West Coast v Collingwood – Battle Of The Birds

WEST COAST v COLLINGWOOD
OPTUS STADIUM 6:10pm AWST – SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2018

It’s a battle of the birds over in Western Australia to round out the first week of the AFL Finals. Since 2015 The Eagles have had the wood over the Pies winning three of their last five encounters. Most recently West Coast proved too strong with a 35 point win in Melbourne. It was the first time in 23 years that the Eagles had beaten the black and white at the “G” but it came at a cost losing ruckman Nic Naitanui with his second ruptured ACL in three years.

AFL purists would be surprised to see these two teams securing double chances but both sides demonstrated solid game plans that were hard to break down during the season. West Coast welcome back Lewis Jetta and Josh Kennedy which will add stability to both ends of the ground with Jetta to rebound from half back and Kennedy to be the key focal point up forward. The Pies also have key additions to their selected side with Jeremy Howe, Adam Treloar and Tyson Goldsack included in the 22, all of whom are on the comeback trail having suffered significant injuries over the last 4-6 weeks.

West Coast look the stronger side on paper and are beautifully balanced with height, strength and speed around all areas of the ground. The forward firepower of Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling, Willie Rioli and Mark LeCras will cause headaches for the Collingwood defenders.

Scott Lycett will face a mammoth task of trying to nullify Brodie Grundy’s presence in the ruck and around the ground. Grundy will be giving his all from first siren to last and his influence is one of few things that can keep Collingwood in the game. At full fitness the Pies wouldn’t be without a chance but expect Collingwood to tire late with three underdone inclusions to prove telling late in the game.

The match-ups: Expect Levi Greenwood (Collingwood) to be assigned the tough task of shutting down explosive midfielder Luke Shuey (West Coast). Shuey is a known big-time player, who can forget his goal after the siren to advance the Eagles in a thrilling elimination final win against Port Adelaide last year.

Where to from here? The winner will have a week off and advance to the preliminary final, while the loser will battle it out with the GWS Giants.

Watch it on: Channel 7 or Fox Footy

CHANGES

WEST COAST
IN: Jetta, Kennedy
OUT: Allen, Schofield

COLLINGWOOD
IN: Howe, Goldsack, Treloar
OUT: Madgen, Murphy, Oxley

LAST TIME THEY MET

West Coast 15.12 (102) def Collingwood 9.13 (67) – Round 17 at the MCG

FANCY A BET?

Tip: West Coast 20-29 @ $7.00
Half Time / Full Time – West Coast/West Coast @ $2.00
First Goal Scorer: Luke Shuey @ $41.00
* The Sporting Base encourages responsible gambling