Recommendation

North Melbourne  60%

Medium

Margin: ~11 pts (1–44)

North Melbourne heads to Perth as genuine favorites despite the away-day complexities, with the Roos' superior recent form and head-to-head record over West Coast providing the foundation for this upset tip. The Eagles are seriously undermanned across their backline and midfield with Starcevich, Hewett, Rodriguez and Hutchinson all unavailable, which severely limits their ability to match North's intensity through the middle. While the Roos' track record at Perth Stadium is patchy, their last eight encounters give them a 5-3 edge and they've got the better recent margin differential to lean on. West Coast will need to manufacture something special at home, but without those key personnel and facing a North side that's proven harder to beat of late, the Eagles simply don't have enough in the locker to get the job done.

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