Friday’s AFL Round 8 match is between West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne Kangaroos with the game to be played at Patersons Stadium in Western Australia. The opening bounce is set to commence at 6:40pm local time and 8:40pm AEST with home team West Coast Eagles currently holding favouritism although the Kangaroos have received on going support during the week. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne Kangaroos.
WHERE AND WHEN: Patersons Stadium, Friday May 17, 6:40pm
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Preview:
AFL Round 8 kicks of this weekend, with lots of mouth watering clashes to keep you entertained.
The first game of the round is between the West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne on Friday night, 8.40pm at Paterson Stadium, Both teams are coming off much needed wins in Round 7, with the Eagles victorious over the Lions and the Roos taking the points against the Bulldogs. With both teams aiming for their fourth win, this should be a fairly close encounter, although West Coast will be favourites.
Teams:
West Coast Eagles:
B: Jacob Brennan, Darren Glass, Will Schofield
HB: Shannon Hurn, Eric Mackenzie, Beau Waters
C: Matt Rosa, Scott Selwood, Andrew Gaff
HF: Mark LeCras, Jack Darling, Chris Masten
F: Josh Hill, Josh Kennedy, Daniel Kerr
Foll: Nic Naitanui, Matt Priddis, Luke Shuey
Int: Brad Sheppard, Sharrod Wellingham, Dean Cox, Adam Selwood
Emerg: Mitch Brown, Bradd Dalziell, Mark Hutchings
In: Kerr, A. Selwood, Waters, Masten
Out: Brown, Dalziell, Smith, Hutchings
North Melbourne Kangaroos:
B: Scott McMahon, Scott Thompson, Jamie Macmillan
HB: Daniel Wells Nathan Grima, Michael Firrito
C: Sam Gibson, Shaun Atley, Ryan Bastinac
HF: Ben Cunnington, Drew Petrie, Brent Harvey
F: Lindsay Thomas, Majak Daw, Leigh Adams
Foll: Todd Goldstein, Andrew Swallow, Jack Ziebell
Int: Lachie Hansen, Sam Wright, Aaron Black, Aaron Mullett
Emerg: Kieren Harper, Taylor Hine, Will Sierakowski
In: Grima
Out: Sierakowski
Life without Naitanui helped Eagles
West Coast midfielder Matt Priddis believes the early-season absence of ruckman Nic Naitanui could end up being a blessing in disguise for the AFL club.
The Eagles slumped to a 1-4 record without Naitanui, but have won two straight games since the 23-year-old returned from a serious groin injury.
Priddis says the Eagles slowly improved their defensive set-ups at stoppages while Naitanui was sidelined and were now a more disciplined team.
But with Naitanui nearing full fitness again, Priddis said the Eagles could start to employ more attacking set-ups due to the ruckman’s superb tapping skills.
“He’s a very imposing figure,” Priddis said.
“He gets his hand on the ball most times and that gives our midfielders first use.
“He’s just going to keep improving as the season goes. He’ll get more confidence in his body and it’s a pretty frightening thing.”
The Eagles will be aiming to make it three wins on the trot when they take on North Melbourne at Patersons Stadium on Friday night.
West Coast are set to be bolstered by the returns of Daniel Kerr, Beau Waters and Chris Masten, while the Kangaroos are hopeful skipper Andrew Swallow will recover from a knee injury in time to play.
Priddis paid tribute to Eagles captain Darren Glass, who will reach his 250-game milestone against the Kangaroos.
“He took over the captaincy at a time when the club was going through a pretty tough period,” Priddis said of Glass, who has skippered the club since 2008.
“His leadership, and the way he stood up during that time, you can’t speak highly enough of him.
“He’s so well respected and he plays with his heart and soul every weekend. There’s no better leader.”