Has everyone recovered from the INCREDIBLE West Coast Eagles win last week??
If you missed it I’ll give you a quick recap. West Coast Eagles trailing GWS by 5 points with 5 seconds to go in the final quarter, ball is thrown in by the boundary umpire, Nic Naitanui ends up with it, gets the ball on his boot and GOAL! WCE won by 1 point! Absolute thriller. Check it out below:
It was a huge win for the Eagles, not a lot of people had faith in them to get the job done against the Giants away from home. Luke Shuey was outstanding with 38 disposals and 2 goals. The game winner Nic Nat finished on 2 goals and 45 hit outs, compared to 37 hit outs from Giant’s ruck Shane Mumford.
The Eagles really stood up when it counted, and now have the home ground advantage this week against the reigning premiers. Even though the Hawks are sitting top of the ladder, I feel like there is something different about them this season. They just don’t give off the same damaging vibe as they have done for the past few years. I can’t put my finger on it however, if the Hawks don’t come out firing on Friday night, West Coast are in with a real chance to secure the win.
I think it’s safe to assume that the West Coast Eagles are going to come into this match riding the momentum wave of last week’s victory. Josh Kennedy kicked 3 goals against the Giants and he will be looking to at least match that effort to secure the Coleman Medal, a race that he is currently leading.
Hawks have a lot of experience with winning big games. A LOT. Even so, I still think they are going to be pushed to their limit this week. People were quick to dismiss West Coast against GWS last week, I think they have done enough to prove that they can’t be written off. ESPECIALLY at Domain Stadium in front of a roaring home crowd.
Both teams are ranked in the top 4 for goal kicking accuracy, Eagles are sitting on top of the list. Hawks have the big names like Cyril Rioli, Sam Mitchell etc. but I don’t think WCE will get caught up in the Hawthorn hype. I think it is going to come down to who moves the ball with the most efficiency into their forward 50, and keeps possession of the ball with limited turnovers.
I have a feeling it will be a close one! I am tipping West Coast Eagles to beat Hawthorn by 8 points!
Let us know you #AFLEaglesHawks predictions at @TweetPerth @EmmaLianaPayne
