Last round West Coast recorded a hard-fought win on the road against Port Adelaide, whilst the Western Bulldogs overturned a slow start to defeat Richmond by five points. On the back of their victories against fellow top 8 contenders the sides both moved to a 5-2 record to setup a blockbuster clash tonight at Domain Stadium.

The Eagles have made two changes with ruckman Jonathan Giles and Mark Hutchings making way for Fraser McInnes and Liam Duggan.

In defence the Eagles are a settled unit led by 2016 All-Australian key defender Jeremy McGovern whose intercept marking is a standout. McGovern is ably supported by another prominent interceptor in Tom Barrass both of whom may find themselves on Redpath and Tom Boyd when he drifts forward. Skipper Shannon Hurn provides the veteran leadership within the back six, whilst Brad Sheppard is an underrated defender capable of playing on talls and smalls which is critical when facing the Dogs who possess several damaging midfielders than can go forward.

The midfield is strong and has been strengthened further by the addition of Sam Mitchell. Both Mitchell and Matt Priddis are two of the more dominant contested players in the game.

The loss of Nic Naitanui has been felt although ex-cat Nathan Vardy is an athletic big man whose matchup with Boyd has an added importance with both sides only taking in one recognised ruckman into the game. Midfielder Andrew Gaff is highly regarded with his run and carry integral to the Eagles’ ball movement between the arcs on the expansive Domain Stadium.

Luke Shuey may possibly be the most damaging midfielder of the lot with his combination of contested ball winning complimented by ability to break the lines with his pace.

In the forward line, it’s hard to go past the reigning Coleman Medallist in Josh Kennedy.

The job of containing Kennedy is one that the whole Dogs’ defensive unit will be responsible for, along with the midfield needing to limit the number of quality entries to nullify his impact. Fellow forwards Jack Darling and Mark LeCras are dangerous with their ability to not just be a threat in the air but also on the ground.

Below is how the Eagles are named to line up tonight against the Dogs:

IN: L. Duggan, F. McInnes
OUT: J. Giles, M. Hutchings