Carlton have been forced into eight changes with injuries to stars but can the Eagles take advantage?
Follow all the action in our live blog.
Schofield has had the talk with the Eagles and they look hungry out of halftime.
Reid burst from the first stoppage but wobbled through a behind before Jamie Cripps nailed a good set shot from 45 in game 250.
WCE 21, CAR 45
The Blues completely dominated that term as the Eagles struggled to get the ball.
And when they did they made too many errors and made poor choices.
Cripps and Hewett have over 20 disposals, while Reid leads the Eagles with 14, but many have been turnovers.
Ryan is getting checked for an ankle injury.
Every error the Eagles make is visibly eating away at their confidence.
And Ryan appears to have tweaked an ankle after copping a big high tackle.
Duggan gives away a costly downfield, and the Blues have five in a row.
WCE 14, CAR 39
Carlton’s smalls are going harder at the footy than the Eagles.
They are dominating the ball as soon as it hits the deck and are getting the out number.
However, their delivery into the 50 is poor most of the time which is keeping the Eagles in the game.
WCE 14, CAR 31
West Coast just can’t get out of their own way.
They have produced two exciting runs through the middle and then missed a simple handball to turn it back over.
Trew did a smother, grabbed the ball, ran and bounced and delivered a nice handball to Cripps who just dropped the footy.
Carlton is missing their chances, though, which helps the Eagles.
WCE 14, CAR 24
Harry Edwards had a huge start down back for the Eagles as Carlton just bombed forward in hope.
Turnovers and poor errors are hurting the Eagles but their pressure is as good as it’s been this season.
Cripps is already into double figures and needs more attention with Reid hunting his own ball.
Carlton nabbed a goal after the siren to get the lead through Kemp.
Waterman is surging back up the Coleman rankings.
He has the first two goals of the game.
His first was a set shot that swung both ways before McGovern and Hunt paired brilliantly to save a goal before Gaff and Yeo reignited old memories to go the length of the wing and deliver to the big forward.
WCE 14, CAR 2
Carlton have had much of the ball after winning a free kick from the first bounce but the Eagles are getting it out of defence well.
Reid is running with Cripps in a huge battle while Ryan and Gaff are finding space on the wings.
WCE 1, CAR 2
Gaff starts on the wing as the game gets underway with Yeo, Kelly and Reid start in the centre.
Gaff has one last honour moment before the bounce with a toss loss.
Moments away from the bounce now.
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Appearing at the UFC 305 Open Workout Session in Perth on Thursday night, the 19-year-old wunderkind exchanged friendly blows with Australian MMA fighter Steve Erceg, before revealing his plans to send off departing Eagle Andrew Gaff in style – all at the expense of the Blues’ finals hopes.
Michael Voss’ opposing side has been forced to make at least six changes, with the untried Cooper Lord and Ashton Moir already given the nod to debut over in Western Australia for their must-win match.
UFC 305 LIVE FROM PERTH: DU PLESSIS VS ADESANYA | SUN 18 AUG 12PM AEST | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.
But despite all the chaos, Reid says his side won’t be preparing any differently coming off back-to-back wins.
“You see the (Carlton) team on paper, and they’ve got such a great team; they obviously have two big key forwards out, but they still have a lot of depth,” Reid told foxfooty.com.au in a one-on-one interview.
“We’re still going out there to focus on what we need to do to win, and just treat it like any other game.
“They need a win, while we’ve won two in a row – so to hopefully turn two into three would be great. It’s going to be a tough fight, and we’ve got to play four consistent quarters to get that reward.”
West Coast have this season said goodbye to 2018 premiership coach Adam Simpson, who departed the club just six weeks ago after nearly 11 years at the helm.
And in his place has stepped up assistant-now-interim coach Jarrad Schofield, who Reid says has been in complete control since taking the reins in Round 18.
“Schofield’s been huge,” the 18-gamer continued.
“He’s been here at the club for a while and all of my short journey so far, but I was lucky enough to have him as the midfield coach when I first came across to the Eagles.
“I obviously have a great relationship with him, and I think all the boys do as well.”
As several candidates for the vacant senior coaching position rule themselves out of contention, Schofield’s case is growing even stronger than what it would have otherwise.
“The way he coaches us to play on the edge and play four consistent quarters (helps us) get it done; he knows what we need to do,” continued Reid.
“The experience he’s had in his footy world is obviously a different perspective and the way he gets us up and about … He’s really controlled with what we need to do to win.
“Right now, we’re in a great spot to end the season really well, and I think it will show on field how connected we are now as a whole.
“Throughout the whole year we’ve been tight. It takes a while to build with a young group and the mature-age boys running around too, but it’s great to see the bunch that we have.”
And as one well-respected club figure looks to cement himself in the club’s long-term plans, another in Andrew Gaff will play his 280th and final game at West Coast this weekend.
Gaff, who will receive his AFL life membership on the back of his appearance against the Blues, has only played four games in season 2024 and struggled to make the club’s youthful best 22.
The two-time All-Australian’s departure has left the Eagles with “a big hole to fill” in the words of Reid, but the first-year Eagle considers him and the club lucky to have had him for as long as they have.
