Saturday third AFL Round 5 match is between West Coast Eagles and Port Adelaide Power with the game to be played at Patersons Stadium. The opening bounce is set to commence at 5.40pm with home team West Coast Eagles currently holding favouritism. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between West Coast Eagles and Port Adelaide Power.
Round: Round 5, Saturday April 19, 5.40pm
Stadium: Patersons Stadium
Weather: 30° Sunny.
Preview:
The West Coast Eagles play Port Adelaide on Saturday, 5.40PM at Patersons Stadium. This looks like a killer match, with even odds showing at some bookmakers and both teams in great form despite a few hiccups. West Coast will be very keen to turn around from their 75-point hammering in Geelong last week, especially after they looked so good in the opening rounds.
In contrast, Port Adelaide destroyed the Brisbane Lions by 113 points last week and definitely have momentum on their side heading into this encounter. The Eagles will regain captain Darren Glass, however, with midfielder Matt Rosa and Luke Shuey also returning to give the Eagles a boost against an in-form Power outfit. This one really is difficult to pick, with the result depending greatly on whether the Eagles can repair the massive holes from last week.
Teams:
West Coast Eagles:
B: M.Brown, D.Glass, J.Bennell
HB: X.Ellis, E.Mackenzie, J.Cripps
C: A.Gaff, S.Selwood, B.Sheppard
HF: L.Shuey, JJ.Kennedy, J.Hill
F: C.Masten, N.Naitanui, J.Darling
Foll: D.Cox, M.Priddis, S.Wellingham
I/C: M.Hutchings, D.Sheed, M.Rosa, E.Yeo
Emg: W.Schofield, S.Lycett, C.Sinclair
IN: D.Glass, M.Rosa, C.Masten, L.Shuey, M.Hutchings
OUT: S.Butler, W.Schofield, P.McGinnity, S.Lycett, B.Colledge
Port Adelaide Power:
B: C.O’Shea, A.Carlile, J.Impey
HB: T.Jonas, J.Trengove, M.Broadbent
C: M.White, T.Boak, K.Cornes
HF: A.Young, J.Westhoff, O.Wines
F: R.Gray, J.Schulz, C.Wingard
Foll: M.Lobbe, B.Ebert, H.Hartlett
I/C: D.Cassisi, J.Pittard, J.Polec, S.Gray
Emg: S.Colquhoun, B.Newton, P.Stewart
IN: C.Wingard
OUT: J.Hombsch
News:
West Coast midfielder Luke Shuey wants to prove he’s not a selfish player, but he knows there’s only one way to do it – by staying out of trouble.
The 23-year-old missed last week’s 75-point shellacking at the hands of Geelong after copping a one-match AFL ban for striking St Kilda’s Tom Curren.
Shuey’s absence came at a bad time for the Eagles, who were already missing key players Chris Masten, Matt Rosa, Darren Glass, Mark LeCras and Shannon Hurn.
West Coast failed to kick a goal after quarter time, with their midfield demolished by Geelong’s classy onballers.
“I got told it was just a bit selfish,” Shuey said of his teammates’ reaction to his suspension.
“I know that. It’s not on and we’ll move on as quick as we can.”
Shuey’s hit on Curren wasn’t the first time he fell foul of the match review panel.
In 2012, he was suspended on two occasions, with Shuey even fronting the leadership group to apologise for his off-the-ball strike on Fremantle’s Paul Duffield.
Shuey is free to return in Saturday night’s clash with Port Adelaide at Patersons Stadium, and he knows he needs to win back the trust of his teammates.
The Eagles are still well placed at 3-1 despite last week’s thrashing.
But they’ll face another stern test against a Port Adelaide outfit brimming with confidence following their 113-point demolition of Brisbane last week.
A host of Eagles players were grounded by a bug last week, but Shuey said the worst had passed and everyone was ready to take on the Power.
Ruckman Nic Naitanui has endured a week of criticism following his lean display against the Cats, but Shuey is backing the 2012 All-Australian to hit good form soon.
“He’s got a great head on his shoulders and we’re expecting him to have a real impact this week,” Shuey said.
“Everyone knows how dominant he can be when he is fit. So I think it’s just another story that a few journos love to pounce at.”
