Great Southern duo solid for West Coast but Tigers prove too strong in the end

Great Southern duo Belinda Smith and Sophie McDonald performed strongly but West Coast suffered a third straight AFLW defeat, this time at the hands of Richmond at Mineral Resources Park on Friday night.

The Eagles’ defence was impressive as they held the Tigers scoreless for the third term and fought hard until the dying minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Tigers put the home side away in the final five minutes to seal a 19-point victory.

The Eagles unveiled their new Pride jumper in the round seven fixture but the result all but ended their slim finals hopes as they slipped to 14th on the ladder, two games outside of the top eight with three rounds left in the regular season.

Smith and McDonald produced sound displays however as the defensive unit kept the Eagles in the game until the late stages.

Pingrup’s Smith was named in the Eagles’ best players, providing great rebound off half-back in the 6.7 (43) to 3.6 (24) defeat.

She finished with 17 disposals, seven marks and one tackle.

McDonald impressed in her key defensive post, spending time as the spare player in the back half and helped cut off a number of the Tigers’ forward forays.

The Albany product collected five touches, two marks and laid three tackles.

Eagles midfielder Courtney Rowley kicked the only goal of the third term and when captain Emma Swanson booted an early major in the fourth the margin was back to eight points.

However Grace Egan sealed the Tigers’ triumph with the final two goals, as her side won a fifth straight game.

The Eagles will travel again in round eight, this time to Ikon Park where they will take on the fifth-placed Geelong on Saturday afternoon.