VelvetSledge
Moderator
- May 24, 2007
- 17,850
- 36,691
- AFL Club
- Essendon
- Other Teams
- Liverpool FC, Melbourne Storm
- Moderator
- #1
Last Week:
ESS 18.9 117 Defeated ADE 11.16 82
BEST: Watson, Howlett, Hocking
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MELB 8.6 54 Defeated by PORT 19.19 133
BEST: Viney, Jones, Grimes
TAB Sportsbet Odds:
ESS: $1.10
MEL: $7.50
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The Teams:
ESSENDON BOMBERS:
B: Mark Baguley – Jake Carlisle – Dustin Fletcher
HB: Brendon Goddard – Cale Hooker – Brent Stanton
C: Dyson Heppell – Jobe Watson – Alwyn Davey
HF: Stewart Crameri – Michael Hurley – David Zaharakis
F: Nick Kommer – Patrick Ryder – Jake Melksham
R: Tom Bellchambers – Heath Hocking – Courtenay Dempsey
I/C: Jackson Merrett – David Myers – Michael Hibberd – Ben Howlett
EMG: Will Hams – David Hille – Elliott Kavanagh
NO CHANGE
MELBOURNE DEMONS:
B: Tom Gillies – James Frawley – Dean Terlich
HB: Jack Watts – Tom McDonald – Colin Garland
C: Jack Grimes – Jack Viney- Matthew Jones
HF: Sam Blease – James Sellar – Jeremy Howe
F: Colin Sylvia – Mitch Clark – Shannon Byrnes
R: Mark Jamar – Jordie McKenzie – Nathan Jones
I/C: Jimmy Toumpas – Jack Trengove – David Nicholson – Aaron Davey
IN: Davey, Terlich, Trengove, McDonald
OUT: Rodan, Tapscott, Pedersen (all omit), Dunn (Hamstring)
DEBUT: Dean Terlich, 23, Norwood
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All game day discussion / running commentary in here.
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The Ins and Outs:
How long has it been since Essendon have fielded an unchanged side? It feels as though it was a lifetime ago. After the game against Adelaide two weeks ago, the selection panel must have decided that everything worked as it needed to, and stuck with the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. And I’m totally okay with that.
Conversely, the Demons have swung the proverbial axe on their side, cutting four players from the side. Lynden Dunn has been dropped due to a small hamstring injury, whilst David Rodan heads the list of those who the Melbourne coaches have decided to drop. It seems that no matter which club he plays for, he can’t keep a concrete position in the forward line. Tapscott and Pedersen are the other two unfortunate Demons who have been dropped to Casey for the week. Interestingly, I didn’t think that they were all that bad in the big scheme of things – Other Melbourne players certainly seemed less deserving of a spot.
Veteran small forward Aaron Davey comes into the side for the first time in 2013, and you can’t help but feel that he’s playing for his career. The Demon co-captain Jack Trengove returns to the senior side this week, and his leadership will be much needed on the field. Whilst he may still be the youngest captain in the league, and still finding his feet as a player, the Dees need someone who can show leadership when things get messy. Dean Terlich makes his debut, creating run off the back pocket, and Tom McDonald slots into the half back line.
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The Opening Thoughts:
This is a very interesting matchup for a few reasons this year. The obvious one, which we can not ignore, is the fact that the Melbourne Football Club are very much the gremlin on Essendon’s back. Even when we are flying and they are one of the worst teams in the competition, they find a way to beat us. Whenever they have a depleted side with a lack of leadership and structure, they STILL find a way to beat us.
The second one is purely the form shown by each club in Round 1. Essendon performed fantastically. Adelaide didn’t play badly for the majority of the game, but Essendon outplayed them comprehensively. The EFC’s win over at AAMI Stadium may have been considered as an emotion charged win and left at that, but those who watch footy often know that there was something different about this Essendon side- Something that we haven’t seen in a long, long time. The performance was almost complete; every player performed in their role and performed admirably at that. The midfield performance was fantastic. While we didn’t see the 35 possession, 4 goal game that some expected from gun recruit Brendon Goddard, we saw the reigning Brownlow medallist continue his brilliant form, we saw the 2011 Rising Star play brilliantly slick football through the middle of the ground, and we saw a horrendously underrated little nugget of muscle named Ben Howlett display one of the best individual efforts in a game of footy in the past few years. 4 goals as an in and under midfielder is something that we don’t often see. The forward line functioned well on a night tailor made for small forwards, and the backline was as solid as we’ve seen since the start of last year. Jake Carlisle dominated Tex Walker, Dustin Fletcher spoiled everything that went close to him (as we’ve expected over the past two decades), and Cale Hooker’s performance was the best we’ve seen since around Round 8 last year.
