Eagles break drought; Walyalup undefeated during Indigenous round

The drought has been broken.

The second-longest losing streak in Eagles history has ended.

An inspired performance on a tragic weekend.

Harley Reid and Oscar Allen in the thick of West Coast’s celebrations.

The joy a win can bring among the sadness allowing many of the Eagles players and staff some small relief across four quarters of footy and for a short time after the final siren.

You could tell right from the opening bounce an upset was on the cards and the atmosphere at Optus Stadium was one rarely seen at Eagles matches over the last few seasons.

Liam Ryan starred. Harley Reid put on a show. Brady Hough kicked his first goal. Oscar Allen looked at home back in the forward line.

Liam Baker was one of seven players to play in their first Eagles win but told 6PR Football post match it was a game that meant more than most

“Mini (Andrew McQualter) said it’s more than a game of footy today. We are playing for our people, for our club, for our fans, for the Selwood family. It was a great effort in that regard. There’s some hurting boys and girls in the club, and I’m glad we made them proud,” he said.

Baker crossed from Richmond in the off-season after winning premierships at the Tigers but has never questioned the move despite losing the first nine games.

“I haven’t had any regrets coming back here… I’ve felt the last four or five weeks we’ve had a real shift in the way we are training and the way we’ve engaged in meetings, the way we are playing, so this win was coming.”

Baker joked there are still some things to work on

“I think we need to practice singing the song…not many of us knew the words”

Walyalup undefeated

The switch to the name of Walyalup seems to work well for the Dockers. They are undefeated since they adopted the Indigenous name for Fremantle across the Sir Doug Nicholls rounds in recent seasons.

The win against the Giants at the Sydney Showgrounds was a dominant performance which has the ability to shift the story of their season.

Shai Bolton of the Dockers celebrates kicking a goal.

Four unexpected points claimed on the road has Freo fans daring to hope again.

They have been burnt before contemplating the potential of the team, but it is a platform to launch towards the top eight and has them back in the finals conversation if they can continue to play at that level.

Shai Bolton is showing every bit of the recruit Fremantle needed and Cooper Simpsons injection to the halfback line looks a great fit.

One of the biggest questions is how to make the partnership of Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy work in the same team. Darcy missed on the weekend and gave Jackson another opportunity to shine with more time on the ball.

Speaking to 6PR Football post match after another big week of speculation around his future he was pretty clear ruck is his preferred position.

“I’ve played that position through juniors and state level and got drafted in that position,” he said.

“So I feel like that’s where I play my most natural game. And I feel like as a player, it really brings out my strengths.

“And, yeah, footy is a long game. So you have a lot of chances to get ahead of your opponent. And I really pride my endurance and my follow-up work.

“I do have a lot of fun playing the position. I had fun out there today.”

WA Watch

Kamdyn McIntosh

Congratulations to the pride of Pinjarra who kicked a couple of goals in game 200. The Tigers couldn’t get the win for him going down in a thriller to the Roo’s.

Kysaiah Pickett and Trent Rivers

It was a proud occasion for Kysaiah Pickett.

The two WA Demons starred as Melbourne caused one of the upsets of the season against the Lions at the GABBA.

Chad Warner

After signing a new contract every big performance over the next two years will be a tough watch for Eagles and Dockers fans who were hoping he would return to WA. 30 disposals and two goals helped the Swans to a win on Friday night.

Sam Powell-Pepper

Tough one for Port as the pressure mounts at Alberton but could hold his head high with 23 touches and a couple of goals.