4) and the most it has applied in a game this season.
19:49
Saints Interchange - Cooper Sharman and is possibly out for the game.
20:40
St Kilda is continuing to win crucial contested possessions and now leads 142-106 in this count. Rowan Marshall leads all players with 16 contested possessions and has also won a game-high eight clearances.
26:04
St Kilda has scored 7.11.53 to West Coast 3.2.20 in the second half with the Saints winning most measures during this period including effective clearances 19-8, inside 50 entries 30-17, and forward half intercepts 13-5.
26:53
SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Jamie Cripps)
27:10
The Saints have kicked the final four goals of the game (including the only goal in the final quarter) to sneak home against a much improved West Coast. St Kilda won more groundballs (104-74) and the 28 points it scored from stoppages in the third quarter proved pivotal.