eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Observations
Gold Coast: The Suns had a very tight loss to top 4 side St. Kilda, losing 4 of their last 5 games after a promising start to the season. Ben King was the standout forward for the Suns with three goals whilst Touk Miller had 18 touches and 2 goals in the midfield, alongside Brandon Ellis who had 23 disposals on a wing.
Essendon: When the Bombers kicked the first goal of the third they were 29 points up, but gave up 6 straight goals to lose the match against GWS. Zach Merrett was a feature in the middle with 33 touches and 6 clearances, whilst Kyle Langford was the only multiple goal scorer with 2 goals in the second quarter.
Head to Head (last 5)
Gold Coast 1-4 Essendon
Form Guide
Gold Coast: 1W 4L
Essendon: 2W 2L
Sportsbet odds
Gold Coast: $
Essendon: $
Line: .5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
Gold Coast vs Essendon
FB: Aaron Francis - Brandon Zerk-Thatcher - Adam Saad
FF: Izak Rankine - Ben King - Ben Ainsworth
HB: Martin Gleeson - Michael Hurley - Mason Redman
HF: Sam Flanders - Sam Day - Wil Powell
MF: Kyle Langford - Zachary Merrett - Kobe Mutch
MF: Lachie Weller - Hugh Greenwood - Brandon Ellis
HF: Devon Smith - James Stewart - Conor McKenna
HB: Jarrod Harbrow - Charlie Ballard - Jack Bowes
FF: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti - Shaun McKernan - Josh Begley
FB: Connor Budarick - Sam Collins - Jack Lukosius
OB: Sam Draper - Darcy Parish - Dylan Shiel
OB: Jarrod Witts - David Swallow - Touk Miller
IC: Andrew McGrath - William Snelling - Matthew Guelfi - Mitchell Hibberd
IC: Jeremy Sharp - Noah Anderson - Sean Lemmens - Brayden Fiorini
Gold Coast in: Sam Flanders, Brayden Fiorini; Out: Nick Holman, Alex Sexton
Essendon in: Martin Gleeson, Mitchell Hibberd, Josh Begley, Kobe Mutch; Out: David Zaharakis (managed), Jacob Townsend (concussion), Jordan Ridley (ribs), Tom Cutler (omitted)
Gold Coast defence vs Essendon forward line
So far this season Essendon averaged 20.3% in terms of goals/inside 50, which has slipped to the bottom 6 of the AFL after starting off around the top 4. Gold Coast have been really good at not conceding a goal when it enters defensive 50, conceding a goal 20.5% of the time it enters, 4th overall in the AFL. Essendon will be hoping Shaun McKernan and James Stewart are able to consolidate their key position partnership this week, neither have really gotten going this year, the pair likely to be manned by the very impressive Sam Collins and Charlie Ballard respectively, whilst the last player standing with a 1 goal/game average in Anthony McDonld-Tipungwuti will likely get attention from Connor Budarick, one of the Rising Star contenders for 2020. Josh Begley may return to the side and would likely be manned up by Jack Lukosius.
Midfield/rucks battle
The midfield battle promises to be an interesting one with Gold Coast being 6th and 11th for clearance and contested possession differential whilst Essendon are 8th and 16th for those statistics respectively. The Bombers will be hoping that the possible inclusion of Mitchell Hibberd as a ball winning midfielder and Dylan Shiel will be able to improve these statistics but with an undersized midfield including Darcy Parish and Andrew McGrath it might be hard going for them against the likes of David Swallow, Touk Miller, Hugh Greenwood and possible inclusion Brayden Fiorini who are much bigger and stronger on the inside. Outside of the contest, Essendon's Kyle Langford and Tom Cutler will look to use their height against Gold Coast's outside midfielders in Brandon Ellis and Lachie Weller, their marking ability being a key point of difference for the Bombers so far in 2020 in their wins. Rucks wise, expect Jarrod Witts to beat the unfortunately cooked Tom Bellchambers, who is coming off a 12 day rest however.
Gold Coast forward line vs Essendon defence
The Suns have kicked a goal 20.7% of the time it enters their forward 50 so far this season, just outside the bottom 6 in the league. Essendon have been really good at restricting the opposition in this area, conceding a goal 21.9% of the time it enters defensive 50, 5th in the AFL. Ben King is the #1 key forward for the Suns, and will face fellow young key position player Brandon Zerk-Thatcher in a duel both clubs could be seeing for the next decade if the pair fulfill their potential, whilst the experienced crash and bash forward Sam Day is likely to get attention from Michael Hurley again. Izak Rankine has wowed everyone with his tricks so far this season, and will likely get an out of form Mason Redman to play on rather than the tricky Adam Saad, who will likely go to the industrious but still very talented Ben Ainsworth.
X-Factor Player
Izak Rankine. The guy's a freak, pure and simple. He could kick 5 goals if he lines up on the right player.
Key stat
Gold Coast: Clearances. They have a bigger bodied midfield group in comparison to Essendon and should win the centre battle.
