After copping a hiding in Round 1, West Coast head to the Gabba to take on the reigning premiers to kick off Sunday afternoon football. Can the Eagles bounce back from their horror performance? Or will Brisbane continue their unbeaten start to 2025? Check out our thoughts and betting tips for the match below!
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Brisbane vs West Coast
Location: Gabba – Brisbane
Date: Sunday, 23rd March
Time: 1:10pm AEDT
Odds: Brisbane ($1.02) vs West Coast ($15)
Line: Brisbane -58.5
Points: 180.5
Odds and lines provided with thanks to Dabble. Note that odds and lines can fluctuate throughout the week, and are correct at the time of writing.
Match Preview
Although there were expectations for West Coast to finish in the bottom three, given some of the experience they brought in during the trade period, there was hope for a much more competitive Eagles side in 2025. Round 1 at home against a team that has been horrendous in away games for the last 24 months, an 87 point hiding wasn’t what West Coast supporters were expecting.
The alarming aspect for the Eagles was how uncompetitive they were, recording -43 contested possessions, -23 inside 50’s, -17 clearances, -15 marks as they conceded 36 scoring shots.
Brisbane kicked off their premiership defence with a brave win in the Grand Final rematch at the SCG. The Lions trailed by 23 points in the first quarter, before grinding their way back into the contest, and eventually holding on late in a four point win.
The Lions overcame a plethora of injuries with Charlie Cameron (calf) a late withdrawal, while Kai Lohmann (ankle), and Brandon Starcevich (concussion) suffered game ending injuries.
Josh Dunkley led the way with 27 disposals, while debutant Levi Ashcroft lived up to the hype, recording 25 disposals in his first game.
The Lions will make at least three changes with Starcevich, Lohmann and Darcy Fort (omitted) all out of the side this week. Sam Day, Deven Robertson, Henry Smith, Will McLachlan, Bruce Reville and Darragh Joyce have been named in the extended squad.
West Coast have named Liam Ryan, Jack Petruccelle, Harvey Johnston, Bo Allan and Bailey Williams in Sunday’s extended squad. Jake Waterman (back/calf) and Jack Hutchinson (hamstring) are the confirmed outs at the time of writing. Waterman’s absence is massive given his remarkable campaign in 2024 kept the Eagles competitive in a lot of games.
The big challenge for the Eagles is how they can make this clash competitive. In 2024 Brisbane ranked 1st for clearances, 1st in marks, 2nd for inside 50’s, 6th for disposals and 6th for contested possessions. West Coast ranked bottom four in all of those statistical categories, which means there’s a high likelihood that the ball will be living in Brisbane’s forward half.
The Lions ranked 3rd in the league last season for scoring shots per inside 50, so if their forwards get the supply most expect them to get, they could put up a massive score at the Gabba.
Brisbane had arguably the most complete scoring profile in 2024, ranking 2nd for scores from turnover, 3rd for scores from defensive half, 3rd for scores from forward half, 5th for scores from stoppage and 6th for scores from kick in. West Coast didn’t rank in the top 8 for any score source or score origin.
The turnover battle is going to be an area where things could get ugly for the Eagles. Brisbane scored 53 points per game from turnovers last season (2nd most in the AFL), and scored 45 points from turnover last week, which could’ve been more if they converted given they kicked 6.9. West Coast conceded a mammoth 90 points from turnover in Round 1.
Brisbane have won six straight games against the Eagles with five of those wins coming at the Gabba, with an average winning margin of 53.6 points in those games. The last two games at the Gabba between the two clubs have seen wins to Brisbane by margins of 81 and 75 points. West Coast failed to kick more than 5 goals in both games. This one is going to be a massacre.
Brisbane -58.5
$1.80 (2 Units)
Same Game Multi
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To follow our multi, just click on the BoomBet BetShare button below and our same game multi selections will be added straight into your bet slip on BoomBet. You can then enter how much you wish to wager, and with a single click, your bet has been placed!
Lachie Neale 30+ Disposals: Lachie Neale had arguably the worst game of his career last week, held to just 10 disposals, thanks to a heavy tag from James Jordan. Neale will be looking to bounce back against a side that he has dominated across his career. His last 10 games against the Eagles have produced games of 34, 32, 29, 29, 32, 29, 26, 35, 34 and 29 disposals.
Josh Dunkley 25+ Disposals: Week in, week out Josh Dunkley continues to get the job done all across the ground, recording 27 disposals and 1 goal in Round 1. Dunkley averaged 25 disposals per game in 2025, and has reached the 25+ mark in four of his last five games against the Eagles.
Dayne Zorko 25+ Disposals: Dayne Zorko picked up from where he left off last season, recording 24 disposals and 2 goals against Sydney. Zorko recorded 25+ disposals in his last six games of 2025, and given the lack of attacking threats that West Coast have, the former skipper could run riot on Sunday.
SGM Odds: $3.60 at BoomBet
