How’s everyone going after the battle of the birds on Friday night? The Hawks were just too good on the night, but boy did our Eagles boys put up a great fight!

What a start to the match, 12 goals in the first quarter! I was so proud of the way the boys stuck with the league leaders throughout the night, lesser teams may have fallen away, but not our boys. They fought, clawed and battled hard all night and only went down by a couple of goals. Bring on the Bombers!

It’s a must-win clash for both teams, for us it’s to keep in touch with the top eight, for the Bombers it’s to push for a top four berth. We’ve had the wood on the Bombers over the last few years, especially at home, they haven’t beaten us here since 2001- let’s keep it that way! We’ve won five of the past seven games between the two clubs, but the Bombers have won two of the past three, so it’s going to be a tough match!

It’s been made even tougher with the loss of Shannon Hurn, Andrew Wembley and Scott Selwood. All three have been quality performers for us this year, and we’ll miss them out there. But we do have plenty in reserve who can come in and do the job like Jacob Brennan, Will Schofield and young Cale Morton who starred in the WAFL at the weekend.

Just as a side note; how good’s having Lecca at the club for another four years! He’s signed a new contract that keeps him in our nest until at least 2017. Go Lecca!

It’s been a while since we’ve played at Patersons, and I for one am really keen to see you all there, cheering on the mighty West Coast Eagles! I look forward to having a dance with you too!

It’ll be a close one, but I’m tipping the high flying Eagles to just win over the Bombers. Make sure you wave those jackets if we get up!

Let me know what you guys reckon at facebook.com/ricktherockeagle or on Twitter at @ricktherockWCE

Love, Rick