Ben Cousins says West Coast would get a big morale boost from another win in Richmond clash
The Eagles' clash against Richmond at Optus Stadium on Saturday night looms as the best chance for first-year coach Andrew McQualter to avoid an unwanted piece of history.
West Coast have only the one win so far this year and while a third wooden spoon is seemingly already locked in, unless they can claim another victory in their remaining six outings they will finish 2025 with the worst home-and-away record in club history.
The Eagles will start as $1.65 favourite against the 17th placed Tigers in what could be their final chance to get another win this season with tough games against Fremantle, Melbourne, Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs and Sydney to round out their season.
They nearly beat the Tigers in round nine at the MCG, with first-year midfielder Tom Gross run down opponent Tom Brown as he tried to kick what would've been the match-winning goal in the dying stages of the two-point defeat.
It has left them with just the 28-point victory over St Kilda the following week for the Eagles to hang their hat on this season.
Brownlow medallist Cousins said it was a winnable game for the Eagles and that should be the mindset they take in.
'West Coast are slightly more experienced and with Liam Ryan and Jamie Cripps they have a slight advantage up forward,' he said.
'Hopefully they can square things up in the middle and give their forwards enough opportunity.
'While it doesn't change the context of their season, it's good for morale when players, supporters and the whole club get to celebrate a win especially when they're hard to come by.'
Young Eagles midfielder Clay Hall has played in only two wins from the first 10 games of his career but none under McQualter, a milestone he would like to tick off sooner rather than later.
'It would mean a lot. It would definitely boost the morale even though it's quite high at the moment,' he said.
'The energy is quite high at the club which is great. It would be great to get another win for Mini (McQualter), I would love that.
'He's unreal with what he's given us this year. Learning a whole new gamestyle throughout the pre-season isn't the easiest thing but he's put in so much work making it so easy for us. He does it week-in, week-out, providing us information that we need to hopefully try to get the four points each week.
'If we keep doing that a win will come eventually, so when I get my first one with him I'll be very happy about that.'
West Coast have made three changes from the side that lost to Port Adelaide last weekend, recalling midfielder Tim Kelly as well as forwards Liam Ryan and Jack Petruccelle.
Third-year midfielder Elijah Hewett has been managed, while Noah Long and Malakai Champion have been omitted.
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The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
It's Young talent time as wayward Dockers crush Eagles
Fremantle midfielder Hayden Young has showcased what a weapon he will be in the club's AFL premiership push as the Dockers brushed aside West Coast by 49 points in a fiery western derby clash. Young tallied 23 disposals, seven clearances, three goals and 555m gained to win the Glendinning-Allan Medal in the 18.18 (126) to 12.5 (77) triumph in front of 54,384 fans at Optus Stadium on Saturday. The 24-year-old came on as the sub in his first game back from hamstring surgery in last week's one-point win over Collingwood, but he was unleashed from the very start of Saturday's game before being subbed out early in the last. Young was the dominant figure of the opening term, and his ruthlessness in front of goal when his teammates continually missed was another sign of just how important he is to the club's flag push. "It's handy, and we've missed his ball use at times this year," Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said of Young's accuracy. "I thought he was clean, I thought he found space, I thought he finished well. He was sharp. "He gives another big body around there as well, which helps Andy (Brayshaw) and Caleb (Serong) and the other mids." Michael Frederick kicked a career-high four goals, Andrew Brayshaw racked up 32 disposals and eight clearances, while rising star Murphy Reid (23 disposals, one goal) tallied a whopping 15 score involvements. Four-time Glendinning-Allan Medallist Serong had to work hard for his 20 disposals and eight clearances under a tight