eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Observations
Essendon: Won a terrible game of football against Sydney to stay within touching distance of the top 8, a see-sawing affair saw neither team get to more than a 3 goal lead. Dylan Shiel was excellent with 29 disposals whilst being tagged whilst David Zaharakis kicked 3 goals to go with his 22 disposals plying more of a half forward role.
North Melbourne: North had an excellent win against St. Kilda to keep themselves in the finals hunt by 39 points, kicking 7 goals to one in the opening quarter to set up the win. Jy Simpkin showed why he was so highly rated by North with 36 disposals and 9 clearances whilst Cameron Zurhaar kicked 5 goals in a break out performance
Head to Head (last 5)
Essendon 3-2 North Melbourne
Form Guide
Essendon: 4W 1L
North Melbourne: 4W 1L
Sportsbet odds
Essendon: $1.72
North Melbourne: $2.10
Line: 5.5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
Essendon vs North Melbourne
B: Aaron Francis - Cale Hooker - Adam Saad
F: Lachlan Hosie - Nick Larkey - Kayne Turner
HB: Conor McKenna - Michael Hurley - Mason Redman
HF: Jy Simpkin - Ben Brown - Cameron Zurhaar
C: Andrew McGrath - Dylan Clarke - Zach Merrett
C: Jared Polec - Paul Ahern - Trent Dumont
HF: Matthew Guelfi - Jake Stringer - Orazio Fantasia
HB: Jasper Pittard - Robbie Tarrant - Shaun Atley
F: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti - Shaun McKernan - Jayden Laverde
B: Marley Williams - Sam Durdin - Scott Thompson
R: Zach Clarke - Dylan Shiel - Dyson Heppell
R: Todd Goldstein - Ben Cunnington - Jack Ziebell
I: Darcy Parish - Martin Gleeson - Kyle Langford - David Zaharakis
I: Jed Anderson - Luke Davies-Uniacke - Luke McDonald - Tarryn Thomas
Essendon in: Dyson Heppell; Out: Mitchell Brown (omit)
North Melbourne in: Lachlan Hosie; Out: Mason Wood
North Melbourne defence vs Essendon forward line
Essendon are ranked 10th in the AFL in terms of goals per inside 50 entry, getting one 21.6% of the time it enters the 50. North's defence can be very leaky, conceding a goal 24.8% of the time it enters their defensive 50. Despite this, Robbie Tarrant is enjoying an excellent year against the best key forwards in the game, who is likely to take Shaun McKernan who had a day out last time he played against North. That'll leave Scott Thompson and Sam Durdin to cover dangerous medium forwards Jayden Laverde and Jake Stringer. Marley Williams will likely take dangerous small Orazio Fantasia who kicked 4 goals in the last meeting on Good Friday, leaving Jasper Pittard likely to take Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.
Midfield/rucks battle
Essendon are falling down the clearance differential ladder, slipping from 3rd to 6th in the last two weeks, and have slipped from 5th to 10th in contested possession differential during the same time. Despite having one of the best clearance midfielders in the game in Ben Cunnington, North Melbourne are only 13th and 8th in those particular areas. Essendon are likely to send young tagger Dylan Clarke to Cunnington, in an effort to quell his considerable influence, the midfielder averaging 23 disposals and 5 clearances the last 5 times these teams have met, but expect Essendon's big three in Dylan Shiel, Dyson Heppell and Zach Merrett to pick up where they left off, the midfielder having 117 disposals and 17 clearances between the three of them last time. The big difference from last time though will be Zach Clarke playing instead of Tom Bellchambers against Todd Goldstein, which may get very ugly.
North Melbourne forward line vs Essendon defence
North's forward line has been good since interim coach Rhyce Shaw's taken over, now averaging a goal 23.1% of the time it enters forward 50. Essendon conced a goal 19.7% of the time it enters their defensive 50, ranking at 5th overall so far this year. Ben Brown promises to be the toughest forward for Essendon to deal with, Cale Hooker likely to get the job with Patrick Ambrose missing, who did the job on him last time. Nick Larkey has been promising in the VFL but will get a tougher match-up this week against Michael Hurley, and potential debutant Lachlan Hosie probably getting Aaron Francis, the pair going through juniors together in South Australia. Tarryn Thomas and Cameron Zurhaar will be tricky match-ups, but luckily Essendon have arguably the best defence to deal with them in Martin Gleeson and Mason Redman likely to match them.
X-Factor Player
Jed Anderson is one midfielder that has flown under the radar whilst in Blue and White, but he's become a very strong part of their side this season. One to definitely look out for in the middle
Key stat
Essendon: Conversion inside 50. North always give you chances, Essendon need to take them if they're to win this.
North Melbourne: Clearances. Use the inside midfielders and ruckmen you have and beat the Dons around the ball.
