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West Coast defender Jeremy McGovern has been placed on report as the Eagles overcame a bad case of the goalkicking yips to post a 35-point AFL win over Essendon.
The Eagles booted 7.14 in the opening half of Thursday’s clash at Optus Stadium, with Josh Kennedy entering the long break with 1.5 to his name.
But the Bombers failed to make the most of their numerous reprieves, with West Coast running out 14.22 (106) to 11.5 (71) winners in a dominant display in front of 52,810 fans.
Kennedy finished with 3.5, while Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo, Andrew Gaff, Jack Redden and Dom Sheed dominated through the midfield.
West Coast won the inside 50m count 64-40.
AFL match review officer Michael Christian, meanwhile, faces some big decisions after a series of incidents.
McGovern was placed on report in the opening term after pushing Matt Guelfi into the fence just after the Bomber released a handball.
Guelfi crashed into a plastic chair and then head-first into the fence.
Although the 21-year-old briefly returned to the field later in the term, he came to the bench soon after and was ruled out with suspected concussion and possible broken ribs.
Guelfi was taken to hospital in a taxi during the third quarter as a precaution to check whether he had any broken bones or a punctured lung.
“If this game was in Melbourne, he wouldn’t have gone to hospital tonight,” Essendon coach John Worsfold said.
“He would have gone for a scan the next morning. But because we’ve got to fly home tomorrow, we needed to get the scan tonight.
“It’s not the protocol to put a non-emergency situation in the ambulance at the ground that needs to be here for an emergency.
“If we were going to use it for a non-emergency, we would have had to have waited for another ambulance to come and be here. So the taxi was the quickest and best option.”
Essendon ruckman Tom Bellchambers also faces a nervous wait for his high bump on Shuey.
Shuey was bent over the ball when Bellchambers turned his hips to crunch the Eagle on the top of the head.
And Bombers defender Mason Redman was placed on report in the second quarter for stamping on Oscar Allen with a back heel.
Allen was on the ground when he grabbed at Redman’s foot as the Bomber stepped over him. Redman responded by stamping Allen in the ribs with a sharp but not overly strong motion.
West Coast (9-4) moved into the AFL top four with the win, while Essendon (6-7) face an uphill battle to play finals football.
Eagles coach Adam Simpson was thrilled with his team’s performance, despite the goalkicking wobbles.
“We didn’t convert, and that was frustrating. But if we play like that every week, we’ll win some games,” Simpson said.
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