For about an 90 minutes on Sunday – until Melbourne launched a stunning comeback to beat Carlton – the two WA sides were both in the top eight.
That doesn’t really mean much anymore, you can finish 10th and play finals, but it’s still pretty cool.
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Here are just a few of the takeaways from last weekend:
Treacy’s sticky mitts
The best hands since Wayne Carey. That’s what David King had to say about Fremantle spearhead Josh Treacy after a 12-mark best on ground performance in the win over the Tigers.
And based on the evidence on Saturday, it’s hard to challenge that call.
Playing in very ordinary conditions, Treacy clunked every ball that came his way, including one where he was being twisted sideways in the contest, but still managed to grab in cleanly. His goal-kicking radar was off early but he still finished with four majors for the second week in a row.
If he’s not the best forward in the competition at the moment, he’s not far off.
Image Credit: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos
West Coast Words
This is a genuinely remarkable start to the season for the Eagles, better than any could have predicted.
Tougher challenges will come – I am very worried about Port Adelaide – but the way they’ve been able to fight back from an early deficit, reclaim the lead, then fight it out right until the final siren makes this the most encouraging fortnight the club has had in almost five years.
There are veterans standing up – with Jake Waterman putting his Adelaide demons to bed with a commanding performance. But so much of their energy is coming from the youth.
Harley Reid was phenomenal against the Power, Willem Duursma was right there with him, and Jobe Shanahan looks like he’s developing into an even better version of Adam Hunter, playing forward and back as required and doing his job at a very high level.
Image Credit: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos
Here comes Henry’s Swans
The ATCO WAFLW kicked off on the weekend with a round of upsets. There was none bigger than Swan Districts smacking Claremont – who have won three of the past four flags – by 41 points. Jaime Henry led the charge for the Black Ducks with 31 touches, 10 tackles, eight inside-50s and a goal and looks set for a massive year ahead.
Image Credit: Jason Clark
Header Image Credit: West Coast Eagles