West Coast’s slow start came back to bite them again in 2026, but there were moments for Eagles fans to get excited about in a 25-point defeat to Adelaide at Optus Stadium.

Here are the moments that mattered on Friday night.

Crows searing start

Coming off an upset loss to nemesis Port Adelaide, a seething Adelaide got off to a flying start inside thirty seconds thanks to a classy running goal from midfielder Jake Soligo hard up against the boundary.

It would herald a nine-minute four-goal blitz from the Crows, as the visitors amassed nine of the first ten inside 50s to nearly extinguish the game within mere minutes of its start.

Soligo would also kick the first major of the second half from a set shot free kick directly in front of goal.

After being “punched in the mouth” in the clearance game last week, according to coach Matthew Nicks, Adelaide were provided midfield ascendancy from the first ruck contest through big man Liam McAndrew.

The 26-year-old dominated the centre circle early, leading the Crows to a 7-1 centre clearance count at quarter time.

The Eagles had no answer for Jordan Dawson in the midfield as the Adelaide captain continued his rich run of form with 27 disposals and a goal in a dominant performance.

Forceful Fogarty

With the late withdrawal of spearhead Riley Thilthorpe due to illness, forward Darcy Fogarty stepped up to the plate for the Crows in a brutal first-quarter performance.

Fogarty slotted three goals inside the initial 30 minutes, the first a 55-metre bomb from the half forward flank that sailed straight through the middle, before adding a second major minutes later.

He converted his third after ruthlessly throwing direct opponent Rhett Bazzo away, in a mark of physical superiority, to take a simple mark 15 metres out.

Fogarty’s fourth came courtesy of another clean clearance from the middle, as Jordan Dawson once again sliced through West Coast’s midfield to deliver the football into attack.

In the final term, the Crows’ forward made his presence known again, busting the pack to take a momentum-arresting contested mark at half back to round out a strong performance.

Eagles’ Question of Consistency

It was a tale of two halves for Andrew McQualter’s Eagles.

An overwhelmed West Coast struggled early, as they conceded uncontested marks, made basic skill errors and were beaten at the contest by their opponents.

Putting extra players back into defence stemmed the bleeding, but the Eagles struggled to move the ball into attack and paid the price on the scoreboard.

A more desperate West Coast emerged in the second half as they took their pressure to the next level.

Debutant Oli Francou had nine tackles and Jack Hutchinson six as the Friday night contest finally began to even up.

The Eagles started the last term with 12 inside 50s to zero, completely flipping the first-half script.

Bo Allan gave the Eagles a glimmer of hope to start the final term with a clinical finish from the pocket, and a Waterman major brought the margin down to 18 as the crowd of 40,770 started to throw its weight behind the home side.

But the margin would not get any smaller in a case of too little, too late for West Coast, as McQualter is left to find answers for his side’s habitual slow starts.

Starcevich slots his first as an Eagle

For hard-working defenders like Brandon Starcevich, time up forward can be rare.

But the Eagles’ star recruit looked like a natural in front of the big sticks when he kicked his first goal for his new club after flattening Crow Max Michalanney in a tackle.

The tidy set shot from the pocket was the East Perth product’s ninth goal in his 136-game senior career.

It was a cathartic moment for the former premiership-winning Lion who endured an injury-riddled start to the year since returning home to WA after seven seasons at Brisbane.

Shanahan’s hands

In his seventh-straight week with a goal, Jobe Shanahan continued to impress for West Coast up forward, providing a towering target for his ball movers.

Shanahan dribbled through his side’s third of the match, recovering from a dropped contested mark to scrounge a kick which dribbled centimetres away from Crow Brayden Cook on the goal line.

He would add a further two goals to his tally, taking eight marks in another eye-catching performance that will leave Eagles fans hopeful for the future.