LIVE UPDATES: West Coast Eagles hunt second win as Greater Western Sydney come to Perth
Malakai Champion becomes the eighth debutant as he takes the sub vest while the Eagles will shape up the same as against Collingwood across the ground.
The Giants are without Coleman medallist Jesse Hogan and star midfielder Lachie Whitfield, meaning there are no All-Australians on the field tonight.
Follow all the action in our live blog.
The Giants claimed an 81-point victory in round four when Jesse Hogan peeled off an equal career-high nine goals.
However, Hogan will miss tonight's clash alongside Lachie Whitfield who is injured.
West Coast look the same across the field tonight with debutant Malakai Champion set to fly from the bench.
The Eagles have been able to avoid big smashings lately but they still have just one win.
It's a chilly Friday night in Perth but things are about to heat up at Optus Stadium when West Coast host Greater Western Sydney.
The Eagles have named an eighth debutant this season with NGA product Malakai Champion to play as the sub after veteran wingman Jayden Hunt was dropped.
Now the big question is will the Eagles be able to ride the Orange Tsumani to success or will they wipe out in another defeat?
We'll soon find out with bouncedown at 6.20pm.
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West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
Greater Western Sydney wipe out optimism around West Coast Eagles with 59-point victory at Optus Stadium
West Coast had been riding a wave of optimism after their competitive performance against Collingwood only six days ago. However, a merciless Greater Western Sydney changed the tide, as the Eagles were wiped out by the famed Orange Tsunami in a 59-point defeat at Optus Stadium on Friday night. The Giants came out west without spearhead Jesse Hogan who tormented them earlier this season with a nine-goal haul. They Giants didn't miss the Coleman medallist's exploits as they romped to a 16.15 (111) to 8.4 (52) victory to rocket them back into the top eight to start the weekend. Giants star midfielder Finn Callaghan simply torched the Eagles, racking up a career-high 37 disposals, 854m gained, six clearances and a goal in a dominant display. GWS captain Toby Greene could've had a big night as well had he kicked straight, finishing with only three goals from his seven shots and 18 disposals. Midfield bull Tom Green (35 disposals and nine clearances) and Josh Kelly (27 disposals and two goals) were pivotal through the midfield. The visitors' dominance was evidenced by the fact their leading ball winner for the Eagles was defender and co-captain Liam Duggan (27 disposals). Several players who stood tall against the Magpies couldn't back it up, with Liam Baker (11 disposals), Brady Hough (18) and Tom McCarthy (19) struggling to have the same impact. West Coast seemed to have forgot their fundamentals from the first bounce, and it made the classy Giants look as if they were the Harlem Globetrotters. As was the case in round four the Eagles couldn't stop the Giants from breaking out of the contest, but to make things worse was they gave them too much space across the ground as their structure fell to pieces. The Eagles' lack of pressure was epitomised by a play when Callaghan ran through the centre square with four Eagles struggling to give chase. West Coast coach Andrew McQualter was so concerned about the Giants dominance that he sent second-gamer Jobe Shanahan from up forward to be the spare man in defence to try to stop the bleeding. Things became tense when Greene caught Harley Reid (24 disposals, seven clearances and seven tackles) high before then aggressively tossing the ball back to the youngster to finally bring the crowd into the game. It seemed to spark the Eagles who finally looked threatening offensively, with Jamie Cripps snapping their first goal of the game from deep in the right forward pocket. West Coast managed to tighten up in defence and stop the Giants from peppering the scoreboard as frequently in the second term, but their connection in attack meant the game became a stalemate. Reuben Ginbey was seemingly a one-man army down back for the Eagles, stopping several goals through great individual defensive acts. But teammates weren't helping him out, coughing up turnovers from basic errors which was putting them under immense pressure. By the main break the margin was only 35 points, but it was tough to see West Coast being able to break down the Giants' defence to make up the difference. McQualter took a risk out of half-time, subbing out their most senior tall forward in Jack Williams for debutant Malakai Champion as he tried to find a forward structure that could threaten the Giants. Things looked promising for the Eagles when Shanahan (two goals) kicked the first major of the half after laying a strong run-down tackle to kickstart the second half. All it did though was awaken the Giants, who began to once again slice the Eagles up across the ground to kick unpressured goals that left the crowd in silence. As the floodgates opened the Eagles began to lose their way with undisciplined acts and poor decision-making beginning to help the Giants hit the scoreboard with ease. Luckily for the Eagles, the Giants' radar was off in the final term, sparing them triple figure defeat despite the visitors dominating the term as the sting went out of the game. SCOREBOARD GWS 5.3, 8.6, 13.9, 16.15 (111) WEST COAST 1.0, 3.1, 5.2, 8.4 (52) Goals – GWS: T Greene 3 A Cadman 2 D Jones 2 J Kelly 2 X O'Halloran 2 T Bedford C Brown F Callagan J Riccardi J Stringer. WEST COAST: J Shanahan 2 L Baker J Cripps J Graham J Hutchinson B Williams. Best – GWS: F Callaghan J Kelly D Jones X O'Halloran T Green T Greene L Ash. WEST COAST: R Ginbey H Reid E Hewett L Duggan C Hall L Ryan J Shanahan. Injuries – GWS: J Buckley (ankle). Umpires: L Haussen C Deboy A Whetton E Tee. Crowd: 38,152 at Optus Stadium.
