The Soaring

The West Coast Eagles have got their winning under way for season 2008 with a comfortable win over Collingwood in Albany by 33 points.

West Coast 14.15 99
Collingwood 9.12 66

Over 8000 people packed a wind swept Collingwood oval to see the Eagles make better use of the conditions and establish a match winning lead with a dominant 6 goal third quarter.

Both sides were below full strength in the lead up to Round 1 but the Eagles were well served by Cox, Staker and Wirrpanda in the midfield (2 and 3 goals respectively), and Brett Jones in defence.

A number of the younger players stepped up and performed well also. Some of the reports on EFH indicate 07 draftees Scott Selwood and Brad Ebert, along with emerging Forward Ben McKinley also stood out.

Next week we head to Alice Springs to take on Carlton. The locals will be getting sick of watching us up there as this is the third year in a row we travel to the red centre as part of the pre-season challenge.

Look for another side weighted towards getting some experience in the legs of the younger members of the squad as we gear up for season 2008.

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