Updated September 11, 2017 14:20:33

Photo: For Jake Sturmer, the Eagles' elimination final against Port Adelaide was a rollercoaster. (Supplied: Jake Sturmer)

On Saturday night, I settled down with my family to watch my beloved West Coast Eagles tackle Port Adelaide in a winner-takes-all elimination final.

It started well — the Eagles pulled away early and things were looking good — but from half-time, Port Adelaide fought back.

I fell silent, but my heart told a different story.

I'm a fairly techy guy, so I religiously track all my vital signs — and this is the story of the game from the heart of a passionate West Coast Eagles fan.

And to be clear, I wasn't jumping around the living room (that came at the end after Luke Shuey's kick to win the match).

In the preceding five hours, my heart rate averaged 75 beats per minute.

At quarter time, with a 20-point lead, things were looking good.

Photo: What football fan would be crazy enough to monitor his heart rate during a knockout final? ABC's Jake Sturmer did. (Supplied: Jake Sturmer)

My heart rate was elevated but not overly so — 91 beats per minute.

But as the game wore on, things began to change; Port Adelaide was kicking back, the video reviews weren't going our way and then Port's Travis Boak kicked a point in the last quarter to even things up — 133 beats per minute.

Not great for an Eagles' fan.

Fast forward to the final quarter and with less than 90 seconds left, West Coast's Andrew Gaff threw the ball on the boot with a clearing kick.

It bounced out and the umpire declared Gaff had kicked it out deliberately.

Of course, I (and my heart) disagreed — 149 beats per minute.

My heart rate then crashed down to 110 as Port Adelaide kicked it back into their forward 50.

Charlie Dixon leapt for the mark, the ball fell to the ground — my heart rate began rising again.

With around a minute to go, the ball tumbled out of bounds.

Any score would do it for Port Adelaide.

Then it was Eric Mackenzie's time to shine.

Everyone will remember Shuey's kick — but Mackenzie's desperate and clever decision to guide the ball into the outer post instead of conceding a behind was game changing.

My heart thought so too — it reached its peak for the night at 157 beats per minute.

During the break before extra time, my heart had a brief chance to settle down.

But when extra time began, it was back up into the 140s again.

Josh Kennedy's goal with 41 seconds left had the Eagles two points behind and my heart racing still at 140.

Moments later, Shuey was tackled high and settled down for his kick.

Silence befell our apartment.

I crouched down in front of the TV in nervous anticipation.

I can't imagine what Shuey's heart rate was, but he seemed pretty cool about it, even smiling.

Maybe that confidence he showed helped me — my heart was beating at a comparatively low 129 beats per minute.

Then he kicked it, and my heart rate surprisingly fell.

Maybe the sensor came off my wrist as I leapt around the living room. I don't know.

But I've just booked my tickets for the Giants game this weekend.

I'll let you know how my ticker holds up.

Photo: As the tension faded after the game, it was celebration time for Eagles fans. (AAP: David Mariuz)

Topics: sport, australian-football-league, health, science-and-technology, perth-6000, wa, adelaide-5000, sa, australia

First posted September 11, 2017 14:12:26