#AFLEaglesCats: Can The West Coast Eagles Come Through Against The Cats?

#AFLEaglesCats: Can The West Coast Eagles Come Through Against The Cats?

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Which team is more equipped to stay on track this week without their star forward?

West Coast Eagles and Geelong both come into this game off a bye and both teams are missing their star forward this week. However, that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Prior to the bye, West Coast have lost their last three games where Geelong has won their last three. Geelong has jumped up the ladder and are sitting in third, while West Coast have now been bumped out of the top eight, and are currently sitting in ninth. The Eagles will have the home ground advantage over the Cats this week however, will the powers of Domain Stadium be enough to get them over the line?

There is no doubt that the loss of Coleman Medallist Josh Kennedy has made things difficult for West Coast in recent weeks. As a spectator, you can tell that they have lost some confidence kicking inside their forward 50 so they need to have a back-up plan if they want to get one over on the Cats. I won’t be surprised if we see a role switch for Eagles defender Jeremy McGovern, who may spend a bit of time up forward. Eagles Coach Adam Simpson has made a couple of changes to the line-up this week with the inclusion of Tomas Cole and Tom Barrass. They come in for Sam Butler and Josh Hill who have both been omitted.

Geelong heads west minus Tom Hawkins, who is serving a one-match suspension for a jumper punch in round 11. The Cats have also lost Mark Blicavs to ‘soreness’, while Rhys Stanley and Jed Bews come in to the line-up. Ex-Eagle Scott Selwood is set to face his old club, I am sure he is in for a ‘warm’ welcome from the Eagles crowd! Keep an eye out for a possible Scott Selwood v Luke Shuey match-up.

West Coast Eagles will need to be on their game when it comes to stopping ‘Dangerwood’, the Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood combo, who have been fundamental to the Cat’s success this season. Harry Taylor will be the go-to forward this week for the Cats, he kicked five goals against the reigning Premiers Western Bulldogs in round nine and two goals against top-of-the-table Adelaide Crows in round 11.

I think this will be a great game, and probably a close one. Unfortunately for the home team, I think the Geelong Cats will come into this weekend on the back of the momentum they had leading into the bye. I am tipping the Geelong Cats to beat the West Coast Eagles by 13 points.

Let us know you #AFLEaglesCats predictions at @TweetPerth @EmmaPaynes