“He’s a very innocent, great man – he’s such a nice, down-to-earth guy, and obviously, you look back at some of his stats he’s had across his career … There’s going to be a big hole to fill,” Reid explained.
“It’s pretty exceptional, and the impact he’s had across both West Coast and the whole AFL world – we’re pretty lucky to have had him.
“I wish him all the best with what he has left his career, and obviously this game will mean a lot to him and to us, so hopefully we get out there and win it for him because he really deserves it.”
And a few words on his Mark of the Week contender against the Kangaroos last weekend?
“It’s up there for me; it’s just another thing I love to do,” Reid said with a grin.
“I enjoy doing it when I can get a sit; otherwise, I look like an idiot.
“That game didn’t really go to plan for me; I couldn’t really run. I had a little niggle (in the leg), so I had to head down forward – I came off at three-quarter time because I couldn’t move very well.
“I was just trying to figure out a way how I could get back out there, and hopefully make an impact for the team to get the win.”
Despite the ever so slight niggle, Reid says he’s fit and firing for this Sunday – giving Eagles fans nothing to be concerned about for the Carlton clash.
The Tongala product also put in a good word for Erceg, who fights Kiwi Kai Kara-France this Sunday at 12pm AEST (10am local time).
“He was just such a down-to-earth fella; us boys got around him a bit (when he came to the club last month), and had a kick and a few set shots on goal with us,” Reid said.
“He was a great, great bloke, and it was good to have him down at the club.
“He’s so reliable and agile playing around the ring. It’s pretty exciting to see the way he goes about it; I was lucky enough to get on the pads with him (on stage before UFC 305) too, so that was pretty cool.
“I actually did a bit of jiu jitsu with my uncle throughout my draft year … it was something that I felt I could introduce into my footy on-field through breaking tackles and tackling.”
West Coast farewelled veteran Andrew Gaff at their final home game of the season as he called time on his incredible career after 280 games in blue and gold.
The 32-year-old led his teammates through the banner for the last time with his newborn baby, Harvey, against Carlton at Optus Stadium on Sunday, as his wife, Emma, watched proudly from the sidelines.
West Coast players also wore “Thank You, Gaffy” shirts emblazoned with his face during the warm-up, in recognition of the two-time All-Australian and 2015 club champion, who arrived with pick four in 2010.
Wearing the No.3 made famous by the late Chris Mainwaring not worn since dual Brownlow Medallist Chris Judd departed for the Blues, Gaff took his place in the spot he’d made his own for the past 14 seasons - the wing.
Only Shannon Hurn (333), Jack Darling (296*) and Dean Cox (290) have played more games for the Eagles than the left-footer, who qualified for AFL life membership as he reached 300 matches, including pre-season, state and international rules.
He attended the coin toss against Carlton captain Patrick Cripps, whose cousin Jamie also celebrated 250 games for West Coast on Sunday.
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The injury-ravaged Blues (12-9) enter Sunday's clash fighting for their finals survival after losing five of their past six matches.
In contrast, the contest represents another free hit for the rebuilding Eagles, who are aiming to snare three wins in a row for the first time since rounds 7-9, 2021.
The fact it's Gaff's farewell match will be extra motivation for a rejuvenated West Coast outfit, who came from 35 points down to snatch a dramatic five-point win over North Melbourne last week.
Gaff was the sub against the Kangaroos, but he made a huge impact when he came onto the field.
The 32-year-old ended the match with nine disposals despite playing just a little more than a quarter of football.
His running mark with the flight of the ball in the dying stages of the match - which eventually led to the match-winning goal to Oscar Allen - was the ultimate highlight.
“When we put together our highlight package of trademark behaviours, he was right there,” interim West Coast coach Jarrad Schofield said.
“I've spoken before about his courage as a footballer, and courage can be measured in different ways.
“The courage that he's shown over his career to run at a high level consistently and average 25 positions a game over 279 games is a great achievement.
“But that courage of going back with the flight of the ball - that's why I think sometimes we underestimate Andrew Gaff in the position he plays on the wing.
“(That mark) just typified the type of footballer he is and why he's played so long in the AFL.”
Throwback Gaffy 💛 pic.twitter.com/vdlJBIQ39a
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) August 16, 2024
Sunday's match will also mark the 250-game milestone of West Coast forward Jamie Cripps, who notched 16 matches for St Kilda before moving to the Eagles at the end of 2012.
Cripps' cousin - Carlton skipper Patrick - will be hoping to rain on the parade.
The Blues need a win to stay in the finals hunt, but their hopes were dealt a huge blow when six players were injured in last week's 74-point loss to Hawthorn.
Charlie Curnow (ankle), Harry McKay (quad), Jack Martin (hamstring), Adam Saad (hamstring), Lachie Fogarty (collarbone) and Jordan Boyd (adductor) were all ruled out.
They joined Tom De Koning (foot/lung), Adam Cerra (hamstring), Orazio Fantasia (calf) and Matt Cottrell (shoulder) on the sidelines.
Ashton Moir and Cooper Lord have been named for their AFL debuts against West Coast, while one-gamer Jaxon Binns has been recalled along with Lewis Young, Jack Carroll and Corey Durdin.
The Eagles recalled Jack Petruccelle and defender Harry Edwards.
