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West Coast Eagles midfielder Brady Hough reveals what he was thinking during Maurice Rioli rundown tackle

West Coast Eagles midfielder Brady Hough reveals what he was thinking during Maurice Rioli rundown tackle

West Australian4 days ago
West Coast midfielder Brady Hough says he thought the raucous Optus Stadium crowd was encouraging him to go for goal as he was run down by a sensational tackle from Maurice Rioli against Richmond in round 19.
The flying tackle became the turning point in the Eagles' soul-hurting defeat to the Tigers as Hough went from streaming through the middle towards an open forward line to being pinged for holding the ball and allowing Richmond to score the other way.
Hough wasn't the only Eagle left frustrated in the moment; Liam Baker fumed after the former back man couldn't hear his shouted warnings over the West Coast faithful.
'Bakes was apparently yelling at me, you can tell from his reaction there,' Hough told the club's Coast to Coast podcast while still looking chagrined by the moment.
'It was a great tackle, credit to him. I thought I was going to knock one over and thought the crowd was yelling goals, but obviously not.'
The Eagles made a bright start to a contest they started favourites in, but the day rapidly turned sour as the young Tigers used their electrifying pace to burn the Eagles in an eight-goal-to-one third term.
Despite the now iconic moment, Hough has been one of the Eagles' shining lights in a disappointing 2025 campaign.
The 22-year-old has acclimatised from one of the game's best small defenders to becoming a driver through the struggling Eagles' engine room. He has even been used as a tagger at times this season.
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