1. It wasn’t pretty from West Coast
But the Eagles did the job against Essendon and continued their recent run of big wins against lesser sides at Domain Stadium. Having said that, there was little in the match to enthuse those who might have thought the Eagles were a chance of winning the flag in 2016. Boom recruit Lewis Jetta still hasn’t boomed, the rucking division looks decidedly shaky without Nic Naitanui, and a host of others haven’t taken the step that was probably needed if the club was to make another grand final. You can’t do much more than win a game of football, but the manner in which it was done wouldn’t have excited even the true believers. Those who look only at the scoreboard would need to look at how many were scored when the match was effectively over.

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2. The home side welcomed back a couple of old stagers
Essendon has been relying on recycled players all year, but there were a couple in blue-and-gold, too. Most notable was Mitch Brown, who hadn’t played a league game since rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament during the opening minutes of the club’s first match of 2015. Brown finally managed to string together a few games with East Perth in the WAFL after injuring a finger during the pre-season and won a recall against Essendon to help Scott Lycett in the ruck. He competed hard, but was clearly a little bit rusty. The other returning player was the hard-working, but unfashionable, Patrick McGinnity, who last played for West Coast in the 2015 preliminary final victory over North Melbourne. He was busy early, kicking two goals (it should have been three) during the first half and getting involved in at least two others. He caught fire again late in the match, kicking another two and handing one off to Mark Hutchings. 

3. Joe Daniher really is the next big thing…
OK, it might be a little trite to talk about Joe Daniher, especially after kicking two goals in each of his last six outings. But it would also be wrong not to talk about the youngster with the famous footballing name after his performance against West Coast again showed he was a star in the making. In the first half, Daniher was a constant threat, kicking two goals and forcing the home side to double-team him in marking contests. His second goal was pure class. Lining up for a set shot from a long way out, he calmly kicked it across his body when most would have kicked the drop punt. The second half was a different story as he was forced into the ruck because of an injury to Mark Jamar. But he still worried West Coast and slotted another goal after a towering mark deep in attack, ending his run of two-goal returns in a positive fashion. 

4. … but David Zaharakis and Mark Jamar must be doing Woosha’s head in.
Physically, big Mark Jamar has Jeremy McGovern well and truly covered, so it’s no surprise he would hit back when McGovern gave him a sharp one to the body early in the third term. What was surprising was that he should hit back so literally – delivering a forearm to the head and neck right in front of an umpire, who immediately reported him. Of course, a conspiracy theorist might suggest Jamar planned it all, because he left the ground almost immediately with a hamstring injury and may have to miss a week or two anyway. Zaharakis, meanwhile, will come under scrutiny for what appeared to be an off-the-ball whack to the midriff of Eagles youngster Jackson Nelson, who left the ground gasping for air. Given how thin the Essendon squad is, John Worsfold would hardly wish to do without him for the game against St Kilda. 

5. For once, the 2006 premiership side was involved in a good news story
West Coast’s 2006 premiership team has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons of late, but it was all smiles from all but three of them before the opening siren as they paraded the premiership cup around Domain Stadium. The recalcitrant Daniel Chick appeared to have been welcomed back into the fold, along with a handful of others whose post-football lives have also been controversial. Those missing were Ben Cousins (for obvious reasons), Brett Jones (overseas) and Sam Butler – the last survivor of that side, who was preparing for the game against the Bombers.

Reunion a 'weird, surreal situation': Butler

Daniel Chick and David Wirrapanda with the 2006 premiership cup. Picture: AFL Images