{"id":494888,"date":"2026-02-21T15:12:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T15:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/494888\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T15:12:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T15:12:27","slug":"eagles-show-promising-signs-in-match-sim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/494888\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagles show promising signs in match sim"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It was West Coast up against Fremantle on Saturday morning at Victor George Kailis Oval, as both sides took part in a match simulation across four 25\u2011minute quarters with no time\u2011on.<\/p>\n<p>Family and friends lined the boundary to watch the cross-town rivals go head\u2011to\u2011head in the challenging windy conditions, providing a genuine test ahead of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n<p>With players pushing for early\u2011season form and coaches fine\u2011tuning their systems, the hit\u2011out served as an important tune\u2011up ahead of the 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Quarter 1<\/p>\n<p>The Eagles were made to work early in tough, windy conditions, but No.1 pick Willem Duursma adapted quickest, showcasing his clean skills and high work rate. He was everywhere in the opening minutes, racking up five touches and threading the first goal of the game from just outside 50 into a stiff breeze before continuing to weave through traffic with composure.<\/p>\n<p>Tom McCarthy was lively through the middle, using his sharp hands to drive the Eagles forward, while No.4 draft pick Cooper Duff\u2011Tytler hit the scoreboard to give West Coast a 13\u2011point buffer.<\/p>\n<p>Fremantle found their rhythm through the corridor, with Josh Treacy proving a handful inside 50 and Jye Amiss converting their first major after presenting strongly at the football. But the Eagles hit back through smooth ball movement, as Sandy Brock linked with Noah Long to restore the margin.<\/p>\n<p>West Coast\u2019s mid\u2011season additions put their stamp on the term, McCarthy finishing cleverly from the centre square before Jacob Newton launched a long-range set shot that rode the breeze home sending the Eagles into quarter-time with a 25\u2011point lead.<\/p>\n<p>Quarter 2<\/p>\n<p>Fremantle struck first after the break, with Patrick Voss converting to trim the margin to 19-points, but West Coast continued to control the centre clearances as Tom McCarthy and Harley Reid set the tone at the stoppage.<\/p>\n<p>Jye Amiss remained dangerous close to goal, pulling down another strong mark and converting to narrow the gap to 14 points as the Dockers enjoyed more territory. Murphy Reid then made his mark, finishing cleanly to bring Fremantle within eight.<\/p>\n<p>Josh Lindsay\u2019s penetrating left boot was again a highlight, while Elliot Yeo\u2019s return to the midfield brought a lift moving smoothly and showing promising signs as he builds back to full strength.<\/p>\n<p>Senior teammate Tim Kelly also impressed, driving the ball forward with composure. Fremantle, however, found their overlap run through the middle, allowing Luke Jackson to mark and goal before Hayden Young added another, levelling the scores right on the cusp of half-time.<\/p>\n<p>Quarter 3<\/p>\n<p>West Coast made a couple of planned rotations to start the third term, with Harry Edwards and Tylar Young stepping out and Bo Allan and Tyrell Dewar injected into the contest, while Ryan Maric shifted onto Jye Amiss in a key matchup.<\/p>\n<p>The Eagles struck quickly through Harley Reid, who snapped a goal edge his side six points ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Allan made an immediate impression, bringing strong energy around the ball. Fremantle responded through Treacy, whose contested marking continued to trouble the Eagles, his grab setting up Patrick Voss for the equaliser.<\/p>\n<p>Jobe Shanahan continued his impressive trajectory, marking the ball and reading the play with poise. Veteran Jamie Cripps provided a steady presence inside 50, finishing neatly after sharp ball movement from Jacob Newton to restore a four\u2011point lead.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Flynn looking assured in the ruck, giving the Eagles good service around stoppage. But Fremantle answered once more, with Hayden Young and Treacy both converting set shots. Treacy capped off a slick, coast\u2011to\u2011coast transition that underlined Fremantle\u2019s efficiency, edging the Dockers in front by a point in what remained a fiercely contested term.<\/p>\n<p>Quarter 4<\/p>\n<p>Fremantle opened the final term strongly, with Jye Amiss slotting his third to push the margin to 14 points as the Dockers ran in waves and moved the ball quickly through the middle.<\/p>\n<p>Harley Reid continued to win plenty of footy for West Coast, while second\u2011year forward Jobe Shanahan impressed again with a strong grab against Alex Pearce before later snapping a goal to trim the margin to 15 points.<\/p>\n<p>Voss added his third goal for Fremantle, and Jye Amiss soon followed with his fourth as the Dockers regained control.<\/p>\n<p>The Eagles suffered a setback when Noah Long was taken from the field with a knee injury after an awkward tackle, and Fremantle capped off the day with a clean transition finished by Shai Bolton to extend the final margin to 28 points.<\/p>\n<p>FREMANTLE 1.1 5.3 8.6 12.9 (81)<\/p>\n<p>WEST COAST 5.2 5.3 7.4 8.5 (53)<\/p>\n<p>GOALS<br \/>Fremantle: Amiss 4, Voss 3, Reid, Jackson, Young, Treacy, Bolton<\/p>\n<p>West Coast:\u00a0Duursma, Duff-Tytler, Long, McCarthy, Newton, Reid, Cripps, Shanahan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was West Coast up against Fremantle on Saturday morning at Victor George Kailis Oval, as both sides&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85,83],"class_list":["post-494888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports","tag-text"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}