VelvetSledge
Moderator
- May 24, 2007
- 17,462
- 35,197
- AFL Club
- Essendon
- Other Teams
- Liverpool FC, Melbourne Storm
- Moderator
- #1
Last Week:
ESSENDON 9.6 60 Defeated by FREMANTLE 18.5 113
BEST: Heppell, Gleeson, Stanton
---
ST KILDA 7.8 50 Defeated by ADELAIDE 20.16 136
BEST: Riewoldt, Ray, Hayes
-----------------------------------------------------
TAB Sportsbet Odds:
ESS: $1.09
STK: $7.50
Top Three Supercoach Scorers:
(Scores are from Round 4)
ESSENDON: Dyson Heppell (133), Brent Stanton (114), Cale Hooker (108)
ST KILDA: Nick Riewoldt (119), Sean Dempster (104), Farren Ray (90)
-----------------------------------------------------
The Teams:
ESSENDON BOMBERS:
B: Dustin Fletcher - Michael Hurley - Dyson Heppell
HB: Brent Stanton - Cale Hooker - Jackson Merrett
C: Mark Baguley - Jobe Watson (C) - Michael Hibberd
HF: David Zaharakis - Joe Daniher - David Myers
F: Kyle Hardingham - Jake Carlisle - Ben Howlett
R: Patrick Ryder - Paul Chapman - Heath Hocking
I/C: Martin Gleeson - Leroy Jetta - Jake Melksham - Jason Ashby
EMG: Dylan Van Unen - Travis Colyer - Zach Merrett
IN: Paul Chapman, Patrick Ryder, David Myers, Dustin Fletcher
OUT: Brendon Goddard (groin), Jason Winderlich (rest), Dylan Van Unen, Travis Colyer (omit)
ST KILDA SAINTS:
B: Josh Bruce - Luke Delaney - Jack Newnes
HB: Jimmy Webster - James Gwilt - Sean Dempster
C: Farren Ray - Lenny Hayes - Leigh Montagna
HF: Eli Templeton - Nick Riewoldt (c) - Jack Steven
F: Clinton Jones - Rhys Stanley - Josh Saunders
R: Tom Hickey - Luke Dunstan - Tom Curren
I/C: Sebastian Ross - Adam Schneider - Jarryn Geary - Jack Billings
EMG: Shane Savage - Tom Simpkin - Terry Milera
IN: Adam Schneider, Josh Bruce, Sebastian Ross, Tom Hickey, Jack Billings
OUT: Nathan Wright (leg), David Armitage (leg), Shane Savage, Billy Longer, Beau Maister (all omit)
-----------------------------------------------------
The Ins and Outs:
Massive names in for the Bombers this week, coming off a huge defeat in the west at the hands of Fremantle. With key midfielder David Myers falling ill last week and, perhaps stupidly, using all three emergencies for obvious outs Paul Chapman and Dustin Fletcher. Brendon Goddard is missing this week against his old club, with a minor groin injury seeing him miss. Speedy forward Jason Winderlich will also miss this week, with the club choosing to rest him before the massive ANZAC Day game on Friday. Debutant Dylan Van Unen has been dropped after a less than impressive showing, as has Travis Colyer, who didn't add much to the side that got comprehensively beaten last week. Coming into the side this week is (finally!) an experienced ruckman in Patrick Ryder, who was sorely missed against Fremantle. A wealth of experience also returns in champion small forward Paul Chapman, alongside evergreen Dustin Fletcher and booming left footer, David Myers, who has recovered from a bout of gastro.
The Saints have swung the axe after a terrible showing last week. Nathan Wright will miss the next 10-12 weeks with a fracture through his leg. David Armitage has been left out of the team this week after suffering a nasty leg gash last week against the Crows, but will be back for the Saints' Round 6 game. Out of form forward Beau Maister has been dropped, as has ruckman Billy Longer, and former Hawthorn player Shane Savage, who has been somewhat less than impressive since crossing over to the Saints. Into the side comes veteran midfielder/forward Adam Schneider, alongside second gamer Jack Billings, who has massive wraps on him from the St Kilda fans. Big man Tom Hickey will return to the seniors, as will the cousin of the Essendon captain, Sebastian Ross. Josh Bruce will be making his St Kilda debut after being traded from GWS at the end of last season, where he played 14 games.
-----------------------------------------------------
The Opening Thoughts:
So what did we learn from last week? 35 degree heat, with no ruckmen, and three of your most consistent performers being late outs, generally results in a thumping loss. The match against Fremantle last week was an extremely frustrating game to watch for a multitude of reasons. Essendon held on for the first half, being reasonably competitive, with skipper Jobe Watson unleashing a freak of a goal in the first quarter. The high-possession, small kick, uncontested mark style game held up through the first part of the match, but was figured out by Fremantle all too quickly. Freo swamped us and, with their trademark relentless pressure, saw us fumble and turn it over more times than not. Essendon seemed to take an age to get the ball forward and score, and even when they did, the Fremantle break was too quick, and the score on the rebound hurt us. Essendon's fifth debutant for the year, Dylan Van Unen, didn't have a great day out, and neither did the other late inclusions in Leroy Jetta and Travis Colyer. Essendon's best on field was Dyson Heppell, but young gun Martin Gleeson was immense. His progression from skinny VFL kid to mercurial AFL star has been extremely quick, and surely, a Rising Star nod must be soon. The inclusion of much needed experience this week will see the Bombers take a much improved line up into this match with the Saints, who will be desperately looking to atone for last weeks performance.
