The boo boys and Lewis Jetta reignite the Goodes debate
Lewis Jetta provided the biggest talking point of the weekend when he reprised Adam Goodes’ now-famous dance after kicking a goal during the final quarter. Jetta’s invisible spear was aimed at the crowd, just as Goodes’ had been against Carlton earlier in the season. It appeared Jetta was unhappy with the treatment his home-town crowd dished out to Goodes, who had been booed every time he touched the ball since the moment he gathered his first possession, just a few minutes into the first quarter. Goodes didn’t appear affected by the crowd, fighting hard against overwhelming numbers as the Swans were overrun in the first half. 

The Swans couldn’t buy a goal in the first half …
The Swans’ first half against West Coast was their worst in 46 meetings between the two clubs, stretching back to 1987. The Swans were under heavy pressure for most of the second quarter and only managed five inside-50s for the term, converting one of those into a goal through Adam Goodes. The 1.6 (12) the Swans managed to half-time was a good deal shy of their previous worst first half against the Eagles, which came in 2008 at the same ground when the Swans kicked 2.7 (19). The difference on that day was the Swans kicked nine goals to West Coast’s three in the second half, snatching the game by five points.

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… and couldn’t even get the ball inside 50 in the second and third terms
If Swans fans thought things were dire when their side only managed to kick 12 points in the first half, it didn’t get any better early in the third. After all, it’s tough to kick a goal if you don’t manage to get the ball inside your own 50m zone. And that’s exactly what the Swans did from the 12-minute mark of the second quarter, when Adam Goodes edged Will Schofield out of the way and kicked an easy goal, to the 12-minute mark of the third quarter, when the Swans managed an inside-50 against the run of play. During the intervening period, the ball was consistently locked inside West Coast’s forward half, seemingly only returning to the centre after an Eagles goal. It was lucky Dane Rampe was in fine form for the Swans and was able to keep West Coast full-forward Josh Kennedy quiet.

Finals mix heats up
The game appeared effectively over at half-time but the mathematicians would have had their calculators out in an effort to work out how the result would affect the top eight. West Coast would now really fancy its chances of winning four of its final six matches, with a win over either top-placed Fremantle or the rampant Hawks likely securing it a top-two spot. The Swans’ loss, meanwhile, opens the door for either the Western Bulldogs or Richmond to steal fourth spot and a double chance. Perhaps the real battle between West Coast and Fremantle will be to avoid the Hawks, who have looked unstoppable in recent weeks, until Grand Final day. Let the mind games start.

West Coast unearths another diamond
Tom Barrass came into the West Coast line-up for the first time with the expectation that he was going to have to fill Jeremy McGovern’s shoes by jumping in front of Buddy Franklin all afternoon. So it was probably only Franklin’s direct opponent in Will Schofield who would have breathed a bigger sigh of relief when the former Hawthorn full-forward was a late withdrawal from the Swans. Barrass, meanwhile, started well, gathering a couple of early possessions and finding himself marking superstar Adam Goodes at times in the first half. Though his first season on the Eagles’ list was cruelled by injury, he slotted well into the team’s defensive structure against the Swans, managing 15 possessions and five marks.