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ROUND 3, 2026: PORT ADELAIDE vs. WEST COAST EAGLES
Well.
A week certainly is a long time in footy, eh?
Let's cast our minds back to the Monday after Round 1. For the second season running, we'd been absolutely pantsed in our season opener by the most forced, manufactured, propped up sporting franchise on the face of the earth. Nepo Babies FC defeated us to the tune of 59 points, and for a lot of Eagles fans the feeling can be summed up with this image:
To compound that, our next opponents had just shocked the footy world by not only beating Port Adelaide, but thumping them. North emerged 46 point victors in a game that not many gave them a chance in.
Coming into the season, a lot of us would have circled Round 2 vs. North as a potential win. That perception was all but shattered at the end of Round 1.
And by quarter time vs. North, not much had changed. After Willem 'Big Willy' Duursma opened the scoring - and his AFL account, North would go on to kick 7 of the next 9 goals to lead us by 24 points at the first change - with the only other highlight for Eagles fans in the first quarter being Cooper Duff-Tytler bobbing up eloquently to kick his first career goal in red time.
View attachment 2263606-556fee232676dfb9e2a100ca18bee790.mp4
Full credit to DorothyG for the footage I've shamelessly stolen
Full credit to DorothyG for the footage I've shamelessly stolen
Little did we know what our Eagles had in store for us though. After leaking 7 goals in the first quarter, North would only score 8 more for the entire game.
West Coast came out hunting the man, hunting the footy, hunting the win. It was a sight not seen at Optus Stadium for some time.
There was attack on the ball, there was intent, there was accountability, and there was some pride in the ****ing jumper.
Many fans will remember the day that Jordan De Goey sniped Elijah
The circumstances with Harley v Charlie on the weekend were quite different, with Harley largely the cause of his own demise (but flying the flag for his teammate who got clotheslined is in no way a bad thing, do it again Harls.)
The response from his teammates indicated a clear cultural shift at the footy club, as almost every player in blue and gold rushed in to fly the flag for HR9.
This was a huge moment not only in the game, but the rebuild for mine. How long has it been since we've seen a West Coast side play with so much pride in the jumper?
For the first time in a while I saw the vision. Yeah it was still rough around the edges at times, but this side can play some ****ing good footy when it clicks.
OUR NEXT BIG TEST?
Port are coming in off a training session against a bunch of red and black traffic cones who genuinely may not win a game this season. But hey, they got to keep their mercenary Zach Merrett. Good for them.
It's hard to get a gauge on Port as they've had one lopsided result in each column: made to look very average by North at Marvel, followed by looking a million bucks at home against the mighty Bombers. One thing to take into account is they've lost their skipper, Connor Rozee, which will certainly hurt their distribution off half back. Miles Bergman is also expected to miss.
Jason Horne-Francis has had an injury interrupted pre-season and spent a lot of time forward against Essendon as he continues to build match fitness. He kicked 3 goals against Essendon, but I reckon I could camp my Dad's urn in the goal square against Essington and he'd still kick a bag.
One department Port do have thin stocks in is the ruck, with Darcy Visentini dropped after his performance against North, and Jordan Sweet only managing 25 hitouts against the duo of 13 gamer Lachy Blakiston and whatever is left of Peter Wright. A rare reprieve for Matt Flynn? Or a potential chance for BBW to come in and show the footy world that he's now the greatest ruck on Earth with the new rules? Time will tell.
Also, let me know when Jordan Sweet does this:
Seriously, Blamires has only been on an AFL list for a month and he's already had his ankles broken by Matthew Flynn. Back to Sandringham me thinks.
KEY MATCHUPS
MUMMYS BOY v DADDY HARLEY
Punters may remember this fixture from last season, where Harley and Jason 'The Horny One' Horne-Francis had a perfectly respectful conversation regarding how loyal Jason has been to the football club that drafted him.MUMMYS BOY v DADDY HARLEY
Expect these two to resume hostilities, where Harley will emerge victorious but the AFL media will still find something to crucify him for. Harley is coming in off a career best game with 30 touches, 5 tackles, 1 unpunished elbow to the jaw, and literal millions of triggered grown adults because he dared fly the flag for his team mate who was decapitated on national televison.
He ducked into it ump, I swear!
WHERE'S BUTTERS? IN THE FRIDGE!
Butters! He's the one for mine. Port may be missing Rozee, but their main man Zak Butters could be in for a big day if we let him off the chain. Butters enjoyed 36 disposals vs. the Jabbers, 26 of which were kicks, resulting in 771 metres gained. Defensive mids Jack Graham and Dev Throbinson will have their work cut out to keep this downhill skier under control if Port get a run on.
MY HOPES AND DREAMS vs. MILAN MURDOCKS HAMSTRING
CAN WE DO IT AGAIN?
Absolutely. If we bring the same hunger for the football we did against North, we can absolutely give Port a sucker punch and come away with the points here. Last week needs to be the standard though. We've shown we can do it at home, now it's time to do it on the road.No doubt Murdock and Edwards are big outs but in a refreshing change of scenery for the club, we do have cattle to plug the holes.
Prediction: West Coast by however much profit the club has already pocketed off the Ochre range.
Changes:
Final Lineups:
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