The West Coast Eagles have smashed Port Adelaide by 42 points on Saturday afternoon, but will be concerned by an injury to Luke Shuey.
Final score
West Coast 16.6 (102)
Port Adelaide 9.7 (60)
Saturday afternoon footy heads to Perth, as the West Coast Eagles host Port Adelaide at Optus Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 4:35pm AEST.
West Coast and off-season pessimism just don’t go together well. The Eagles are, excuse the pun, flying high.
They’re second on the ladder, and have won their past five matches – the latest being a close win over arch-rivals Fremantle in last Sunday’s derby.
The next month – starting today – will be the ultimate test for the Eagles, though.
Port, for their part, has been good but looking fragile at times. The smashed North last week, but poor losses to Geelong and Essendon in the fortnight prior means there’s still questions to be asked about the mentality of this Port outfit.
There’s no doubt that these two teams have been very competitive in the past two years, with last year’s elimination final match being the latest enthralling (and controversial!) match.
Their record is odd, though: the Eagles have won the last four games against the sides in Adelaide, but the Power have the upper hand in WA, winning the past two.
A couple of changes for both sides coming into this clash. West Coast have a strong team, but they’ve lost Lewis Jetta and Dom Sheed to injuries. Coming into the side are Jackson Nelson and Mark Hutchings.
Port, too, have made two changes. Tom Clurey’s been omitted, and they’ve lost Chad Wingard in a forced out to injury. Jasper Pittard and, importantly, Paddy Ryder, re-join the 22.
Prediction
Most pundits appear to be backing the Eagles in this one, but going by the recent history of these teams, it’ll be difficult to see this one being a blow-out. Expect a fast, probably high-scoring game. I think Port’ll make it interesting, but the Eagles will get a narrow win.
West Coast Eagles by 7 points.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 4:35pm AEDT.
Jellycup Jim
Guest
you're obviously a late-bloomer, where have you been for the last 6 months, hell since the back end of last season, the writing was on the walls....eyes wide open!
Matto
Guest
Enjoyed this comment ?
Joel Erickson
Roar Guru
Haha. You're a funny guy.
Internal Fixation
Guest
Joel himself?
Joel Erickson
Roar Guru
That's the dilemma Birdman, there aren't too many ready made guys waiting in the wings right now. But most of Port's fan base are getting to the stage where anyone would be better than Hinkley. Honestly, they should have chased Stuart Dew hard in the offseason rather than giving Hinkley another 27-year deal. Former Port lad would have instilled a little pride in the boys.
Birdman
Guest
who would you get in the box, Joel?
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Thanks for joining me today. I'm off to find some dinner, but I'll be back in about 20 minutes for the blog of the Adelaide v Carlton game. Of course, there's also the Sydney v North game, which'll be covered here by Sarah Wildy: https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/05/05/sydney-swans-vs-north-melbourne-kangaroos-afl-live-scores-blog-2/ See you soon. West Coast: 16.6 (102) Port Adelaide: 9.7 (60)
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Fantastic win for the Eagles. Redden, Darling, Gaff - there's so many who were so good. Port, for their part, were not particularly good. Their best period was in the final stages of the third term, and that was admittedly some very good play, but for the remainder of the contest they were just no up to standard. They'll rue this loss. The Giants in Sydney is next for the Eagles - and they'll have great confidence headed into that one. Port's next outing? The Showdown. West Coast: 16.6 (102) Port Adelaide: 9.7 (60)
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
There's full time. The Eagles have won by 42 points. West Coast: 16.6 (102) Port Adelaide: 9.7 (60)
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
BEHIND WEST COAST Fittingly, it's the Eagles who will have the final shot at goal. Josh Kennedy the man in question, but he misses after the siren. No matter though. West Coast: 16.6 (102) Port Adelaide: 9.7 (60)
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
BEHIND PORT Dixon the third consecutive Port play who have a late ping at goal, but he too misses. West Coast: 16.5 (101) Port Adelaide: 9.7 (60)
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Yeah, they've been very, very good. I know some were criticising them for having an easy fixture thus far, but this is a complete domination of another "finals competitor".
Joel Erickson
Roar Guru
This Port list could be anything if they had someone who knew how to play it to its strengths. 2018 is already lost, so might as well fire Hinkley and give the new bloke some time to work on a new game plan.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
BEHIND PORT Robbie Gray has a quick ping at the goals, but his shot heads left. Sam Gray tries to mark it on the goal line, but it slips through for a behind. West Coast: 16.5 (101) Port Adelaide: 9.6 (59)
Birdman
Guest
Eagles defying pre-season expectations by some margin - I thought they might just miss the 8 but finals look almost assured with their current home form off the dial.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
BEHIND PORT Boak has a late shot at goal for the Power, but his shot veers into the post. Pity. West Coast: 16.5 (101) Port Adelaide: 9.5 (58)
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Thanks Matti! Have a good rest of your weekend.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
GOAL WEST COAST Yeo is the beneficiary of a 50m penalty, and that'll take him to the 50 metre line. His shot is a little too short, but Darling has taken a bloody good contested mark in the middle of about 7 other players. He'll line up from right in front, and he's slammed that one home. They've cracked the ton, and they'll be winning this one. West Coast: 16.5 (101) Port Adelaide: 9.4 (57)
User
Roar Rookie
Cheers ad, phone is nearly dead, well done WC everything is running smoothly considering some injuries, gws next week ups the ante again EAGLES EAGLES EAGLES
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
GOAL WEST COAST Ooooh, my god. That was sensational from Petruccelle. The ball's sent in front of him, and there's a foot race between him and Pittard. Petruccelle reaches the ball first, twirls around Pittard and sends it through. That's certainly a highlight, and importantly, it's steadied the home side even further. West Coast: 15.5 (95) Port Adelaide: 9.4 (57)