eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Observations
Essendon: Got past the peptides scandal with a good win in Adelaide against a top 4 side in 2012; the Crows. Gun recruit Brendan Goddard was quiet, but kicked a very important goal for the dons in the wet. Jobe Watson, captain and Brownlow medalist was up to his usual tricks. Dyson Heppell and Brent Stanton showed their class when not being tagged.
Melbourne: Terrible against Port Adelaide. Looked like witches hats and were just a rabble, turnovers, no forward structure, and their best player by a fair stretch in Mitch Clark injured. There was one positive- son of a gun Jack Viney had 22 touches, 1 goal 1, looked like a class act
Previous encounters (past 5 games): Essendon 2-3 Melbourne
Past 5 matches (most recent onwards, NAB Cup included)
Melbourne: L-L-W-L-L
Essendon: W-W-L-L-W
sportsbet odds
Essendon: $1.08
Melbourne: $6.50
Possible sides
Essendonvs Melbourne
B: Dunn - Frawley - Garland
F: Al Davey - Ryder - Crameri
HB: M Jones - T McDonald - Terlich
HF: Howlett - Hurley - Zaharakis
C: Grimes - N Jones - Trengove
C: Heppell - Watson - Stanton
HF: Howe - Clark - Sylvia
HB: Hibberd - Hooker - Dempsey
F: Byrnes - Sellar - Pederson
B: Baguley - Carlisle - Fletcher
R: Jamar - McKenzie - Rodan
R: Bellchambers - Goddard - Hocking
I: Toumpas - Viney - Blease
I: Melksham - Merrett - Myers
S: Aa Davey
S: Kommer
Essendon forward line vs Melbourne defence
Essendon will look to improve in this area from the last game, as their key forwards kicked 1 goal between them. Hurley was well held by Daniel Talia and most would expect Frawley to do a similar job on him against Melbourne. Crameri against Garland looks to be an important duel, Garland on the fringe and Crameri would want to kick some goals after a below par display against Adelaide. Davey, after kicking 3 on Brent Reilly, would want to put up a similar display against the less talented Daniel Nicholson.
midfield battle (rucks included)
Essendon would really want to back up their performance against Adelaide's better midfield group against Melbourne, as the Demons lack 2 players in the same class as Dangerfield and Thompson. They have the next level of players covered, but lack a genuinely gun midfielder that they're hoping their skipper Trengove can fill. Nathan Jones looks to be the key for Melbourne, he was instrumental for Melbourne's win the last time these teams met.Essendon will be hoping Goddard improves on his output, Zaharakis can string a full game in the midfield and they show the depth of quality they have along with Watson, Stanton, Heppell and Howlett showed against Adelaide. Essendon will be hoping that Bellchambers and Ryder beat Jamar and Pederson, a combination that looks to be a lot less talented
Melbourne forward line vs Essendon defence
This will be the best battle of the night, with Melbourne's forward line easily looking the strongest third of the ground for them. Carlisle held Mitch Clark to 1 goal the last time these sides met and was just about BOG for Essendon. Hooker will be able to cover Dawes as a second key forward, and Essendon fans will be hoping he doesn't turn the ball over too much. Fletcher against Pederson looks to be the interesting match-up s last time Pederson played Essendon he kicked a bag, although that was under the roof at Telstra Dome*, not the wide open spaces of the MCG. Byrnes will add another dimension to their forward line with his speed, skills and good footy brain, promises to be an exciting duel with Courtney Dempsey. Howe will be Howe, Hibberd is capable of shutting him down, but I wouldn't be surprised if Howe snags 3 or 4 goals
X-Factor player
Essendon's X-Factor for this week is David Myers. His clearance work was solid against the crows and now has shown the ability to go forward and kick a goal. Myers' long kicking is a real weapon for the dons and in (hopefully) dry conditions he can use it to the advantage of the side.
Colin Sylvia is Melbourne's X-Factor. Sylvia has all the talent in the world, with good pace, great skills and a solid engine. If he can apply himself properly to the game he could become a top 30 player in the AFL, and hopefully he shows his talent to Melbourne fans and Mark Neeld rewards him
Key points for each side
Essendon:
Melbourne are Essendon's bogey team so I'm very nervous about saying that Essendon look to be a class above them across the ground, and tipping Essendon by 66
*I refuse to call it by it's new name, it wall always be the Dome
Essendon: Got past the peptides scandal with a good win in Adelaide against a top 4 side in 2012; the Crows. Gun recruit Brendan Goddard was quiet, but kicked a very important goal for the dons in the wet. Jobe Watson, captain and Brownlow medalist was up to his usual tricks. Dyson Heppell and Brent Stanton showed their class when not being tagged.
