Hey! Eagles!



JOHN Worsfold stopped on the way into his post-match media conference to watch Black Cavia''s 25th win.
The West Coast coach had developed an appetite on Saturday for drubbings.
After being challenged early in their AFL match at the MCG, the Eagles kicked at the turn and thumped Melbourne by the length of the straight.
Their 94-point win featured an astonishing third term where they kicked a club-record 11.3.
That followed a first half where the Demons tested West Coast, who had lost their opening two games.
“As much as we haven't playing our best football over the last couple of weeks, we haven't been far off it,” Worsfold said.
“We showed some improvement in the way we played throughout the game.”
Ruckman Dean Cox starred and key forwards Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy kicked five goals apiece.
Fellow forward Mark LeCras also returned from a broken arm to kick three goals. The other big name back in the side was midfielder Daniel Kerr, who had off-season knee surgery.
Kerr was subbed out for the last term and had ice on the knee, but said he was better for the run.
The star onballer was prominent when the game was in the balance during the second term.
“I haven't pulled up sore at all,” Kerr said.
“I was a little bit tired towards the end - I wasn't unhappy to be subbed.
“It was just precautionary.”
Kerr also paid credit to Melbourne, saying he had some sympathy for their plight.
“I don't think they're as bad a team as the media have said - they just haven't played four quarters of football,” he said.
“We knew at some stage in the game they were going to challenge us.”
Kerr knows what Melbourne are going through, given West Coast finished last only three years ago.

“I can see where they're going. I can see they're building a list,” he said.

“We went through a similar thing and it can turn around very quickly.

“They are playing good patches of football.
“If they weren't playing any good football at all, you'd probably be worried if you were Melbourne.”
Beau Waters hurt his calf in the warm-up and is in doubt for next Saturday's home game against Carlton.

Under-pressure Demons coach Mark Neeld saw plenty of encouragement in his side’s performance.
“I know it's a little win - it's a tiny little thing - but we were really proud of the response the players gave in the first half,” Neeld said.
“We're driving forward and that's where it is.
“There will be ups and downs.
“Our third quarter was clearly not good enough, but we showed today there's certainly enough to keep forging on and working hard and driving these boys as hard as we possibly can.”
There was severe fallout from the disaster against Essendon a week ago, with chief executive Cameron Schwab tapped on the shoulder and the team having a one-night camp at coastal Sorrento.
But by Friday the mood had changed to defiance, with a big group of fans turning up to training and co-captain Jack Grimes showing his faith by signing a three-year deal.
AAP

Rort that, South Sydney!



THE contenders threw down the challenge but Melbourne once again proved why it remains the NRL yardstick.
The Storm were resolute in their 17-10 victory over South Sydney in tonight's battle of the league's only two unbeaten teams.
Now only the Storm can boast a perfect record after six rounds, the premiers unbeaten since July last year after emerging three-tries-to-two winners in a match which lived-up to its blockbuster billing.
In their first visit to ANZ Stadium since securing the 2012 title, the Storm were directed brilliantly by halfback Cooper Cronk, who set up tries with both passes and kicks before icing the game with a field goal four minutes from fulltime.
The Rabbitohs only made two errors in the opening half but both were punished as Cronk first set up Kevin Proctor and then Mahe Fonua.
Burgess brothers Sam and George were bending the line with every run, but calls for a Billy Slater knock-on on his own line went ignored when another try loomed.Former Storm star Greg Inglis did his best to drag Souths over the with an athletic leap for his side's first try eight minutes after halftime to make it 12-6, and at that stage the home side was full of running and the 32,671-strong crowd full of voice.
A minute later the Storm were out by 10 points when Gareth Widdop beat three defenders from 10 metres out.
Some Souths heads dropped but there was still life when Andrew Everingham dived over in the corner with eight minutes to go, but this is a Storm side that just knows how to win as Cronk extended their lead beyond a converted try.
Late drama threatened when Slater was sin-binned after a try-saver on Nathan Merritt with less than two minutes remaining, but time and a relentless Storm were against the Rabbitohs.
Despite the dominant start to the season, Storm skipper Cameron Smith warned his side had yet to hit top gear.
“Being 6-0 is a pretty good spot to be in leading into all this rep footy,” Smith said.
“The good thing about the way we're going about things is we're not satisfied with the way we're playing at the moment.
“Obviously we're very pleased with the results, but we've still got our best footy ahead of us.
“You can still feel out on the field that we're a little bit off the mark with the things we want to do.”
Storm coach Craig Bellamy said he anticipated having as many as 10 players involved in next weekend's representative fixtures.
The Rabbitohs are also likely to have a heavy representation, but coach Michael Maguire said the loss to the Storm highlighted the gulf between the the premiers and the rest.
“It came down to moments in the game which the Storm have been doing for a long, long time - they take their opportunities when they arise,” Maguire said.
“We're building as a group - each week we're taking lessons as we go.”
MELBOURNE 17 (M Fonua K Proctor G Widdop tries C Smith 2 goals C Cronk field goal)SOUTH SYDNEY 10 (A Everingham G Inglis tries A Reynolds goal) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Shayne Hayne, Alan Shortall. Crowd: 32,671.
AAP