West Coast coach Daisy Pearce faces the biggest test of her short rein after Essendon outworked and outsmarted her Eagles to hand them a 16-point defeat.
The Bombers jetted into Perth under pressure after a round one hammering but will left full of confidence after systematically dismantling West Coast to claim a 6.5 (41) to 3.7 (25) win at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday.
The differences in two styles of play were stark.
West Coast wanted numbers at the contest but once they got possession, they had few options forward of the ball and it slowed them down.
This played into Essendon’s hands, who held their structure well and utilised the space to put speed on the ball, with stars Georgia Nanscawen (25 disposals and six clearances) and Madison Prespakis (27 disposals and three clearances) dominant.
The Bombers dominated the territory battle in the first term, pressuring West Coast’s defence with repeated inside 50s, while the home side didn’t record a forward entry.
It paid off when Beth Schilling gave away a free kick straight in front of goal with Emily Gough kicking the first goal of the game.
West Coast pushed a forward up to the stoppage, but they weren’t getting first hands on the ball and even when they did manage to get it clear of the contest, the disciplined Essendon outfit had a spare player behind the ball.
Rubbing salt into the wounds, second gamer Georgie Cleaver turned the ball over from a kick in, resulting in a Chloe Adams goal.
It could have been worse had Prespakis not stepped off the line while kicking for goal after the siren, with her major disallowed.
Such was Essendon’s dominance that Eagles’ stars Emma Swanson, Alison Drennan and Jess Hosking didn’t record a possession in the first term.
The Eagles moved Swanson from up forward to the midfield, but it was debutant Jayme Harken who had the biggest impact with seven disposals and two clearances in the term.
Harken’s efforts help set up opportunistic goals for Bella Lewis and Mikayla Western, but the speed of the Bombers ball movement meant the Eagles couldn’t make a dent in the visitors’ lead before half-time.
There was hope of an Eagles comeback when Amy Franklin kicked the first goal of the second half, but the Bombers speed and skills was too overwhelming for West Coast’s defence.
Sophie Alexander and Steph Cain kicked consecutive goals for Essendon to push the lead to 17 points at the final break and give the Eagles a monumental task.
Neither side could kick a goal in a tense final term, ensuring Essendon held on for their first victory of the season.