Follow live: Bunbury in national spotlight as West Coast Eagles clash with North Melbourne at Hands Oval
North Melbourne jumped out of the blocks in Bunbury’s AFL debut but the Eagles responded to reduce the margin to just seven points at the main break.
The Eagles have kicked one goal and eight behinds with the WA club struggling to find the big sticks while Tristan Xerri dominates the contest for the Roos.
Follow all the action in our live blog.
Learning to win
Andrew McQualter has fronted the media after the loss and was a grim looking man.
Mayor’s tick
The West Australian spoke to Bunbury mayor Jaysen Miguel during the match and he was stoked by today’s turnout of more than 12,000.
“It’s been talked about for a long time and plans had been put in place, but to sit here now and see the place packed, it’s amazing,”
“Everyone’s getting around it and it’s really exciting.”
ANALYSIS: Death by by a thousand paper cuts
“Maybe it was the unfamiliar venue, but apart from one or two cameos and a Harley Reid hang on the members wing early in the final term, this was a tough watch.”
Read Glen Quartermain’s full analysis here.
Going nowhere
The Bunbury fans are making the most of their day in the sun.
Many have stuck around to catch players from both teams while the bars are still doing good business.
If today is the mark for whether the deal can continue long term, it is a raging yes!
Rooms heaving
North Melbourne’s rooms were filled to the brim after their comeback win.
So much so, fans had to head out the back with players jumping out of the rooms to see family and friends.
MATCH WRAP
Here’s the story of the game from Mitchell Woodcock as what looked like it was going to be a day to remember for West Coast in Bunbury quickly turned into a day to forget.
Zurhaar talks
“It wasn’t a good win, it was an ugly win,” says Cam Zurhaar after the game.
Tried to focus as much as possible on his routine rather than the pressure of the moment with his big Q4 goal.
That defeat makes things tough for West Coast to get off the bottom of the ladder, even with 10 games to go. They’re now two games and percentage behind Richmond, with the Roos jumping up to 16th.
Three-word analysis
West Coast fought hard but ran out of steam as North finished with a wet sail to claim victory in Bunbury.
FULL TIME: North Melbourne 62, West Coast 52
North Melbourne have rescued a remarkable win in the South West!
They went the best part of two quarters without scoring as the Eagles looked on for their second win of the season.
But when it mattered in the last quarter they were far fitter than West Coast.
WA boy Zurhaar kicked two last-quarter goals to get his side home in a thriller.
McKercher had a huge second half of the match as the Roos’ youngsters out last the Eagles’ next gen stars.
The drama!
The WA boy Zurhaar takes a great contested grab and gives North the lead back with just two minutes to play!
Last role for the Eagles from the next bounce.
NM 55, WCE 52
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