eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Observations
Greater Western Sydney: The Giants pre-season has been solid, winning their first match against Sydney by 22 points. Their off season was very active, losing several players again for 2019. The most notable inclusion would be of ruckman Shane Mumford, who will miss through suspension, but had a strong draft with the likes of Jye Caldwell, Jackson Hately and Ian Hill all coming to the club through the first two rounds.
Essendon: Essendon had some average pre-season form, losing both games against Carlton and Geelong respectively. During the off-season they got boom recruit Dylan Shiel from GWS, costing them a pretty penny, in hopes that he can take the midfield to the next level. Draft wise, young Brayden Ham was a late pick but impressed from limited game time in his JLT match.
Head to Head (last 5)
Greater Western Sydney 3-2 Essendon
Form Guide
Greater Western Sydney: 0W 0L
Essendon: 0W 0L
Sportsbet odds
Greater Western Sydney: $1.75
Essendon: $2.24
Line: 7.5 ($1.92)
Possible sides
Greater Western Sydney vs Essendon
B: Francis - Hurley - Saad
F: Daniels - Himmelberg - Lloyd
HB: McKenna - Ambrose - Ridley
HF: Greene - Cameron - Taranto
C: McGrath - Langford - Z Merrett
C: Whitfield - Hopper - Deledio
HF: Fantasia - Daniher - D Smith
HB: Kennedy - Davis - Williams
F: McDonald-Tipungwuti - McKernan - Stringer
B: Shaw - Corr - Taylor
R: Bellchambers - Shiel - Heppell
R: Simpson - Coniglio - Kelly
I: Myers - Parish - Guelfi - Zaharakis
I: Tomlinson - De Boer - Bonar - Hately
GWS in: N/A; Out: N/A
Essendon in: N/A; Out: N/A
Greater Western Sydney defence vs Essendon forward line
The Giants defence last season was one of the strongest, conceding the second least amount of goals and on average their opponents kicked a goal a tad under 20% of the time it entered foward 50. Essendon's forward line was around the middle of the pack, kicking a goal 23% of the time it entered foward 50, but at it's best it can be one of the best in the AFL. Star forward Joe Daniher returns for the Dons after a year out through injury, but will be facing one of the toughest match-ups in the league against Phil Davis, whilst important small forward looks to be in full flight this season and will be eager to have a good hit out against Adam Kennedy. Jake Stringer could be the dangerman for the Dons, likely to go head to head with young Sam Taylor, who was impressive in 2018.
Midfield/rucks battle
Essendon managed to improve this area of the ground in the second half of last season, after 8 rounds they were 16th for clearance differential and 15th for contested possession differential but improved to be 5th and 6th in those fields respectively, but the Giants are very strong on the inside as well, being 3rd in both those fields for season 2018. A big advantage for the Dons though is the fact that the Giants are missing captain Callan Ward and lost gun mid Dylan Shiel over the off-season, so they only have to worry about Stephen Coniglio, Josh Kelly, Jacob Hopper, Lachie Whitfield and Jackson Hately instead. However the Dons do boast a strong midfield themselves with the likes of Dyson Heppell, Zach Merrett, Devon Smith, Dylan Shiel and David Zaharakis. Rucks wise, statistically the Dons hold the upper hand here, with Bellchambers not only averaging more hit outs, but also a higher percentage to advantage, more touches, marks and around the ground stuff to Dawson Simpson.
Greater Western Sydney forward line vs Essendon defence
Essendon's defence was under a bit of pressure last season but managed to have their defensive efficiency slightly above average, conceding a goal 22% of the time it entered their defensive 50. The Giants had a similar efficiency, kicking a goal 22% of the time it entered forward 50. Without Rory Lobb and Jonathon Patton, Jeremy Cameron will be under a lot of pressure to kick their goals, and will be going head-to-head with Patrick Ambrose, who he has an admittedly good record against. One match-up to watch is Aaron Francis against Toby Greene in all likelihood, the 6-6-6 and injuries the Giants have probably forcing the young Essendon defender to go head-to-head with one of the better small forwards in the game.
