AFL Mid West round 13 wrap: Eagles fail to fire in front of goal in Bunbury
AFL Mid West round 13 wrap: Eagles fail to fire in front of goal in Bunbury
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West Australian
10 hours ago
- West Australian
AFL Mid West round 13 wrap: Eagles fail to fire in front of goal in Bunbury
AFL Mid West round 13 wrap: Eagles fail to fire in front of goal in Bunbury
Perth Now
18 hours ago
- Perth Now
‘Put my hand up': McQualter opens up on sub regret
West Coast coach Andrew McQualter admits subbing rookie Bo Allan onto the field with only eight minutes remaining against North Melbourne was 'unfair', and all but guaranteed the youngster wouldn't get the vest again this week. The 19-year-old, who was taken with the club's top draft pick last year, replaced emerging key forward Archer Reid in the dying stages of the 10-point defeat in Bunbury. But there was little he could contribute as his flagging teammates struggled to win the ball, the Kangaroos dominating the clearances 14-2 in the final term to claw back a three-goal deficit. McQualter said wrapping his head around how to utilise the sub position had been difficult in his first year as the Eagles head coach and added he needed to support Allan better going forward. 'I have to put my hand up. I haven't handled Bo and the sub particularly well in the last few weeks,' he told 7NEWS. 'I think it's still something I'm learning in my job. So, we need to support Bo a bit better, particularly being a young player. 'Putting him on the field with a couple of minutes to go is a little unfair, so we'll work our way through that. 'I find (the sub role) really challenging, particularly when the game's in the balance like that. You're weary of bringing somebody on the field off unless they're injured. 'It's an ongoing challenge, but you've got to look at it and try and find a way to make it an advantage.' Despite confirming the rookie was unlikely to be saddled with the vest on Sunday against Carlton, McQualter wouldn't confirm if Allan would remain in the senior team or drop back to WAFL level. 'I can 98 per cent guarantee that he won't be sub this week; I wouldn't do that to him three weeks in a row,' he said. 'We'll see which level he plays at, though.' Allan has had an interrupted season after dual illnesses wrecked hopes of an early-season debut before the youngster copped a suspension when he finally did earn his maiden appearance in round nine against Melbourne as the club's 300th player. Despite giving up five of the last six goals of the game to throw away another winnable position, McQualter was full of praise for his defenders, who held spearhead Nick Larkey and Jack Darling goalless, even going as far as to say Harry Edwards had played the best game of his career to date. 'I thought it was one of Harry's best games he's played for our footy club,' he said. Andrew McQualter, Senior Coach of the Eagles addresses the players at the break during the 2025 AFL Round 13 match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos v West Coast Eagles at Hands Oval on June 8, 2025 in Bunbury, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos) Credit: Daniel Carson / AFL Photos 'I thought all of our defenders didn't defend particularly well in quarter one, but we gave them some really strong feedback at quarter time, and Harry led the way after that. 'I think he had 13 intercept possessions and kept Nick Larkey goalless, which is a great effort. So, really good signs for him.'
West Australian
20 hours ago
- West Australian
Newdegate youngsters Charlie, Joshua and Hunter ‘amazed' to end up on front page of The West Australian
Copies of The West Australian were flying off the shelves in Newdegate on Monday after three local kids decked out in West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne gear were photographed for the front page. Charlie Guelfi, 6, Joshua Guelfi and Hunter Tonkin, both 8, were among the 12,700-strong crowd at the West Coast Eagles v North Melbourne game in Bunbury on Sunday, June 8. The die-hard footy fans, who all live on farms in the Newdegate area, were snapped by AFL Media photographer Daniel Carson. Sibling rivalry was on show on the day, with younger brother Charlie — and his friend Hunter — decked out in Kangaroos merchandise while older brother Joshua was wearing his Eagles best. They made the 700km round trip from Newdegate to Bunbury with their families to attend the match at Hands Memorial Oval. Charlie and Josh attended the game with their parents Aaron and Liz Guelfi, who said the whole town had been 'amazed' to see the three boys on the front page of the June 9 edition of The West Australian. 'The whole of Newdegate has been rushing to town to buy the paper this week,' she laughed. 'The boys have been so excited, they have been saying 'we are famous, we are famous'.' 'The front page will be framed in our office for sure.' It capped off what had been a 'truly incredible weekend', Ms Guelfi said, after the three boys were chosen to race with the Eagles and Kangaroos mascots before the game started on Sunday. 'There was a lot of sibling rivalry on the day,' she said. 'Hunter has always supported North Melbourne and last year Charlie decided that he would too . . . we have no family over there, but he just loves the team. 'And Josh has always gone for the Eagles. So, there was a lot of banter and friendly competition on the day.' The three boys were hand-picked while standing near the rails to run with the mascots, taking part in a short relay race on the oval before the game. 'A North Melbourne official came up and asked if they wanted to take part,' Ms Guelfi said. 'They were a bit starstruck, I think . . . but they thought it was amazing to take part.' The game wasn't great viewing for a lot of the contest with the Eagles not kicking a goal until the second quarter and finishing with a woefully inaccurate 16 behinds, and the Roos barely scored after quarter-time before a four goal blitz late in the final term saw them edge ahead to win 9.8 (62) to 6.16 (52). As country people through-and-through, Ms Guelfi said the families had loved watching a game of AFL in regional WA. 'We were really excited to head to see both teams, and it was special to have a game like that in the country,' she said. 'It was just a really great day all around, to be picked in the mascot race and to be in The West Australian.'
