Kennedy kicks 5, Eagles thrash Suns in AFL

West Coast have notched their third-straight AFL win with an 80-point thumping of Gold Coast at Optus Stadium, highlighted by Josh Kennedy kicking five goals.

Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy of the Eagles contest for a mark.

Josh Kennedy (R) has kicked five goals to take West Coast to an 80-point AFL win over Gold Coast. (AAP)

West Coast forward Josh Kennedy has kicked five goals in his AFL return to help lead West Coast to a thumping 80-point win over Gold Coast at Optus Stadium.

The Eagles booted eight goals to one in the second term to set up the 21.13 (139) to 9.5 (59) victory in front of 51,774 fans on Saturday night.

Kennedy missed the first three rounds of the season after ankle surgery, and he sprayed several set shots he would normally nail.

But it was an otherwise positive return for Kennedy, who is now just two goals away from overtaking Peter Sumich as the leading goalkicker at the club.

Sumich booted 514 goals in his 150-game career, while Kennedy moved to 513 goals from 186 games at the Eagles.

West Coast improve their record to 3-1, while Gold Coast are 2-2 after back-to-back losses.

"We kept our foot on the pedal for the most part of the night," Eagles coach Adam Simpson said.

"There were still some frustrating moments, but overall we were pretty happy."

Both teams ended the match with injury concerns.

Eagles youngster Daniel Venables hurt his right ankle and will undergo scans.

Gold Coast forward Tom Lynch, who booted three goals, rolled his left ankle in a marking contest, but he was able to return to the field.

Suns forward Ben Ainsworth was concussed after copping a big third-quarter bump from West Coast's milestone man Mark LeCras, who could come under scrutiny for the hit.

Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew was disappointed with his team's performance, especially in the second quarter.

"They had 12 scoring shots from 18 inside 50s - it's not the way we want to play," Dew said.

"So we challenged the lads at half-time. I thought they responded in the third but obviously the last quarter we didn't play the game out either."

Nic Naitanui was dominant in the ruck and around the ground in his 150th match, finishing with 14 disposals and 33 hit-outs.

Cripps (four goals), Jack Darling (three), Willie Rioli (two), and Mark LeCras (two) all cashed in up forward, while Jeremy McGovern (13 marks) was a rock in defence.

Elliot Yeo starred through the midfield to finish with 33 disposals.

David Swallow tallied 29 disposals for the Suns and Aaron Hall rebounded from last week's shocker to finish with 26.

But the Suns' travel-weary players simply had no answers to the Eagles.

The Suns have been forced to play every game interstate so far because their Metricon Stadium home ground has been tied up with the Commonwealth Games.

But they'll at least return next week to Queensland for their clash with Brisbane at the Gabba.


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Source: AAP



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