eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Observations
Essendon: Essendon had an ugly win against North Melbourne, taking the lead halfway through the second quarter and not giving it up for the rest of the game. Andrew McGrath was prolific, having 25 disposals and 8 tackles, whilst David Zaharakis had a sparkling return to form with 20 disposals and 3 goals.
Western Bulldogs: The Dogs had a shock loss against Carlton by 52 points, forcing them outside the top 8 which is placed on a knifes edge. Lachie Hunter was probably the Dogs best midfielder on his return, having 27 possessions, gaining 475 metres with them whilst young small forward Laitham Vandermeer kicked 2 goals in his 14 touches
Head to Head (last 5)
Essendon 0 - 5 Western Bulldogs
Form Guide
Essendon: 4W 1L
Western Bulldogs: 3W 2L
Sportsbet odds (currently unavailable)
Essendon: $1.80
Western Bulldogs: $2.00
Line: 1.5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
Essendon vs Western Bulldogs
B: Aaron Francis - Cale Hooker - Adam Saad
F: Laitham Vandermeer - Josh Bruce - Rhylee West
HB: Mason Redman - Michael Hurley - Conor McKenna
HF: Toby McLean - Josh Schache - Bailey Dale
C: Kyle Langford - Zach Merrett - Brayden Ham
C: Lachie Hunter - Marcus Bontempelli - Ed Richards
HF: Orazio Fantasia - Jayden Laverde - David Zaharakis
HB: Hayden Crozier - Lewis Young - Jason Johannisen
F: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti - Shaun McKernan - Jacob Townsend
B: Caleb Daniel - Alex Keath - Easton Wood
R: Andrew Phillips - Darcy Parish - Mitchell Hibberd
R: Tim English - Jack Macrae - Tom Liberatore
I: Andrew McGrath - Devon Smith - Jordan Ridley - Will Snelling
I: Mitchell Wallis - Bailey Smith - Patrick Lipinksi - Bailey Williams
Essendon in: Mason Redman, Aaron Francis; Out: Dylan Shiel (susp), Martin Gleeson
Western Bulldogs in: Hayden Crozier, Lewis Young; Out: Louis Butler, Zaine Cordy
Western Bulldogs defence vs Essendon forward line
First four games Essendon averaged 25.1% in terms of goals/inside 50, which currently has them 4th for inside 50 efficiency. The Bulldogs have conceded a goal 21.2% of the time it enters their defensive 50, amongst the best in the AFL. Essendon could welcome key forward James Stewart back, who will likely get attention from Lewis Young who could come into calculations as an athletic key defender, but the main battle will be between two former Crows, albeit at different times, in Essendon's Shaun McKernan and the Dogs Alex Keath, two strong, tall and mobile key position players. Jacob Townsend has done a tagging role a couple of times this year, so expect him to go to intercept marker Easton Wood to try to quell his influence on the game, and expect the Bombers try to exploit Caleb Daniel and Jason Johannisen defensively, though the pair are good offensively, they can be a little loose checking at times which you can't afford to do if Orazio Fantasia and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti are in form
Midfield/rucks battle
The Dogs, despite the impressive names running through their inside midfield group, are currently 14th for clearance differential and 12th for contested possession differential, whilst the Dons are 10th and 13th respectively for those particular stats. Essendon's midfield has been lead by Dylan Shiel, who is second for average clearances (7 per game) and 1st in average centre clearances in the AFL so far this season, whilst Andrew McGrath and Zach Merrett have been ably supporting him, averaging 4.25 and 3.33 clearances a game respectively. The Dogs have been lead by captain Marcus Bontempelli, who averages 4 clearances a game, whilst Jackson Macrae and Tom Liberatore have averaged 3.6 and 3.33 clearances a game respectively. The outside midfield battle will be interesting, Kyle Langford has been having a good year as a winger, averaging 17.5 disposals so far this year and being a real link man between the arcs, whilst Will Snelling and Brayden Ham both ahd really good games against Collingwood on the outside. Lachie Hunter however is probably the best outside midfielder on the park for this game, and arguably a top 10 winger in the game when he goes, as well as Ed Richards and Patrick Lipinski finding form in the past few games. Rucks wise, a true journeyman in Andrew Phillips comes up against one of the most promising young rucks in the league in Tim English.
Western Bulldogs forward line vs Essendon defence
Western Bulldogs have averaged a goal 22.5% of the time it enters their forward 50, below the AFL average this season so far. Essendon have been really good at restricting the opposition in this area, conceding a goal 19.3% of the time it enters defensive 50, top 4 in the AFL. Expect Cale Hooker to try to quell Josh Bruce, who has a very good record against the Dons, kicking 19 goals in 6 games against them since moving forward. Josh Schache is the secondary tall for the Dogs, Michael Hurley is the most likely match up despite the height difference, as Schache is a bit more mobile than Bruce. Bailey Dale is only 183 cm tall but he plays more like a medium, so you can expect one of Aaron Francis or Jordan Ridley to quell him, whilst Mitchell Wallis is the only other player averaging 1 goal/game so far this season, expect one of the other mediums to go to him as he's quite strong in the air
X-Factor Player
Laitham Vandermeer has caught a few people's attention so far this season, the small forward showing good dash and skills so far, his next step will be to hit the scoreboard more often and really cement his spot as that forward pocket for the Dogs
Key stat
Essendon: Clearances. They win this, they win the game most of the time, and it's absolutely vital against a strong Dogs midfield that has height and weight on them
Western Bulldogs: Offensive conversion. Bruce and Schache are vital to the Dogs, the pair are their main avenues to goal, otherwise we could see Essendon's defense intercept the ball all day long
Tip
Our bogie side, but we've been good at breaking streaks this year. Dons by 3 in what I predict will be a top 10 game of the year.
