This will be a game that you won’t want to miss!

Both teams are coming off awesome wins from last week, West Coast Eagles beating the reigning premiers Hawthorn and Adelaide beating Port Adelaide, their cross-town rivals. Both clubs have also been hit with high levels of drama in the last week, Eagles losing star ruckman Nic Naitanui for possibly 12 months after tearing his ACL and requiring a knee reconstruction, and Adelaide dealing with the incident involving a Port Adelaide supporter throwing a banana at Eddie Betts during last week’s game.

I feel that any momentum gained from the wins has probably been cancelled out, due to the negative outcomes from both games last week. HOWEVER, the Eagles and the Crows are both known for putting on big games and this will be no exception.

West Coast Eagles beat the Hawks by 25 points last week, Josh Kennedy kicked 5.0 and Jack Darling kicked 3.0 which is a great sign as far as accuracy in front of goal is concerned. They will definitely need it this week, with Eddie Betts, Mitch McGovern and Josh Jenkins in the Crows forward line, all in excellent form. Betts in particular, who kicked 5.2 against Port Adelaide and has been dominant all season. Both teams have very strong forward lines, so it will be up to the midfielders to make sure the ball is moved effectively around the ground, jump on any loose balls and force the turnovers.

The Eagles ruck duties fall once again on Scott Lycett, who was put in the role in Nic Naitanui’s absence during his last recovery period, after having surgery on both of his legs earlier in the season. Nic Nat can’t catch a break with the injuries! Lycett will go up against Crow Sam Jacobs this week, which will definitely be a big job. As long as Lycett can break even with the hit-outs, he should be able to give the midfielders enough chances to gain clearances, especially with star Crow Rory Sloane absent in the midfield, after copping a 1 week suspension from last weeks game.

This is a huge game for both teams, with final ladder positions (within the top 8) on the line. I think the home ground advantage for the Crows will be huge this week, we all know how well they perform at Adelaide Oval. If the game was at Domain Stadium I think it would be a completely different story. Unfortunately for West Coast, I feel that everything is working in the Crows favour this week.

I am tipping Adelaide Crows to beat West Coast Eagles by 15 points.

Let us know your #AFLCrowsEagles predictions at @TweetPerth @EmmaLianaPayne