eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Observations:
Richmond: Had a comfortable win against GWS, but the talking point was a behind the play running elbow by former top 10 draft pick Reece Conca will be the talking point out of the game. A spread of 10 goalkickers and 3 multiple goalscorers was a positive. Brandon Ellis starred with 34 touches and 2 goals.
Essendon: Let Sydney get a good head start early, but competed well for the rest of the game. Michael Hurley and Dyson Heppell with 29 disposals plus 1 goal and 24 touches plus 11 clearances respectively were excellent for Essendon, but bad mistakes at crucial stages is what ultimately cost them in the end.
Head to head (last 5): Richmond 2-3 Essendon
Sportsbet odds:
Richmond: $2.55, line ($1.85): +13.5
Essendon: $1.48, line ($1.85): -13.5
Possible sides:
Richmond vs Essendon
B: Batchelor - Rance - Dea
F: Bellchambers - Carlisle - Dell'Olio
HB: Grimes - Chaplin - Houli
HF: Chapman - Hurley - Goddard
C: Vlaustin - Miles - Deledio
C: Zaharakis - Myers - Stanton
HF: Lloyd - Griffiths - S Edwards
HB: Winderlich - Steinberg - Dempsey
F: Martin - J Riewoldt - A Edwards
B: Baguley - Hooker - Fletcher
R: Maric - Cotchin - Ellis
R: Ryder - Heppell - Hocking
I: Gordon - Morris - Grigg
I: Colyer - Z Merrett - Howlett
S: Thomas
S: Melksham
Richmond defence vs Essendon forward line
Essendon's forward line had a down week against the Swans, with the lack of space at the SCG. Carlisle will be looking to get back to the way he was against Collingwood and the Bulldogs, clunking marks. Rance, his likely opponent however will try to use similar tactics employed by Grundy by playing in front of Carlisle. The secondary battles between Bellchambers/Ryder and Chaplin, as well as Ambrose and Grimes will also be important, as if they can get on top and kick a couple each then the pressure is off Carlisle to kick goals. Dell'Olio and Chapman kicking goals will further help the cause, along with midfielders such as Goddard and Zaharakis. Richmond will be hoping the likes of Houli is capable of providing good rebound against his old club
Midfield battle (rucks included)
The midfield will be the barometer for Richmond, if Essendon get a hold of them inside it could get ugly. Heppell is the crucial player for Essendon, his clearance work was excellent last week against Sydney. He'll most likely get the hard tag for the Bombers, so his support inside with Howlett, Myers and Hocking is important to let it get into the hands of the damaging outside mids of Goddard, Zaharakis and Colyer. Richmond will be hoping for a big game from Trent Cotchin, if he fails to work through Hocking's tag it'll spell danger for them, as he's their most potent weapon inside. They're at a deficiency to most sides in this area so they'll need to break even here to be any hope of winning. If they do this however it'll be a line ball call. The ruck battle will be a tale of 2 situations: with and without Maric. If Essendon break even when he's there the battle is won.
Richmond forward line vs Essendon defence
Absolutely crucial area for Richmond here, they're not the strongest side offensively and Essendon's conceded an average of 68 points over their last 4 matches, and they need to find targets other than Riewoldt and Martin, because this Essendon defence has been awesome recently. Hurley will be looking forward to playing on Riewoldt, likewise Hookef on Griffiths. Fletcher will be trying to help them out by zoning off Aaron Edwards to cut off attacks.
X-Factor player
Courtney Dempsey has been in the defensive form of his life this season. There have been glimpses of the offensive game coming together, and even if he had a down week last week he will bounce back.
Key area for each side:
Richmond:
Essendon:
My tip
It's hard to see where Richmond get on top of Essendon, so Essendon by 45
Richmond: Had a comfortable win against GWS, but the talking point was a behind the play running elbow by former top 10 draft pick Reece Conca will be the talking point out of the game. A spread of 10 goalkickers and 3 multiple goalscorers was a positive. Brandon Ellis starred with 34 touches and 2 goals.
Essendon: Let Sydney get a good head start early, but competed well for the rest of the game. Michael Hurley and Dyson Heppell with 29 disposals plus 1 goal and 24 touches plus 11 clearances respectively were excellent for Essendon, but bad mistakes at crucial stages is what ultimately cost them in the end.
Head to head (last 5): Richmond 2-3 Essendon
Sportsbet odds:
Richmond: $2.55, line ($1.85): +13.5
Essendon: $1.48, line ($1.85): -13.5
Possible sides:
Richmond vs Essendon
B: Batchelor - Rance - Dea
F: Bellchambers - Carlisle - Dell'Olio
HB: Grimes - Chaplin - Houli
HF: Chapman - Hurley - Goddard
C: Vlaustin - Miles - Deledio
C: Zaharakis - Myers - Stanton
HF: Lloyd - Griffiths - S Edwards
HB: Winderlich - Steinberg - Dempsey
F: Martin - J Riewoldt - A Edwards
B: Baguley - Hooker - Fletcher
R: Maric - Cotchin - Ellis
R: Ryder - Heppell - Hocking
I: Gordon - Morris - Grigg
I: Colyer - Z Merrett - Howlett
S: Thomas
S: Melksham
Richmond defence vs Essendon forward line
Essendon's forward line had a down week against the Swans, with the lack of space at the SCG. Carlisle will be looking to get back to the way he was against Collingwood and the Bulldogs, clunking marks. Rance, his likely opponent however will try to use similar tactics employed by Grundy by playing in front of Carlisle. The secondary battles between Bellchambers/Ryder and Chaplin, as well as Ambrose and Grimes will also be important, as if they can get on top and kick a couple each then the pressure is off Carlisle to kick goals. Dell'Olio and Chapman kicking goals will further help the cause, along with midfielders such as Goddard and Zaharakis. Richmond will be hoping the likes of Houli is capable of providing good rebound against his old club
Midfield battle (rucks included)
The midfield will be the barometer for Richmond, if Essendon get a hold of them inside it could get ugly. Heppell is the crucial player for Essendon, his clearance work was excellent last week against Sydney. He'll most likely get the hard tag for the Bombers, so his support inside with Howlett, Myers and Hocking is important to let it get into the hands of the damaging outside mids of Goddard, Zaharakis and Colyer. Richmond will be hoping for a big game from Trent Cotchin, if he fails to work through Hocking's tag it'll spell danger for them, as he's their most potent weapon inside. They're at a deficiency to most sides in this area so they'll need to break even here to be any hope of winning. If they do this however it'll be a line ball call. The ruck battle will be a tale of 2 situations: with and without Maric. If Essendon break even when he's there the battle is won.
Richmond forward line vs Essendon defence
Absolutely crucial area for Richmond here, they're not the strongest side offensively and Essendon's conceded an average of 68 points over their last 4 matches, and they need to find targets other than Riewoldt and Martin, because this Essendon defence has been awesome recently. Hurley will be looking forward to playing on Riewoldt, likewise Hookef on Griffiths. Fletcher will be trying to help them out by zoning off Aaron Edwards to cut off attacks.
X-Factor player
Courtney Dempsey has been in the defensive form of his life this season. There have been glimpses of the offensive game coming together, and even if he had a down week last week he will bounce back.
Key area for each side:
Richmond:
- Clearances are a one of their deficiencies so breaking even there is important for them.
Essendon:
- Delivery. It hasn't been up to scratch recently so making sure you kick it to advantage side is important.
My tip
It's hard to see where Richmond get on top of Essendon, so Essendon by 45
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