Match Details

West Coast v Melbourne
Optus Stadium
Sunday August 19, 1.20pm AWST (3.20pm AEST)

Summary

Melbourne will grace the Optus Stadium turf for the first time when they play the West Coast Eagles at the new venue on Sunday afternoon.

The Demons haven’t played in Perth since June 2017, when Tom McDonald kicked five to lead Melbourne to a nail-biting three-point win over the Eagles at Subiaco Oval.

Simon Goodwin’s men will again be looking to create another memorable moment in the west, with a win likely to be enough to lock in a top-eight spot.

The Eagles on the other hand will be pressing for a top-two spot, which would guarantee them two home finals in WA. In 2018, they’ve made Optus Stadium just as imposing for travelling teams as Subiaco was, with a 9-2 record.

Team news

Melbourne
The Dees have made five changes to the side that lost to Sydney in round 21. Dean Kent and Mitch Hannan have been named in the side, along with the recalled Michael Hibberd, Jake Melksham and Sam Weideman. The inclusions replace the injured Jesse Hogan (foot) and Jayden Hunt (ankle), while Cam Pedersen, Jay Kennedy Harris and Jeff Garlett have been omitted.

West Coast
The Eagles are unchanged from the side that defeated Port Adelaide in round 21.

Players to watch

Tom McDonald
With Jesse Hogan out for the season, Tom McDonald will shoulder even more of the load in the forward line. While McDonald has kicked 42 goals for the season, he’ll need to get over a minor case of the yips up forward after kicking 2.5 in each of round 21 and 22. TMac was the match-winner the last time Melbourne played the Eagles, kicking five goals - including the sealer with minutes to go.

Jeremy McGovern
The key defender was the hero for the Eagles last weekend, kicking the match winner after the siren against Port Adelaide. However, it’s McGovern’s abilities in defence which Melbourne will need to watch out for. McGovern is the number one ranked key defender in the AFL Player Ratings for 2018, while he sits fourth in the league for total intercepts with 166.

In the media

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin on West Coast
“There’s a sense of excitement, we’ve worked really hard as a club to put ourselves in this position. We’ve got no better opportunity than this weekend, travelling to Perth against a real quality opposition. We’ll jump on the plane with a sense of purpose about what we want to achieve.”

West Coast midfielder Luke Shuey on Melbourne
“I think they've tended to respond pretty well to criticism throughout the season. That's credit to them, credit to their coach. They've got some A-grade talent throughout their side. It's never a walk in the park against them, especially this week, there's plenty on the line and I expect them to rock up at their best.” – via westcoasteagles.com.au

2018 so far

Ladder position (as of publication date)
Melbourne: 4th (W12, L8)
West Coast: 2nd (W15, L5)

Past five matches
Melbourne: WLWWL
West Coast: WWLWW

Scoring record
Melbourne points for: 305. 221 (2089) – highest in the AFL
Melbourne points against: 234. 167 (1601) – ninth lowest in the AFL

West Coast points for: 267. 176 (1823) – fourth highest in the AFL
West Coast points against: 214. 151 (1477) – third lowest in the AFL

Did you know…

  • Max Gawn is on track to break his own club record for hit-outs in a season, which he set in 2016. Gawn needs seven hit-outs to break the record, which is 928.
  • With two games left in the season, Melbourne’s total points tally this season of 2089 is the highest recorded by the club since 2006.
  • This match is the 50th between Melbourne and West Coast since the first game between the sides in 1987.

Melbourne Milestones

Angus Brayshaw: 1000 career disposals (needs 13 more)

Head-to-head history

Total
Played: 49 games
Melbourne: 16 wins
West Coast: 33 wins

Past decade
Played: 13 games
Melbourne: 3 wins
West Coast: 10 wins

Biggest wins
Melbourne: 70 points (round 22, 2000 at Subiaco Oval)
West Coast: 108 points (round 2, 2012 at Subiaco Oval)

Highest home and away season attendance
41032 – round 9, 2006 at Subiaco Oval

Last time we met
Round 14, 2017: Melbourne 15. 9 (99) defeated West Coast 14. 12 (96) at Subiaco Oval


Tom McDonald and Max Gawn celebrate after the siren in 2017 (Photo: Will Russell)

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