eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Observations
Essendon: The Bombers were lacklustre against Sydney, losing the game by 5 points in a game where too much was left to too few. Essendon were carried by half a dozen players, including Captain Dyson Heppell, who had 30 disposals and 6 clearances for the game alongside Zach Merrett's 28 and 7. Orazio Fantasia was excellent, kicking 4 goals on return from illnes.
Fremantle: Freo fell to their second straight loss, Richmond beating them by 25 points with an excellent second half. Captain Nathan Fyfe was probably the best for the Dockers, collecting the ball 33 times and kicking 3 goals, whilst David Mundy and Michael Walters were both impressive in the midfield, getting 27 touches apiece.
Head to Head (last 5)
Essendon 2-3 Fremantle
Form Guide
Essendon: 2W 3L
Fremantle: 2W 3L
Sportsbet odds
Essendon: $1.36
Fremantle: $2.99
Line: 16.5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
Essendon vs Fremantle
B: Ambrose - Hooker - Saad
F: Cox - Taberner - Matera
HB: McKenna - Hurley- Ridley
HF: Walters - Hogan - Brayshaw
C: McGrath - D Clarke - Z Merrett
C: Cerra - Blakely - B Hill
HF: Begley - Daniher - Ham
HB: Wilson - Pearce - Hughes
F: McDonald-Tipungwuti - Francis - Stringer
B: Ryan - Hamling - Conca
R: Bellchambers - Shiel - Heppell
R: Lobb - Tucker - Mundy
I: Redman - Mynott - Parish - Guelfi
I: Switkowski - Langdon - Colyer - Nyhuis
Essendon in: Daniher, D Clarke, Mynott, Ridley, Begley; Out: Myers, Z Clarke, Zaharakis (all crap), Smith (******* knee), Fantasia (******* quad)
Fremantle in: Blakely; Out: Fyfe (susp)
Fremantle defence vs Essendon forward line
Essendon are ranked 7th in the AFL in terms of goals per inside 50 entry, getting one 23.1% of the time it enters the 50. However, they come up against the strongest team defensively in this regard, Fremantle only conceding a goal 16.9% of the time it enters their 50. A big reason why is Alex Pearce, the 200 cm athletic key defender finally having a good run with injuries and showing his quality. He is one of the few defenders in the league to be able to go with Daniher in terms of height and athleticism, which presents a test for the young gun Essendon forward. The other interesting one will be Luke Ryan going up against Jake Stringer, the latter will be trying to expose Stringer the other way whilst Ethan Hughes will have his hands full with trying to shut down Orazio Fantasia who is very important for the Dons.
Midfield/rucks battle
Now this is where the difference between the two sides will be. The numbers belie the Essendon issue in the middle, Essendon are second in clearance differential in the league, whilst Fremantle are a middle of the road 8th. Contested Possessions wise, Fremantle are a solid 6th in this regard whilst Essendon are down the order in 11th. Fremantle's main men will be captain Nat Fyfe and former captain David Mundy, the two are effective at using their big and strong bodies to win the clearance, getting it out to quality like Bradley Hill, Ed Langdon and Nathan Wilson. Essendon's main men inside the stoppage are captain Dyson Heppell, vice captain Zach Merrett and the newly traded in Dylan Shiel, who will hopefully be able to use the likes of Conor McKenna, Andrew McGrath and a potential debutant in Trent Mynott after several excellent performances in the VFL. Rucks wise, Tom Bellchambers is in some good hit out form and will be going head to head with Rory Lobb, but that may expose his lack of mobility.
Fremantle forward line vs Essendon defence
Fremantle's forward 50 hasn't been extremely productive this season, kicking a goal 21.6% of the time it enters their 50, which is 11th in the AFL. Essendon concede a goal 22.4% of the time it enters their defensive 50. Fremantle tend to go with a three tall forward combination for their side, but a lot of the danger will come from the likes of Michael Walters and Brandon Matera, two ground level players who take the game on with speed and skill. Expect Adam Saad and Jordan Ridley to take them respectively, the former is in All Australian form with his defensive efforts and rebounding ability. Jesse Hogan has a poor record against the Dons, kicking 4 goals in 3 games and Michael Hurleywill be keen to see that continue, whilst Cale Hooker probably takes the in form Matt Taberner, who loves playing Essendon, kicking 6 goals in his last 2 games against the men in red and black..
X-Factor Player
Travis Colyer returns against his own side here in Melbourne. The small looks dangerous around goals fro Fremantle and will be hoping for a big game to show what Essendon are missing.
Key stat
Essendon: Goals per inside 50. Freo are great at shutting it down, so for Essendon it's vital they get above their current season average
Fremantle: Clearances. Essendon always lose when they lose the clearance count.
