On-ball dominator must bide his time
Elliot Yeo isn’t confident that his best-on-ground performance against Greater Western Sydney on Saturday night will be enough to keep him in the midfield for their away match against Port Adelaide next Sunday.
Yeo was superb against the Giants, amassing 25 possessions, 11 marks and five tackles to show his value as an on-baller.
The 21-year-old has played as a defender, forward and midfielder this season. The match against the Giants was the most time he had spent on the ball.
With Yeo making a statement at the coalface and several of his teammates having a major influence, the Eagles pulled clear after quarter time to win by 87 points.
Yeo said the lopsided contest was the chief reason he had been able to play as a permanent midfielder.
“It’s a one-off at the moment,” Yeo said.
“Long term, Simmo sees me as a midfielder. But at this stage, he might need me down back.
“We might be a little bit light-on for height at times so I might have to go back and help the defenders.
“They played really well so I was fortunate enough to get some midfield time.
“I enjoyed it.”
At 190cm, Yeo is the perfect height for the new breed of on-ballers.
Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis is 185cm and with Dom Sheed (185cm), Luke Shuey (183cm), Andrew Gaff (181cm) and Chris Masten (179cm), the Eagles lack the imposing height many teams now have.
Yeo said he would love to spend more time playing alongside them and being a point of difference.
“I spent most of my juniors playing midfield so it is good to get in there and hunt the football,” he said.
“I like playing contested football. It’s a bit of fun.
“I got a bit of time midfield last year and was thoroughly enjoying it, but then was a bit unfortunate and broke my hand. That set me out for a fair bit.”
West Coast’s battle with Port Adelaide will pit them against another quality midfield.
The Power beat the Eagles by 14 points in Perth last year with Brad Ebert and Robbie Gray in control.
West Coast struggled against the top teams last season and weren’t competitive against Fremantle in round three. Yeo said the players were determined to perform well.
“They’re a great team and we’re all pretty excited,” Yeo said. “We’ve got an eight-day turnaround.
“I haven’t played at Adelaide Oval so I’ll be excited.
“I’ve heard the atmosphere is pretty good.
“The boys are looking forward to getting over there.”
