Eagles ease past Lions

West Coast 18.14 (122) def. Brisbane Lions 9. 9 (63)

A Chris Judd inspired West Coast defeated Brisbane by 59 points at Subiaco tonight to stand alone on top of the ladder, the only AFL side unbeaten after five rounds.

The Eagles led at every change but overcame some early Brisbane resistance to pull away in the third quarter and set up an insurmountable 34-point lead at three-quarter-time, before kicking on in the final term to claim victory rather comfortably.

Judd was the star for the hosts. He burnt off Jason Akermanis then Robert Copeland to kick four goals – three in the first half - and gather 38 possessions, while Daniel Chick booted three goals and Dean Cox two to go with his 18 hit outs before going off in the last term with what looks like a minor ankle injury.

The Lions didn’t have many winners on the ground – Jonathan Brown and Ashley McGrath kicked two goals each, while Simon Black picked up 31 touches.

West Coast suffered a blow when star midfielder Daniel Kerr was a late exclusion, with Josh Wooden his replacement, while South Australian youngster Shannon Hurn made his debut for the Eagles. Beau McDonald was playing his first game for Brisbane since round 14 in 2003 after a horror run with injury.

It was a free-flowing opening to the match, with Brisbane surprising the home crowd by challenging the Eagles early on. Although Judd kicked the first two goals of the game, Brisbane’s Chris Johnson put the Lions in front midway through the term with the visitors’ fourth major.

But two goals to the hosts in extra time via Brent Staker and Josh Wooden put the Eagles up by eight points at quarter-time.

That lead was stretched to 22 points early in the second term after Quinten Lynch and Jaymie Graham kicked truly for the Eagles.

Brisbane responded as West Coast got a bit lazy – the Lions piled on three goals in succession to get within two points, but again they let the Eagles kick a couple of goals in extra time and West Coast entered the long break with a 15-point advantage.

The Eagles kicked the first three goals of the third quarter – along with four consecutive behinds – to grab the game by the scruff of the neck as the Lions struggled to get the ball forward.

Ashley McGrath kicked his second goal of the game to stem the flow, but Cox booted a long goal to put West Coast up by 34 points at the last change.

The hosts stretched their lead to 47 points in the final stanza courtesy of goals to Chick and Adam Selwood, before Brown kicked the Lions’ only goal of the quarter – and only their second in the second half.

It was party time in Perth when the Eagles kicked the last three goals to put away the former league powerhouses, with Beau Waters’ report for dangerous play on Copeland (who was stretchered off) in the final minutes and Cox’s ankle injury the only worries for the new ladder leaders.

Next week sees the unbeaten West Coast play bitter rivals Fremantle at Subiaco on Saturday afternoon, while Brisbane will continue its quest for just its second win of the season when they host Sydney on Sunday at the Gabba.

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