Essendon: Essendon had an ugly win against North Melbourne, taking the lead halfway through the second quarter and not giving it up for the rest of the game. Andrew McGrath was prolific, having 25 disposals and 8 tackles, whilst David Zaharakis had a sparkling return to form with 20 disposals and 3 goals.
Western Bulldogs: The Dogs had a shock loss against Carlton by 52 points, forcing them outside the top 8 which is placed on a knifes edge. Lachie Hunter was probably the Dogs best midfielder on his return, having 27 possessions, gaining 475 metres with them whilst young small forward Laitham Vandermeer kicked 2 goals in his 14 touches
Head to Head (last 5)
Essendon 0 - 5 Western Bulldogs
Form Guide
Essendon: 4W 1L
Western Bulldogs: 3W 2L
Sportsbet odds (currently unavailable)
Essendon: $1.80
Western Bulldogs: $2.00
Line: 1.5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
Essendon vs Western Bulldogs
B: Aaron Francis - Cale Hooker - Adam Saad
F: Laitham Vandermeer - Josh Bruce - Rhylee West
HB: Mason Redman - Michael Hurley - Conor McKenna
HF: Toby McLean - Josh Schache - Bailey Dale
C: Kyle Langford - Zach Merrett - Brayden Ham
C: Lachie Hunter - Marcus Bontempelli - Ed Richards
HF: Orazio Fantasia - Jayden Laverde - David Zaharakis
HB: Hayden Crozier - Lewis Young - Jason Johannisen
F: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti - Shaun McKernan - Jacob Townsend
B: Caleb Daniel - Alex Keath - Easton Wood
R: Andrew Phillips - Darcy Parish - Mitchell Hibberd
R: Tim English - Jack Macrae - Tom Liberatore
I: Andrew McGrath - Devon Smith - Jordan Ridley - Will Snelling
I: Mitchell Wallis - Bailey Smith - Patrick Lipinksi - Bailey Williams
Essendon in: Mason Redman, Aaron Francis; Out: Dylan Shiel (susp), Martin Gleeson
Western Bulldogs in: Hayden Crozier, Lewis Young; Out: Louis Butler, Zaine Cordy
Western Bulldogs defence vs Essendon forward line
First four games Essendon averaged 25.1% in terms of goals/inside 50, which currently has them 4th for inside 50 efficiency. The Bulldogs have conceded a goal 21.2% of the time it enters their defensive 50, amongst the best in the AFL. Essendon could welcome key forward James Stewart back, who will likely get attention from Lewis Young who could come into calculations as an athletic key defender, but the main battle will be between two former Crows, albeit at different times, in Essendon's Shaun McKernan and the Dogs Alex Keath, two strong, tall and mobile key position players. Jacob Townsend has done a tagging role a couple of times this year, so expect him to go to intercept marker Easton Wood to try to quell his influence on the game, and expect the Bombers try to exploit Caleb Daniel and Jason Johannisen defensively, though the pair are good offensively, they can be a little loose checking at times which you can't afford to do if Orazio Fantasia and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti are in form
Midfield/rucks battle
The Dogs, despite the impressive names running through their inside midfield group, are currently 14th for clearance differential and 12th for contested possession differential, whilst the Dons are 10th and 13th respectively for those particular stats. Essendon's midfield has been lead by Dylan Shiel, who is second for average clearances (7 per game) and 1st in average centre clearances in the AFL so far this season, whilst Andrew McGrath and Zach Merrett have been ably supporting him, averaging 4.25 and 3.33 clearances a game respectively. The Dogs have been lead by captain Marcus Bontempelli, who averages 4 clearances a game, whilst Jackson Macrae and Tom Liberatore have averaged 3.6 and 3.33 clearances a game respectively. The outside midfield battle will be interesting, Kyle Langford has been having a good year as a winger, averaging 17.5 disposals so far this year and being a real link man between the arcs, whilst Will Snelling and Brayden Ham both ahd really good games against Collingwood on the outside. Lachie Hunter however is probably the best outside midfielder on the park for this game, and arguably a top 10 winger in the game when he goes, as well as Ed Richards and Patrick Lipinski finding form in the past few games. Rucks wise, a true journeyman in Andrew Phillips comes up against one of the most promising young rucks in the league in Tim English.
Western Bulldogs forward line vs Essendon defence
Western Bulldogs have averaged a goal 22.5% of the time it enters their forward 50, below the AFL average this season so far. Essendon have been really good at restricting the opposition in this area, conceding a goal 19.3% of the time it enters defensive 50, top 4 in the AFL. Expect Cale Hooker to try to quell Josh Bruce, who has a very good record against the Dons, kicking 19 goals in 6 games against them since moving forward. Josh Schache is the secondary tall for the Dogs, Michael Hurley is the most likely match up despite the height difference, as Schache is a bit more mobile than Bruce. Bailey Dale is only 183 cm tall but he plays more like a medium, so you can expect one of Aaron Francis or Jordan Ridley to quell him, whilst Mitchell Wallis is the only other player averaging 1 goal/game so far this season, expect one of the other mediums to go to him as he's quite strong in the air
X-Factor Player
Laitham Vandermeer has caught a few people's attention so far this season, the small forward showing good dash and skills so far, his next step will be to hit the scoreboard more often and really cement his spot as that forward pocket for the Dogs
Key stat
Essendon: Clearances. They win this, they win the game most of the time, and it's absolutely vital against a strong Dogs midfield that has height and weight on them
Western Bulldogs: Offensive conversion. Bruce and Schache are vital to the Dogs, the pair are their main avenues to goal, otherwise we could see Essendon's defense intercept the ball all day long
Tip
Our bogie side, but we've been good at breaking streaks this year. Dons by 3 in what I predict will be a top 10 game of the year.
Last edited:
