Patersons Stadium
Sunday September 9, 1.15pm WST/3.15pm EST
WHERE AND WHEN: Patersons Stadium, Sunday September 9, 1.15pm
LAST TIME: West Coast 12.14 (86) d North Melbourne 13.6 (84), round 15, 2012 at Blundstone Arena
There are few more daunting prospects in football than taking on West Coast at Patersons Stadium in a final and North Melbourne faces that challenge knowing it has won just two of its past 11 games there. But North coach Brad Scott was talking up his team's chances on Monday, saying Patersons Stadium's wide expanses suit his team's running game and flexible forward line. The Eagles have won the teams' two clashes this year, by 25 points in round six at home and by two points in round 15 at Blundstone Arena. Scott's team has been outstanding since its 115-point loss to Hawthorn in round 10, winning 10 of its past 12 games. But the Roos have appeared flat in the past two rounds and are likely to find the Eagles too tough on their home fortress.
THE FOUR POINTS
WEST COAST
1. The Eagles have spoken about the benefits of a tough run into finals, getting a taste of big-time football in matches against Collingwood and Hawthorn to round out the home and away season. The powerful win over the Magpies was followed by a disappointing first quarter against the Hawks, falling 34 points behind at quarter-time. However, West Coast outscored the premiership favourite for the rest of the match and can take confidence into this week. Will it prove to be a better preparation than North Melbourne's round 23 clash against Greater Western Sydney?
2. The Eagles know what they will get from midfield warriors Daniel Kerr and Matt Priddis, but Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff and Scott Selwood, who have each played three finals, could shape the team's fortunes. The pace of finals football caught out Shuey last season, but he has developed into a fine player this season. Gaff has been one of West Coast's most consistent players this year and Selwood shapes as a key run-with option against the Roos. Can the trio take their home and away form into the finals this year?
3. The tactics used to combat ruckman Nic Naitanui are back on the agenda after David Hale's approach last Friday night. The big Hawk repeatedly crossed the line through the centre circle to block Naitanui's run at centre bounces, employing the tactic used by the Sydney Swans earlier this season. Naitanui continued to get his hands on the ball against Hawthorn, winning 24 of West Coast's 52 hit-outs. Converting that advantage into clearances is the challenge for West Coast's midfielders, who still lost the important indicator 36-41 against the Hawks.
4. Champion ruckman Dean Cox will play his 250th game on Sunday, when coach John Worsfold says he will join the "echelon of great players at this football club". The 31-year-old, who could go on to become the first Eagle to play 300 games, enters his 15th final after another outstanding season that could see him rewarded with his sixth All Australian selection. No doubt fresh in the Kangaroos' minds is his amazing final quarter in round 15 that dragged West Coast to victory in Hobart. The star big man has a reputation for performing in the biggest matches.
NORTH MELBOURNE
1. Scott said on Monday his team took a lot of confidence from its unlucky two-point loss to the Eagles in round 15. North raced to a 35-point lead midway through the second quarter of that game, running West Coast ragged with its slick ball movement. "It gives us real confidence that we know our best can cut it against the Eagles," Scott said. Scott said the challenge for North this Sunday was to sustain that brand of football for long enough to beat West Coast.
2. If North is facing the toughest finals test this Sunday, Todd Goldstein is facing the toughest ruck test. Apart from occasional support from Drew Petrie, Goldstein will go head-to-head with Cox and Naitanui. Goldstein did not play in the Roos' round-six loss to the Eagles, but could not stop Cox from putting on one of best individual ruck performances in round 15, with the five-time All-Australian racking up 21 possessions, three goals and 24 hit-outs. Goldstein has been subdued in the past two rounds after suffering gastro before North's round 22 loss to Fremantle and must lift this Sunday.
3. Scott said on Monday North had struggled to combat West Coast's tall forward line in recent games. Cox, Quinten Lynch and Jack Darling kicked eight of the Eagles' 12 goals in round 15 and Scott said North might have tinker with its backline structure to combat them. North has most often played two key defenders this season but, with Nathan Grima set to return from a hamstring injury, may go with three against the Eagles - Grima, Scott Thompson and Luke Delaney.
4. North holds a 2-1 advantage over the Eagles in finals. However, this will be the first time the two teams have met in a final in Western Australia. West Coast won the teams' first final, by 53 points at Waverley Park in a 1993 elimination final. But the Roos won their next two finals clashes, both first semi-finals at the MCG, in 1995 by 58 points and in 1997 by 13 points.
AFL.com.au prediction: West Coast by 24 points
The views in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
