Well, we all know one player who will be missing from the West Coast Eagles line-up this weekend…
In case you have been living under a rock this past week, the West Coast Eagles will be without their star ruckman Nic Naitanui when they face the GWS Giants this weekend. Naitanui was sent to the tribunal for a controversial tackle on Port Adelaide’s Kyle Amon last weekend, which resulted in a one-week suspension. The decision has left Nic Nat, and the entire footy world dumbfounded…
Nevertheless, the show must go on! The Eagles come into this round on the back of a 42-point win over Port Adelaide at home last weekend. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Nic Nat wasn’t the only casualty in that game. Luke Shuey will be spending some time on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, and Jack Petruccelle is out with an ankle injury. Jeremy McGovern has also been withdrawn from the line-up this week and will be replaced with Will Schofield. Fraser McInnes comes into the squad this week to replace Naitanui, along with Brendon Ah Chee and Brayden Ainsworth who have been included to make their debuts.
This week the West Coast Eagles head over to Spotless Stadium to take on the GWS Giants. The Giants will be looking to bounce back from their miserable 61-point loss to Geelong last week. They have a couple of big changes to their line-up, namely with the inclusion of star forward Jeremy Cameron who returns from injury. Rory Lobb and Isaac Cumming have also been included and they come in for Dylan Buckley, Jonathon Patton and Nick Shipley, who have all been omitted.
It will be a tough ask this week for the West Coast Eagles I think. Playing away without one of their best midfielders (Shuey), their best ruckman (Nic Nat) and their best defender (McGovern) is going to be tricky. The return of Giant Jeremy Cameron is going to be a real thorn in the side for the Eagles. On a positive note, GWS captain and defender Phil Davis will have his hands full with West Coast’s Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and Mark LeCras, who have all been in great form so far this season.
I’m tipping the GWS Giants to beat the West Coast Eagles by 11 points.
Let us know your #AFLGiantsEagles predictions at @TweetPerth and @EmmaPaynes
Photo cred: @WestCoastEagles
