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#1
... was on the park last night against St. Kilda (sans JJ). They came out breathing fire, keen to amend for last weeks debacle and were playing the games of their lives, not giving St. Kilda an inch.
St. Kilda won in a canter by 54 points.
That is a scary thought!
It would be fair to say that we are like the boy with the barrow this week - having the job ahead of us!
Talk about a massive challenge. Win this game and we too will scare a lot of teams. Lose by 100 points and all other teams will still be scared... by St. Kilda though!
The only thing that let Essendon down was that they were too keen to snipe on the player rather than the ball. This is a trap we must not fall into.
We also have an issue in defense. Gaspar is way out of form and will not be capable of taking Riewoldt. Hall isn't in the same class and will be taken apart while AK doesn't have the mobility to run with him.
I would go with the following defensive matchups:
Gehrig - Gaspar
Hamill - AK
Riewoldt - Schulz
Big things are expected from Schulz and this would be a huge challenge for him. Let's see how the kid can play!
I would consider running Zantuck with Riewoldt but he may give a little away in terms of height.
I would run Hall with Blake who St. Kilda seem to have in a Goodes type role.
While I am never keen on tagging, I would play Fleming on Dal Santo. In part to stop him and in part of annoy the hell out of him. Dal Santo is a receiver but a very damaging one at that. He, more that anyone else hurt Essendon last night.
Every other midfield matchup should be players going head to head.
Our focus should also be on relentless tackling and going long and direct to the forward line.
Big things should be expected of Coughlan and Johnson. St. Kilda were dominant at winning the hard ball and clearances - maybe helped by Jason Johnson's absence). This is an area where we must break even in.
St. Kilda won in a canter by 54 points.
That is a scary thought!
It would be fair to say that we are like the boy with the barrow this week - having the job ahead of us!
Talk about a massive challenge. Win this game and we too will scare a lot of teams. Lose by 100 points and all other teams will still be scared... by St. Kilda though!
The only thing that let Essendon down was that they were too keen to snipe on the player rather than the ball. This is a trap we must not fall into.
We also have an issue in defense. Gaspar is way out of form and will not be capable of taking Riewoldt. Hall isn't in the same class and will be taken apart while AK doesn't have the mobility to run with him.
I would go with the following defensive matchups:
Gehrig - Gaspar
Hamill - AK
Riewoldt - Schulz
Big things are expected from Schulz and this would be a huge challenge for him. Let's see how the kid can play!
I would consider running Zantuck with Riewoldt but he may give a little away in terms of height.
I would run Hall with Blake who St. Kilda seem to have in a Goodes type role.
While I am never keen on tagging, I would play Fleming on Dal Santo. In part to stop him and in part of annoy the hell out of him. Dal Santo is a receiver but a very damaging one at that. He, more that anyone else hurt Essendon last night.
Every other midfield matchup should be players going head to head.
Our focus should also be on relentless tackling and going long and direct to the forward line.
Big things should be expected of Coughlan and Johnson. St. Kilda were dominant at winning the hard ball and clearances - maybe helped by Jason Johnson's absence). This is an area where we must break even in.