Tip
Fremantle are too good right now, Dockers by 22
Essendon: The Bombers were lacklustre against Sydney, losing the game by 5 points in a game where too much was left to too few. Essendon were carried by half a dozen players, including Captain Dyson Heppell, who had 30 disposals and 6 clearances for the game alongside Zach Merrett's 28 and 7. Orazio Fantasia was excellent, kicking 4 goals on return from illnes.
Fremantle: Freo fell to their second straight loss, Richmond beating them by 25 points with an excellent second half. Captain Nathan Fyfe was probably the best for the Dockers, collecting the ball 33 times and kicking 3 goals, whilst David Mundy and Michael Walters were both impressive in the midfield, getting 27 touches apiece.
Head to Head (last 5)
Essendon 2-3 Fremantle
Form Guide
Essendon: 2W 3L
Fremantle: 2W 3L
Sportsbet odds
Essendon: $1.36
Fremantle: $2.99
Line: 16.5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
Essendon vs Fremantle
B: Ambrose - Hooker - Saad
F: Cox - Taberner - Matera
HB: McKenna - Hurley- Ridley
HF: Walters - Hogan - Brayshaw
C: McGrath - D Clarke - Z Merrett
C: Cerra - Blakely - B Hill
HF: Begley - Daniher - Ham
HB: Wilson - Pearce - Hughes
F: McDonald-Tipungwuti - Francis - Stringer
B: Ryan - Hamling - Conca
R: Bellchambers - Shiel - Heppell
R: Lobb - Tucker - Mundy
I: Redman - Mynott - Parish - Guelfi
I: Switkowski - Langdon - Colyer - Nyhuis
Essendon in: Daniher, D Clarke, Mynott, Ridley, Begley; Out: Myers, Z Clarke, Zaharakis (all crap), Smith (******* knee), Fantasia (******* quad)
Fremantle in: Blakely; Out: Fyfe (susp)
Fremantle defence vs Essendon forward line
Essendon are ranked 7th in the AFL in terms of goals per inside 50 entry, getting one 23.1% of the time it enters the 50. However, they come up against the strongest team defensively in this regard, Fremantle only conceding a goal 16.9% of the time it enters their 50. A big reason why is Alex Pearce, the 200 cm athletic key defender finally having a good run with injuries and showing his quality. He is one of the few defenders in the league to be able to go with Daniher in terms of height and athleticism, which presents a test for the young gun Essendon forward. The other interesting one will be Luke Ryan going up against Jake Stringer, the latter will be trying to expose Stringer the other way whilst Ethan Hughes will have his hands full with trying to shut down Orazio Fantasia who is very important for the Dons.
Midfield/rucks battle
Now this is where the difference between the two sides will be. The numbers belie the Essendon issue in the middle, Essendon are second in clearance differential in the league, whilst Fremantle are a middle of the road 8th. Contested Possessions wise, Fremantle are a solid 6th in this regard whilst Essendon are down the order in 11th. Fremantle's main men will be captain Nat Fyfe and former captain David Mundy, the two are effective at using their big and strong bodies to win the clearance, getting it out to quality like Bradley Hill, Ed Langdon and Nathan Wilson. Essendon's main men inside the stoppage are captain Dyson Heppell, vice captain Zach Merrett and the newly traded in Dylan Shiel, who will hopefully be able to use the likes of Conor McKenna, Andrew McGrath and a potential debutant in Trent Mynott after several excellent performances in the VFL. Rucks wise, Tom Bellchambers is in some good hit out form and will be going head to head with Rory Lobb, but that may expose his lack of mobility.
Fremantle forward line vs Essendon defence
Fremantle's forward 50 hasn't been extremely productive this season, kicking a goal 21.6% of the time it enters their 50, which is 11th in the AFL. Essendon concede a goal 22.4% of the time it enters their defensive 50. Fremantle tend to go with a three tall forward combination for their side, but a lot of the danger will come from the likes of Michael Walters and Brandon Matera, two ground level players who take the game on with speed and skill. Expect Adam Saad and Jordan Ridley to take them respectively, the former is in All Australian form with his defensive efforts and rebounding ability. Jesse Hogan has a poor record against the Dons, kicking 4 goals in 3 games and Michael Hurleywill be keen to see that continue, whilst Cale Hooker probably takes the in form Matt Taberner, who loves playing Essendon, kicking 6 goals in his last 2 games against the men in red and black..
X-Factor Player
Travis Colyer returns against his own side here in Melbourne. The small looks dangerous around goals fro Fremantle and will be hoping for a big game to show what Essendon are missing.
Key stat
Essendon: Goals per inside 50. Freo are great at shutting it down, so for Essendon it's vital they get above their current season average
Fremantle: Clearances. Essendon always lose when they lose the clearance count.
Tip
Fremantle are too good right now, Dockers by 22
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