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The Eagles head off on one of the longest road trips in the AFL this week with a trip to visit the Gold Coast.
In an up and down season, this is a game the Eagles have to win if there's any chance of staying in touch with the top teams on the ladder. Can the Eagles hit back from two losses in a row? Will the travel facto kick in?
Squads |
| West
Coast Ruck |
B |
Sam Butler (26)
|
Will Schofield (31) |
Shannon Hurn (25) |
Gold Coast
Ruck |
| Nathan Vardy (19) |
F |
Brandon Matera (32) |
Peter Wright (30) |
Jack Martin (4) |
Jarrod Witts (28) |
| Sam Mitchell (1) |
HB |
Elliot Yeo (6) |
Jeremy McGovern (20) |
Jackson Nelson (30) |
Aaron Hall (33) |
| Luke Shuey (13) |
HF |
Jarryd Lyons (25) |
Tom Lynch (19) |
Touk Miller (11) |
Michael Barlow (20) |
| |
C |
Jamie Cripps (15) |
Matthew Priddis (11) |
Andrew Gaff (3) |
|
| |
C |
Matt Rosa (3) |
Gary Ablett (9) |
David Swallow (24) |
|
| |
HF |
Liam Duggan (14) |
Jack Darling (27) |
Mark LeCras (2) |
|
| |
HB |
Sean Lemmens (23) |
Steven May (17) |
Adam Saad (42) |
|
| |
F |
Lewis Jetta (23) |
Drew Petrie* (21) |
Josh Hill (33) |
|
| |
B |
Jesse Joyce (38) |
Jack Leslie (21) |
Jarrod Harbrow (5) |
|
|
|
| West
Coast Interchange |
Mark Hutchings (34), Eric MacKenzie (16), Brad Sheppard (5), Dominic Sheed (4), |
|
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Will Brodie (41), Pearce Hanley (1), Kade Kolodjashnij (10), Alex Sexton (6), |
Gold Coast
Interchange |
Weather |
 |
Mostly Fine
Maximum Temperature:22
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Changes |
The Eagles have made three additional changes after losing last week, omitting veteran Chris Masten and youngster Mal Karpany along with losing Josh Kennedy with a calf, and have recalled Mark LeCras and Luke Shuey (not unexpectedly) and Eric MacKenzie (less expected)
The Suns regain the services of two veterans, champion Gary Ablett and former Eagle Matt Rosa who plays for the first time against the Eagles this week. |
Injuries and Suspensions |
| The big one from last week was the addition of dual Coleman medallist Josh Kennedy to the injury list, though most would be relieved that it's a three week, not three month injury as it first looked. There are still questions over Luke Shuey and Mark LeCras for this week's game as well. |
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Lead up |
Gold Coast should be one of the AFL's powerhouses by now - like their counterpart expansion club in Western Sydney, but they've never quite got off to a start ever, and 2017 is proving no exception, with a 3-6 win/loss, and some shockers in there as well. They've lost three of the last four, but being GC, the win was an unexpected one over Geelong - you never quite know where they're going.
West Coast are looking equally baffling, albeit with a much happier 6-4 record. However the last two games were losses (and one at home to GWS). The Eagles need to either harden up and start winning, or look at 2017 as lost, and meandering along not really getting anywhere. This match marks the half way point of the season, and there's not really anywhere left to hide. |
Matchups |
The big question is exactly where are the Eagles playing who this week along the spine. The recall of MacKenzie looks very strange when the out is Josh Kennedy, and it looks like the match committee can't really decide who's going to play forward or back. It is however exactly why Petrie was brought on board - a pinch ruck who could also backup Kennedy, so his naming at FF looks unexpected. MacKenzie's recall suggests that Jeremy McGovern might spend time in the ruck or forward as well, with MacKenzie filling in (but why not Tom Barrass then?).
The Eagles will be happy to have Luke Shuey back in the team this week, as he provides a different style of midfielder - faster and more agile - to the Eagles' standard long distance runner. His importance though is increased by the return to the Suns of Gary Ablett - though whether Ablett can recall his previous glory days will be an interesting question. |
Recent Meetings
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| With GWS winning last week, the Suns are now the only team the Eagles haven't lost to - though there was a draw in 2015 at this venue. Generally these have been fairly one sided affairs (though largely at Subiaco as well), and last year's game was no exception to this rule. |
| 2016, Round 10 |
Subiaco Oval |
| West Coast |
|
5.6 |
|
9.8 |
|
14.9 |
|
20.12 (132) |
| Gold Coast |
|
2.4 |
|
2.7 |
|
5.13 |
|
7.13 (55) |
| Sun 29th May 2016 |
West Coast by 77 |
| 2015, Round 18 |
Carrara |
| West Coast |
|
2.6 |
|
5.11 |
|
7.12 |
|
11.17 (83) |
| Gold Coast |
|
2.2 |
|
5.5 |
|
8.9 |
|
12.11 (83) |
| Sat 1st Aug 2015 |
West Coast by 0 |
| 2015, Round 7 |
Subiaco Oval |
| West Coast |
|
3.3 |
|
7.6 |
|
19.6 |
|
21.9 (135) |
| Gold Coast |
|
1.1 |
|
1.2 |
|
2.6 |
|
6.7 (43) |
| Sat 16th May 2015 |
West Coast by 92 |
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Head to Head |
| Overall: |
|
West Coast |
7 |
|
Gold Coast |
0 |
|
Draws |
1 |
| At Carrara |
|
West Coast |
1 |
|
Gold Coast |
0 |
|
Draws |
1 |
| West Coast biggest win: |
126 points; West Coast 25.16 (166) d Gold Coast 5.10 (40) at Subiaco Oval, 2012, Round 14 |
| Gold Coast biggest win: |
0 points; Gold Coast 12.11 (83) d West Coast 11.17 (83) at Carrara, 2015, Round 18 |
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Summary |
| The Eagles need to win this to steady the ship (though to the forum regulars it may make no difference, as it appears they're ready to go all Richmond on the match committee). The GC is a team the Eagles should be able to beat either home or away, and I'd expect a victory here prior to the week's break |
Prediction: West Coast by 30 points. |
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