A Six-Pack Of IPA (Interesting Points, Allegedly): The extent of Shuey-Yeo-Kelly gang’s availability crisis

Mid-strength midfield attendance West Coast have now played 50 games since Tim Kelly’s much-hyped arrival for the start of the 2020 season. But the Eagles’ preferred triumvirate of centre-square midfielders – Kelly alongside Luke Shuey and Elliot Yeo – hasn’t been able to string together even a dozen full games together in that span as injury continues to take its toll. Of those 50 matches, Kelly, Shuey and Yeo have played out the full game together in just 11 of them – with the Eagles winning four times. There have been four more matches where the trio has started the game together but one has failed to go the distance before getting injured. The 11 full games pales in comparison with Melbourne, who have fielded their top trio of Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Jack Viney together in 37 of their past 50 games. TIM KELLY, LUKE SHUEY & ELLIOT YEO In the 50 Eagles games since Kelly’s arrival Sub optimal Shuey’s fourth-quarter substitution due to a back concern marked the third time he’s made an early departure since the sub rule came in at the start of last season. Only Richmond’s Dion Prestia (four times) has seen more in-game exits in that period, with Hawthorn’s Will Day and Tiger Thomson Dow also being subbed out three times. It’s been almost two full seasons since Shuey last played a full game in an Eagles win, which came against Essendon at the Gabba in round 15 of 2020. Tough to stop Even against the backdrop of their horror campaign this year, West Coast were pounded at the coalface against GWS in a fashion we’ve never seen before. The Eagles conceded 79 points from stoppages, their most ever in a game in the two decades the stat has been collected. One of the few positives from Sunday was a three-point win in the third term, which halted a streak of 17 consecutive quarters lost. The Giants hold the AFL-era record with 20 straight quarters lost in 2012. Not making their mark Fremantle mustered just two marks inside their forward-50 arc in their loss to Collingwood – both courtesy of Lachie Schultz – to equal an unwanted club record for fewest in a match. The Dockers surprisingly won the contested ball count by 23, unlike last week in the wet, where they were bested by 17 against Gold Coast. But it translated to just a 30 per cent score from inside-50 ratio as Collingwood took advantage of shallow and poor entries to feast in the turnover stakes. True test awaits When they take on Melbourne on Saturday, Fremantle will be facing the top team on the ladder for the first time since round three of 2020, when they lost to Port Adelaide. It’s the longest current streak where a club hasn’t faced the team in first bar the Power, who spent all of 2020 atop the ladder themselves. Freo’s most recent win over a table-topping side came against Geelong in late 2019 in what was ultimately Ross Lyon’s last victory as coach. Ton up for Optus Sunday marked the 100th AFL game at Optus Stadium, and just like they did in the 50th game at the venue in 2020, Collingwood walked away with the victory. Adelaide is the only AFL club yet to notch a win at Perth’s newest stadium, though they do get their fourth attempt against West Coast in round 21. Jack Darling has made the most appearances in the young ground’s history, featuring in 49 of his team’s 52 games there, while evergreen David Mundy is the most frequent visitor there for Freo with 47 of a possible 49 matches.