tag from Brady Hough. For West Coast, defender Reuben Ginbey kept Josh Treacy goalless from nine disposals, Tim Kelly found form with 26 disposals, eight clearances and two goals, and Harley Reid (15 disposals, three clearances, two goals) battled hard amidst the boos. Reid limped off in the dying minutes with an ankle injury after being crunched in a tackle by Karl Worner. The win keeps Fremantle (13-6) within percentage of the top four, while West Coast (1-18) have lost nine on the trot and are headed for their second wooden spoon in three seasons. West Coast were forced into a late change when defender Harry Edwards injured his hamstring in the warm-up, Harley Reid was target No.1 in the opening quarter. First, he was involved in a wrestle with Fremantle veteran Jaeger O'Meara. Later in the term, he was caught unaware when he was flattened in an off-the-ball bump from Patrick Voss (three goals). West Coast kept pace with Fremantle early, but two goals in a minute to Frederick, followed by two goals in a minute to Young, blew the scoreboard out to 40-12 by quarter-time. Fremantle's 14-7 clearance count in the opening quarter was ominous, with Young tallying 10 disposals, five clearances and two goals in a brilliant individual display. Frederick's third goal stretched the margin to 35 points early in the third quarter, but a magical running goal by Harley Reid helped keep West Coast in the contest. Fremantle dominated the rest of the quarter, but their wasteful return of 1.6 meant the half-time margin was only 22 points. The Dockers' wobbles continued early in the third quarter as West Coast cut the margin to 18 points, before Fremantle finally found their range to blow the margin wide open. "I think the scoreboard flattered us probably for a fair chunk of that game," West Coast coach Andrew McQualter said. "I think you saw a Fremantle team hungry, in a position where they're going to be fighting for finals, and their class probably just overwhelmed us." Fremantle midfielder Hayden Young has showcased what a weapon he will be in the club's AFL premiership push as the Dockers brushed aside West Coast by 49 points in a fiery western derby clash. Young tallied 23 disposals, seven clearances, three goals and 555m gained to win the Glendinning-Allan Medal in the 18.18 (126) to 12.5 (77) triumph in front of 54,384 fans at Optus Stadium on Saturday. The 24-year-old came on as the sub in his first game back from hamstring surgery in last week's one-point win over Collingwood, but he was unleashed from the very start of Saturday's game before being subbed out early in the last. Young was the dominant figure of the opening term, and his ruthlessness in front of goal when his teammates continually missed was another sign of just how important he is to the club's flag push. "It's handy, and we've missed his ball use at times this year," Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said of Young's accuracy. "I thought he was clean, I thought he found space, I thought he finished well. He was sharp. "He gives another big body around there as well, which helps Andy (Brayshaw) and Caleb (Serong) and the other mids." Michael Frederick kicked a career-high four goals, Andrew Brayshaw racked up 32 disposals and eight clearances, while rising star Murphy Reid (23 disposals, one goal) tallied a whopping 15 score involvements. Four-time Glendinning-Allan Medallist Serong had to work hard for his 20 disposals and eight clearances under a tight tag from Brady Hough. For West Coast, defender Reuben Ginbey kept Josh Treacy goalless from nine disposals, Tim Kelly found form with 26 disposals, eight clearances and two goals, and Harley Reid (15 disposals, three clearances, two goals) battled hard amidst the boos. Reid limped off in the dying minutes with an ankle injury after being crunched in a tackle by Karl Worner. The win keeps Fremantle (13-6) within percentage of the top four, while West Coast (1-18) have lost nine on the trot and are headed for their second wooden spoon in three seasons. West Coast were forced into a late change when defender Harry Edwards injured his hamstring in the warm-up, Harley Reid was target No.1 in the opening quarter. First, he was involved in a wrestle with Fremantle veteran Jaeger O'Meara. Later in the term, he was caught unaware when he was flattened in an off-the-ball bump from Patrick Voss (three goals). West Coast kept pace with Fremantle early, but two goals in a minute to Frederick, followed by two goals in a minute to Young, blew the scoreboard out to 40-12 by quarter-time. Fremantle's 14-7 clearance count in the opening quarter was ominous, with Young tallying 10 disposals, five clearances and two goals in a brilliant individual display. Frederick's third goal stretched the margin to 35 points early in the third quarter, but a magical running goal by Harley Reid helped keep West Coast in the contest. Fremantle dominated the rest of the quarter, but their wasteful return of 1.6 meant the half-time margin was only 22 points. The Dockers' wobbles continued early in the third quarter as West Coast cut the margin to 18 points, before Fremantle finally found their range to blow the margin wide open. "I think the scoreboard flattered us probably for a fair chunk of that game," West Coast coach Andrew McQualter said. "I think you saw a Fremantle team hungry, in a position where they're going to be fighting for finals, and their class probably just overwhelmed us." Fremantle midfielder Hayden Young has showcased what a weapon he will be in the club's AFL premiership push as the Dockers brushed aside West Coast by 49 points in a fiery western derby clash. Young tallied 23 disposals, seven clearances, three goals and 555m gained to win the Glendinning-Allan Medal in the 18.18 (126) to 12.5 (77) triumph in front of 54,384 fans at Optus Stadium on Saturday. The 24-year-old came on as the sub in his first game back from hamstring surgery in last week's one-point win over Collingwood, but he was unleashed from the very start of Saturday's game before being subbed out early in the last. Young was the dominant figure of the opening term, and his ruthlessness in front of goal when his teammates continually missed was another sign of just how important he is to the club's flag push. "It's handy, and we've missed his ball use at times this year," Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said of Young's accuracy. "I thought he was clean, I thought he found space, I thought he finished well. He was sharp. "He gives another big body around there as well, which helps Andy (Brayshaw) and Caleb (Serong) and the other mids." Michael Frederick kicked a career-high four goals, Andrew Brayshaw racked up 32 disposals and eight clearances, while rising star Murphy Reid (23 disposals, one goal) tallied a whopping 15 score involvements. Four-time Glendinning-Allan Medallist Serong had to work hard for his 20 disposals and eight clearances under a tight tag from Brady Hough. For West Coast, defender Reuben Ginbey kept Josh Treacy goalless from nine disposals, Tim Kelly found form with 26 disposals, eight clearances and two goals, and Harley Reid (15 disposals, three clearances, two goals) battled hard amidst the boos. Reid limped off in the dying minutes with an ankle injury after being crunched in a tackle by Karl Worner. The win keeps Fremantle (13-6) within percentage of the top four, while West Coast (1-18) have lost nine on the trot and are headed for their second wooden spoon in three seasons. West Coast were forced into a late change when defender Harry Edwards injured his hamstring in the warm-up, Harley Reid was target No.1 in the opening quarter. First, he was involved in a wrestle with Fremantle veteran Jaeger O'Meara. Later in the term, he was caught unaware when he was flattened in an off-the-ball bump from Patrick Voss (three goals). West Coast kept pace with Fremantle early, but two goals in a minute to Frederick, followed by two goals in a minute to Young, blew the scoreboard out to 40-12 by quarter-time. Fremantle's 14-7 clearance count in the opening quarter was ominous, with Young tallying 10 disposals, five clearances and two goals in a brilliant individual display. Frederick's third goal stretched the margin to 35 points early in the third quarter, but a magical running goal by Harley Reid helped keep West Coast in the contest. Fremantle dominated the rest of the quarter, but their wasteful return of 1.6 meant the half-time margin was only 22 points. The Dockers' wobbles continued early in the third quarter as West Coast cut the margin to 18 points, before Fremantle finally found their range to blow the margin wide open. "I think the scoreboard flattered us probably for a fair chunk of that game," West Coast coach Andrew McQualter said. "I think you saw a Fremantle team hungry, in a position where they're going to be fighting for finals, and their class probably just overwhelmed us."
West Australian
6 hours ago
- West Australian
Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir wants his team to be ruthless despite big derby win over West Coast
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has urged his players to become more ruthless after they failed to maximise their chances to blow West Coast off the park and dramatically increase their percentage during Saturday's western derby. The Dockers dominated all aspects of the game and won by 49 points but even West Coast coach Andrew McQualter admitted the 18.18 (126) to 12.5 (77) result flattered his team. Fremantle entered the round locked on 12 wins with GWS, Hawthorn and Geelong, but with an inferior percentage to them all. They were 7.1 per cent behind the Giants and 10.1 per cent behind the Hawks and while they improved their own percentage from 108.9 to 111.7, they face a huge challenge to catch them in the remaining games. A frustrated Longmuir said they missed the chance to win by a bigger margin after Fremantle had 14 more inside 50s, 18 more clearances and more than double the amount of scoring shots. He said the team had missed too many chances this season to put teams away. 'We kicked 18.18 and four out on the fulls. We created plenty of opportunities to kick a good score, and we kicked a good score. But if you take away a couple of goals and add a couple more, it doesn't take much and you get a bit more of a percentage boost,' Longmuir said. 'I said to the players after the game, it's been a bit of a trend for us. We held Adelaide to 38 points at three quarter time and and coughed up three or four goals out of our back half just by going to sleep in that game. It was a bit the same in the GWS game. 'If you do that across the course of the year, it adds up. We need to be a bit more ruthless in that sense. Maybe that's the next step.' Longmuir was thrilled that Hayden Young sent everyone a reminder of what he is capable of by collecting 23 disposals, seven clearances and kicking three goals to win the Glendinning-Allan Medal. Young played as the sub last week and was influential in just over one quarter of footy against Collingwood. He was subbed out of the derby when the Dockers were in control after his brilliance set up the win. 'It was a good build from last week and should set him up well for next week. I thought he was clean, I thought he found space and I thought he finished well. He was sharp,' Longmuir said. 'We've missed his ball use at times this year. He's a welcome addition. He gives us another big body around there as well which helps Andy and Caleb and the other mids. We've missed that as well. 'I thought our stoppage work went to a level it hasn't seen for a while today. I'm sure Youngy had an impact on that. Of course that excites me. 'We've got to still find the right mix in there and who complements them. There's still a bit to work through. We'll work our way through that but good players make good coaches.'
Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Perth Now
Young shows his class as wayward Dockers crush Eagles
Fremantle midfielder Hayden Young has showcased what a weapon he will be in the club's AFL premiership push as the Dockers brushed aside West Coast by 49 points in a fiery western derby clash. Young tallied 23 disposals, seven clearances, three goals and 555m gained to win the Glendinning-Allan Medal in the 18.18 (126) to 12.5 (77) triumph in front of 54,384 fans at Optus Stadium on Saturday. The 24-year-old came on as the sub in his first game back from hamstring surgery in last week's one-point win over Collingwood, but he was unleashed from the very start of Saturday's game before being subbed out early in the last. Young was the dominant figure of the opening term, and his ruthlessness in front of goal when his teammates continually missed was another sign of just how important he is to the club's flag push. Michael Frederick kicked a career-high four goals, Andrew Brayshaw racked up 32 disposals and eight clearances, while rising star Murphy Reid (23 disposals, one goal) tallied a whopping 15 score involvements. Four-time Glendinning-Allan Medallist Caleb Serong had to work hard for his 20 disposals and eight clearances under a tight tag from Brady Hough. For West Coast, defender Reuben Ginbey kept Josh Treacy goalless from nine disposals, Tim Kelly found form with 26 disposals, eight clearances and two goals, and Harley Reid (15 disposals, three clearances, two goals) battled hard amidst the boos. Reid limped off in the dying minutes and headed to the change rooms after being crunched in a tackle by Karl Worner. The win keeps Fremantle (13-6) within percentage of the top four, while West Coast (1-18) have lost nine on the trot and are headed for their second wooden spoon in three seasons. West Coast were forced into a late change when defender Harry Edwards injured his hamstring in the warm-up, Harley Reid was target No.1 in the opening quarter. First, he was involved in a wrestle with Fremantle veteran Jaeger O'Meara. Then later in the term, he was caught unaware when he was flattened in an off-the-ball bump from Patrick Voss (three goals). West Coast kept pace with Fremantle early, but two goals in a minute to Frederick, followed by two goals in a minute to Young, blew the scoreboard out to 40-12 by quarter-time. Fremantle's 14-7 clearance count in the opening quarter was ominous, with Young tallying 10 disposals, five clearances and two goals in a brilliant individual display. Frederick's third goal stretched the margin to 35 points early in the third quarter, but a dose of Harley Reid magic gave Eagles fans something to smile about. Reid received a handpass on the wing and took a running bounce before nailing a goal from 47m. Fremantle dominated the rest of the quarter, but their wasteful return of 1.6 meant the half-time margin was only 22 points. The Dockers' wobbles continued early in the third quarter as West Coast cut the margin to 18 points. But goals to Jye Amiss and Voss - each of which was followed by a mini melee - gave Fremantle breathing space, before Young added another later in the quarter. Fremantle blew the margin wide open with the first four goals of the final term.
