The Crows may have failed to make the finals, but their performance against West Coast gave supporters plenty of hope for the future. Aside from the dominance of senior players Scott Thompson, Patrick Dangerfield and Richard Douglas, Brenton Sanderson must be rubbing his hands together at the prospect of a future which includes Rory Sloane, Brad Crouch, Kyle Hartigan, Lewis Johnston, Daniel Talia and Mitch Grigg. The Crows would fancy their chances of a return to the eight in 2014. West Coast, meanwhile, could take little from such a loss. Though missing up to eight of their best 22, the only youngster who stood up was second-gamer Simon Tunbridge. The tenacious forward nabbed two goals and showed he could give the struggling club another option in 2014. But the contrast between two of the pre-season’s premiership favourites couldn’t have been more stark.
2. Farewell to football
After Carlton’s come-from-behind victory over Port Adelaide put paid to the finals aspirations of both West Coast and Adelaide, the rubber effectively became a dead one. So, the only real interest for the 29,146 fans was in cheering on Adam Selwood and Andrew Embley in their final games. While Embley started on the ground, Selwood spent the first half on the bench in the red vest. But Embley’s first-half was not much more spectacular, as he only gathered six disposals and spurned one shot on goal. At half-time, Mark Nicoski did a lap of honour after injury had robbed him of any chance of a farewell appearance. Finally, Selwood entered the fray in the seventh minute of the third quarter and ran straight to the rampaging Richard Douglas. Embley finished with just 11 disposals, while Selwood managed seven.
3. Kicking pointers
How do you miss a goal from just one metre out? Well, perhaps Douglas isn’t the only player to have ever made such an error, but his first-minute effort against West Coast was perhaps under less pressure than most others. Racing into an open goal, he spotted a West Coast player coming at him from his right and edged towards the left. He then slammed the ball into the post. He couldn’t have hit it more flush if he had tried. But the Crows veteran soon made amends by racking up a total of 15 possessions and laying two tackles in a scintillating first half. He finished the game with 26 touches and one goal.
4. Walk-up start
You would have thought West Coast would have burst out of the blocks in this match in an effort to honour their retiring heroes with a victory. But, if that was the case, then there was little evidence of such a desire during a lacklustre first quarter which turned out to be their worst since 2011. On that night, the preliminary final-bound Eagles managed just a solitary point against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium, before fighting back in the second half and only being beaten in the closing minutes. Against Adelaide, West Coast managed just three points – their first goalless opening quarter of the year. Perhaps it was that their finals chances had been killed off pre-game. Perhaps it was the missing players. Whatever the case, it was uninspiring football and it capped off an uninspiring finish to the season that saw them kick just 41 points, 39 points and 43 points in their last three games. The combined losing margin in those games was 214 points.
5. Double the penalty?
An apparent high hit by West Coast ruckman-forward Scott Lycett on Adelaide defender Kyle Hartigan during the first quarter raises an interesting question for West Coast fans who will want to see Lycett take the next step in 2014; if he is suspended, can he serve the penalty in the WAFL? Lycett’s East Perth confirmed their spot in the finals earlier in the day and the South Australian has played enough WAFL games to qualify for the finals. But if the match review panel considers the hit on Hartigan worthy of a suspension, will he miss the WAFL finals and be able to line up for West Coast in the first round next year? Or will he face the double penalty of also missing AFL games in 2014?
