Round 9 of the 2019 AFL Premiership Season kicks off on Friday night with the Eagles hosting the Demons at Optus Stadium in Perth. It’s a rematch of last year’s Preliminary Final where the Eagles trounced the Demons, which should add a bit of extra flavour to an already important fixture.
Don’t forget, West Coast vs Melbourne will be our focus today, but you can head to our AFL Tips Page for a bunch of content for Round 9 in the AFL including preview and tips for EVERY GAME.
AFL Round 9 West Coast vs Melbourne Betting Tips
Friday 17th of May 8:10PM (AEST), Optus Stadium
The Demons will be looking for revenge when they travel West to take on the Eagles on Friday night. They’ve won their past two and will be looking to make it three on the spin but standing in their way is an Eagles outfit that boast back-to-back wins of their own!
West Coast Eagles
The Eagles seem to be finding their feet in season 2019 after what was an unexpected slow start by the reigning premiers. They’ve railed off back-to-back wins against the Suns and the Saints to take their season record to 5-3, which has them in seventh spot on the ladder and only one game behind Collingwood in second.
Their most recent game against the Saints was an impressive win for many reasons. It reminded everyone just how well they can play in Melbourne, it showed they don’t have to rely on their big forwards to kicks bags (Kennedy, Darling combined for three goals), and gave us another reason to believe they have one of the most balanced midfields in the league (Gaff, Sheed, Shuey all 27+ touches).
Now with two comfortable wins on the spin, we don’t expect their team list or game style to change too much for at least the next couple of weeks. They’re elite in midfield and defence and have a forward line with a decent spread of goalkickers.
Melbourne Demons
The Demons have looked a much better side than the one that ran out losers to Port Adelaide at home in Round 1. They too have put together consecutive wins, theirs being against the Hawks and the Suns. The Demons record has now improved to 3-5, which has them in 15thspot and one just game outside the top eight.
Demons fans could be excused for biting off all of their fingernails in their five-point win over the Hawks in Round 7. If they managed to hold off in that game, then we’re certain they’ve got none left now after their thrilling one-point win over the Suns last weekend.
More promising signs for Dees fans is that Clayton Oliver (38 disposals, 15 tackles) and Nathan Jones (28 disposals, eight tackles) are starting to find their best form around the ball, while Tom McDonald (three goals) is finally finding the big sticks.
History
Last five meetings:
The upcoming meeting at Optus Stadium will be the fifth time in a row the Eagles have hosted the Demons in this match-up. Obviously, the Eagles were far too good in the Preliminary Final last year, but aside from that it’s been a fairly even match-up over the last five games.
2018 PF – West Coast (121) defeated Melbourne (55)
2018 R22 – West Coast (91) lost to Melbourne (108)
2017 R14 – West Coast (96) lost to Melbourne (99)
2016 R18 – West Coast (66) defeated Melbourne (60)
2015 R14 – Melbourne (60) lost to West Coast (114)
Prediction
Although the Demons have won their last two and seem to be on the up, we still fancy the Eagles being far too strong for them at home, just like they were in the Preliminary Final last year. They’re coming off one of their best performances of the season and have a forward line that is finally starting to clunk marks and kick goals. We have them covering a spread that is just under four goals at the time of writing.
West Coast Eagles -22.5
$1.90
