Preview: Kangaroos v Eagles

• VENUE & TIME:* Gold Coast Stadium, 7.10pm Saturday 17 May

• HEAD TO HEAD:* Played: 34, North Melbourne 16, West Coast 18

• LAST TIME:* West Coast 17.17 (119) def. North Melbourne 15.12 (102), Round 19, 2007 at Telstra Dome.

• WALKING WOUNDED:* The Kangaroos are without three players from their best 22 - forward Aaron Edwards (broken leg), midfielder Andrew Swallow (ankle) and defender Jesse Smith (hamstring). Swallow and Smith will be sidelined for five weeks while Edwards could be out for as long as 12. Boom youngster Lachlan Hansen cannot be considered either due to a knee injury. The casualty list is bleaker for West Coast. Defenders Adam Hunter (bone bruising) and Shannon Hurn (fractured fibula), Chad Jones (ankle) and forward Mark LeCras (groin) will not face the Kangaroos. Key forward Ashley Hansen will have his troublesome hamstring tested, while class midfielder Matt Priddis must also pass a fitness test on his knee. Daniel Kerr will miss another two matches due to suspension.

• FORM:* North's ledger is completely square after the opening seven rounds. During a testing three-match stretch prior to last week's bye, the Kangas defeated Collingwood, drew with Sydney in controversial circumstances then were no match on the road for Adelaide. The break could not have come at a better time for the embattled Eagles, which have lost their past six on the trot. So bad have the Eagles been this year, coach John Worsfold has already kissed the season goodbye.

• WHO'S HOT:* After a quiet opening two rounds of the season, Brent Harvey has hit his straps. He bagged three goals for Victoria last weekend after an excellent month for North. The performance of former Carlton forward Josh Kennedy last week against his old club was a highlight for West Coast in an otherwise dismal night for the club. Kennedy was menacing in the air and at ground level, finishing with eight marks and two goals in perhaps the best match of his 27-game career.

• WE THINK:* Last week's Hall of Fame gave the Kangaroos an extra week to stew over their loss in Adelaide. North rarely puts in two shockers in a row which does not bode well for the Eagles, who have only Melbourne below it on the ladder. Pathetic in the first half against Carlton, the Eagles staged a stirring revival in the third term but could not finish the job. It was a small improvement but if the Eagles couldn't beat the competition's worst-performed team in the past five years at home, it's hard to see them troubling last year's preliminary finalist on the other side of the continent. *North Melbourne by 37 points.*