West Coast Eagles coach Andrew McQualter’s reaction to run-down tackle tells tale of ongoing search for win

West Coast went shopping at Big W and returned with a half-full trolley. One late tackle in the dying seconds meant they didn’t get the W in a game with 15 lead changes between the 16th and 18th teams on the ladder. It came down to the Eagles’ last roll of the dice and involved two of their emerging talents. Jack Hutchinson’s contested mark in the middle of the ground was the definition of tough and composed and when the ball landed in Tom Gross’ hands streaming through the corridor with 35 seconds remaining and West Coast two points behind it seemed the script had been written. Sadly for the Eagles, young Tiger Tom Brown executed one of the great run-down tackles that was every bit as telling as Mark Keane’s match-saving mark deep in defence in the final quarter of Adelaide’s Showdown win the previous night. Did the Eagles deserve to win? Probably. But footy is a cruel game sometimes. It was apt the game came down to one tackle because, in the last 10 minutes of the game, there were 20 laid. Maybe a draw would have been the right result because the Tigers didn’t deserve to lose either. They won more contested possessions (142-130), flourishing from turnover where they outscored the Eagles 64-29 and were punishing with forward-half intercepts. West Coast generated its scoring from stoppage, 49 points to Richmond’s 11 from that source. McQualter will have been buoyed by the form of veteran forward Jamie Cripps, who kicked three goals while Matt Owies, who had been under selection pressure, chipped in with two. But they also left goals out there. The Eagles’ 2.5 in the third term was telling. They should have been a couple of goals north rather than trailing at three-quarter time and it was the difference in the end. The normally dead-eye Jake Waterman was uncharacteristically off target with 1.3 It was a much more complete performance from Harley Reid, punctuated by the odd skirmish, with 18 possessions and 479 metres gained, along with a team-lifting 55m goal early in the last quarter. Bailey Williams kicked two goals and gave the Eagles a presence both up forward and as support to Matt Flynn in the ruck. Both battled manfully against Richmond ruck Toby Nankervis. Harry Edwards, called in to replace Oscar Allen who missed with knee soreness, held his own against Tom Lynch, who kicked 2.2. There were some nice moments from another inclusion, tall defender Sandy Brock, against Richmond young gun Jonty Faull, the highlight an intercept mark to thwart a Richmond surge late in the third term. The sight of a devastated Eagles coach Andrew McQualter in the box when that tackle was laid will be seared in the minds of West Coast fans still searching for that first win of the season. The Eagles will get more chances. An “away” game in Bunbury against North Melbourne will present another opportunity, and there is the return battle against the Tigers at Optus Stadium in round 18.