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In Western Derby 45, the West Coast Eagles have defeated the Fremantle Dockers by 41 points.
The damage was done in the first half with the dominant Eagles going into the main break with a seven goal lead, mainly off the back of goalkicking hero Josh Kennedy, who finished with six majors.
Kennedy, Josh Hill and Jack Darling all kicked two goals in a blistering opening term, leaving defenders helpless in their wake.
Fremantle struggled to keep up with the slick skills of the Eagles and went into the first break six goals down.
Cam McCarthy was the man to get the Dockers back on track, kicking his side’s first three goals, but West Coast continued their bullying effort and continued to control the game’s flow.
The second half came with a much-improved effort from the Fremantle Dockers, led well by Lachie Neale (29 disposals & 8 tackles) on a night where skipper Nat Fyfe struggled to have much impact.
Connor Blakely also stepped up to the plate to find the ball 29 times, while youngster Harley Balic showed some great signs in just his third game.
Fremantle stayed with the Eagles every step of the way after the main break, but could never push past the hard running West Coast side.
Elliot Yeo was everywhere in a man-of-the-match performance, registering 32 touches at 84 per cent efficiency, as well as six tackles and 14 marks.
Star defender Jeremy McGovern also played an enormous role in the victory, acting as a wall in defence from start to finish, ending the game with 13 marks and nine one-percenters.
The entire midfield brigade for the Eagles were a brilliant tandem machine, with Matthew Priddis, Luke Shuey and Andrew Gaff all playing their roles to perfection.
Despite the much-improved effort after halftime, Ross Lyon will be filthy on the result, and will be looking to erase memories of that first half against Essendon next weekend.
West Coast have plenty of weapons in their arsenal, but still have some question marks hanging over their ability to win on the road.
Their next test comes against a red-hot Port Adelaide outfit at Adelaide Oval, and will answer many of those queries.
Final scores
West Coast Eagles 16.7.103
Fremantle Dockers 9.8.62
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