AFL: West Coast have been on a dramatic slide since winning two of their first three games to start 2026 but will hope to turn things around against GWS.
After a fighting second half against Melbourne at Marvel last week the Eagles, who have adopted the name Waalitij Marawar for Sir Doug Nicholls Round, will hope a better start can give them a chance at victory.
Aaron Cadman and Jake Stringer strike imposing figures up forward for the visitors but West Coast won’t have to tackle Jesse Hogan with their undermanned defence.
They will also desperately hope co-captains Liam Baker and Liam Duggan find some form to lead the youngsters like Josh Lindsay and Willem Duursma who have started their careers with promise.
Follow all the action from Optus Stadium with our live blog.
Underway!
Yeo, Kelly and Reid attend the first bounce and win the ball out but turn it over at half forward.
Murdock starts on the wing today.
WCE 0, GWS 0
Eagles enter
Tim Kelly leads the team out with both of his sons in tow.
There is a light smattering around the ground with the fans leaving it late to get to their seats.
Banners
Both teams go with banners for this one and pay homage to the game’s indigenous champions and current stars.
Not many of the away teams have used a banner at Optus Stadium this season but the Giants have a strong supporter base here today.
Rest time
The Eagles will look to rest a few players over the coming weeks with their young squad being under the pump over the last month.
Cooper Duff-Tytler is the man to take a break this week.
“We’ve got really long-term plans with ‘Coop’, It’s hard when he probably played his best game for us last week, but we just have to be really smart with the way we manage him,” Andrew McQualter said during the week.
No changes
West Coast have confirmed there are no late changes to the team they named on Friday.
Matt Flynn and Bailey Williams play as duel rucks.
Heartwarming or look away?
The son of West Coast great Drew Banfield, Charlie, has kicked his first AFL goal for St Kilda.
He was overlooked by the Eagles as a father-son selection but has made a nice start to life in the AFL.
Drew and the Banfield family are in the stands at Marvel Stadium and celebrated wildly!
At least Drew has refrained from wearing Saints kit, for now.
Welcome!
The sun is out on a perfect day for footy at Optus Stadium!
A few of the Eagles including Tom McCarthy, Ryan Maric and Jobe Shanahan have come out for an early warm-up as Malakai Champion and Tim Kelly go through some media duties to celebrate Sir Doug Nicholls round.
The Eagles lost their clash with Melbourne last week in a quarter and will be hoping that a brighter start today will give them a chance to take down the orange tsunami.
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