Eagles dominate Hawks in qualifying final
West Coast dominate qualifying final, beating Hawthorn by 32 points in Perth.
PT1M31S 620 349WEST COAST 2.2 7.6 12.11 14.12 (96) HAWTHORN 2.3 2.4 4.9 9.10 (64)
Goals: West Coast: J Hill 3, J Kennedy 3, J Cripps 2, M LeCras 2, B Sheppard, E Yeo, J Darling, M Hutchings. Hawthorn: J Roughead 2, S Burgoyne 2, C Rioli, D Hale, I Smith, J Gunston, L Hodge.
Best: West Coast: L Shuey, S Hurn, M LeCras, E Yeo, J Kennedy, W Schofield, M Rosa. Hawthorn: S Mitchell, C Rioli, L Hodge, B Hill, W Langford.
Umpires: Matt Stevic, Simon Meredith, Jeff Dalgleish.
Official Crowd: 42,663 at Domain Stadium.
Perth West Coast's remarkable season continued into a preliminary final after they produced a breathtaking 32-point win over Hawthorn at Domain Stadium on Friday night.
Scott Selwood of the Eagles is tackled by Will Langford and Paul Puopolo of the Hawks. Photo: Getty Images
Even the loss of reigning Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis before the game with a thigh injury couldn't stop the Eagles from claiming the win and a home preliminary final in two weeks.
West Coast trailed by a point at quarter-time, but kicked five goals to nil in the second term to open up a 32-point lead at the main break.
Three of those five goals came from the boot of Coleman medallist Josh Kennedy and all three shots came from marks.
Jordan Lewis of the Hawks gets his kick away as Mark Hutchings and Dom Sheed of the Eagles try to block. Photo: Getty Images
While the Hawks medical staff did a great job in getting Isaac Smith up from the knee injury he suffered in round 23 against Carlton, they appear likely to need a miracle to have Jack Gunston fit for next week's semi-final after he was assisted off the ground with what appeared a serious lower-leg injury in the final term.
Eagles coach Adam Simpson, in his second year at the club since moving over from the Hawks, had been questioned in the lead-up to the game as to whether his style of play would stand up to the added intensity of finals.
That question was answered comprehensively, against a side aiming for a premiership three-peat and a team they hadn't beaten since 2012.
The Eagles forced turnover after turnover and when they went forward they had options galore.
They took 17 marks in attack to Hawthorn's nine, where conjuring goal-scoring options has been such a strength of the Hawks in the past.
So now, to get to a fifth consecutive preliminary final and earn a chance to play in a fourth straight grand final, the Hawks will have to beat the winner of Saturday night's elimination final between the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide; then either travel back to Perth to play Fremantle or Sydney to play the Swans in a semi-final.
And to get that far, they will need to address the way they dispose of the ball under pressure. By half-time, the Hawks, who are known for their precise disposal, had produced 31 clangers to the Eagles 24 – eight of those coming from usually reliable Liam Shiels. Sam Mitchell and Matt Suckling had three apiece. In the second term, the Hawks had an unusually low efficiency rate of 49 per cent by foot.
This was a Hawthorn team that boasted 21 of 22 premiership players from 2014 (James Frawley in for Matt Spangher the only change). The Eagles had just Sam Butler remaining from their last premiership (2006), while former Hawk Xavier Ellis and Sharrod Wellingham (Collingwood) also have been in flag winning teams.
The break is an important one for West Coast. Key defenders Jeremy McGovern (shoulder) and Will Schofield (hamstring) showed signs that they were struggling during Friday night's game.
Plus Priddis now has an extra week to get over his injury and Chris Masten is able to fully recover from the hamstring injury that kept him out of Friday night's game.
The pair are a valuable part of the Eagles midfield. Despite Nic Naitanui and Callum Sinclair holding a slight advantage in the hit-outs as their side set up their first-half lead, the Hawks dominated the centre clearances, 8-1.
But again, the Hawks were unable to take advantage. From 20 inside 50 entries, they had taken just one mark in attack – but Ben McEvoy slaughtered that shot on goal.
James Frawley, who kicked six goals as a forward in rounds 22 and 23 against the Brisbane Lions and Carlton, failed to trouble the scorers.
He was sent to defence to play on Kennedy to start the second half, a straight swap for Brian Lake.
But, by the final change, West Coast had one foot in the preliminary final having surged ahead with a 50-point buffer.
