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Hobart is lucky enough to see a very key game for the season as North Melbourne takes on the West Coast Eagles at Blundstone Arena. We’ll have live scoring plus live commentary from 1:45pm AEST.
It’s a common theme for North Melbourne over the next three weeks: an 8-point game.
They had the first of them last week against St Kilda and were tipped to fall short, but were able to out run the Saints and smash them in intensity.
Today, they will need to step it up even further.
The Kangaroos have been asked some serious questions in the last fortnight and come through with flying colours. If they can get past West Coast today, maybe it will finally make the doubters eat their words. There is still a long way to go in the season, but if they can get past the next three weeks with at least two wins, then September won’t be an early holiday.
The trouble they may have is in the rucks with Todd Goldstein to almost go solo against Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox. But they’ve been able to win plenty of clearances of late.
The forward line has been impressive with Lachie Hansen, Robbie Tarrant and Drew Petrie combining for lots of goals. What was probably more impressive last week was the twelve goal kickers which showed there are plenty of avenues to goal.
For West Coast, they had a soft week last week against the Gold Coast with a massive 126-point win. Today will be a different story.
If the Eagles switch off for a moment in this game, there’s every chance they’ll get monstered by the likes of Andrew Swallow, Jack Ziebell, Ryan Bastinac or the in-form Daniel Wells.
But the West Coast midfield does seem to be far more superior, with winners everywhere all year. Andrew Gaff has added some midfield power in the last couple of weeks, to join Luke Shuey, Matt Priddis and Daniel Kerr.
Kerr will celebrate game 200 today – the Eagles aren’t always a good milestone team, but with so much on the line today, there’s every chance he’ll be singing the song at game’s end.
But it’s the road record that is a slight concern. They started the season well with a couple of wins on the east coast, but have lost to Essendon, Brisbane and while admirable against Collingwood, still lost to make it 0-3. They’ll need a fast start to get their confidence up.
The fascinating part of today’s game is the implications for different parts of the ladder.
For North Melbourne, a win today would press their case even further for seventh or eighth spot. For West Coast, a win today is the perfect way to keep the pressure on the Essendon, Sydney and Adelaide for a top two spot – which will be so crucial come September.
Join us from 1:45pm AEST for one of the best games of the round as North Melbourne hosts the West Coast Eagles from their home away from home – Blundstone Arena. Make sure you have your say on who you think will win and if you’re watching along with us, add your thoughts to the game.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.