The West Coast Eagles' season took another turn for the worse on Saturday, as Jake Waterman's goalkicking woes haunted them in a heartbreaking one-point defeat to North Melbourne. This loss marks yet another missed opportunity for the Eagles, who have now fallen short in consecutive games against Port Adelaide and North Melbourne. The question on everyone's mind is: what's going wrong for the Eagles?
Waterman, the spearhead of the Eagles' attack, has been struggling in front of goals, particularly from set shots. His goalkicking woes have been a persistent issue, and this game was no different. With only 42 seconds left on the clock, Waterman had the chance to steal victory for the Eagles, but he hit the post from directly in front, allowing North Melbourne to hold on for a 10.14 (74) to 10.13 (73) victory at Optus Stadium.
This loss is particularly disappointing for the Eagles, who kicked the final three goals of the match on the back of an incredible Jobe Shanahan marking masterclass. They nearly chased down a 21-point deficit early in the last term, but it wasn't enough. For Waterman, this continues a horror run in front of goals, having kicked 28.34 headed into the game.
Instead of a fifth victory before the break, it was former Eagle Jack Darling who had the last laugh, kicking four first-half goals to turn the Kangaroos' fortunes around. Darling, a 2018 premiership forward, produced his best haul in nearly four years, and his presence was a stark contrast to the Eagles' struggles without key back Reuben Ginbey.
The Kangaroos, led by coach Alastair Clarkson, were simply too tall for the Eagles' backline to cover. Recruit Brandon Starcevich was forced to match-up on Darling, but the Eagle was only 3cm shorter, and he lacked the strength and craft to match it with the West Perth product. In the midfield, Harry Sheezel dominated the Eagles with 33 touches, nine score involvements, and 10 clearances, while Luke Parker was at his disruptive best down back.
West Coast simply didn't have the same spread in their midfield. Harley Reid had a blistering first term but finished with only 21 touches and five clearances as Jy Simpkin put the clamps on the star Eagle. Tagger Brady Hough heavily restricted North Melbourne gun Luke Davies-Uniacke (20 disposals), while veteran Tim Kelly (27 disposals and nine clearances) was the Eagles' best.
As expected, North Melbourne came out full of fire in response to their disastrous defeat to the Dockers a week earlier. The Kangaroos were helped by a lack of concentration defensively from the Eagles, who were giving up simple shots at goal with several lapses. North Melbourne were poor in front of goal, however, and by all rights should've been up by a lot more than the 11 points they led by when Larkey kicked his first goal.
West Coast responded through co-captain Liam Baker, but it was Reid both through his own efforts and the Kangaroos' ill-discipline which changed the course of the game. Reid simply dominated the quarter, collecting 11 touches and five clearances, while he was gifted a goal after defender Griffin Logue gave away a free kick. North Melbourne continued to target the Eagles' star, but it was to their detriment.
In the second term, Waterman kicked two goals within two minutes, which could've been three if not for having one taken off him on review with the ball hitting his knee and deemed to have missed his foot. The Eagles were dominating territory with 11 straight inside 50s, and while they looked far less dangerous than their cross-town rivals did seven days earlier, the Eagles seemed close to putting the Kangaroos away.
Darling changed the entire contest as he began to take advantage of a size mismatch against Starcevich. The 34-year-old kicked three unanswered goals before half-time to give North Melbourne the slenderest of leads at the main break, which for much of the second term seemed so unlikely. North Melbourne came out an entirely new team in the third quarter on the back of Darling's inspirational efforts.
Trembath lucked into a goal when the ball ricocheted off Darling and onto his shin, before Sheezel and Larkey produced classy crumbing snaps to blow their lead out to 20 points. West Coast finally broke the run when Tom Cole chased down Dylan Stephens to catch the Kangaroo holding the ball before slotting the important set shot.
The Eagles began to look tired, and there was a feeling that everything needed to go right for them in the last term to claim a second come-from-behind win against North Melbourne. It started poorly when Larkey kicked his fourth goal, before the Eagles couched up several chances to hit back. Shanahan finally settled West Coast with his second goal of the last half, before Waterman seemingly put his set shot woes behind him for his third to get them within nine points.
However, Waterman missed the match-winning goal, which will leave the Eagles with a 4-10 record ahead of a break before they head east to take on Carlton in round 16. This loss is a stark reminder of the challenges facing the Eagles, and it raises a deeper question: can they turn things around in time to make a push for the finals?
Personally, I think the Eagles' struggles are a result of a lack of consistency and a need for a fresh perspective. The team has shown glimpses of brilliance, but they need to find a way to string together more complete performances. What makes this particularly fascinating is the contrast between the Eagles' recent form and their potential. If they can find a way to turn things around, they could be a force to be reckoned with in the second half of the season. In my opinion, the Eagles' future success will depend on their ability to address their goalkicking woes and find a way to bring their best players into the fold consistently.
