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Star midfielder Andrew Gaff could miss West Coast’s entire finals campaign after breaking Andrew Brayshaw’s jaw with an unprovoked punch in Sunday’s 58-point win over Fremantle.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
West Coast Eagles 21.16.142
Fremantle Dockers 13.6.84
The West Coast Eagles will look to keep their hopes of an AFL minor premiership alive when they take on the Fremantle Dockers in the western derby on Sunday afternoon. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 4:40pm (AEST).
It’s been a strong season for the Eagles, but they are currently geiht points off the pace at the top of the ladder, with the Richmond Tigers favourites to take the minor premiership.
Still, the Eagles can cut that lead to four, and should do so with the Dockers on struggle street throughout much of the season.
With the finals just around the corner, the Eagles will be looking to use this match as a tune-up and a test of their attacking mettle, something they will need come the finals.
The West Coast come into this match having won three of their last four, and it was pivotal they did so given the two losses in a row they suffered beforehand.
Some of their kicking has been a little bit off the mark, but they have dominated their matches against the GWS Giants, Collingwood Magpies and Western Bulldogs. Still, the worrying signs exist after they were shut down by the North Melbourne Kangaroos in Hobart last week.
The 40-point loss saw the Eagles kick just 41 points. With just five goals to their name, it highlights the worrying attacking trend which has left them just behind Hawthorn. If they can shake that though, the Eagles could well and truly go strongly during the finals.
The Dockers, on the other hand, are at the other end of the ladder and have struggled throughout the season. They sit in 13th spot and have lost four of their last five games, with some of those being blowouts.
The worst of the lot was a month ago against the Brisbane Lions at home, with their play on both ends of the ground being inept.
They did battle back for a low-scoring win over the Port Adelaide Power, but a 54-point loss to the Melbourne Demons and another 59-point loss just last week to the Hawks more or less shows us exactly where Freo are at.
Prediction
While the Eagles lost unexpectedly last week with their attack not even close to on the money, it’s hard to see them losing back in Perth in the derby to a team who are well below the level of the Kangaroos.
Eagles by 31.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this match from 4:40pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.