Melbourne have recorded their first win since their controversial decision to sack CEO Paul Guerra just seven months into the job as the team’s spirited performances continue full steam ahead under rookie coach Steven King.
The win wasn’t unexpected as the hapless (or hopeless) Eagles – depending on your perspective – haven’t defeated the Demons at Docklands since 2011, but it was a healthy reminder they remain a class above the rebuilding cohort which has the Eagles as their poster club.
The only minor concern for the Demons involved Kysaiah Pickett. He collected the Eagles’ Jake Waterman in the head as the forward went to pick the football off the ground. Waterman went to ground and won the free kick as Pickett took a nervous look at the replay on the big screen.
The vision showed Pickett decelerating as he reached the contest and Waterman showed no ill-effects, which should save the speedy Demon who doesn’t mind dishing out a bump, but it was a close call.
It was the only close call for the Demons who kicked nine unanswered goals after Harley Reid kicked the first goal of the match to put the result beyond doubt. The Eagles narrowed the eventual margin to 32 points as they applied pressure and rallied with late goals.
The Eagles were trying to play faster than they were capable, and the Demons feasted on their mistakes. They had taken seven marks inside 50 not long after the first break as their ball movement made the Eagles look like statues.
West Coast’s cause had not been helped when Harry Edwards was subbed out of the game with his third concussion for the season after he copped an accidental elbow from teammate Elliot Yeo. Edwards left the ground with blood spilling out of his head and his immediate future in doubt. Edwards had been wearing a helmet in response to his previous concussions.
The Demons had already been looking to expose the Eagles’ lack of height when they started champion ruckman Max Gawn in the goalsquare as Max Heath took the first bounce. In defence, they were smaller too after Daniel Turner withdrew late due to illness.
The move showed coach King was practising as he preached keeping his foot as hard on the development accelerator as he expected his team to keep, in his words, showing courage in playing to their style regardless of the state of the game. Gawn kicked one goal and was denied a clear mark on the goal line late in the game which would have given him a second.
Without making light of the health scare, King must thank his lucky stars he saw stars during his bid for the Eagles coaching job, which Andrew McQualter eventually won at the end of 2024.
King, who fainted at the Cats where he was an assistant coach after returning from an interview with West Coast during preliminary final week, has already experienced victory more often in nine matches with the Demons than McQualter has in 32 games as coach of the Eagles.
While the Demons’ quality young players in Harvey Langford, Latrelle Pickett, Paddy Cross, Caleb Windsor and Jacob van Rooyen can learn from premiership players such as Max Gawn, Pickett, Ed Langdon, Tom Sparrow and Jake Lever, the Eagles have Yeo and Liam Baker trying to guide the rebuild.
Baker is not playing at the level he was last season and even gave away a 50-metre penalty which cost his team a goal in the first quarter in a moment he would prefer back. Yeo battles hard but is, understandably, frustrated.
Waterman, an All-Australian forward, was not helped by the ball use, but he still plays from behind too often, living in hope the ball will tumble out the back rather than attacking the contest in a manner of the best forwards. He finished with eight shots kicking 3.5 but did not have the impact he hoped.
The team’s strength remains in the contest with Reid, Willem Duursma, Yeo and Tim Kelly effective from clearance (particularly potent from centre clearance) but the Eagles could not slow the tempo or move the ball from end-to-end. They also dump kicked the ball forward too often.
Van Rooyen knows the difference between quality supply and the ball being bombed on his head. He kicked five goals and looks a different player under King. Reuben Ginbey tries his heart out deep in defence, and he benefited from the move which saw Yeo play as a spare man in defence.
The other point of interest was the debut of umpire Jordyn Pearson who became the second female field umpire in the game’s history, following in the footsteps of Eleni Tee.
