eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Observations
Fremantle: Were very disappointing in the local derby against arch-rival West Coast, ending up losing by 7 goals. Ed Langdon was impressive with 32 disposals running through the midfield whilst key forward Cam McCarthy seems to be starting to find some groove with 3 goals
Essendon: Had a disappointing loss to Melbourne in an error-riddled game where goal kicking was extremely poor, the margin ending up being 38 points. Zach Merrett was the star yet again for the Dons with 32 disposals whilst Tom Bellchambers was impressive in his first game back for nearly 2 years, with 33 hit outs.
Head to Head (last 5)
Fremantle 3-2 Essendon
Form Guide
Fremantle: 3W, 2L
Essendon: 2W, 3L
Sportsbet odds
Fremantle: $1.72
Essendon: $2.13
Line: 4.5 ($1.92)
Possible sides
Fremantle vs Essendon
B: Ambrose - Hartley - McNeice
F: Walters - Kersten - Grey
HB: Gleeson - Hurley - Goddard
HF: Crozier - McCarthy - Langdon
C: Zaharakis - Myers- Parish
C: Balic - Weller - Hill
HF: McDonald-Tipungwuti - Daniher - Colyer
HB: Logue - Johnson - Blakely
F: Fantasia - Hooker - Bellchambers
B: Hughes - Hamling - Collins
R: Leuenberger - Z Merrett - Heppell
R: Sandilands - Fyfe - Mundy
I: McGrath - Baguley - Kelly - McKenna
I: Taberner - Sheridan - Tucker - Neale
Fremantle defence vs Essendon forward line
Fremantle have struggled defensively throughout this season, conceding a goal 30% of the time it enters forward 50. Essendon's forward line has been excellent, kicking a goal 28% of the time they enter the 50. Essendon key forward Joe Daniher is in a good vein of form and will be looking forward to taking on Joel Hamling who has struggled since moving back home to Western Australia, conceding 6 goals to Josh Kennedy on Saturday. Fremantle will need to be on their toes with Cale Hooker and Tom Bellchambers both looking to build on their solid early season form this year. Orazio Fantasia will be the main threat as a small forward, having started the season with almost a 3 goal/game average so far this year, but don't discount the likes of Travis Colyer, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Josh Green as well.
Midfield/rucks battle
Fremantle are strong through the midfield, probably the area of the game where they excel the most. They're 4th in clearance differential but somehow 15th in contested possession differential, as opposed to Essendon's 14th with both. Both teams have 5 players average 8 or more contested possessions a game, Essendon having Brendan Goddard, Dyson Heppell, Jobe Watson, Zachary Merrett and Conor McKenna, but they'll hope the addition of David Myers will help increase that. Fremantle have the usual suspects of Nathan Fyfe, Lachie Neale, David Mundy, Stephen Hill and surprisingly Aaron Sandilands in the mix there. In terms of clearances, All four of Goddard, Heppell, Watson and Merrett average three or more along with young gun Darcy Parish, whilst it's the same 5 as before for Freo. Where Essendon will be hoping to expose Fremantle is on the spread with the likes of David Zaharakis, Parish, Travis Colyer and McKenna with run and dash. The ruck battle is probably where it'll be won unusually, with Matthew Leuenberger and Tom Bellchambers hoping that their double team will be enough to beat Sandilands.
Fremantle forward line vs Essendon defence
Fremantle's forward line has also struggled so far this season, kicking a goal only 22% of the time it goes in there. Essendon's defence has been excellent the first part of the season, conceding a goal 21% of the time it enters their defensive 50. Cameron McCarthy is their main man up forward and will try to improve after a year out of the game, as his early season form has been patchy. Up against him will likely be Paddy Ambrose, who's been excellent so far this season, who has rarely been beaten and even quelled a rampaging Taylor Walker for 3 quarters after he kicked 4 in the first. Matt Taberner and Shane Kersten will be taken by Michael Hartley and Michael Hurley respectively. Fremantle's #1 small is Michael Walters and expect a combination of Mark Baguley, Ben McNeice and Andrew McGrath to tackle him.
X-Factor Player
Harley Balic was a fairly high draft pick for Fremantle and his start to his AFL career has been promising but he hasn't played a game where he's said "I'm here" to the AFL yet, but many believe that it's going to happen very soon.
Key stat
Fremantle: Clearances. They absolutely need to clean this up this week, it's their biggest strength and have to win it to be competitive.
Essendon: Accuracy. Essendon were extremely inaccurate against Melbourne and were punished for it. If they have their kicking boots on they win.
Tip
Essendon are probably a bit better on paper but games aren't won on paper. Lucky they have the coach that probably has the best winning record at Subiaco in the game. Essendon by 30.
