KEY FORWARDS CRUCIAL IN GRAND FINAL CLASH
The key forwards are expected to be crucial players in deciding the outcome of the AFL grand final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.
Collingwood has potential match winners in the brilliant, creative Jordan De Goey and two-storey tall Texan Mason Cox.
A speedster De Goey has emerged as a star of the future and is already capable of cutting through rival defences time-and-again.
Cox, at 2.11m, can be a dominant force as Richmond discovered last week when he took 11 marks, eight of which were contested.
The task of trying to combat Cox will probably be given to the ever-reliable Jeremy McGovern, who has the disadvantage of having been under a cloud since suffering a badly bruised hip last week.
The 22-year Tom Barrass will more than likely be given the unenviable task of trying to limit De Goey’s scoring chances but he can have confidence in the back-up from captain Shannon Hurn, who can be relied upon to be a stumbling block to Collingwood attacks.
At the other end of the ground West Coast has tall, strong, reliable kicking forwards in Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling.
Kennedy is on his way back to being a force after being sidelined by injury but Darling still needs to be influential over the four quarters.
Added to Kennedy and Darling the Eagles have players such as Mark LeCras and Jamie Cripps, who are always dangerous around the goals.
The ruck battles, with the Magpies having the seemingly tireless Brodie Grundy going against West Coast’s Scott Lycett and Nathan Vardy, will also have a significant bearing on the result.
Captain Scott Pendlebury will be ready to capitalise on opportunities created by Grundy – also by Cox when he is called into the ruck – and so will Steele Sidebottom, who is playing in what must be career best form.
Against that the Eagles have Elliott Yeo and Dom Sheedy full of confidence after producing high quality games against Melbourne.
On balance the Eagles should be able to add another premiership to those won in 1992, 1994 and 2006.
West Coast by 16 points