Essendon: Defensive conversion. Really need to contain the talented but inconsistent Suns forward line with their impressive back 7
Tip
Oddly enough I think we'll win, Don by 17
Gold Coast: The Suns had a very tight loss to top 4 side St. Kilda, losing 4 of their last 5 games after a promising start to the season. Ben King was the standout forward for the Suns with three goals whilst Touk Miller had 18 touches and 2 goals in the midfield, alongside Brandon Ellis who had 23 disposals on a wing.
Essendon: When the Bombers kicked the first goal of the third they were 29 points up, but gave up 6 straight goals to lose the match against GWS. Zach Merrett was a feature in the middle with 33 touches and 6 clearances, whilst Kyle Langford was the only multiple goal scorer with 2 goals in the second quarter.
Head to Head (last 5)
Gold Coast 1-4 Essendon
Form Guide
Gold Coast: 1W 4L
Essendon: 2W 2L
Sportsbet odds
Gold Coast: $
Essendon: $
Line: .5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
Gold Coast vs Essendon
FB: Aaron Francis - Brandon Zerk-Thatcher - Adam Saad
FF: Izak Rankine - Ben King - Ben Ainsworth
HB: Martin Gleeson - Michael Hurley - Mason Redman
HF: Sam Flanders - Sam Day - Wil Powell
MF: Kyle Langford - Zachary Merrett - Kobe Mutch
MF: Lachie Weller - Hugh Greenwood - Brandon Ellis
HF: Devon Smith - James Stewart - Conor McKenna
HB: Jarrod Harbrow - Charlie Ballard - Jack Bowes
FF: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti - Shaun McKernan - Josh Begley
FB: Connor Budarick - Sam Collins - Jack Lukosius
OB: Sam Draper - Darcy Parish - Dylan Shiel
OB: Jarrod Witts - David Swallow - Touk Miller
IC: Andrew McGrath - William Snelling - Matthew Guelfi - Mitchell Hibberd
IC: Jeremy Sharp - Noah Anderson - Sean Lemmens - Brayden Fiorini
Gold Coast in: Sam Flanders, Brayden Fiorini; Out: Nick Holman, Alex Sexton
Essendon in: Martin Gleeson, Mitchell Hibberd, Josh Begley, Kobe Mutch; Out: David Zaharakis (managed), Jacob Townsend (concussion), Jordan Ridley (ribs), Tom Cutler (omitted)
Gold Coast defence vs Essendon forward line
So far this season Essendon averaged 20.3% in terms of goals/inside 50, which has slipped to the bottom 6 of the AFL after starting off around the top 4. Gold Coast have been really good at not conceding a goal when it enters defensive 50, conceding a goal 20.5% of the time it enters, 4th overall in the AFL. Essendon will be hoping Shaun McKernan and James Stewart are able to consolidate their key position partnership this week, neither have really gotten going this year, the pair likely to be manned by the very impressive Sam Collins and Charlie Ballard respectively, whilst the last player standing with a 1 goal/game average in Anthony McDonld-Tipungwuti will likely get attention from Connor Budarick, one of the Rising Star contenders for 2020. Josh Begley may return to the side and would likely be manned up by Jack Lukosius.
Midfield/rucks battle
The midfield battle promises to be an interesting one with Gold Coast being 6th and 11th for clearance and contested possession differential whilst Essendon are 8th and 16th for those statistics respectively. The Bombers will be hoping that the possible inclusion of Mitchell Hibberd as a ball winning midfielder and Dylan Shiel will be able to improve these statistics but with an undersized midfield including Darcy Parish and Andrew McGrath it might be hard going for them against the likes of David Swallow, Touk Miller, Hugh Greenwood and possible inclusion Brayden Fiorini who are much bigger and stronger on the inside. Outside of the contest, Essendon's Kyle Langford and Tom Cutler will look to use their height against Gold Coast's outside midfielders in Brandon Ellis and Lachie Weller, their marking ability being a key point of difference for the Bombers so far in 2020 in their wins. Rucks wise, expect Jarrod Witts to beat the unfortunately cooked Tom Bellchambers, who is coming off a 12 day rest however.
Gold Coast forward line vs Essendon defence
The Suns have kicked a goal 20.7% of the time it enters their forward 50 so far this season, just outside the bottom 6 in the league. Essendon have been really good at restricting the opposition in this area, conceding a goal 21.9% of the time it enters defensive 50, 5th in the AFL. Ben King is the #1 key forward for the Suns, and will face fellow young key position player Brandon Zerk-Thatcher in a duel both clubs could be seeing for the next decade if the pair fulfill their potential, whilst the experienced crash and bash forward Sam Day is likely to get attention from Michael Hurley again. Izak Rankine has wowed everyone with his tricks so far this season, and will likely get an out of form Mason Redman to play on rather than the tricky Adam Saad, who will likely go to the industrious but still very talented Ben Ainsworth.
X-Factor Player
Izak Rankine. The guy's a freak, pure and simple. He could kick 5 goals if he lines up on the right player.
Key stat
Gold Coast: Clearances. They have a bigger bodied midfield group in comparison to Essendon and should win the centre battle.
Essendon: Defensive conversion. Really need to contain the talented but inconsistent Suns forward line with their impressive back 7
Tip
Oddly enough I think we'll win, Don by 17