I picked the Eagles before Carlton made the GF and I'll still pick the Eagles. I just think they have it won in the midfield and that will shut us down. Their speed is unmatched by us imho.

Would love to see the Blues get up though.

dont think matera will be playing - given that I'd almost be inclined to bring in setanta for norman - if for nothing else than to have another big man that will give a ferocious contest at the ball - perhaps setanta could be given the run with role on gardiner - would certainly be an interesting matchup

Assuming full strength match-ups:

Judd/Chambers
Matera/Carazzo
Cousins/Bannister
Embley/Sporn
Lynch/Livo
Sampi/Houla
Kerr/Campo (don't rate Kerr at all, judging by the OO game, neither does Denis. Gave Kerr plenty of room, was waiting outside the pack for the loose ball all day, never came)
Staker/Thornton
Adkins/Teague
Fletcher/McGrath

I agree BB.
Their tall forward options are not dynamic but they are BIG.
If Woosha plays McDougall, Gardiner and Lynch or Hansen, we will be struggling.
I wouldnt be surprised to see ADL up back at some stage.
Perhaps the time is right to bring Carlos in for ruck/forward back up.
Prender is a trier but he will be smashed against WC.

If we concede the clearances in this game, it will be horribly fatal.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

It's quite simple really, if we kick the most goals we will win.

It's all well and good to think who will play on their guys, then you have to wonder who will take our blokes?

I'd assume Adam Hunter will get the job on Fev, which I'd be quite happy with given Fev kicking 6 on him at OO last time.

Who gets the job on Lance? :S I'd say that Darren Glass would get the first crack at him, but I doubt that Glass could match him in the air, but certainly could around the grounds.

Another option would be to switch the in-form Quentin Lynch down back onto him, certainly could match him and then some for size, but huge question marks not only about his stamina and endurance, but who would replace him. May be a blessing in disguise as Ashley Hansen would be a perfect matchup for T-Bird, but at the same time, doesn't really leave anyone for Livo to man up, and could easily be exposed, unless Worsfold decides to leave Mark Seaby lurking in the goalsquare whilst resting.

In the midfield, you would assume that Stenglein would go to Stevens, however if Stevens doesn't line up, I'd assume that he would be given the job on Scott Camporeale, with some intense pressure applied to see if Campo still reacts adversely to some tight checking. Worsfold having known our senior player's games so well, I'd also assume he wouldn't underestimate the influence of Matthew Lappin, and would assign the vastly underrated Josh Wooden to him, or perhaps even David Wirrpunda, which would be the ultimate compliment that West Coast could afford to him.

West Coast's best chance of winning the game doesn't lie within their much acclaimed midfield, but rather shutting down our ever-rebounding defence and making Teague, Thornton, Lappin, Houlihan and McGrath accountable for the loose ball they've consistently drived out of defence the past few weeks with ease.

Cast your mind back to Brisbane vs. West Coast at the GABBA in 2003, the first time during Brisbane's 3 year dominance of the competition that they were practically raped on their home turf, no less by a team who travels about as well as Dennis Bergkamp.

During this game it was where Chris Judd truly arrived as a superstar of the game, kicking 5 first half goals off a half forward flank.

One would not be surprised to see Judd, and perhaps either a Daniel Kerr, Daniel Chick or a Ben Cousins line up on the half forward line to create pressure on our boys noted for playing off their man to run the ball up the ground, to play a tighter, more accountable brand of football.

Is a reflection of the midfield depth of the Eagles in that they can afford to do so, whilst still having an exceptionally competitive "reserve" midfield in Fletcher, Braun, Banfield, and who I believe will make a huge impact on the competition this year in Sam Butler.

Another priority on Woosha's to do list would be curbing the influence of Ian Prendergast. Prenda's athletic ability at the centre bounces and knack of creating another option running forward has allowed Barnaby French to become more useful as a defensive option filling a hole down back.

By negating Prendergast (if I were to take a punt, I would assume this job would go to the ever-reliable Rowan Jones), keeping him away from where the ball is, this forces Barnaby to play further up the ground and contest more ruckwork, and naturally off the ground for more breaks, which has shown that whilst Barney is off the ground, we struggle to move the ball out of defence as smoothly as normal, without Barney to provide a shepherd or two from the tall forwards. Would also test out Archie to see if he's ready to step up to full time ruck work, after being probably a tad underdone last week.

Perhaps Worsfold is resigned to the fact that on a fast track such as the 'Dome, Fevola and Whitnall will haul in over 20 marks and 10 goals between them, and would rather focus on restricting Carlton to under 15 goals, which is certainly achievable when you see our distinct lack of noted goal kickers after Fev and Lance.

Therefore, shut down the run out of defence, and you've ended Carlton for the night. However, if this cannot be achieved and Fev and Big Red trouble the scorers consistently, they'll be in for a long night.

As always, I get more and more optimistic as the week goes on. 50/50 at the moment

I'm not sure Q Lynch should be watched THAT much........he was only up against Shannon Watt. That being said he is still a bit unit and could be damaging........but I'd be worrying more about Hansen/Gardiner than Lynch

I hope we dont go too defensive in the middle or we've got no hope

I don't rate Lynch all that much, but when he's got a midfield of that calibre delivering him the ball on a perfect track, you've got to be cautious.

