After stunning the Cats with nine consecutive goals in the first half, the Eagles were forced to defend grimly in the final quarter before running out 14.12 (96) to 13.10 (88) winners to improve to 10-4 on the season.
In a gripping game of football, West Coast opened up a 40-point lead in the second quarter only to see that dwindle to 11 points at the last break.
The Cats, as is their trademark, refused to give up and had a number of chances to steal the game, going inside 50 an incredible 20 times to West Coast's five in the last quarter.
The Eagles defence held up, however, and the team notched the most significant win of its stunning comeback season while continuing to exert pressure on top-four teams Hawthorn and Carlton.
The win, West Coast's seventh in its last eight matches, snapped a six-game losing streak against Geelong, with their previous win over the Cats coming in round 10, 2006.
Meanwhile Geelong, which clearly missed suspended star midfielder Joel Selwood, lost two games in a row for the first time since rounds 14 and 15, 2009.
John Worsfold's men were dominant from late in the first quarter to halfway through the second, with Luke Shuey's long set shot putting the home side 40 points up.
The Cats were coming off consecutive six-day breaks and appeared shot on the road but, led by Joel Corey, mounted a stirring comeback to kick seven of the next nine goals.
There was a procession of missed chances in the nail-biting finale, with Paul Chapman, David Wojcinski and Daniel Menzel all missing set shots. James Podsiadly missed a snap with 30 seconds to play that would have seen the Cats within one straight kick.
Still, it was a gutsy win that the Eagles thoroughly deserved, with Andrew Embley (32 possessions and a brilliant goal from the boundary line in the last term), Daniel Kerr (24 and seven clearances) and Matt Priddis (29 and six) prominent.
Ash Smith was rock-solid in defence and continues to blossom as a half-back, while Mark Nicoski booted three goals to lead the team's attack.
Geelong captain Cameron Ling (31 possessions) and Corey, who had eight possessions and four clearances in the third-term fightback, were superb, with Corey finishing with 28 disposals and eight clearances.
What it means
This was a significant win for West Coast and one the 2010 wooden spooners will surely look back on if their 10-4 record to this point of the season is going to bear finals fruit in September. It was one thing to beat top-four team Carlton in its last hit-out, but it is quite another to knock off the ladder leaders and 2009 premiers, who had only been beaten once previously this year. The Eagles are a genuine threat in 2011.
Influential players
It was players like West Coast half-back Shannon Hurn (nine rebound 50s), Ash Smith and key defender Eric Mackenzie who stood tall when under siege in the last term to help the Eagles hold on.
The battle of the midfields broke even by the end of the game, with West Coast recording a clear advantage in hit-outs (55-41) but a narrow edge in clearances (42-39). Kerr (seven clearances) and Priddis (six) were the Eagles' standouts, while Corey (eight) and James Kelly (seven) led the way for Geelong.
What the coach said
John Worsfold
"You could say it was a fairly even game at three-quarter time and the composure the boys showed through the last quarter I thought was great. There was some outstanding individual desperation efforts throughout the game. I'm really pleased to see more of that happening."
The next four
West Coast: On the back of five straight wins, the on-fire Eagles now face a month that features two trips to Melbourne and two games at home, starting next week against St Kilda (Etihad Stadium) followed by Fremantle (Patersons Stadium), the Western Bulldogs (Etihad Stadium) and Richmond (Patersons Stadium).
Toyota AFL Dream Team highlights
West Coast: Matt Priddis ($393,900) dominated for the Eagles in the Toyota AFL Dream Team scores with 116 points. Andrew Embley ($364,200) was the other West Coast player in triple figures with 113 points.
QUARTER BY QUARTER
First quarter
Geelong started strongly with Travis Varcoe and James Podsiadly kicking goals in the first seven minutes. By the 20-minute mark, when Podsiadly booted his second, the Cats were in control by 16 points despite limited forward entries. West Coast was eventually rewarded for controlling much of the play around the ground with four goals in the last 10 minutes. Josh Kennedy’s snap came with his first kick of the match after being well held by Harry Taylor, while Mark Nicoski threaded a gem from the boundary to give the Eagles a 10-point lead at the first change.
Second quarter
It remained the Eagles show for much of the second quarter with Ashley Smith, Nicoski, Mark LeCras, Tom Swift and Luke Shuey kicking majors to extend the home side's lead out to 40 points. Geelong tried to gain some momentum before half-time with two goals in time-on through Jimmy Bartel and Brad Ottens, but a steadier for West Coast through Brad Ebert saw the Eagles remain on top by 35 points at the main break.
Third quarter
Geelong hit back hard in the first 10 minutes of the third term, and it was experienced premiership stars Cameron Ling, James Kelly, Paul Chapman and Steve Johnson who kicked the goals. Dean Cox kicked West Coast’s only goal of the term after a strong mark deep in the forward pocket, and the margin was just 11 by three quarter-time, setting up a grandstand finish.
Fourth quarter
The Eagles snared an early last-quarter goal through Nicoski when Kelly kicked across goal straight to him, but it was all Geelong from there. The Cats peppered the goals, but couldn’t manage to make their dominance count on the scoreboard. Eventually a beauty from Andrew Embley after he ran himself into trouble in the forward pocket had West Coast sitting on a comfortable 21-point advantage heading into time-on, but Geelong wouldn’t go away. Podsiadly and Daniel Menzel kicked late goals, but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles held on.
West Coast 5.5 11.7 12.10 14.12 (96)
Geelong 4.1 6.2 11.5 13.10 (88)
GOALS
West Coast: Nicoski 3, LeCras 2, Shuey 2, Naitanui, Kennedy, Smith, Swift, Ebert, Cox, Embley
Geelong: Podsiadly 3, Johnson 2, Varcoe, Bartel, Ottens, Ling, Kelly, Chapman, Wojcinski, Menzel
BEST
West Coast: Priddis, Embley, Smith, Nicoski, Hurn, Kerr, Mackenzie
Geelong: Ling, Corey, Taylor, Chapman, Enright, Christensen, Bartel
INJURIES
West Coast: Nil
Geelong: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
West Coast: Tom Swift replaced by Koby Stevens at three-quarter time.
Geelong: Mitch Duncan replaced by Steven Motlop in the third quarter.
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Donlon, Margetts, Rosebury
Official crowd: 40,164 at Patersons Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the club.
