VelvetSledge
Moderator
- May 24, 2007
- 17,858
- 36,715
- AFL Club
- Essendon
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- Liverpool FC, Melbourne Storm
- Moderator
- #1
Last Week:
CARLTON BLUES 16.10 106 Defeated RICHMOND TIGERS 14.12 96
BEST: McLean, Robinson, Casboult
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ESSENDON 9.16 70 Defeated by NORTH MELBOURNE 17.13 115
BEST: Watson, Melksham, Goddard
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TAB Sportsbet Odds:
CARL: $1.36
ESS: $3.25
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The Teams:
CARLTON BLUES:
B: Heath Scotland - Michael Jamison - Lachie Henderson
HB: Zach Tuohy - Andrew McInnes - Bryce Gibbs
C: Chris Yarran - Mitch Robinson - Kade Simpson
HF: Ed Curnow - Andrew Walker - Tom Bell
F: Brock McLean - Levi Casboult - Matthew Kreuzer
R: Robbie Warnock - Eddie Betts - Marc Murphy (c)
I/C: Dennis Armfield - Nick Graham - Troy Menzel - Jarrad Waite
EMG: Aaron Joseph - David Ellard - Nick Duigan
IN: Kreuzer
OUT: Bootsma
ESSENDON BOMBERS:
B: Mark Baguley - Tayte Pears - Michael Hibberd
HB: Brendon Goddard - Cale Hooker - Lauchlan Dalgleish
C: Alwyn Davey - Jobe Watson (c) - Jackson Merrett
HF: Michael Hurley - Stewart Crameri - Jake Carlisle
F: Patrick Ryder - Kyle Hardingham - Nick Kommer
R: Joe Daniher - Jake Melksham - Heath Hocking
I/C: David Myers - Brent Stanton - Ben Howlett - David Zaharakis
EMG: Nathan Lovett-Murray - Nick O'Brien - Will Hams
IN: Merrett, Hurley, Ryder, Myers
OUT: Heppell (foot), O'Brien, Jetta, Bellchambers (all omit)
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All game day discussion / running commentary in here.
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The Ins and Outs:
Just the one change from a Carlton side that played a great game against a somewhat disappointing Richmond last week. Young midfielder, Josh Bootsma, has been left out of the side after signing a fresh contract during the week. In for him comes much-debated ruck/forward, Matthew Kreuzer.
If there is any good news coming out the EFC this week, it's the return of Michael Hurley from injury. The Essendon forward line has been a complete shambles for a while now, and it is undeniable that the general forward structure appears much better when Hurley is down there and firing. Patrick Ryder also returns from suspension to replace Tom Bellchambers, who has been dropped from the side. The biggest loss from an Essendon perspective is superstar Dyson Heppell, who appears to have aggravated an old injury from his junior days. One can hope that it isn't too severe, but our fortunes at this point in time aren't great. Young midfielder Jackson Merrett returns to the Essendon line-up after being a decently common figure in the 2013 side. Booming left footer David Myers is a welcome return, as his skills were sorely missed last week against North. Young midfielder Nick O'Brien has been sent back to the VFL, and the much-maligned Leroy Jetta has been taken out of the senior side... Perhaps for the final time.
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The Opening Thoughts:
I hate football sometimes. I'm not even going to mention the shite that's being flung around.
Carlton, last week, pulled off a small upset in defeating the momentum-charged Tigers, and, in the meantime, responding to a week of media lashings referring to the state of their list. Coach Mick Malthouse, long known for being the absolute drama queen of the AFL (and for good reason), coached a game in which Richmond simply weren't given the chance to play their style of game, and they came off second best as the result. Lachie Henderson continued his great run of form with 3 goals, and both Brock McLean and Andrew garnered 27 disposals each. The game was tense in the final minutes, but Carlton withstood a spirited Richmond charge to emerge as winners.
Another week, another shocking performance from Essendon. Again, one quarter of football is not enough. The skills on display were shocking, the rebound from half-back was non-existent, and the forward line... Well, what forward line? There were few positives, but one has to commend Jake Melksham on his continued good form. Joe Daniher impressed with some decent grabs and effort, which is more than what can be said for a lot of the team. His kicking for goal way completely wayward, but the same can be said for the rest of the side. Jobe Watson was brilliant again, but we don't expect much else nowadays. The negatives are momentous. Where is the effort? The defensive run? The desire to play? One has to wonder if the players know something that we don't. This game will almost be definitive proof to the question on our minds; are Essendon simply playing for nothing?
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The Key Players:
#3 - MARC MURPHY - CARLTON BLUES
It hasn't been the ideal season for Murphy. His first year as captain of the CFC, and his performances have been somewhat underwhelming. He doesn't appear to have warmed to the role straight away, and his efforts in games are really suffering for it. With that out of the way, he still has that potential to be one of the most damaging midfielders in the competition. Will he get over the first-year captaincy yips and show us the Murphy of old? The Dons are ripe for the picking, and he could very easily have a day out.
#30 - JARRAD WAITE - CARLTON BLUES
Waite almost made every Essendon supporter tear their hair out in Round 11 when he kicked 7 straight goals to almost sink the EFC's 140 year celebration. Some quick back/forward shuffling and a minor injury slowed him down in the second half, and his impact was quickly nullified when Essendon ran away with one of the best wins of the season. Who do we send to Waite? The advantage of our backline at the moment is that we have a lot of tall timber, so there are multiple options to combat Waite if he gets a roll on.
#17 - JAKE MELKSHAM - ESSENDON BOMBERS
Jake, this week, showed great faith in the club in signing a new two year contract. His efforts over the past six weeks have been nothing short of incredible, and I'd probably go so far as to say that he has been our stand-out performer for the second half of the year. His disposal efficiency has improved, his effort around the stoppages is huge, and the passion and heart with which he plays has warmed hearts of all Essendon folk in a time that we need it.
#18 - MICHAEL HURLEY - ESSENDON BOMBERS
Thank god you're here, Hurls. The Essendon forward line has been a complete shambles of late, and with Hurley there, there is far more structure. Cue the "he's a defender" quotes. Hurls has been known to struggle with form when returning from injury, and we can only hope that he doesn't have this problem today. Bring it on.
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The Last Time They Played:
Round 11, 2013: ESSENDON 11.11 77 defeated CARLTON10.12 72
Essendon Bests: Heppell, Melksham, Carlisle
Essendon Goals: Melksham 3, Crameri, Hurley, Carlisle, Hocking, Howlett, Kommer, Myers, Stanton
Carlton Bests: Waite, Gibbs, McLean
Carlton Goals: Waite 7, Betts, Casboult, Murphy
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The Ins and Outs since last time:
CARLTON INS: McInnes, Bell, Warnock, Graham, Menzel
CARLTON OUTS: Judd, Lucas, Garlett, Cachia, White
ESSENDON INS: Pears, Dalgleish, Merrett, Hardingham
ESSENDON OUTS: Heppell, Winderlich, Fletcher, Hams
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The Tip and Final Say:
If we show up, we'll go close. If we repeat the efforts of the past month, we'll get flogged. I fully expect Carlton to win, and win by a lot, but the simple fact is that I can't tip for them. At all.
Essendon by 4.
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Broadcasting:
TV: Channel 7, FoxFooty, FOXTEL for XBOX360 and T-Box (Live at 7.30)
RADIO: Triple M, 3AW, ABC
Internet Streams:
International viewers can get live video of games from http://www.afl.livesport.tv/. Please do not post in this thread asking for links to streams. Your account will be suspended for a day.
Text: http://twitter.com/#!/Essendonliveis doing live text updates.
