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After the satisfaction of a Derby victory and continuation of WA bragging rights last week, the Eagles face a completely different type of port side - an in form Port Boganaide at Adelaide Oval.
The Eagles will have to be at their absolute best to come away victorious in this game - though it's at a venue where the Eagles seem to have few fears, with four wins from five attempts - indeed at the moment, the best record for the Eagles at any venue with more than five games.
Squads |
| West
Coast Ruck |
B |
Shannon Hurn (25)
|
Tom Barrass (37) |
Brad Sheppard (5) |
Port Adelaide
Ruck |
| Jonathan Giles (22) |
F |
Robert Gray (9) |
Charlie Dixon (22) |
Jackson Trengove (12) |
Patrick Ryder (4) |
| Matthew Priddis (11) |
HB |
Elliot Yeo (6) |
Jeremy McGovern (20) |
Sam Butler (26) |
Robert Gray (9) |
| Luke Shuey (13) |
HF |
Travis Boak (1) |
Aaron Young (11) |
Chad Wingard (20) |
Sam Powell-Pepper (2) |
| |
C |
Andrew Gaff (3) |
Sam Mitchell (1) |
Chris Masten (7) |
|
| |
C |
Brad Ebert (7) |
Oliver Wines (16) |
Jared Polec (21) |
|
| |
HF |
Jack Redden (8) |
Jack Darling (27) |
Liam Duggan (14) |
|
| |
HB |
Matthew Broadbent (5) |
Thomas Jonas (42) |
Jasper Pittard (29) |
|
| |
F |
Nathan Vardy (19) |
Josh Kennedy (17) |
Mark LeCras (2) |
|
| |
B |
Darcy Byrne-Jones (33) |
Tom Clurey (17) |
Jack Hombsch (36) |
|
|
|
| West
Coast Interchange |
Kurt Mutimer (38), Josh Hill (33), Sharrod Wellingham (12), Dominic Sheed (4), |
|
|
Dan Houston (43), Justin Westhoff (39), Jarman Impey (24), Hamish Hartlett (8), |
Port Adelaide
Interchange |
Weather |
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Chance of a shower
Maximum Temperature:19
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Changes |
| There's only the one change between both teams for this game, with the Power recalling captain Travis Boak in exchange for youngster Karl Amon |
Injuries and Suspensions |
This is a big one for the Eagles. While no one is missing yet from last week's team, there has to be questions over Nathan Vardy's elbow, and all three emergencies have flown for this game. All three of Kurt Mutimer (knee), Sam Mitchell (ankle) and Andrew Gaff (ankle) are not certain starters either.
Port on the other hand have that rarest of things - a completely fit list. Not one player unavailable with Boak back from injury this week. |
|
Lead up |
To quote the AFL preview for this week, for the Eagles ''Victories away from fortress Subiaco have been few and far between''. Hmm. Interesting that, as since the start of 2015, the Eagles are 12-11 on the road, with a draw in the mix, and have, in fact, won three of four games at Adelaide Oval. So, is it that the Eagles can't play the MCG (which, at 2-5 seems quite feasible), or something else? If it is the MCG, that's the problem, as many were saying before last week, then the Eagles exclude those games and are 4-0 this year, having won the other road game. Reality though says that the Eagles have been pretty scratchy in those wins (except for a brilliant first term in last week's Derby). Where are the Eagles at?
Port on the other hand are flying. They've dropped two games, one to the currently rampaging Crowbots (so nothing to see there), and the other to pre-season favourites GWS in Canberra. When they've won, they've usually done it big, with giant wins over Freo, Carlton and the hapless Lions last week. |
Matchups |
The question in this game is whether a few Eagles who've struggled on the road can stand up in this game. Josh Kennedy returned to the top of the goalkickers last week with six majors, but would want to both kick goals - and kick straight - this week to make up for bad road performances against the Tiggers and Hawks.
Ruckman Jon Giles will have fond memories of this venue from his outstanding performance last season against the Crowbots - probably the best performance of his career to date - but again, he'll have to stand tall against Port's Paddy Ryder, back in 2017 from a year off for being a dope. The Eagles nullified the ruck impact of Aaron Sandilands last week, but doing that against stronger opposition on the road this week will be a much bigger ask.
Neither team has what's a completely elite midfield, so how the game breaks will be crucial to this match. The criticism against the Eagles of too many of the same sort - tough inside midfielders in Mitchell, Priddis and Redden - could hold up this week. Getting a bit of pace on the outside will be a major part of any Eagles push to win this game. A lot therefore rides on the games of Luke Shuey and Andrew Gaff, both of who are outstanding midfielders, but carry a heavy load pushing the Eagles forward. |
Recent Meetings
|
| The Eagles have won the last two encounters, both at Adelaide Oval. Last year, the Eagles hung on after dominating the match until Tom Jonas poleaxed an in form Andrew Gaff and the momentum swung dramatically. |
| 2016, Round 9 |
Adelaide Oval |
| West Coast |
|
5.2 |
|
9.4 |
|
12.7 |
|
14.10 (94) |
| Port Adelaide |
|
3.1 |
|
5.3 |
|
9.6 |
|
13.8 (86) |
| Sat 21st May 2016 |
West Coast by 8 |
| 2015, Round 6 |
Adelaide Oval |
| West Coast |
|
3.4 |
|
4.7 |
|
8.11 |
|
11.12 (78) |
| Port Adelaide |
|
3.4 |
|
7.6 |
|
8.6 |
|
10.8 (68) |
| Sun 10th May 2015 |
West Coast by 10 |
|
Head to Head |
| Overall: |
|
West Coast |
11 |
|
Port Adelaide |
17 |
|
Draws |
0 |
| At Adelaide Oval |
|
West Coast |
2 |
|
Port Adelaide |
0 |
|
Draws |
0 |
| West Coast biggest win: |
117 points; West Coast 27.17 (179) d Port Adelaide 9.8 (62) at Subiaco Oval, 2005, Round 10 |
| Port Adelaide biggest win: |
112 points; Port Adelaide 24.19 (163) d West Coast 7.9 (51) at Football Park, 2001, Round 22 |
|
Summary |
| Port are in form, and the Eagles are scratchy and looking a bit sore and sorry. With this being on the Power's patch, you'd have to tip the home team for the victory. |
Prediction: Port Adelaide by eight points. |
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