Unfortunately for the Eagles, there was no Nic Naitanui to save the day against the Giants this time around…

The West Coast Eagles will be looking to bounce back after a loss on home turf last week, they travel to Metricon Stadium to take on the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday. Both teams come into this round off losses, West Coast Eagles fell to GWS for the first time ever and Gold Coast suffered a 35-point defeat to Melbourne. With West Coast’s record at Domain Stadium, they went into last week’s game as favourites however, GWS stepped up after quarter time and pushed the Eagles beyond their limits.

Last weekend was a sad one for West Coast, not only did they lose the game by a small margin in front of a home crowd, they also lost their star forward and duel Coleman Medallist Josh Kennedy with a calf injury. Kennedy went down off the ball in a motion that first indicated a possible Achilles injury however, further assessment delivered the ‘positive’ news that it was actually his calf. He will be sidelined for approximately three weeks, which is significantly less time than if it was his Achilles.

Eagles Coach Adam Simpson has made some changes to the squad this week, with three experienced names getting the recall. Mark Lecras, Luke Shuey and Eric Mackenzie have been welcomed back to the line-up to face the Suns. LeCras missed last weeks clash with a hip complaint, while Shuey has overcome an ankle injury. Mackenzie makes his first appearance for the Eagles since round one, after being sent back the WAFL to sharpen up his skills. He has impressed for East Perth in recent weeks and has worked hard to earn himself a call up. They come in for the injured Kennedy, and an omitted Chris Masten and Malcolm Karpany.

Gold Coast Suns welcome back ex-Eagle Matt Rosa and Brownlow medallist Gary Ablett into their line-up this weekend, with Brayden Fiorini and Brad Scheer being omitted. Speculation constantly surrounds Ablett for a number of reasons however, you can never underestimate Gaz when he is on the field and fired up. Gold Coast were thumped in China by Port Adelaide, and faded out against the Dees last week however, they have a fairly good record at Metricon Stadium. While the Eagles are struggling a little bit in their own way, I would think that the Suns are staying hopeful in the lead up to this clash.

Lewis Jetta had one of his best games for West Coast against the Giants last week, finishing with two goals and 28 disposals. Sam Mitchell finished with 31 disposals and a goal, Andrew Gaff managed a nice 35 disposals and Dom Sheed and Elliot Yeo tallied 31 disposals each. In a losing side, the numbers weren’t bad. If they can come out firing this week and keep the intensity high for the entirety of the game, I believe that they can get up against the Suns.

I am tipping West Coast Eagles to beat Gold Coast Suns by 20 points!

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