Round 7 of the 2021 AFL season concludes Sunday evening with the Western Derby between West Coast and Fremantle. Catch our match prediction and player props for this huge clash right here!
Remember, you can check out our preview and tips for every game in Round 7 and beyond of the AFL season, just be sure to head to our AFL Betting Tips page for regular updates.
2021 AFL Round 7 West Coast vs Fremantle Tips
Optus Stadium, Sunday 2nd May 4:40pm (AEST)
Despite the COVID scare in Western Australia, crowds will be allowed at the always entertaining Derby between the Eagles and the Dockers. It’s expected to be a perfect day/night for footy and a fitting way to finish an exciting round of AFL.
Match Prediction
Fresh off an absolute pantsing against Cats down in Geelong, West Coast will be looking to earn some respect back from their fans in the Derby. The Eagles simply could not have played any worse in their embarrassing 97-point defeat, which was a performance that sparked further doubt about their ability to play away from home.
The Eagles have opted to make three changes from last weekend’s team, only one of which was forced through injury. Headline the outs is star defender Tom Barrass with a shoulder injury, while key forward Josh J. Kennedy comes back after missing a week with a leg injury. Shannon Hurn will also have to wait at least another week to play in his record-breaking game.
Fremantle have enjoyed some of their better form over the past couple of weeks and come into this off an easy win against the Kangaroos. The Dockers have now won three straight games since their disappointing Round 3 defeat away to the Blues, which has seen them charge into eighth spot on the ladder with a 4-2 record.
There’s only been two changes made to the team that dispatched by the Kangaroos to the tune of 51 points last weekend, with Darcy Tucker and Tobe Watson coming in for the omitted Josh Treacy and injury Luke Ryan. The latter is coming off a career-best season down in defence, which obviously makes for a disappointing loss this weekend.
These two teams have been trending in opposite directions of late with the Eagles losing two of their past three and the Dockers winning all of their games during that span. In saying that, the Dockers have had an extremely easy draw to start their campaign and have probably only played one team that will finish in the top eight, which was the Demons in a 22-point loss back in Round 1.
The Eagles have had a stranglehold on the Western Derby over the past few years, winning each of the last 10 meetings. Despite that, this has been priced at nearly an even money game due to the winning form of the Dockers and the disastrous game the Eagles come in off. All things considered, we believe you can’t write off this Eagles team on their home deck and see the $1.80ish odds for them to win this as great value.
West Coast Eagles H2H (2 Units)
$2
West Coast Prop
What a start to the season Oscar Allen has made. He’s the perfect third tall option for the Eagles, but will quickly make his way up the pecking order if he continues on his current trend. Allen doesn’t get a lot of the ball, but he’s been consistently hitting the scoreboard this season and already has 16 goals to his name from six games at an average of 2.7. You can currently get $2 for him to kick 2+ goals, which he’s done in 5/6 of the games he’s played this season.
Fremantle Prop
There isn’t a whole lot of value jumping out at us in regards to a Fremantle player prop bet; however, we have found a decent one in Michael Walters for 2+ goals at over $3. He certainly hasn’t made the start to the season that he would’ve liked, but Walters is a proven big game performer and there’s no better time to get out of a funk than in the Derby. He’s playing a lot of his time forward this season and as long as he gets a decent amount of looks, then multiple goals certainly aren’t out of the question here.
