West Coast vs Carlton

Remind yourself what happened last time we met, check out the key stat and who it is a big week for in our match preview!

Another massive challenge awaits on Sunday, when Bazzo is likely to spend some time on Charlie Curnow and possibly Coleman medallist Harry McKay as he continues fast-tracking his development in his debut campaign after being drafted with pick 37 last year. They are two of the competition’s form midfielders and will have a major say on who wins the engine room battle. Despite losing star Elliot Yeo (hamstring), the inclusion of champion spearhead Josh Kennedy (knee) will fuel West Coast’s belief victory is possible over a top-four contender.

LIVE AFL: Kennedy hits remarkable milestone as Eagles, Blues locked in 'stalemate'

The Blues (10-5, 112.1%) are in a precarious position with seven games before finals. “West Coast are back in the contest.” “So much on this for Carlton – they could still finish top two and they could miss the eight,” Russell added. “You’ve got to have a feel for the way the game is going – if you are not taking care of the ball in your back half, Carlton will make you pay.” “The game is back on,” Pavlich said. “You’d have to think you’re a little unlucky there,” Lewis said of the penalty. “Carlton are just up for it at the moment, just too strong,” Pavlich said. The Eagles coughed up a whopping 24 inside 50s to two for the quarter – and were lucky to concede just five goals. “If you’re WCE and you’ve had multiple opportunities coming out of the back half, you’ve got to be really careful,” Lewis said. He kicked his first for the day before Harry McKay got in on the action with his own mark and goal. Carlton can’t afford an embarrassing slip-up in the west on Sunday, with a win over the West Coast Eagles crucial to the club’s hopes of keeping a top-four berth alive. A win over West Coast would see them finish Round 17 in fifth position, while a loss would leave them vulnerable to be leapfrogged in the coming weeks at the bottom-end of the top eight.

CARLTON has made a late change for Sunday's clash against West Coast, with small forward Matthew Owies replaced in attack by emergency Josh Honey.

MEDICAL SUBS MEDICAL SUBS MEDICAL SUBS

The empire might have crumbled, but West Coast will be out to defend the last vestige of supremacy from their powerful era when they host Carlton at Optus ...

Cancel anytime. Cancel anytime.

West Coast's seven-game win streak over Carlton is in deep danger at quarter time as Blue's spearheads Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay run rampant on ...

After a career-best performance against the Tigers, Tim Kelly struggled to recapture his form, having just one disposal for the first quarter. But the Eagles found themselves three goals behind just ten minutes into the game, without having entered their attacking 50. The Eagles came into the game hoping to keep the streak alive on their home deck after a competitive performance loss to Richmond at the MCG last week.

Round 17 ends with Carlton facing a danger game against a rejuvenated West Coast at their one-time fortress in Perth. Join The Roar for…

The Eagles have shown fastly improved form since their mid-season bye, bolstered by the return of some big names. 5.4 (34) 0.0 (0) C. Curnow 8.7 (55) 7.3 (45) C. Curnow C. Curnow C. Curnow 10.10 (70) 8.5 (53) C. Curnow

Carlton have shot to equal fourth on the ladder after producing a stunning final-quarter blitz in a 63-point win over West Coast at Optus Stadium.

The inside 50m count read 17-0 in favour of Carlton before West Coast finally made it into attack at the 18-minute mark of the opening term. McKay then broke West Coast’s spirit with two goals early in the final term as Carlton landed the final eight goals of the match to win 17.14 (116) to 8.5 (53). Curnow had three goals in the first half but it was his two goals in the third quarter that proved decisive.

CARLTON has been carried to victory on the back of gun goalkicking duo Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay, surviving a strong mid-game comeback from West Coast on Sunday to coast away to an important 17.14 (116) to 8.5 (53) away win at Optus Stadium.

Before Sunday, Carlton last beat West Coast when Bryce Gibbs was the club's reigning club champion and Andrejs Everitt its leading goalkicker. West Coast champion Josh Kennedy kicked his 700th career goal back in round seven, but his 700th as an Eagle was a special moment for the 34-year-old. Chris Masten, who is the Eagles' runner, was drafted with the pick No.3 that arrived at West Coast alongside Kennedy in the Chris Judd trade of 2007. Kennedy entered the match with 698 goals as an Eagle and in the third quarter he kicked the second he required to hit 700 with the club, where he is the all-time leading goalkicker. While they conceded the first 17 forward entries in the first 17 minutes, the most damning stat was their inability to register a disposal inside 50 by the end of the quarter. The backline was done no favours and held up as well as it possibly could, with the Blues kicking a wasteful 5.4 that could have been more.

Sam Docherty and Adam Cerra both gathered 28 disposals, while Nic Newman contributed seven intercepts in a strong win for the Blues. Having not beaten the ...

Against Nic Naitanui, De Koning finished with 17 hitouts, but it was his work around the ground - registering 16 disposals and a career-high six clearances - which saw him able to provide his midfielders with clear access to the ball. Young continued to provide a strong intercept game and Adam Cerra battled away in the contest (seven contested possessions). Carlton had a purple patch in the last five minutes of the term where it was able to hold the ball in their forward half, keeping a 17-point lead heading into the final change. Curnow was a bright spark for Carlton, slotting two goals in the term to take his tally to five for the game: his contested marking was crucial as an outlet for the Blues. Carlton wasn’t able to mount the same pressure in their forward line as it did in the first term, recording a forward-half kicking efficiency of only 23 per cent for the term. Even though the rain started to get heavier, Carlton was playing cleaner footy than it had in the previous two terms. The Blues' pressure was down while the Eagles ramped theirs up, getting the better of the contested possessions (42-31). Josh Kennedy became a handful for Carlton in the defensive arc, while Lewis Young and Nic Newman battled manfully. Matt Kennedy was getting the brunt of the clearances for the Carlton midfield (six to half time), using his physicality alongside Patrick Cripps to get the ball moving.

Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay kicked five goals each in a critical one-two punch to help Carlton thrash West Coast by 63 points at Optus Stadium.

Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter. But from there it was one-way traffic, with Carlton booting the next eight goals on the back of Cripps starring in the midfield to run away with the win. McKay then broke West Coast’s spirit with two goals early in the final term as Carlton landed the final eight goals of the match to win 17.14 (116) to 8.5 (53). Curnow feasted on West Coast’s ineptitude to boot two goals in the opening quarter, while McKay, Sam Durdin, and Zac Fisher also got in on the act as Carlton entered quarter-time leading 5.4 (34) to 0.0 (0). The inside-50 count read 17-0 in favour of Carlton before West Coast finally made it into attack at the 18-minute mark of the opening term. The Blues led 34-0 at quarter-time of Sunday’s AFL clash but West Coast hit back with a seven-goal blitz in the second term to claw the margin back to 10 points by half-time.