St Kilda vs West Coast AFL Round 17 betting odds & tips

St Kilda vs West Coast AFL betting preview

A blockbuster match to kick off the penultimate round of the 2020 AFL season sees St Kilda facing the West Coast Eagles at the Gabba on Thursday night.

The Saints are coming off a workmanlike performance against Hawthorn where they failed to set the world on fire but did enough to get the four points, which could prove crucial in their bid to play finals this year.

The Eagles have now recorded two losses in a row against genuine finals contenders in Richmond and the Western Bulldogs. They are expected to welcome back key players Nic Naitanui and Shannon Hurn this week, but they lose Dom Sheed, Jack Redden and Mark Hutchings to injuries.

It’s a must-win game for the Saints, while the Eagles will be looking to get on a roll and keep touch with the top four.

St Kilda vs West Coast AFL betting predictions

As the Saints could just about seal a spot in the top eight with a win here, you would like to think they’d be up for the challenge against an Eagles side that could make up to six changes. St Kilda regain Max King, who was a late out against the Hawks, and his battle with Jeremy McGovern could prove critical to the outcome of this game.

Brad Hill is finally starting to show why he came with such a big price tag when he made the move from Fremantle. It seems Hill’s new teammates now realise what a weapon he is, as in the past two weeks he’s easily surpassed 20 touches. With no known tagger in the Eagles lineup this week, expect Hill to find plenty of space on the wings.

Despite King being an inclusion this week, there’s no reason why Brett Ratten cannot keep Rowan Marshall in the forward 50 after his performance against the Hawks. He kicked 2.2 and seemed to clunk everything that came his way. If the Saints can provide him with the A-grade service they’re capable of, Marshall can have an impact on the scoreboard once again.

St Kilda vs West Coast AFL same-game multi