Fridays’s only AFL Round 8 match is between West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne Kangaroos. The opening bounce is set to commence at 6:40pm local time or 8:40pm AEST with the game to be played at Patersons Stadium. The home team West Coast Eagles are the favourites for the match but it looks much more even than the markets suggest. View our preview and teams for the game between West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne Kangaroos.

Round: Round 8 6:40 PM May 17, 2013
Stadium: Patersons Stadium
Weather: 22° Shower or two.

Featured Bookmakers:

West Coast Eagles $1.36 vs North Melbourne Kangaroos $3.15 at Sportsbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

West Coast Eagles $1.33 vs North Melbourne Kangaroos $3.40 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Odds Comparison by AFL Odds:

West Coast Eagles	1.36	1.36	1.33	1.36	1.36	1.37
North Melbourne Kangaroos	3.15	3.15	3.40	3.15	3.15	3.17

Preview:

Round 8 kicks off with West Coast and North both coming into the game with a season record of 3-4.

West Coast’s three wins, two of them in the past fortnight, have come against struggling clubs in Brisbane, Western Bulldogs and Melbourne Demons but they have looked better in recent weeks and it’s no coincidence the improved efforts of coincided with the return of Nic Naitanui.

Their four losses, against sides placed above them on the ladder, have been by margins of 22, 50, 33 and 5.

Whilst North are currently below the Eagles on the ladder, their season record could have been a lot better if not for narrow losses to Hawthorn and Collingwood earlier in the season.

Their past two games have resulted in wins against Port and a comfortable 54 points win over the Western Bulldogs.

Fitness doubts over North’s Captain Andrew Swallow and Aaron Mullet, both of who will be given to the last minute to prove their fitness, is not ideal as North prepare themselves against a team they haven’t beaten since round 21, 2010.

Two of those games were decided by less than a kick and, viewing the stats of each side thus far this season, it could be another close result here.

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

Illness delays Kangaroos’ Scott’s AFL trip

North Melbourne expect Brad Scott to coach the AFL club against West Coast on Friday night despite missing Wednesday’s team flight to Perth through illness.

The Kangaroos say Scott is resting to combat a virus but is expected to head west on Thursday.

It comes less than a fortnight after illness caused Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley to miss his club’s clash with the Kangaroos in Hobart in round six.

The Power lost that match to break their season-opening five-game winning streak.