If Livo stays true to his current form, I'd be happy for us to take a pounding out of the centre.

As I said earlier, Hansen/T-Bird will be a great matchup to watch. One for the ages in a few years perhaps?

I read in the Age that Matera is injured and won't play.

This being the case they will struggle to get a bag out of their forward line, meaning Judd and Cousins and others will need to flow forward from midfield to kick them - we will be vulnerable to 9 pointers in that case.

That said, if their midfielders push too deep in search of goals we can catch them on the rebound with some long kicking out of defence. PLaying either Fevola or Whitnall as a deep CHF to take marks from defensive clearances, we have either Fev or Whits plus Archie and maybe even Kouta lurking up forward.

Win lose or draw, however, if the boys turn up to play on the night and give a good account against this midfield they should start the real season chock full of confidence.

Do not underestimate "PRESSURE". Eagles to quick, Eagles to tall, Eagles this and that. I've seen, as I'm sure most of you have, even the best teams/players succumb to pressure of a Grand Final albeit the Wizzer Cup.

The eveness of our team is what has improved our performances and got us to the GF. The physical tackling, sheparding and bumps have forced the turnovers that has resulted in extremly quickly movement of the ball into our forward line for full result.

Eagles too good, only if they dictate the game!!

I think one of the keys to winning this game is a fast start (like last weekend against the bullies)...If we get a fast start on the Eagles, i think the pressure of a final and the huge Carlton crowd (hopefully!! ) will get to them...If we are up by 5 goals at quarter time (or half time) I cant see us giving that up...

Matt Burgan's preview - see Match Preview: Carlton v West Coast
It tips West Coast to win. Meh.

More usefully, it nominates the WC injuries as Cox, Matera, McDougall, Gaspar, and Smith. They are not new injuries, however, so the only changes will be inclusions and omissions. Embley and Judd are set to return after being rested.

If Matera misses again, that can only be good for us, but they were more than capable of kicking a good score against the Roos without him. It might be disappointing for Norman also, because his obliteration of Matera was a highlight of his season.

In the first game against WC last year, Bannister kept Judd quiet. You would think he would get the job again. If not, he may be a good match-up for Embley whose pace and height make him a dangerous wingman who can take good marks in F50. Walker would be well able to run with either, and Sporn would be a decent choice too. An out-of-left-field choice for tagger as part of a rotation on Judd or Cousins would be Eddie Betts, .

For us, Stevens, Campo, Scotland, Johnno/Kouta are the players who should have licence to play loose, and Stenglein is an obvious choice as tagger.

Yes, Banno did do a good job on Judd, but Chambers is the quickest bloke at the club so he'll probably get the job this time round

Yes, CC is the fastest over 5 kms, but Walker isn't far behind at that distance. But in terms of explosive acceleration, I would think Walker and Eddie Betts are the leaders.

I like the idea of Walker on Judd but I reckon that Bannister will be the first in a rotation that will include Chambers.

I am guessing Steglein will be picking up Campo as they have paired up quite a few times in the past.

Also, it would not surprise me if they do not actually tag Cousins or Kerr (especially Kerr) and just let Stevo do his own thing.

The whole dynamics of the midfield will change if Kouta can play. The coasters would then have to worry about our mid-field and not just dance their own jig.

I would love to have Carlos on the ground playing on a wing that would really create some havoc with the coasters planning.

In the end, we'll win because we are a team and I will delight in giving Demetrispew heaps when he hands over the cup

Don't forget Sporn. There may be a question mark over his pace compared to Chambers or Bannister but he is a superb reader of the play and will make Judd earn his kicks around the packs.

In the end though, even on a bad day Judd will pick up 25 possies and a few goals, our guys need to just be consistently better across the board. If we play as a team we will be in with a chance.

I don't think that we'll have a problem against the Wiggles

Jeff is always sleeping and Teaguey will have him covered anyway
Murray is usually in the backseat of the big red car - with Fevs two yards in front Its a clear win for the Blues
It will be touch and go against the twin threats of Greg and Anthony and it will be Livo and T-Bird's biggest test of the season biggest test of the season, they will need as much support from the likes of Norman and Diggers, Skinny will need to play up back this week to help out.
Feathersword is an overrated hack and I expect Campo to carve him up easily.
The only Clear winner that the wiggles will have is in the ruck with Dorothy the Dinosaur clearly having the edge over french at the centre bounces ( he may make it up around the ground)

Go Blues - Beat those Wiggles

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Ecclesiastes 1:4, "One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but The Blues abide forever."

Just spoke to a mate of mine who's a weagles supporter living in Perth.

Asked him whats his feeling on the game.

He is more worried about how the eagles will travel as they have won 4 out of 17 games at the dome, lets face it a pretty shit record in melbourne.

He has seen some training and they ( the eagles ) have been really focusing on chasing, tackling. They have been full on in the tackling side, 2 guys attacking 1. No real injuries concerns for them.

Interesting about the tackling, seem to me the eagles may try and play as the hunter and let us get to the ball first, then attack us and then get us on the break where we may have blokes going forward......

Anybody have any thoughts... we will just have to wait and see.

... nah bosman. They will try and hunt in packs when not with the footy, just like us, but they will definetly try and get first use of the pill. No doubt they are a very good side on the rebound but if we win clearances and use it better, than game over.