West Coast and Melbourne both sit inside the bottom half of the top eight right now, but would love a win on Saturday night to boost their top four chances. Melbourne will need to overcome a 9-match losing streak v West Coast in Perth with their last win here against the Eagles coming in 2002.
The Eagles have a 7-5 record at the moment and are one of four teams in that block, but have the worst percentage of any of them and so sit in seventh. They looked to be in a bad state before the bye, losing their last three games running into that week off, despite starting favourites in all three. However, a comfortably 13-point win over Geelong last week will have them confident that they still have something to contribute this year. There has been a bit of talk going around that they did a lot of work on fixing their issues over the bye, and another win here would lend some credence to the idea they’ve improved.
As for Melbourne, they too are in that block of teams that have a 7-5 record and with the fourth-best percentage in the comp, that places them fifth. The Dees have now won their last three matches in a row and are building some serious steam. It’s never safe to be optimistic if you go for Melbourne but finals are looking good. Especially promising for them is that they’ve got Max Gawn back this week who will be a big help. They’ve also recalled Billy Stretch, but will miss Nathan Jones and Jack Watts, both due to injury.
West Coast also have two injuries – Mark LeCras and Jackson Nelson will both miss, and have been replaced with Josh Hill and Malcolm Karpany as the inclusions.
Melbourne are underdogs at $2.45 or $2.88 by 1-39 points which is great value considering their current form.
—
Do you have a CrownBet account? If not, get one just here.
Here’s 4 good reasons to get a CrownBet account:
1. Daily Promotions for Horse Racing AND Sport so you can get a better run for your money
2. The best Rewards program in the industry – every bet you make brings you closer to a Bonus Bet
3. AFL matches and Victorian racing streamed live through the App so you won’t miss your horses run or a minute of your team’s game.
4. Access your winnings immediately using the CrownBet VISA Card