- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Thursday night footy heads to Optus Stadium where the West Coast Eagles will host the Essendon Bombers to open Round 14. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 8:10pm AEST.
West Coast are coming off a 15-point loss to Sydney last Friday night, the Swans the only team West Coast have loss to this year (Rounds 1 and 13).
Kicking seven goals, 15 behinds for the night, the Eagles showed effort but lacked composure in front of goals.
Essendon have enjoyed their mid-season bye, after a 22 point win over Brisbane in Round 12.
It was a win that Essendon required to keep their finals hopes alive.
West Coast have made three changes; Josh Kennedy is out for 1-3 weeks with a hairline fracture below the knee, while young forward Jarrod Brander and midfielder Dom Sheed have been omitted.
Will Schofield, Mark Hutchings and Fraser McInnes have been included in the team.
Will Schofield missed the trip to Sydney for the birth of his first child, but returns to the side for this round 14 home clash.
Essendon have named an unchanged line-up to start the second half of their season; they were particularly pleased with the performance of young inclusion Mason Redman against Brisbane, while Dyson Heppell has pulled up fine from concussion.
These two teams have split their last eight encounters four wins apiece, with Essendon taking the points from their most recent clash in 2017, by 61 points at Etihad Stadium.
The Bombers have already lost once at Optus Stadium – to Fremantle by 16 points in round two – but are now familiar with the new venue and plan to take it up to the Eagles.
Prediction
After a small hiccup against the Swans that broke their run of ten wins, the Eagles will return to their home ground and want to get back on the winners list.
Essendon won’t have to defend Eagles’ dominant tall forwards Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy, which has to increase the Bombers’ chances of stealing a win.
West Coast will back their team game though and be too strong for Essendon, they’ll return to the top of the ladder with their eleventh win for 2018.
West Coast Eagles by 19.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 8:10pm AEST.
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.