In a further blow, midfielder Luke Shuey was subbed out at half-time with a reoccurrence of a hamstring injury that kept him out of the past three matches.

It was the Swans' seventh straight win over the Eagles and their fifth win in their past six games at Patersons Stadium.

 

West Coast has struggled at home this season having lost seven matches but no team has brushed the Eagles aside with such ease despite the home side twice getting within 22 points in the last quarter.   

 

The Swans stamped their authority with a scintillating second term. They kicked six goals to two in a devastating display of run and ball movement to set-up at 26-point lead at the long break.

 

The Swans dominated the midfield battle, with Daniel Hannebery (40 possessions, two goals), Kieren Jack (30 possessions, two goals) and Josh Kennedy (29 possessions, one goal) all starring.

Such was the Swans' dominance, they led the inside-50m count 43-20 at three-quarter time, with their 37-point lead at the final change proving too much to run down for the Eagles.

To its credit, West Coast's tackling was fanatical in the opening term as it has been for the past month.

 

The Eagles laid 31 tackles for the quarter to keep themselves within eight points at quarter-time but their work-rate dropped off in the second term. 

Former Demon Cale Morton finished with 16 possessions and one goal in a promising performance after replacing Shuey for the start of the third quarter. However, the Swans kicked two goals to one to extend the lead to 32 points at the last change.

 

The Eagles threatened to mount a miraculous comeback in the final term. 

 

West Coast's Josh Kennedy kicked four goals to maintain his lead in the Coleman Medal and third halfway through the last term to cut the margin to 22.

 

But the substitution of Ryan O'Keefe for Harry Cunningham steadied the Swans immediately. Cunningham ran 40m from a clearance with his first touch to set up Kurt Tippett's second goal.

 

Hannebery kicked the sealer courtesy of brilliant crumbing from Kennedy and Tippett bagged his third goal to put it beyond doubt.

West Coast: Kennedy 4, Wellingham, Dalziell, Morton, Cox, Darling, Naitanui, Masten

Sydney Swans: Tippett 3, Pyke 2, Lamb 2, K.Jack 2, Hannebery 2, Kennedy, Parker, White, Bolton, Mumford, B.Jack

 

West Coast: Masten, Priddis, Kennedy, LeCras, Glass, Darling

Sydney Swans: Hannebery, K.Jack, Kennedy, McVeigh, Pyke, Smith

 

West Coast: Rosa (replaced in selected side), Brennan (replaced in selected side), Shuey (hamstring)

Sydney Swans: O’Keefe (leg)

 

West Coast: Cale Morton replaced Luke Shuey (hamstring) at half-time

Sydney Swans: Harry Cunningham replaced Ryan O’Keefe (leg) during the final quarter

 

Reports: Nil

 

Umpires: Margetts, Meredith, Foot

 

Official crowd: 35,166 at the Patersons Stadium