Live: Kangaroos host Eagles in lucrative $1 million WA home game

What a bizarre quarter of footy that was in Bunbury!

West Coast is goalless despite having a 21-10 edge in the inside 50 count.

They’ve missed a number of very gettable chances, namely from Liam Ryan and Archer Reid, who both missed set shots.

The Kangaroos are dominating the clearances 13-5, but somehow losing the territory battle horrendously.

Tristan Xerri is putting together a HUGE game in the ruck for the Roos. He’s already got nine disposals, nine hitouts and five clearances.

North Melbourne has the top five ball-winners on the ground, with Caleb Daniel (11 disposals) leading the way.

The Kangaroos go end to end after the Archer Reid miss and Paul Curtis gets out the back of a big pack and runs into an open goal.

In the background, Harley Reid is hobbling around and is having a chat with trainers after he was crunched by one of his teammates in a marking contest.

Good news for Eagles fans is that he’s staying out there for the time being.

West Coast’s wait for a first goal continues after Archer Reid misses one from close range!

What a shame that is because he took a terrific contested mark to get himself a set shot from around 20m out on a slight angle.

West Coast yet to kick a goal 10 minutes into this one, but their pressure is pretty good.

The Eagles have already laid 17 tackles, including 10 in their own attacking 50.

Unfortunately, the six inside 50s they’ve had so far haven’t yielded the desired results.

Luke Parker kicks the Kangaroos’ second goal in the matter of minutes!

It’s another goal from a free kick for North, but there wasn’t a lot of dispute from the Eagles about this one.

A nice kick inside 50 from Jacob Konstanty found Parker, who was infringed upon by Tom Cole.

Great start for the Kangaroos, this.

Paul Curtis slots an easy set shot after winning a free kick from a stoppage deep inside 50.

Curtis charged at the ball and got a faint slap over the shoulder from Liam Baker and the umpire blows the whistle.

That’s incredibly soft. That is very much a touch foul that you might see in a non-contact sport.

We’re off and running here in Bunbury!

Some early match-ups for you to keep an eye on at the first bounce.

Harley Reid and LDU are shoulder-to-shoulder in the centre circle.

Liam Ryan also in there for the Eagles.

Archer Reid has the job on Jack Darling.

These two teams have not seen some success in a while.

Here’s how the last five meetings between them have gone.

Round 22, 2024: West Coast 15.12 (102) def. North Melbourne 14.13 (97) @ Bellerive Oval

Round 13, 2024: North Melbourne 11.8 (74) def. West Coast 8.17 (65) @ Perth Stadium

Round 20, 2023: West Coast 10.12 (72) def. North Melbourne 10.7 (67) @ Perth Stadium

Round 1, 2023: North Melbourne 12.15 (87) def. West Coast 12.10 (82) @ Docklands Stadium

Round 2, 2022: North Melbourne 10.14 (74) def. West Coast 8.11 (59) @ Docklands Stadium

Both North Melbourne and West Coast will line up as originally selected this afternoon.

Robert Hansen Jr will start as the Kangaroos sub, while Bo Allan will be the Eagles sub.

The first match of the Sunday AFL slate sees the Kangaroos hosting West Coast at Hands Oval in Bunbury.

Technically the match is a Kangaroos home game after they signed a lucrative three-year deal to play two home games a year in WA across the next three seasons.

It’s believed North will net more than $1 million from each game.

Bunbury, is a coastal city in Western Australia about 175km south of Perth.

This afternoon’s clash will be the first match played for AFL premiership points in Bunbury.

The Kangaroos and Eagles played a pre-season match there this year in front of a crowd of just over 7,000.

AAP

Good afternoon and welcome to ABC Sport’s live coverage of today’s AFL action.

Round 13 continues with a double-header as the Kangaroos and Eagles face off in Bunbury before Carlton faces Essendon at the MCG.

The first bounce in Bunbury will be in just over a one hour’s time.

Strap yourselves in as we bring you all the news from around the league before the live action begins.