Where and when: Optus Stadium, Sunday, April 14, 2:00pm

TV: Live on 7 in WA, Fox Footy and streaming on Kayo

Last time we met:

West Coast 8.12 (60) def. by Richmond 14.14 (98) at Optus Stadium, round 18, 2023.

West Coast last faced Richmond in round 18 last season, falling to the Tigers by 38 points at Optus Stadium in a gritty contest. Richmond capitalised on their opportunities, with Shai Bolton, Dustin Martin and Tim Taranto crucial for the visitors. The Eagles’ effort was led by Tim Kelly and Andrew Gaff in the midfield, Oscar Allen in attack, who finished with three goals, and a solid defensive effort from Brady Hough and Tom Cole down back.

What it means for the Eagles:

The Eagles are returning home from the Adelaide Hills after a competitive performance against Sydney last week. Despite a 26-point defeat, there was a lot to like about the team’s efforts and they will look to go one step further this weekend and capitalise on their home ground advantage. West Coast currently sits 0-4 for the season, the last time they had a 0-4 start to a season was in 1989, and securing the four points on Sunday will not only be a relief, but it will also be some reward for effort after showing some nice progression over the past four weeks.

The stat:

Ellio Yeo had a career-high 15 handball receives in round four, and is averaging a career-high 26 disposals and 10.3 groundball-gets across the year.

The match-up:

Harley Reid and Dustin Martin. The battle of the fend-offs. Young gun Reid fell just shy of Martin’s broken tackles in a game record (eight) last week, and this Sunday he comes up against the record-holder himself. Despite a difference of 288 games between them, Reid will be up for the challenge, his energetic attitude and competitive nature shining through in spades, and fans can look forward to a very entertaining match up when they cross paths.

It’s a big week for:

Brady Hough. The promising young defender has come along in leaps and bounds, successfully nullifying some of the biggest key forwards in the competition. His most recent scalp was experienced Sydney forward Tom Papley, who he kept goalless and to just eight touches last weekend. This Sunday, Hough will likely be tasked with dangerous forward-mid Shai Bolton, who comes into this game off a four-goal haul against St Kilda.

Big call:

West Coast will defeat Richmond in front of their home fans and pencil their first win of the season in the books.