Time: 16:40 AEST
Date: 19-6-2011
Venue: Paterson's Stadium, Perth

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The Power are awful while the Eagles keep winning and even got a solid away win last weekend in Adelaide. This game is back in Perth and with the Eagles being very much the surprise packets at this stage I think they can score a convincing win here against one of the worst teams in the league.

West Coast Eagles

The Eagles are looking to consolidate a spot in the 8 and even push further towards securing a top 4 berth. The latter is unlikely but a continuation of this good form will do them no harm.

In defence Will Schofield and Brad Sheppard as well as Eric MacKenzie will be looking to continue their solid start to the season. Last year the defence was pretty ordinary but these young guys have put in a great pre-season and began the season like emerging stars. Combine the younger defenders with Shannon Hurn and Darren Glass and you have a defence that is becoming quite capable of restricting teams to low scores, particularly ordinary teams like Port Adelaide.

Through the middle Matt Rosa, Andrew Embley and Matt Priddis are the guns who give everything every week. Kerr adds class to the mix but is not as consistent as he once was, but if finds his feet a bit more regularly the Eagles really will be something to be reckoned with, particularly on home soil.

Up forward the Eagles are starting to show just how many options they have. Nicoski chimes in with a few goals here and there, Cox is a huge target when he goes up forward and LeCras is an out an out gun. But the most promising youngster is Josh Kennedy who is starting to pay dividends and show supporters why so much time has been invested in him by the club.

Port Adelaide Power

The Power are coming off a bye and that is the only good thing I can see for them. They are woeful on the road and not much better at home. I struggle to see them keeping this one too close.

Jacob Surjan, Alipate Carlile and Troy Chaplin are the features of the Port Adelaide backline. Individually they are more than handy players but as a defensive unit this season they are a joke. With the Eagles looking ever more confident in attack it would not surprise me to see the Eagles post more than 120 points against the Power.

In the middle Boak, Logan, Rodan and Pearce are the names Port fans will be looking to for big contributions in this game. However aside from the occasional glimpses of brilliance from Rodan, Pearce and Boak you have one of the weakest midfields in the league. Expect it to have a hard day stopping the run of a fit Eagles side in Perth.

The attacking zone for the Power is also a concern as they scored only 49 points at home in their last outing against Carlton. That was an embarrassing effort which saw them sink to a 62 point loss. Davenport, Motlop, Gray and Westhoff will persist but aside from Motlop, who could be the most magical player to ever touch a football, these guys are not at all consistent and cannot be relied on to post any sort of score.

The Verdict

Eagles will win this and should win really well.

The Pick :

West Coast Eagles 134-76 Port Adelaide Power

PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :

80 %

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take West Coast Eagles to win by 40 or more points at 1.60 at Centrebet.