Melbourne: Terrible against Port Adelaide. Looked like witches hats and were just a rabble, turnovers, no forward structure, and their best player by a fair stretch in Mitch Clark injured. There was one positive- son of a gun Jack Viney had 22 touches, 1 goal 1, looked like a class act
Previous encounters (past 5 games): Essendon 2-3 Melbourne
Past 5 matches (most recent onwards, NAB Cup included)
Melbourne: L-L-W-L-L
Essendon: W-W-L-L-W
sportsbet odds
Essendon: $1.08
Melbourne: $6.50
Possible sides
Essendonvs Melbourne
B: Dunn - Frawley - Garland
F: Al Davey - Ryder - Crameri
HB: M Jones - T McDonald - Terlich
HF: Howlett - Hurley - Zaharakis
C: Grimes - N Jones - Trengove
C: Heppell - Watson - Stanton
HF: Howe - Clark - Sylvia
HB: Hibberd - Hooker - Dempsey
F: Byrnes - Sellar - Pederson
B: Baguley - Carlisle - Fletcher
R: Jamar - McKenzie - Rodan
R: Bellchambers - Goddard - Hocking
I: Toumpas - Viney - Blease
I: Melksham - Merrett - Myers
S: Aa Davey
S: Kommer
Essendon forward line vs Melbourne defence
Essendon will look to improve in this area from the last game, as their key forwards kicked 1 goal between them. Hurley was well held by Daniel Talia and most would expect Frawley to do a similar job on him against Melbourne. Crameri against Garland looks to be an important duel, Garland on the fringe and Crameri would want to kick some goals after a below par display against Adelaide. Davey, after kicking 3 on Brent Reilly, would want to put up a similar display against the less talented Daniel Nicholson.
midfield battle (rucks included)
Essendon would really want to back up their performance against Adelaide's better midfield group against Melbourne, as the Demons lack 2 players in the same class as Dangerfield and Thompson. They have the next level of players covered, but lack a genuinely gun midfielder that they're hoping their skipper Trengove can fill. Nathan Jones looks to be the key for Melbourne, he was instrumental for Melbourne's win the last time these teams met.Essendon will be hoping Goddard improves on his output, Zaharakis can string a full game in the midfield and they show the depth of quality they have along with Watson, Stanton, Heppell and Howlett showed against Adelaide. Essendon will be hoping that Bellchambers and Ryder beat Jamar and Pederson, a combination that looks to be a lot less talented
Melbourne forward line vs Essendon defence
This will be the best battle of the night, with Melbourne's forward line easily looking the strongest third of the ground for them. Carlisle held Mitch Clark to 1 goal the last time these sides met and was just about BOG for Essendon. Hooker will be able to cover Dawes as a second key forward, and Essendon fans will be hoping he doesn't turn the ball over too much. Fletcher against Pederson looks to be the interesting match-up s last time Pederson played Essendon he kicked a bag, although that was under the roof at Telstra Dome*, not the wide open spaces of the MCG. Byrnes will add another dimension to their forward line with his speed, skills and good footy brain, promises to be an exciting duel with Courtney Dempsey. Howe will be Howe, Hibberd is capable of shutting him down, but I wouldn't be surprised if Howe snags 3 or 4 goals
X-Factor player
Essendon's X-Factor for this week is David Myers. His clearance work was solid against the crows and now has shown the ability to go forward and kick a goal. Myers' long kicking is a real weapon for the dons and in (hopefully) dry conditions he can use it to the advantage of the side.
Colin Sylvia is Melbourne's X-Factor. Sylvia has all the talent in the world, with good pace, great skills and a solid engine. If he can apply himself properly to the game he could become a top 30 player in the AFL, and hopefully he shows his talent to Melbourne fans and Mark Neeld rewards him
Key points for each side
Essendon:
- Win the ruck duel. You broke even with Adelaide but Jamar and Pederson aren't as high quality as Sam Jacobs
- Skills. They weren't great against Adelaide, and as such need to improve against Melbourne
- Key forwards need more of an impact. Garland, Frawley and McDonald aren't as good as Otten, Rutten and Talia. Need to win this battle
- Clearances. Melbourne were last in clearance differential in 2012 averaging almost 7 less clearances than the opposition.
- Disposal efficiency. They had the 4th lowest DE% in 2012. This needs to improve through players like Jones, Trengove and McKenzie
- Get hands on the ball. all of this is useless if you don't have the ball in your hands. Melbourne averaged the least amount of disposals of any side last year.
Melbourne are Essendon's bogey team so I'm very nervous about saying that Essendon look to be a class above them across the ground, and tipping Essendon by 66
*I refuse to call it by it's new name, it wall always be the Dome