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
Giants wipe out Eagles' optimism in 59-point smashing
Malakai Champion 'just kept fighting' through adversity to reach his AFL debut. West Coast had been riding a wave of optimism after their competitive performance against Collingwood only six days ago. However, a merciless Greater Western Sydney changed the tide, as the Eagles were wiped out by the famed Orange Tsunami in a 59-point defeat at Optus Stadium on Friday night. The Giants came out west without spearhead Jesse Hogan who tormented them earlier this season with a nine-goal haul. They Giants didn't miss the Coleman medallist's exploits as they romped to a 16.15 (111) to 8.4 (52) victory to rocket them back into the top eight to start the weekend. Giants star midfielder Finn Callaghan simply torched the Eagles, racking up a career-high 37 disposals, 854m gained, six clearances and a goal in a dominant display. GWS captain Toby Greene could've had a big night as well had he kicked straight, finishing with only three goals from his seven shots and 18 disposals. Midfield bull Tom Green (35 disposals and nine clearances) and Josh Kelly (27 disposals and two goals) were pivotal through the midfield. The visitors' dominance was evidenced by the fact their leading ball winner for the Eagles was defender and co-captain Liam Duggan (27 disposals). Several players who stood tall against the Magpies couldn't back it up, with Liam Baker (11 disposals), Brady Hough (18) and Tom McCarthy (19) struggling to have the same impact. West Coast seemed to have forgot their fundamentals from the first bounce, and it made the classy Giants look as if they were the Harlem Globetrotters. As was the case in round four the Eagles couldn't stop the Giants from breaking out of the contest, but to make things worse was they gave them too much space across the ground as their structure fell to pieces. The Eagles' lack of pressure was epitomised by a play when Callaghan ran through the centre square with four Eagles struggling to give chase. West Coast coach Andrew McQualter was so concerned about the Giants dominance that he sent second-gamer Jobe Shanahan from up forward to be the spare man in defence to try to stop the bleeding. Things became tense when Greene caught Harley Reid (24 disposals, seven clearances and seven tackles) high before then aggressively tossing the ball back to the youngster to finally bring the crowd into the game. It seemed to spark the Eagles who finally looked threatening offensively, with Jamie Cripps snapping their first goal of the game from deep in the right forward pocket. West Coast managed to tighten up in defence and stop the Giants from peppering the scoreboard as frequently in the second term, but their connection in attack meant the game became a stalemate. Reuben Ginbey was seemingly a one-man army down back for the Eagles, stopping several goals through great individual defensive acts. Bo Allan of the Eagles handpasses. Credit: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos / AFL Photos via Getty Images But teammates weren't helping him out, coughing up turnovers from basic errors which was putting them under immense pressure. By the main break the margin was only 35 points, but it was tough to see West Coast being able to break down the Giants' defence to make up the difference. McQualter took a risk out of half-time, subbing out their most senior tall forward in Jack Williams for debutant Malakai Champion as he tried to find a forward structure that could threaten the Giants. Things looked promising for the Eagles when Shanahan (two goals) kicked the first major of the half after laying a strong run-down tackle to kickstart the second half. All it did though was awaken the Giants, who began to once again slice the Eagles up across the ground to kick unpressured goals that left the crowd in silence. As the floodgates opened the Eagles began to lose their way with undisciplined acts and poor decision-making beginning to help the Giants hit the scoreboard with ease. Jack Hutchinson of the Eagles tackles Joe Fonti. Credit: Paul Kane / Getty Images Luckily for the Eagles, the Giants' radar was off in the final term, sparing them triple figure defeat despite the visitors dominating the term as the sting went out of the game. SCOREBOARD GWS 5.3, 8.6, 13.9, 16.15 (111) WEST COAST 1.0, 3.1, 5.2, 8.4 (52) Goals – GWS: T Greene 3 A Cadman 2 D Jones 2 J Kelly 2 X O'Halloran 2 T Bedford C Brown F Callagan J Riccardi J Stringer. WEST COAST: J Shanahan 2 L Baker J Cripps J Graham J Hutchinson B Williams. Best – GWS: F Callaghan J Kelly D Jones X O'Halloran T Green T Greene L Ash. WEST COAST: R Ginbey H Reid E Hewett L Duggan C Hall L Ryan J Shanahan. Injuries – GWS: J Buckley (ankle). Umpires: L Haussen C Deboy A Whetton E Tee. Crowd: 38,152 at Optus Stadium.
West Australian
7 hours ago
- West Australian
LIVE UPDATES: West Coast Eagles hunt second win as Greater Western Sydney come to Perth
West Coast has made steady progress across the last two months but it's time the young Eagles learnt how to win as Greater Western Sydney come to town. Malakai Champion becomes the eighth debutant as he takes the sub vest while the Eagles will shape up the same as against Collingwood across the ground. The Giants are without Coleman medallist Jesse Hogan and star midfielder Lachie Whitfield, meaning there are no All-Australians on the field tonight. Follow all the action in our live blog. The Giants claimed an 81-point victory in round four when Jesse Hogan peeled off an equal career-high nine goals. However, Hogan will miss tonight's clash alongside Lachie Whitfield who is injured. West Coast look the same across the field tonight with debutant Malakai Champion set to fly from the bench. The Eagles have been able to avoid big smashings lately but they still have just one win. It's a chilly Friday night in Perth but things are about to heat up at Optus Stadium when West Coast host Greater Western Sydney. The Eagles have named an eighth debutant this season with NGA product Malakai Champion to play as the sub after veteran wingman Jayden Hunt was dropped. Now the big question is will the Eagles be able to ride the Orange Tsumani to success or will they wipe out in another defeat? We'll soon find out with bouncedown at 6.20pm.
