It’s Derby Day on the West Coast, as the West Coast Eagles take on the Fremantle Dockers in one of the biggest grudge matches in the AFL. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 4:40pm AEST.
The Eagles have made an interesting start to Season 2015, with a first up loss to the Bulldogs followed by a massive home win over the Blues. Josh Kennedy kicked 10 last weekend against Carlton, and he’ll need to have another huge game against Fremantle if the Eagles stand any chance at an upset.
The Dockers are looking like the class of the competition through two rounds, after wins over the Power and Cats. Nat Fyfe has started the season on a tear, being lifted into favouritism for the Brownlow with many bookmakers. If Fyfe and the rest of the Dockers midfield can continue their early season form, Fremantle will be hard to beat.
Only one forced change for the Eagles, with Simon Tunbridge set to miss some time with an ankle injury. West Coast have brought Sam Butler, Brant Colledge, Josh Hill and Fraser McInnes into the extended side.
The Dockers have also been forced into one change, as Hayden Ballantyne will miss this clash through suspension. The Dockers have named Hayden Crozier, Tendai Mzungu, Max Duffy and Jack Hannath in their extended squad of 25.
The Dockers have dominated this clash in recent times, winning the last five derby’s by an average of 29.4 points, although the Eagles have been chipping away at the margin in recent times, losing the last three derbies by 28, 19 and 7 respectively.
While the Eagles form at Domain Stadium has been patchy at best (10-15 since the start of 2013), the Dockers have been brilliant at home, winning 24 of 27 in the same time period.
Prediction
The Dockers should win this one, although it may be closer than some punters would like to think.
Dockers by 11
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
The Dockers just have far, far more talent at their disposal than the Eagles. They have class across every line and rising stars coming out of their ears! If Sandi and Pav can stay fit and have an impact in finals they are a big chance of another GF appearance.
EddyJ
Guest
"Freo,then,for some unaccountable reason took their foot off the throttle & let WCE back into the game." Fremantle were 79 points up midway through the third quarter. They have a six-day rest before their match against Sydney, which will be a bigger test of their credentials than any of the other teams they have played so far. Managing the players for those final 45 minutes of the match will make a big difference in their next match on Saturday night, especially if it ends up being a close match decided in the final minutes of the match.
bryan
Guest
The Docker's pressure made the Eagles look like they were sleepwalking for the first two quarters & most of the third. Freo,then,for some unaccountable reason took their foot off the throttle & let WCE back into the game. In the fourth, the Eagles kicked enough goals to make the score look respectable,but they left it too late,still going down by 30 points. After WCE's performance in earlier games,I thought it would be an arm wrestle,but that was not to be.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
Yes because Cousins and Kerr aren't the source of anyone's jokes.
Daws
Guest
Lol
Squirrel
Roar Rookie
Bring back Kerr and Coousins. These players are a joke
Josh
Expert
So, good game for the Dockers so far