I think it’s time for the Eagles to ditch their MCG heebie-jeebies…
West Coast Eagles come into Round 5 off a handy 26-point victory over the Sydney Swans last week. The Eagles v Swans clash took place at Domain Stadium and the Eagles sent the Swans home with their fourth loss of the season. West Coast moved to three wins and one loss and will be looking to continue their positive start to the 2017 season.
The bad news to come out of the Eagle’s win last week was that Sam Mitchell suffered an ugly ankle injury in the second quarter, which saw him miss the remainder of the game. It was originally thought that Mitchell may have broken his shin however, after further assessment it was revealed that (luckily) it was just a sprain. Unfortunately for the Eagles, he will miss this week against his old club Hawthorn.
Mitchell is a big out for the Eagles, some good news though is that Jack Darling returns to the side after recovering from an ankle injury of his own. Hawks have included Ty Vickery in their side, which could actually favour West Coast, if AFL memes are anything to go by…
Even though Hawks have not won a game this year, every week I think to myself that they are due for a win. We know the West Coast Eagles have issues winning games at the MCG so if both teams bring their A-Game I think it will actually be quite a close finish. West Coast will go into the game as the favourites however, I wouldn’t write Hawthorn off too early. Their downfall has been quite rapid but I am expecting them to find their feet sooner rather than later.
I’m hoping West Coast’s Josh Kennedy will stand up in front of goals this week. He finished the last game with two goals and three behinds, the Eagles will need him to find a bit more of the footy and be accurate to make sure they stay competitive against the Hawks. I believe that when Kennedy is having a good day in front of goal, it lifts the rest of the team and increases their confidence. To overcome their MCG jitters, the Eagles will need all the confidence they can get.
I think this will definitely be a closer game than most people may anticipate, so I am tipping West Coast Eagles to beat Hawthorn by 8 points.
Let us know your #AFLHawksEagles predictions at @TweetPerth @EmmaPaynes