The Saints came into their match last week with the Crows on the back of some decent performances. Some pundits expected the Saints to be winless this year, and to their credit, they had won their first two games against all odds. Skipper Nick Riewoldt is in fantastic form, and the Saints' young guns are playing some brilliant football, but they came up against an Adelaide side last week that just wanted it more. An out and out domination from the opening bounce to the final siren, St Kilda just never got a look in, not once holding the lead in the entire game. Comprehensively beaten in almost every single stat, there were few winners for the boys from Seaford. Nick Riewoldt was good, as expected, whilst speedster Farren Ray had a solid game for the Saints. Veteran Lenny Hayes fought bravely through the Adelaide onslaught, as did hard-working tagger Clint Jones, but in the end they were simply no match. The game today looks to be St Kilda's biggest challenge in 2014 thus far, with the potential Top 4 Essendon side looking to fight back and get a big win on the board. One hopes that St Kilda puts on a good show, but you can't help but shake the feeling that this is a greatly one-sided contest.
-----------------------------------------------------
The Key Players:
#30 - PATRICK RYDER - ESSENDON BOMBERS
Hallelujah! Two weeks in a row without a proper ruckman has been somewhat of a nightmare for Essendon players and fans alike. Whilst Jake Carlisle and Joe Daniher have battled manfully against opposition rucks, a full time ruckman has been sorely missed. Whilst Paddy's absence wasn't noticed so much against Carlton's Rob Warnock, Fremantle's giant Aaron Sandilands comprehensively thrashed the two young forwards. Patty's importance to this Essendon team can not go understated; he is one of the best pure athletes at the club, with an enormous vertical leap and a huge tank. He is a very welcome return to the red and black this week, after overcoming a minor ankle injury suffered in Round 2.
#34 - KYLE HARDINGHAM - ESSENDON BOMBERS
What a revolution this bloke has been! I was firmly in the "not best 22" camp when it came to Hardingham at the start of the year, but I'm happy to have been proven wrong. He has turned from an unreliable defender with a huge leap to an extremely reliable forward... With a huge leap. Flying for everything, "Quads" looks to have been one of the players who has really taken a massive step in the off season, and is now a stalwart in the Essendon forward line. One of our best kicks for goal, Kyle is extremely hard to match up on in that he plays both small and tall at the same time. With a leap like his, he can fly for the huge marks, but has enough speed to crumb off the packs and cause headaches for opposition defenders.
#12 - NICK RIEWOLDT - ST KILDA SAINTS
Roo has been one of St Kilda's most consistent (and best) players for the past 10 years, and doesn't look like slowing down, even though he's in the twilight of his career. The Saints' inspirational skipper has been one of the most impressive players so far this year, with form that is looking to be back to his best. He is making strong leads, connecting with the footy brilliantly, and is leading from the front, something that the Saints' desperately need at this time. Backline general Michael Hurley looks to be a good match up for him tonight, but it would be no surprise to see Cale Hooker, who is in All Australian form, man up on Riewoldt at Etihad this evening.
#43 - ELI TEMPLETON - ST KILDA SAINTS
A brilliant find for St Kilda. I, for one, was extremely surprised that he wasn't picked up in the National Draft last year, as he really has that X-Factor about him. He managed to fall through to the Rookie Draft, and seriously impressed in the NAB Cup for St Kilda. With a distinctive mop of blonde hair (Hello Dyson), he's hard to miss on the field, with a dash of speed and a great football brain. The only knock on him so far has been his consistency in the side. Templeton is one of those players who you just can't forget about, as he will always pop up and do something magical when you don't need it.
-----------------------------------------------------
The Last Time They Played:
Round 4, 2013:
ESSENDON 19.14 128 Defeated ST KILDA 13.13 91
ESSENDON BESTS: Watson, Bellchambers, Stanton
ESSENDON GOALS: Gumbleton 4, Hurley 3, Watson, Stanton, Davey, Bellchambers 2, Goddard, Dempsey, Howlett, Merrett
ST KILDA BESTS: Montagna, Jones, McEvoy
ST KILDA GOALS: Riewoldt 3, Maister, Dennis-Lane, Saad 2, Milne, Gilbert, Armitage, Steven
The Ins and Outs Since They Last Played:
ESSENDON INS: Chapman, Fletcher, Gleeson, Ashby, Daniher, Hardingham, Jetta, Ryder
ESSENDON OUTS: Gumbleton, Davey, Bellchambers, Goddard, Dempsey, Hille, Winderlich, Pears
ST KILDA INS: Bruce, Delaney, Newnes, Webster, Gwilt, Dempster, Templeton, Saunders, Hickey, Billings, Dunstan, Curren, Schneider
ST KILDA OUTS: Maister, Dennis-Lane, Saad, Milne, Gilbert, Armitage, Dal Santo, Fisher, McEvoy, Simpkin, Roberton, Milera, Wright
-----------------------------------------------------
The Tip and Final Say:
Coming off a 6 day break after a huge defeat in the west still won't stop the Bombers here. They should win, and win big.
Essendon by 94.
-----------------------------------------------------
Broadcasting:
TV: Channel 7, FoxFOOTY, FOXTEL for T-BOX and X-Box 360 (LIVE from 7.30PM)
RADIO: Triple M, 3AW, ABC, ABC Grandstand
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/#!/Essendonlive is doing live text updates.
Last edited:
