eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Observations
Gold Coast: Started really well against Brisbane but fell away badly after the first quarter, Brisbane scoring 19.8 to Gold Coast's 6.7 from there to lose by 58 points. David Swallow had a solid return to the side with 30 disposals whilst Jack Martin was the main man up front, kicking 4 goals for the Suns, who really missed Tom Lynch up front.
Essendon: Held their own against the best side in the comp so far this season in Adelaide without two key players, but late goals in quarters blew out the margin from maybe a 4 goal loss to a 7 goal loss. Andrew McGrath was clearly best on for the Dons, collecting 25 disposals whilst keeping Eddie Betts goalless, and the twin towers of Hooker and Daniher kicked 7 between them up forward.
Head to Head (last 5)
Gold Coast 2-3 Essendon
Form Guide
Gold Coast: 0W, 5L
Essendon: 3W, 2L
Sportsbet odds
Gold Coast: $2.73
Essendon: $1.46
Line: 14.5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
Gold Coast vs Essendon
B: McGrath - Ambrose - Kelly
F: McPherson - Wright - Ainsworth
HB: Gleeson - Hurley - Dea
HF: Lyons - Martin - Lemmens
C: Parish - Watson - Heppell
C: Bowes - Hall - Rosa
HF: McDonald-Tipungwuti - Daniher - Colyer
HB: Saad - McKenzie - Joyce
F: Stewart - Hooker - Laverde
B: Harbrow - May - Spencer
R: Bellchambers - Goddard - Zaharakis
R: Currie - Miller - Swallow
I: McKenna - Green - Myers - Z Merrett
I: Sexton - Ah Chee - Scrimshaw - Schoenfeld
Gold Coast defence vs Essendon forward line
Essendon's forward line has been excellent this year, kicking a goal 28.4% of the time it enters forward 50, ranked 2nd overall in the AFL. Gold Coast's defensive efficiency has been extremely poor, conceding a goal 27.3% of the time it enters their defensive 50. The big issue for the Suns will be the talls of Essendon, Steven May is a star but will only be able to do so much against the likes of Coleman leader Joe Daniher, Cale Hooker and James Stewart considering he doesn't have another tall defensive partner right now, Trent McKenzie and Max Spencer both 190cm but both less than 87 kilo's, where the lightest of the three Essendon talls is 94 kilo's. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti will again be a handful for the Suns defenders, who struggle to shut down quality small forwards throughout their brief history in the competition, not to mention the likes of Laverde and Green as well.
Midfield/rucks battle
Gold Coast are a strange beast in the engine room, as they're 3rd in clearance differential but are struggling in contested possession differential, only 12th in that particular statistic. Essendon on the other hand are poor in both areas of the midfield, having been 15th in the former category as well as being 11th for contested possession differetial. The main men for the hosts will be Jarryd Lyons and Aaron Hall with Ablett out, but there's a real lack of star quality in there. Essendon will welcome back likely BnF winner Zach Merrett into the fold of the midfielder alongside the likes of Dyson Heppell and Brendan Goddard, which actually puts Essendon's midfield ahead for the moment, due to the lack of polish from their midfielders. On the outside Essendon's experience of the likes of David Zaharakis and Travis Colyer should pay dividends for the Dons. Ruck wise, Essendon have a clear advantage with Tom Bellchambers against Tim Currie, the former being in great form before getting injured/sick.
Gold Coast forward line vs Essendon defence
Essendon's defence has been one of the best in the game, conceding a goal 23.3% of the time it enters defensive 50. Gold Coast are bang on the average this season, kicking a goal 24.5%of the time it enters their forward 50. The Suns have a big loss up forward with co-captain Tom Lynch taking the rest of the year off with a PCL injury, which means Peter Wright is riding solo up front in a key position sense, and will likely be opposed to Paddy Ambrose from the Bombers. Ben Ainsworth is probably the #1 small forward in the Suns line up right now, his battle with probably Andy McGrath could well be one to watch for the future, as both will likely transition to mostly in the midfield. The rebound and drive from the likes of Michael Hurley and Martin Gleeson will also be important for the Dons winning well.
X-Factor Player
Jack Bowes has had a topsy-turvey season so far but there is very little doubt that he's shown a lot of quality for the Suns, and Suns fans will be excited to watch him play a few weeks in a row now to show how much he's learned this year
Key stat
Gold Coast: Defensive efficiency. The Suns are known for being a leaky team under normal circumstances, let alone against one of the better scoring sides
Essendon: Clearances. This is actually a chance to dominate the inside battle for a week with the lack of quality ball finders for the Suns
Tip
Gold Coast are terrible, Essendon by 55
Gold Coast: Started really well against Brisbane but fell away badly after the first quarter, Brisbane scoring 19.8 to Gold Coast's 6.7 from there to lose by 58 points. David Swallow had a solid return to the side with 30 disposals whilst Jack Martin was the main man up front, kicking 4 goals for the Suns, who really missed Tom Lynch up front.
Essendon: Held their own against the best side in the comp so far this season in Adelaide without two key players, but late goals in quarters blew out the margin from maybe a 4 goal loss to a 7 goal loss. Andrew McGrath was clearly best on for the Dons, collecting 25 disposals whilst keeping Eddie Betts goalless, and the twin towers of Hooker and Daniher kicked 7 between them up forward.
Head to Head (last 5)
Gold Coast 2-3 Essendon
Form Guide
Gold Coast: 0W, 5L
Essendon: 3W, 2L
Sportsbet odds
Gold Coast: $2.73
Essendon: $1.46
Line: 14.5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
Gold Coast vs Essendon
B: McGrath - Ambrose - Kelly
F: McPherson - Wright - Ainsworth
HB: Gleeson - Hurley - Dea
HF: Lyons - Martin - Lemmens
C: Parish - Watson - Heppell
C: Bowes - Hall - Rosa
HF: McDonald-Tipungwuti - Daniher - Colyer
HB: Saad - McKenzie - Joyce
F: Stewart - Hooker - Laverde
B: Harbrow - May - Spencer
R: Bellchambers - Goddard - Zaharakis
R: Currie - Miller - Swallow
I: McKenna - Green - Myers - Z Merrett
I: Sexton - Ah Chee - Scrimshaw - Schoenfeld
Gold Coast defence vs Essendon forward line
Essendon's forward line has been excellent this year, kicking a goal 28.4% of the time it enters forward 50, ranked 2nd overall in the AFL. Gold Coast's defensive efficiency has been extremely poor, conceding a goal 27.3% of the time it enters their defensive 50. The big issue for the Suns will be the talls of Essendon, Steven May is a star but will only be able to do so much against the likes of Coleman leader Joe Daniher, Cale Hooker and James Stewart considering he doesn't have another tall defensive partner right now, Trent McKenzie and Max Spencer both 190cm but both less than 87 kilo's, where the lightest of the three Essendon talls is 94 kilo's. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti will again be a handful for the Suns defenders, who struggle to shut down quality small forwards throughout their brief history in the competition, not to mention the likes of Laverde and Green as well.
Midfield/rucks battle
Gold Coast are a strange beast in the engine room, as they're 3rd in clearance differential but are struggling in contested possession differential, only 12th in that particular statistic. Essendon on the other hand are poor in both areas of the midfield, having been 15th in the former category as well as being 11th for contested possession differetial. The main men for the hosts will be Jarryd Lyons and Aaron Hall with Ablett out, but there's a real lack of star quality in there. Essendon will welcome back likely BnF winner Zach Merrett into the fold of the midfielder alongside the likes of Dyson Heppell and Brendan Goddard, which actually puts Essendon's midfield ahead for the moment, due to the lack of polish from their midfielders. On the outside Essendon's experience of the likes of David Zaharakis and Travis Colyer should pay dividends for the Dons. Ruck wise, Essendon have a clear advantage with Tom Bellchambers against Tim Currie, the former being in great form before getting injured/sick.
Gold Coast forward line vs Essendon defence
Essendon's defence has been one of the best in the game, conceding a goal 23.3% of the time it enters defensive 50. Gold Coast are bang on the average this season, kicking a goal 24.5%of the time it enters their forward 50. The Suns have a big loss up forward with co-captain Tom Lynch taking the rest of the year off with a PCL injury, which means Peter Wright is riding solo up front in a key position sense, and will likely be opposed to Paddy Ambrose from the Bombers. Ben Ainsworth is probably the #1 small forward in the Suns line up right now, his battle with probably Andy McGrath could well be one to watch for the future, as both will likely transition to mostly in the midfield. The rebound and drive from the likes of Michael Hurley and Martin Gleeson will also be important for the Dons winning well.
X-Factor Player
Jack Bowes has had a topsy-turvey season so far but there is very little doubt that he's shown a lot of quality for the Suns, and Suns fans will be excited to watch him play a few weeks in a row now to show how much he's learned this year
Key stat
Gold Coast: Defensive efficiency. The Suns are known for being a leaky team under normal circumstances, let alone against one of the better scoring sides
Essendon: Clearances. This is actually a chance to dominate the inside battle for a week with the lack of quality ball finders for the Suns
Tip
Gold Coast are terrible, Essendon by 55
Last edited:
