How West Coast Won The AFL Grand Final

In one of the greatest Grand Finals in recent memory, West Coast triumphed over Collingwood 11.13 (79) to 11.8 (74) thanks to an ice-cold set shot from Dom Sheed with less than two minutes to play.

It would give the Eagles a lead that they would not relinquish in the remaining 90 seconds, and a Jack Darling dropped mark in the goal square would not be punished as Collingwood could not get the ball back up the ground to get one last chance.

West Coast overcame a sluggish start to achieve the biggest comeback since the 1984 Grand Final, as Collingwood jumped out of the blocks for the second straight week to shoot out to a 29 point lead late in the first quarter.

The Eagles (four Premierships) have now moved past the Brisbane Lions (three) for the most won by teams that have joined the competition since 1987. Only Hawthorn (seven) have won more Premierships in that span of time.

Collingwood will rue their missed opportunities and bad luck, as they led the game for 100 minutes and 2 seconds, compared to West Coast's 9 minutes and 4 seconds. But the Eagles fightback was a three-quarter effort, as they fought their way back into the game minute by minute, goal by goal.

Luke Shuey was brilliant for the Eagles, finishing with 34 disposals, 19 contested possessions, nine clearances, eight tackles, eight inside-50s and a goal. His performance was so incredible it has been labelled the best game by anyone in a Grand Final this decade.

Sheed's goal was only part of a standout display, standing tall early when the Magpies were running riot, collecting 20 disposals in just the first half. He would finish with 32 disposals (including 15 contested), eight clearances and six inside 50s.

Josh Kennedy led from the front, gathering 18 disposals, taking 11 marks and kicking 3 goals. Shannon Hurn, Tom Barrass and Jeremy McGovern were excellent in defence, combining for 25 marks and helping stem the tide when Collingwood were on top.

The Magpies tackle pressure caught the Eagles by surprise early in the game, and they were shell-shocked through the opening term. Collingwood would win the tackle count on the day 104-72, but West Coast's triumphs in other key areas got them over the line:

• Inside 50s 63-48
• Marks 104-79
• Contested Marks 23-15
• Marks Inside 50 13-7
• Tackles In Forward 50 27-17
• Intercept Possessions 82-69

West Coast stuck to its key principles, and their pinpoint kicking got them back into the contest to eventually win it. In 2018, the Eagles were 16-0 when they took 90 marks or more in a game. It was a hallmark of their patient, probing style of play.

When Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy both lined up, they were 13-0. Darling had just three first-half possessions and was looking at a repeat of his 2015 failure, but in the third quarter he exploded into life, gathering 7 possessions, taking 6 marks (4 contested) and kicking a vital goal.

And even though Collingwood won the contested possession count 162-159, West Coast are undefeated when within 11 contested possessions or better of their opposition, going 19-0 this season.

Though they were written off at the start of the year as a team in the bottom half of the competition, the Eagles defied expectations to win something of a fairytale Premiership, finding a game style against the current trend to win it all.

DOM SHEED PUT THE EAGLES IN FRONT!#AFLGF pic.twitter.com/uhTTxmV6eT

— AFL (@AFL) September 29, 2018

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