Tip
This game is very important for Essendon to stay in contact with the 8, Essendon by 5 head rubs (or goals)
Essendon: Won a terrible game of football against Sydney to stay within touching distance of the top 8, a see-sawing affair saw neither team get to more than a 3 goal lead. Dylan Shiel was excellent with 29 disposals whilst being tagged whilst David Zaharakis kicked 3 goals to go with his 22 disposals plying more of a half forward role.
North Melbourne: North had an excellent win against St. Kilda to keep themselves in the finals hunt by 39 points, kicking 7 goals to one in the opening quarter to set up the win. Jy Simpkin showed why he was so highly rated by North with 36 disposals and 9 clearances whilst Cameron Zurhaar kicked 5 goals in a break out performance
Head to Head (last 5)
Essendon 3-2 North Melbourne
Form Guide
Essendon: 4W 1L
North Melbourne: 4W 1L
Sportsbet odds
Essendon: $1.72
North Melbourne: $2.10
Line: 5.5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
Essendon vs North Melbourne
B: Aaron Francis - Cale Hooker - Adam Saad
F: Lachlan Hosie - Nick Larkey - Kayne Turner
HB: Conor McKenna - Michael Hurley - Mason Redman
HF: Jy Simpkin - Ben Brown - Cameron Zurhaar
C: Andrew McGrath - Dylan Clarke - Zach Merrett
C: Jared Polec - Paul Ahern - Trent Dumont
HF: Matthew Guelfi - Jake Stringer - Orazio Fantasia
HB: Jasper Pittard - Robbie Tarrant - Shaun Atley
F: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti - Shaun McKernan - Jayden Laverde
B: Marley Williams - Sam Durdin - Scott Thompson
R: Zach Clarke - Dylan Shiel - Dyson Heppell
R: Todd Goldstein - Ben Cunnington - Jack Ziebell
I: Darcy Parish - Martin Gleeson - Kyle Langford - David Zaharakis
I: Jed Anderson - Luke Davies-Uniacke - Luke McDonald - Tarryn Thomas
Essendon in: Dyson Heppell; Out: Mitchell Brown (omit)
North Melbourne in: Lachlan Hosie; Out: Mason Wood
North Melbourne defence vs Essendon forward line
Essendon are ranked 10th in the AFL in terms of goals per inside 50 entry, getting one 21.6% of the time it enters the 50. North's defence can be very leaky, conceding a goal 24.8% of the time it enters their defensive 50. Despite this, Robbie Tarrant is enjoying an excellent year against the best key forwards in the game, who is likely to take Shaun McKernan who had a day out last time he played against North. That'll leave Scott Thompson and Sam Durdin to cover dangerous medium forwards Jayden Laverde and Jake Stringer. Marley Williams will likely take dangerous small Orazio Fantasia who kicked 4 goals in the last meeting on Good Friday, leaving Jasper Pittard likely to take Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.
Midfield/rucks battle
Essendon are falling down the clearance differential ladder, slipping from 3rd to 6th in the last two weeks, and have slipped from 5th to 10th in contested possession differential during the same time. Despite having one of the best clearance midfielders in the game in Ben Cunnington, North Melbourne are only 13th and 8th in those particular areas. Essendon are likely to send young tagger Dylan Clarke to Cunnington, in an effort to quell his considerable influence, the midfielder averaging 23 disposals and 5 clearances the last 5 times these teams have met, but expect Essendon's big three in Dylan Shiel, Dyson Heppell and Zach Merrett to pick up where they left off, the midfielder having 117 disposals and 17 clearances between the three of them last time. The big difference from last time though will be Zach Clarke playing instead of Tom Bellchambers against Todd Goldstein, which may get very ugly.
North Melbourne forward line vs Essendon defence
North's forward line has been good since interim coach Rhyce Shaw's taken over, now averaging a goal 23.1% of the time it enters forward 50. Essendon conced a goal 19.7% of the time it enters their defensive 50, ranking at 5th overall so far this year. Ben Brown promises to be the toughest forward for Essendon to deal with, Cale Hooker likely to get the job with Patrick Ambrose missing, who did the job on him last time. Nick Larkey has been promising in the VFL but will get a tougher match-up this week against Michael Hurley, and potential debutant Lachlan Hosie probably getting Aaron Francis, the pair going through juniors together in South Australia. Tarryn Thomas and Cameron Zurhaar will be tricky match-ups, but luckily Essendon have arguably the best defence to deal with them in Martin Gleeson and Mason Redman likely to match them.
X-Factor Player
Jed Anderson is one midfielder that has flown under the radar whilst in Blue and White, but he's become a very strong part of their side this season. One to definitely look out for in the middle
Key stat
Essendon: Conversion inside 50. North always give you chances, Essendon need to take them if they're to win this.
North Melbourne: Clearances. Use the inside midfielders and ruckmen you have and beat the Dons around the ball.
Tip
This game is very important for Essendon to stay in contact with the 8, Essendon by 5 head rubs (or goals)
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