Severely undermanned West Coast have been hailed for their spirit after they stunned Collingwood by 13 points in an AFL boilover.
The Eagles overcame a horror run of injury and COVID-19 dramas for their first win of the season on Saturday at Marvel Stadium, making the Magpies pay dearly for forward inefficiency in the 14.3 (87) to 10.14 (74) triumph.
West Coast were without Andrew Gaff, Luke Shuey, Dom Sheed, Tim Kelly and Elliott Yeo, meaning they fielded a second-string midfield.
While Jordan De Goey and Taylor Adams, were out for the Magpies, they started as strong favourites and certainly had plenty of chances to nail the result.
But led by key defender Jeremy McGovern - one of only four Eagles to play every game this season - the Eagles never let up.
In a mid-week media conference, Gaff had made a point of saying that the spirit at the club remained strong.
On Saturday, it was the bedrock of a game where they only had 42 inside 50s to 61 and seven less scoring shots.
"It's really hard to bottle, spirit - what is it, how do you cultivate it, how do you keep it alive?" said coach Adam Simpson.
"The intangibles in the game ... probably 85 per cent of everything we do is the same as every other club.
"That last 10-15 per cent, that's the special stuff.
"It sounds a bit fluffy, but it's really important."
While McGovern and fellow key defender Tom Barrass formed a virtual brick wall, up the other end Josh Kennedy and Willie Rioli were equally crucial with three goals apiece.
Kennedy only had five disposals, but used them to lethal effect.
He and Rioli combined for a crucial turning point in the third quarter.
Collingwood had opened the second half with a whopping 12 successive inside 50s to pile the pressure on West Coast, yet had only managed to turn a two-point halftime deficit into a 13-point lead.
Perhaps inevitably, a rare Eagles clearance found Kennedy and his long bomb from 50m was a critical goal.
Two minutes later, Rioli also goaled from a dubious free kick and suddenly, the Eagles only trailed by a point.
Adding to a banner day for West Coast, Simpson said they should regain Yeo, Shuey and Kelly, plus possibly Jamie Cripps and Oscar Allen, for next Friday night's home game against Sydney.
Collingwood's cause was also hurt early in the last term when prime mover Jamie Elliott was crunched in a Jamaine Jones tackle that will attract video scrutiny.
Elliott was forced off the field with an AC joint injury that could sideline him for 12 weeks.
But ultimately, Collingwood only had themselves to blame as they were overrrun late for the second time in as many games.
"We still had enough entries to get the job done. We still had enough possessions to get the job done," coach Craig McRae said.
"We just didn't quite execute today, did we?"
This week's AFL Rising Star Nick Daicos had a game-high 32 disposals to again delight the Collingwood faithful.
He and older brother Josh were prominent, while Magpies defender Brayden Maynard was outstanding.