Conversely, there’s the Demons. Never before have I seen media backlash to a Round 1 performance as intense as what I witnessed after their game against Port Adelaide. Their third quarter effort was by far and away the worst football I’ve seen in many years, and I doubt that many would disagree. It was disgraceful. Not taking anything away from Port- They played fantastically well, and credit to Ken Hinkley for turning the club around – But the Demons was deplorable, and, again, we find ourselves facing them after a week of inevitable chastising and insults. I guess those are just the cards we’ve been dealt. So what can we take out of the Demons match in Round 1? Jack Viney is a freak. Mitch Clark is under an injury cloud. James Frawley just looks like he doesn’t want to play for Melbourne. The Demon’s defence is a group that will, at some stage, gel together and perform like a well drilled unit, but that time is not now.
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The Key Players:
MICHAEL HURLEY – ESSENDON BOMBERS
Debate is still strong about Michael Hurley’s best position on the ground. Is he a forward, or a back? We’ve seen the best that Hurley can offer as a forward throughout the middle of last year, but we also know that he is a natural back. It’s not often that someone can shut a rampant Travis Cloke down in two minutes. We know that the coaches prefer him forward, and fair enough- He crashes packs and is a very solid playmaker – but when will it get to a point where we NEED him down back? Injuries to a few key backs could see Hurls head to defence, but for now we’ll have to hope that his forward game improves.
BEN HOWLETT- ESSENDON BOMBERS
If the AFL world didn’t know who Ben Howlett was a fortnight ago, they certainly do now. His fantastic 4 goal, 6 tackles, 25 disposal game was one of the best individual efforts we’ve seen from an Essendon player (who isn’t Jobe or Stants) in some time. The Adelaide midfield couldn’t contain him as an in and under midfielder, and the defence couldn’t contain him as a small forward- So have we found a new role for Benny? An attacking midfielder, similar to how we saw Gary Ablett Jr. play against the Saints last week?
JACK VINEY- MELBOURNE DEMONS
This kid is a freak. Obviously his performance paled in comparison to that of his good mate Ollie Wines due to the result of the match, but to be your teams best player on debut is a fantastic effort. I don’t think I’ve seen a first gamer so desperate to attack the contest and smash through packs the way that Viney did- He is insanely big for a kid his age, and looks as though he’s been preparing for his AFL career as though it was a foregone conclusion. Hindsight shows us that he’s probably been right the entire time – And we can expect the Essendon box to put some time into stopping Viney if he gets a run on. That said, recent history shows that we can expect a similar thing from this next bloke…
NATHAN JONES – MELBOURNE DEMONS
Essendon supporters still wake up late at night, in a cold sweat, cursing the words, “Nathan Jones. Nathan Jones. Nathan Jones”. He was unstoppable in the subsequent clash between these two teams last year, and is one of Melbourne’s best players. He is a rough, hard, in and under midfielder that can turn the game on its head with a sustained performance. Who will go to him? You can expect that Hirdy won’t go into this game without an idea of who can tag him. Heath Hocking performed brilliantly against Adelaide, tagging Patrick Dangerfield right out of the game, and we could definitely see him clamp right down on Jones, if he doesn’t go to Viney. Nick Kommer is another Essendon player who is known to be a handy tagger, so he could be another option if Jones gets loose.
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Thanks to nickh32 for the ins and outs once again.
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The Tip and Final Say:
So what can we expect when these two teams line up for Round 2? One thing is for certain – We can expect a much more intense Melbourne outfit than what we saw in Round 1. We can also expect Essendon to come in with a lot more focus and drive than what we saw in the Round 10 clash last year – Which we will more than likely never forget. While I would like to say that Melbourne can come out and deliver a really good match, I can’t help but feel that their line up isn’t capable of competing. Things will go right for Melbourne, but not for a long, long time.
Essendon have to get this Melbourne hoodoo off their back, and that time is now.
Essendon by 94 points.
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Broadcasting:
TV: Channel 7, FOXFooty, Foxtel on T-Box and Xbox 360 (ALL LIVE)
RADIO: 3AW, Triple M, ABC774
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