Hogan destroys debutant, Eagles in brutal display
West Coast’s horror week became the stuff of nightmares as a merciless Jesse Hogan put on a goalkicking masterclass to lead Greater Western Sydney to a record 81-point win over the Eagles.
After a week in the spotlight because of co-captain Oscar Allen’s meeting with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell, the Eagles needed to let their football do the talking.
But it was another forward in Hogan who stole the show, booting an equal career-high nine goals to take advantage of an incredible mismatch against out-of-depth debutant Sandy Brock.
Hogan’s heroics led the Giants to their biggest-ever win over West Coast with the 20.12 (132) to 7.9 (51) result at ENGIE Stadium on Sunday.
It left Hogan just one major off the lead for Coleman Medal with 13 majors despite missing his team’s first two matches of the season.
Without their best forward in Jake Waterman, best midfielder Elliot Yeo and best defender Jeremy McGovern, the Eagles weren’t expected to beat the Giants.
But the manner in which they were uncompetitive at stages against a powerhouse Giants will only add to the questions around the direction of the club.
There were few areas on the ground where the Eagles had any influence.
They were smashed at the centre clearances 18-10, beaten at the inside 50s 62-55 and put the Giants under little pressure, with the home side recording 285 uncontested possessions to 167.
West Australian product Darcy Jones (24 disposals, seven tackles and two goals) produced one of the finest performances of his career, bringing energy and pace that the Eagles could match.
Jones was well supported by the usual cast of stars at the Giants with Josh Kelly (29 disposals), Tom Green (37 disposals and seven clearances) and Finn Callaghan (25 disposals) all proving too strong at the contest.
The signs were ominous early as the Giants ran in waves off half-back and dominated at the clearances to have the contest going all one-way.
Inaccuracy was costing the home side early as they struggled to put their good work on the scoreboard kicking only five goals from 18 inside 50s in the first term.
While West Coast were expected to struggle against the premiership fancies, coach Andrew McQualter would have been disappointed with their skills, work ethic and accountability which were substandard from the first bounce.
Jones kicked the opening goal after leaving Eagles’ co-captain Liam Duggan at half-forward, with the defender not giving chase hard-enough and watching as the speedster crumbed well for the first major.
“We get things wrong all the time, 100 per cent,” Duggan said post game.
“We’ve got decisions to make and I’ll put my hand up, I don’t make the right all the time. That’s just what it is, you get caught on good players, sometimes you make the wrong decisions and they make you pay.
“It’s what footy is and we’ve got to try to our best to do that in return and catch them off guard.”
Giants skipper Toby Greene (24 disposals and three goals) also got on the board late when young Eagle Tyrell Dewar kicked back into the corridor inside defensive 50, but missed the target by a long way with the star pouncing for an easy goal.
When you think it couldn’t get any worse, the Giants embarrassed the Eagles by kicking four unanswered goals from the centre clearance within six minutes to blow the lead out to 53 points.
The Eagles finally awoke in the middle of the term to stop the bleeding, but even when they managed to gain ascendency in territory battle, they couldn’t turn it into scores.
Whether West Coast lifted or the Giants took the foot off the pedal, the visitors were able to match the Giants’ intensity and find some respectability on the scoreboard.
Eagles’ Debutant Tom Gross provided a rare highlight with a goal from outside 50, while their forward structure functioned better off the pressure from up the field.
The final term though was all one-way traffic as the Giants became to feast on the tired and depleted Eagles kicking six goals to one.
Hogan took full advantage of the massacre, kicking four goals for the quarter to cap off a remarkable day for the former Fremantle and Melbourne forward.
GWS 5.6, 11.7, 14.11, 20.12 (132)
WEST COAST 1.1, 3.4, 6.7, 7.9 (51)
Goals – GWS: J Hogan 9 T Greene 3 T Green 2 D Jones 2 T Bedford A Cadman J Riccardi C Ward. WEST COAST: J Cripps 2 J Williams 2 T Dewar T Gross A Reid.
Best – GWS: J Hogan D Jones T Green L Ash T Greene L Whitfield F Callghan. WEST COAST: L Baker R Maric B Williams A Reid T Gross H Reid.
Injuries – GWS: S Coniglio (glute) replaced in the selected side by C Brown.
Umpires: N Jankovskis A Whetton C Dore M Rodger. Crowd: TBC at ENGIE Stadium.