The West Coast Eagles will need to be on top of their game to overcome the Geelong Cats on Saturday night at Simonds Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores from 7:40pm (AEST).
After three rounds, the Eagles and the Cats are both perched at the pointy end of the AFL ladder.
Neither team has dropped a game so far this season and look set to be contenders come September.
Geelong were well challenged last week by Collingwood, but managed to control the game when it was on the line – a trait they have become well known for in recent years.
West Coast were given a good run by the Saints last week, before putting their foot down in the final quarter to get home by 25-points.
After victories against St Kilda, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, this clash will prove to be the Eagles’ first big test for 2014.
Their fans are convinced they are the ‘real deal’ this season, but that belief needs to be backed up by a convincing win against fellow league leaders.
There is no better opportunity to prove yourself than with a road win in Geelong.
The Cats will be boosted by the return of veteran defender Corey Enright for this match, and Taylor Hunt also makes his way into the squad.
The loss of Mark LeCras, Darren Glass, Chris Masten and Luke Shuey will make a tough road trip even harder for the Eagles. They will however be boosted by the return of Sharrod Wellingham in the midfield.
Prediction
The Eagles need to put on a strong performance tonight to reinforce their impressive start to the season.
But Geelong appear to be in good touch and will be hard to overcome at home.
Geelong by 12.
Join The Roar for live scores from 7:40pm (AEST).
Lroy
Guest
Ha ha ha ha ha ha…. I told you so… Matt Priddis, what a joke.. have a look at his effort with 6.27 to go.. has the chance to run onto the ball.. take possession, kick it forward.. see what he does.. Since his debut in 2006.. how many times has he made a crunching tackle, shoved some guys face in the dirt (tip.. its NEVER happened). How many times has he taken a boot in the face making an effective smother… (tip.. its NEVER happened in EIGHT years. This guy gets a million possessions each week.. how many of them lead to a shot on goal? (tip.. less than 5%)… How many effective possesions does his direct opponent get??(tip.. heaps) The guy is the slowest AFL player I have ever seen. All he does is shovel the pill, short handball, short kick so he can re-gather and double his stat… he is not a team player.. he is the stat king.. The only reason he gets possessions in close is he is too slow to break clear of the pack! When has he EVER brushed an opponent off the ball in a one on one.. taken the ball clean and given it to a teamates advantage?? NEVER.. he is always second to the contest, falls on his opponents back and looks for the soft holding the ball free... This is the guy who got 40 possessions the day we lost to Geelong by 150 points.. the only reason commentators say nice things about him is because they are Victorians and they HATE west coast… how many times did the Australian cricketers talk up Graham Hick Scott Selwood.. after 100 games, the guy still cannot hit a leading forward when in the clear.. have a look just before half time.. he runs through the middle, in the clear, drops it 15 metres in front of Darling who gets swamped by 3 defenders.. seriously, time to accept that if his last name was not Selwood he would never have been drafted let alone play 100 games. McGinity.. oh I laughed, the only thing that guy is good at is dropping chest marks. How many tackles combined did the whole WCE midfield make? Not Many! Adam Simpson.. seriously champ.. you have to wake up and make some big changes next week.. if you don’t bite the bullet you will get the same results as Woosh did in his last 3 years and you will NEVER get another first grade AFL coaching gig. You have a great forward line and backline, but the midfield is a joke… for the love of God, why did you drop Callum Sinclair?? Gaff? Maybe its time for him to play a few games in the WAFL.. Put Shepard on the ball, Schofield on Gaffs wing.. Blayne Wilson down back.. get Yeo on the ball. Seriously dude, you have to swing the axe. Do not blame injuries… they are no worse than what any other team has experienced.
Cat
Roar Guru
Because Hawthorn v. Suns was.
Peter
Guest
Because the afl is a business now, it's all about making money.
Pat
Guest
Umpiring is all for Geelong, just because Geelong are the favourites doesn't mean they are the best and fairest players,
Kerry
Guest
Hi just wondering why Geelong an West Coast is not free to air on Saturday night ?? thanks Kerry