West Coast 1.2.6 1.4.7 1.8.10 1.9.15 (78)
Carlton 0.1.1 0.3.2 0.4.3 2.4.5 (47)
Nine pointers - West Coast: J Kennedy. Carlton: C Wood, Z Touhy.
Goals - West Coast: J Kennedy 3, M LeCras 2, J Bennell, J Cripps, S Tunbridge, M Priddis.Carlton: T Bell, S White, D Armfield, L Jones.
Best - West Coast: M Priddis, A Gaff, M LeCras, J Kennedy, L Shuey, C Masten. Carlton: E Curnow, C Yarran, S White, T Bell, K Jaksch, Z Tuohy.
Played at Bendigo Bank Stadium (Rushton Park, Mandurah).
WEST Coast will have a nervous wait on the fitness of key defender Eric Mackenzie after he injured a knee in the Eagles 31-point NAB Challenge win over Carlton in Mandurah on Friday night.
The Eagles' reigning fairest and best player limped from the ground early in the second term of the 1.9.15 (78) to 2.4.5 (47) victory at Rushton Park, an hour south of Perth.
Mackenzie fell to the ground after a marking contest with Carlton's Levi Casboult and there was little contact between the players. However, club medics concentrated on his right knee and he emerged in the third term heavily strapped and on crutches.
The Eagles can ill-afford to lose Mackenzie for long .Since the retirement of Darren Glass last season, he has become one of the competition's most miserly key defenders.
West Coast have no concerns about newly-crowned Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis though. He started the game in top form, with 10 touches in the first term and four clearances. He finished with 24 touches, eight clearances and a goal.
The entire Carlton team managed only three clearances for the first term and clearly missed captain Marc Murphy, and Bryce Gibbs, Andrew Carazzo, Dale Thomas and Chris Judd from the midfield.
The Eagles set up the win with a burst of 3.2 to nil against the Robert Wiley-coached Blues at the start of the third term. Mark LeCras kicked one of his two goals and Josh Kennedy two of his four (including one super goal) in that time.
The 20-point half-time margin doubled to 40 in that time.
Blues coach Mick Malthouse would not have enjoyed watching the first term from Melbourne where he stayed to be with his wife Nanette, who was undergoing surgery.
The Eagles, playing many of their senior players, enjoyed a terrific start with the aid of the strong breeze – leading by 25 points midway through the first term.
Key forward Kennedy had a super goal and a regular one to his name after five minutes and Andrew Gaff, who has impressed during the pre-season, provided plenty of run along with Priddis and Sharrod Wellingham.
In defence, Chris Yarran and recruit Kristian Jaksch saved the Blues from being more than 20 points behind at the first break.
Carlton's attack hardly saw the ball in the game's early stages. Against the breeze, their midfield insisted on bombing the ball high to a forward line that was missing Lachie Henderson.
And Matthew Watson, who kicked six goals last week, and former Western Bulldog Liam Jones got nowhere near the ball.
Once they finally settled down and started running the ball, Tom Bell was the one Blue to provide options through half-forward. He kicked their first goal with four minutes to go in the opening term.
Carlton took quick advantage of Mackenzie having left the ground at the start of the second term, getting the margin back to 13 points when Simon White cleverly out-marked Jeremy McGovern.
But hard running from LeCras and Jamie Cripps resulted in two goals and the margin was back to the quarter-time 20 points.
Jones finally got on the scoreboard with a clever soccer from close range with three minutes to go in the third term, but the margin at that stage was 33 points and the young Blues players were starting to feel the pinch.
- The Age
