They say when it rains, it pours. And while there may not have been a cloud in the sky over Optus Stadium, it was raining goals for West Coast as they broke through for their first win of 2024.

In one of the best days for the club in recent memory, the Eagles doubled up on a sunny Sunday, backing up a drought-breaking WAFL win with a 39-point victory over Richmond.

It wasn’t the best win of Adam Simpson’s tenure, but the 16.13 (109) to 10.10 (70) triumph was one of the most important as the Eagles avoided setting the outright record for the worst-ever start to a season by the club.

Instead, they set several positive benchmarks. They produced their highest score and biggest win in nearly three years and most importantly climbed off the bottom of the ladder.

It left the majority of the 47,665 fans in attendance with a beaming smile on their face – the biggest home crowd to witness an Eagles win since the narrow victory where Josh Kennedy kicked the sealer in 2021, also against the Tigers.

Premiership star Elliot Yeo wound back the clock with one of his best performances in years, finishing with 15 clearances among his 27 disposals and two goals.

He could be sweating on a possible suspension over a potentially dangerous tackle on Nick Vlastuin in the final term, though the Tigers defender played out the game.

The midfield dominance of Yeo, Tim Kelly (29 disposals and eight clearances) and Harley Reid (27 disposals, seven clearances and a goal) gave their forward line plenty of opportunities and it was son-of-a-gun Jake Waterman who took advantage the most, booting a career-best haul of six goals and 13 marks – eight contested.

A comfortable Eagles win had appeared most unlikely in the early stages of the match, with Richmond bringing out some party tricks to start the game.

Shai Bolton (three goals) snapped a pair of classy goals, before Baker (25 disposals, five clearances and a goal) joined the party when he broke a tackle, faked out Tom Barrass and silenced the crowd with a snap of his own.

Not to be outdone, Vlastuin took one of the marks of the year on top of Eagles forward Jack Williams.

Most importantly they were dominating the home side, booting the first four goals of the game to shoot out to a 26-point lead as it looked like the home side were in for a horror day.

The Eagles were left flat-footer and lacking concentration, while they didn’t do the basics well as they too often went to ground or got muscled off the footy.

Veteran forward Jack Darling broke both the Eagles’ and his own personal drought, kicking his first goal since the season opener thanks to an excellent clearance from No.1 draftee Reid.

Reid then nearly brought the house down when Darling repaid the favour by setting the exciting teenager up with his first goal in front of the home fans.

Waterman made it three unanswered goals in only four minutes to bring the Eagles within tough at the first break.

It turned the game on its head as he home side gained control.

The Eagles were dominating out the centre, led by Reid and Yeo, which suddenly made their forward line look dangerous.

Richmond were no longer lowering their eyes going forward and it brought the Eagles’ intercept defenders into the game.

Jack Williams took a massive, contested mark before converting from long range, before Reid produced a blistering run out of the centre clearance to set up Waterman for his second giving the Eagles the lead for the first time.

Bolton tried to stem the tide with a set shot from deep in the right pocket, but it did little to dent West Coast’s confidence as they produced the best quarter of their season by booting eight goals to produce their highest first-half score for almost three years.

The half-time break didn’t stifle West Coast’s momentum, playing the ball in their front half as the Tigers didn’t record an inside 50 until the 18th minute of the third term.

At the other end it was the Waterman show as he continued to clunk massive marks and put the Tigers to the sword in front of goals.

Richmond champion Dustin Martin broke the Eagles’ run of six unanswered goals, but it was way too late as the home side was well on their way to victory.

Reid produced the best quarter of his short but exciting career, racking up 13 disposals and five clearances while leaving several Tigers in his wake.

After a blistering first three terms the game lost a bit of sting in the final term as both teams tired.

The Eagles fans still savoured the big moments and enjoyed their first win of 2024, belting out the song upon the siren.

WEST COAST 3.1, 11.2, 15.8, 16.13 (109)

RICHMOND 4.3, 7.7, 8.8, 10.10 (70)

Goals – WEST COAST: J Waterman 6 J Cripps 2 J Petruccelle 2 E Yeo 2 C Chesser J Darling H Reid J Williams. RICHMOND: S Bolton 3 M Lefau 3 L Baker D Martin T Sonsie.

Best – WEST COAST: E Yeo J Waterman H Reid T Kelly J Petruccelle L Duggan. RICHMOND: S Bolton L Baker T Nankervis N Vlastuin J Graham M Lefau.

Injuries – WEST COAST: L Edwards (concussion) C Jamieson (hamstring) replaced in the selected side by A Witherden. RICHMOND: J Short (calf).

Umpires: N Foot D Johanson T Bryce N McGinness. Crowd: 47,665 at Optus Stadium.