Fremantle: Were very disappointing in the local derby against arch-rival West Coast, ending up losing by 7 goals. Ed Langdon was impressive with 32 disposals running through the midfield whilst key forward Cam McCarthy seems to be starting to find some groove with 3 goals
Essendon: Had a disappointing loss to Melbourne in an error-riddled game where goal kicking was extremely poor, the margin ending up being 38 points. Zach Merrett was the star yet again for the Dons with 32 disposals whilst Tom Bellchambers was impressive in his first game back for nearly 2 years, with 33 hit outs.
Head to Head (last 5)
Fremantle 3-2 Essendon
Form Guide
Fremantle: 3W, 2L
Essendon: 2W, 3L
Sportsbet odds
Fremantle: $1.72
Essendon: $2.13
Line: 4.5 ($1.92)
Possible sides
Fremantle vs Essendon
B: Ambrose - Hartley - McNeice
F: Walters - Kersten - Grey
HB: Gleeson - Hurley - Goddard
HF: Crozier - McCarthy - Langdon
C: Zaharakis - Myers- Parish
C: Balic - Weller - Hill
HF: McDonald-Tipungwuti - Daniher - Colyer
HB: Logue - Johnson - Blakely
F: Fantasia - Hooker - Bellchambers
B: Hughes - Hamling - Collins
R: Leuenberger - Z Merrett - Heppell
R: Sandilands - Fyfe - Mundy
I: McGrath - Baguley - Kelly - McKenna
I: Taberner - Sheridan - Tucker - Neale
Fremantle defence vs Essendon forward line
Fremantle have struggled defensively throughout this season, conceding a goal 30% of the time it enters forward 50. Essendon's forward line has been excellent, kicking a goal 28% of the time they enter the 50. Essendon key forward Joe Daniher is in a good vein of form and will be looking forward to taking on Joel Hamling who has struggled since moving back home to Western Australia, conceding 6 goals to Josh Kennedy on Saturday. Fremantle will need to be on their toes with Cale Hooker and Tom Bellchambers both looking to build on their solid early season form this year. Orazio Fantasia will be the main threat as a small forward, having started the season with almost a 3 goal/game average so far this year, but don't discount the likes of Travis Colyer, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Josh Green as well.
Midfield/rucks battle
Fremantle are strong through the midfield, probably the area of the game where they excel the most. They're 4th in clearance differential but somehow 15th in contested possession differential, as opposed to Essendon's 14th with both. Both teams have 5 players average 8 or more contested possessions a game, Essendon having Brendan Goddard, Dyson Heppell, Jobe Watson, Zachary Merrett and Conor McKenna, but they'll hope the addition of David Myers will help increase that. Fremantle have the usual suspects of Nathan Fyfe, Lachie Neale, David Mundy, Stephen Hill and surprisingly Aaron Sandilands in the mix there. In terms of clearances, All four of Goddard, Heppell, Watson and Merrett average three or more along with young gun Darcy Parish, whilst it's the same 5 as before for Freo. Where Essendon will be hoping to expose Fremantle is on the spread with the likes of David Zaharakis, Parish, Travis Colyer and McKenna with run and dash. The ruck battle is probably where it'll be won unusually, with Matthew Leuenberger and Tom Bellchambers hoping that their double team will be enough to beat Sandilands.
Fremantle forward line vs Essendon defence
Fremantle's forward line has also struggled so far this season, kicking a goal only 22% of the time it goes in there. Essendon's defence has been excellent the first part of the season, conceding a goal 21% of the time it enters their defensive 50. Cameron McCarthy is their main man up forward and will try to improve after a year out of the game, as his early season form has been patchy. Up against him will likely be Paddy Ambrose, who's been excellent so far this season, who has rarely been beaten and even quelled a rampaging Taylor Walker for 3 quarters after he kicked 4 in the first. Matt Taberner and Shane Kersten will be taken by Michael Hartley and Michael Hurley respectively. Fremantle's #1 small is Michael Walters and expect a combination of Mark Baguley, Ben McNeice and Andrew McGrath to tackle him.
X-Factor Player
Harley Balic was a fairly high draft pick for Fremantle and his start to his AFL career has been promising but he hasn't played a game where he's said "I'm here" to the AFL yet, but many believe that it's going to happen very soon.
Key stat
Fremantle: Clearances. They absolutely need to clean this up this week, it's their biggest strength and have to win it to be competitive.
Essendon: Accuracy. Essendon were extremely inaccurate against Melbourne and were punished for it. If they have their kicking boots on they win.
Tip
Essendon are probably a bit better on paper but games aren't won on paper. Lucky they have the coach that probably has the best winning record at Subiaco in the game. Essendon by 30.
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