Masters of their Domain
In one of life’s great ironies, the flight home from Perth to Melbourne is always about half an hour shorter, something to do with jet stream apparently. But yet it usually feels about an hour longer – probably something to do with our record in Perth.
The Dogs have not had a good run of it on the other side of the Nullarbor in recent years, and they’ll be especially keen to break the drought on Sunday when they take on the Eagles.
The stats don’t lie, 10 of the last 11 games over there have been losses, the only win coming in the 2016 Elimination Final. But if there’s anything positive to take out of it all is that we saw then how galvanising a win interstate can be for a young group.
A win on the weekend at the new Optus Stadium would be perfect way to kick start the run home.
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All you can eat
They’re a pretty imposing outfit wherever they play at the moment, the Eagles, and one thing they do better than most is feast off of opposition mistakes.
It’s easier said than done of course but efficiency is key against the 2018 West Coast Eagles because they are brutes on the back of turnovers. Almost 22% of their scores this season have come from opposition errors according to Champion Data, second in the League.
So, too many miskicks, fumbles etc. and the game can get out of hand very quickly. The young Dogs have been plagued by skill errors at times this year, so there’s no doubt this will be the game to be on skill-wise.
Be smart and considered with the footy against Adam Simpson’s men and you give yourself a chance.
Also, kick it nowhere near Jeremy McGovern.
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GAFFer tape
Nic Natanui’s knee injury last week was a blow to footy fans everywhere who enjoy watching one of the game’s finest do their thing, but had he played this week would he have been Luke Beveridge’s main concern?
Maybe, maybe not - he’s transcendent at his best. One player that definitely would have been on the whiteboard is Andrew Gaff, who may have quietly become West Coast’s best player since being shifted into the middle more often this season.
In his last four games against the Dogs he’s netted 35 possessions per contest and this season is averaging career-highs in possessions, contested possessions, intercepts, centre clearances, goals and pressure.
Could be wrong, but there’s a chance Josh Dunkley has watched a bit of film on him this week. Just a hunch.
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McLean living
There’s been a lot of talk about all of the promising young talent that has emerged this season down at the kennel.
Richards, Naughton, Gowers, Lynch, English, the list goes on, but fourth year mid Toby McLean, fresh off a three-year contract extension, must be at the top of this list.
Even if he insists on wearing slide-ons with socks around the Club each day, the retention of McLean until at least the end of the 2022 season is a big deal for the Dogs.
Still just 22, McLean has dipped below 20 possessions just once this season, due to injury, and has gone over 30 touches three times already for an average of 24.8 per game. He’s also averaging career highs in contested possessions (10.1) and tackles (5.9), laying over 10 in a single game four times.
All of that, and he’s every chance to win his first Sutton Medal later on this year, too.
