Glen Quartermain: West Coast Eagles surprised Port Adelaide in first half with control over chaos

Chaos v Control. Made famous in the 1960s TV series Get Smart, they also define two very different AFL game strategies. The chaotic ball movement embraced by Richmond that led to three flags versus the skill-based control that forged a West Coast premiership in 2018 by elite kicking players. At a simplistic level, chaos explains what Andrew McQualter has tried to bring in to the Eagles this season. Get the ball into the forward 50 quickly and fight like hell to keep it there. On Sunday at Adelaide Oval, the Eagles tried control. At least for a half. And it worked. At least for a half. Up until this round, West Coast had averaged 72.8 marks per game, ranked 18th in the competition. Against the Power, their marking game was off the charts in the first term and they had eclipsed their average before three-quarter-time. West Coast’s uncontested brand was not the game style Port Adelaide would have expected and it was a big reason why the Eagles were able to reverse a recent first quarter trend and get the jump on the opposition. They led by 25 points at the first change, their scoreline of 6.3 to that point their biggest in an opening term since round 4, 2021. Harley Reid, Jack Hutchinson, Clay Hall, Elijah Hewett were all racking up possessions, while defender Liam Baker was busy through the corridor. Yet the young Eagles legs could not sustain the effort across four quarters as the Power reeled them in through their own ball winners, notably Zak Butters, Jason Horne-Francis and Ollie Wines. Willem Drew was tasked with Reid after half-time. Reid had 16 possessions to half-time and four in the third before rising again in the last but when were rushed and did not hit their intended target. By that stage of the game, the Harley clearance beast and inside 50 provider became Harley with the lot, the fighter, wrestler and antagonist. Butters and Horne-Francis got in his face and Reid was only too happy to oblige. Horne-Francis’ sealer late in the final term was kicked from stoppage when he was able to create some space on Reid, his immediate opponent, and didn’t he let the young Eagle know. Reid is going to be a bloody good footballer. He is still, however, searching for that balance that only experience can provide between finding the footy and finding the fight. Down back, West Coast had good service from Harry Edwards, who took a match-high 11 marks and guarded Ollie Lord before finishing on Mitch Georgiades. Edwards has had a steep learning curve this season but is turning into a reliable key back. Reuben Ginbey got first crack on Georgiades and spent the best part of three quarters on the Port Adelaide key forward, who could have had another big haul but finished with 3.5 and spilled two marks in the third term in front of goal, one bouncing off his chest and the other misjudged overhead. As the Eagles’ ability to control the ball diminished, so did the lead. It was 11 points at half-time and six at the final change before the Power surged away to win it by 26 points on the back of a 54-25 clearance obliteration, their best differential in a decade. The Power scored 9.7 to 1.2 from stoppage, 5.3 from throw-ins alone. It was always going to be hard for the Eagles to defend that imbalance.