Duff's Derby Dozen - How/Why Western Derby 63 Will Be Won (22.07.2026)

**SPEAKER_1** (0:05)
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**Mark Duffield** (1:09)
Made in WA for WA. This is Mornings with Mark Duffield on SENWA.
Welcome to the SENWA radio studio. We're out here at Optus Stadium. It is a Wednesday morning in Perth. We are here thanks to Beaumont Homes. Award-winning design. Built to be loved forever. Gonna be partly cloudy in Perth again today. A top of 17 degrees. Made in WA for WA. This is Mornings with Mark Duffield on SENWA.
So Western Derby 63 takes place right above where I'm sitting at the moment at Optus Stadium on Friday night. The Eagles lead the head-to-head 33-29.
So what happens when the teams square off again? Love to hear your thoughts about it. Do the Dockers continue to eat into a head-to-head deficit? They have narrowed significantly by winning 9 of the last 10 Or can West Coast buck the trend, the odds, and the latter position by pulling off what would rank as the biggest upset in Derby history? So in a previous life, those old enough may remember, I used to preview every Derby in the West Australian with Duff's Derby dozen. So I thought I'd have a quick crack at that on the show this morning with the matchups I want to see on Friday night and some potential highlights. So matchup one, it's not Harley Reid versus Murphy Reid. I want to see the explosive West Coast playmaker Harley head to head with Docker Hayden Young. Now, I seriously doubt they're going to tag each other. Justin Longmure says Plan A will be to not tag Reid, but these two are the two Mr. Damages of their teams. You get them the ball, look out.
Harley is carrying an ankle tweak, so still some doubt there. And Hayden Young is looking for match fitness. But let's assume they both play, and let's see who can inflict the most pain on the opponent. Matchup two, Rhett Basso on Jai Amis. So one is the son of a Bumbry gun. That's Rhett Basso, of course, the son of the late Steve. The other is a Busselton boy. Now, I doubt Basso goes to Josh Tracy, but his growing status as the number two defender at West Coast makes a matchup with the inform Amis very attractive. Basso was good on Logan Morris last week, and Amis was a match winner against Port Adelaide. Matchup three, I want to see the Young guns head to head, a bit like Harley Reid and Hayden Young. I want to see Murphy Reid versus Will Dersma, and I want to see it happen in the midfield. So, I reckon Andrew McWalden needs to embrace this one and get Dersma back into the engine room more. He spent a lot of time forward in recent matches. If Hayden Young and Harley are the Mr. Damage players, Dersma and Murphy Reid are the X-Factor players. We know that good things happen when Murphy Reid gets the ball for free-mantle, and Dersma has a range of abilities that stretch beyond most players of any age, let alone a first year player. Matchup four, Luke Jackson on Bailey Williams. So Jackson and Max Gawain are vying for the status of being the former Ruckman of this AFL season, and Williams is arguably the competition's most improved big man, and he now has a six-year contract to show for it. They are both super athletes. Jackson's follow-up work is unequaled. Does Bailey Williams have a big game in him for Friday night?
Matchup five. So Job Shanahan versus Alex Pearce. I reckon the Dockers have options for Jake Waterman. Brennan Cox might play on him. Heath Chapman might play on him. Maybe even Luke Ryan might play on him. But the Dockers premier defender, Pearce, on the Eagles' best young forward, Shanahan, holds a lot of appeal. So Shanahan has the best hands at West Coast. He's usually a sharpshooter. Pearce is the freeman or defensive talisman. He sets standards. Others follow. Matchup six, Patrick Vos vs. Brandon Starcevich. Now, I know Vos is bigger, but he doesn't take a lot of overhead contested marks. Starcevich will have the strength to go with Vos at ground level. It leaves Brady Hoff for another defensive role, potentially further up the ground, maybe even in the midfield, which brings me to matchup seven, Shay Bolton vs. yep, you guessed it, Brady Hoff. So Bolton is the bloke who can split you open in a matter of minutes, either by standing on your head for a screamer or sliding past two tacklers for an unbelievable goal. I suspect the Eagles are going to have to try and lock down on at least one of the Dockers' gun mids or their mid forwards. And Hoff's ability to play either around the middle or at the back makes him the bloke and either Bolton or Murphy Reed the target. Whatever the battle the Eagles choose for Hoff, he has to either win it or harv it for them to have a chance in this game. Matchup 8, Tim Kelly vs Andy Brayshaw. It won't be a tag. It'll be a shootout. Both have had underrated seasons. Brayshaw's role has shifted, but he remains top quality and he's improving as the season progresses. Kelly's season has snuck up under the radar. He continues to win a lot of ball, and he helps connect the Eagles forwards with their midfield. So what is leftover? Point nine, what does Andrew McWalter do with Alex Yeoh? He's played as a defensive forward in recent weeks. Does he pull a surprise and send him to Alex Pearce as he did with Harris Andrews last week, or will he throw him into the midfield to add some muscle? Yeoh needs a big game to reassure people that he's not winding down at the end of a mighty career as a contested ball winning beast. Point 10, when you pair most off, there is still Caleb Sarong.