Willie Rioli celebrates after scoring a goal. Credit: Getty Images
Similarly, Matt Guelfi, has given 10 m himself after a stop for the great Nic Martin to give him his first goal. The Fire Department quickly ran out of 22 points, and it looked like last week’s Eagles revival was an aberration.
But the Fire Department began to make their own mistakes, and the more careful Eagles continued to charge them. The old men were prominent: Kennedy; Jack Darling; Jamie Cripps; Rioli. They all had two goals in favor at the break.
After seven changes of leadership, that was enough for the Eagles to gain a five-point lead at halftime, and then he was back. The third quarter brought four more leadership changes, but it was Rioli, Jake Waterman and Ryan who consolidated a small Eagles lead.
Ryan’s second goal, broken when he was dragged to the ground by a desperate Mason Redman at the end of the third quarter, was a team lift, which really gave the Eagles the belief that the game was there to win.
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Kennedy’s fifth fell on the veteran’s lap at the goal line, and should have sealed him. Even then, there were some moments of anguish, with young Harrison Jones holding Essendon close enough with two goals in the end.
But when Dylan Shiel advanced the ball for a final push from the Fire Department, with two minutes to play, it was Tom Barrass, who fought an intense aerial battle with Wright all night, who stood in front of his opponent to close. the door to Essendon.
West Coast Eagles goals: Kennedy 5, Cripps 3, Rioli 3, Darling 2, Ryan 2, Waterman. Essendon: Wright 4, Stringer 3, Guelfi 2, Martin 2, Jones 2, Perkins.
BestWest Coast Eagles: Rioli, Kennedy, Yeo, Hurn, Cripps, Darling. Essendon: Wright, Merrett, Shiel, Martin, Redman, Hind.