X-Factor Player
Dylan Shiel is coming up against his old side in round 1, and we can expect him to be one of the stronger performers as he seems the type to thrive on that. Go well young man.
Key stat
Essendon: Clearances. When Essendon win the clearances they win the game the vast majority of the time, and when they lose they rarely get the win.
Greater Western Sydney: Defensive conversion. GWS are at their best when they strangle opposition sides. Very important they do it here when the Bombers two big stars are still coming back from injury.
Tip
We have won 6 of our past 8 round 1 games. Dons by 22
Greater Western Sydney: The Giants pre-season has been solid, winning their first match against Sydney by 22 points. Their off season was very active, losing several players again for 2019. The most notable inclusion would be of ruckman Shane Mumford, who will miss through suspension, but had a strong draft with the likes of Jye Caldwell, Jackson Hately and Ian Hill all coming to the club through the first two rounds.
Essendon: Essendon had some average pre-season form, losing both games against Carlton and Geelong respectively. During the off-season they got boom recruit Dylan Shiel from GWS, costing them a pretty penny, in hopes that he can take the midfield to the next level. Draft wise, young Brayden Ham was a late pick but impressed from limited game time in his JLT match.
Head to Head (last 5)
Greater Western Sydney 3-2 Essendon
Form Guide
Greater Western Sydney: 0W 0L
Essendon: 0W 0L
Sportsbet odds
Greater Western Sydney: $1.75
Essendon: $2.24
Line: 7.5 ($1.92)
Possible sides
Greater Western Sydney vs Essendon
B: Francis - Hurley - Saad
F: Daniels - Himmelberg - Lloyd
HB: McKenna - Ambrose - Ridley
HF: Greene - Cameron - Taranto
C: McGrath - Langford - Z Merrett
C: Whitfield - Hopper - Deledio
HF: Fantasia - Daniher - D Smith
HB: Kennedy - Davis - Williams
F: McDonald-Tipungwuti - McKernan - Stringer
B: Shaw - Corr - Taylor
R: Bellchambers - Shiel - Heppell
R: Simpson - Coniglio - Kelly
I: Myers - Parish - Guelfi - Zaharakis
I: Tomlinson - De Boer - Bonar - Hately
GWS in: N/A; Out: N/A
Essendon in: N/A; Out: N/A
Greater Western Sydney defence vs Essendon forward line
The Giants defence last season was one of the strongest, conceding the second least amount of goals and on average their opponents kicked a goal a tad under 20% of the time it entered foward 50. Essendon's forward line was around the middle of the pack, kicking a goal 23% of the time it entered foward 50, but at it's best it can be one of the best in the AFL. Star forward Joe Daniher returns for the Dons after a year out through injury, but will be facing one of the toughest match-ups in the league against Phil Davis, whilst important small forward looks to be in full flight this season and will be eager to have a good hit out against Adam Kennedy. Jake Stringer could be the dangerman for the Dons, likely to go head to head with young Sam Taylor, who was impressive in 2018.
Midfield/rucks battle
Essendon managed to improve this area of the ground in the second half of last season, after 8 rounds they were 16th for clearance differential and 15th for contested possession differential but improved to be 5th and 6th in those fields respectively, but the Giants are very strong on the inside as well, being 3rd in both those fields for season 2018. A big advantage for the Dons though is the fact that the Giants are missing captain Callan Ward and lost gun mid Dylan Shiel over the off-season, so they only have to worry about Stephen Coniglio, Josh Kelly, Jacob Hopper, Lachie Whitfield and Jackson Hately instead. However the Dons do boast a strong midfield themselves with the likes of Dyson Heppell, Zach Merrett, Devon Smith, Dylan Shiel and David Zaharakis. Rucks wise, statistically the Dons hold the upper hand here, with Bellchambers not only averaging more hit outs, but also a higher percentage to advantage, more touches, marks and around the ground stuff to Dawson Simpson.
Greater Western Sydney forward line vs Essendon defence
Essendon's defence was under a bit of pressure last season but managed to have their defensive efficiency slightly above average, conceding a goal 22% of the time it entered their defensive 50. The Giants had a similar efficiency, kicking a goal 22% of the time it entered forward 50. Without Rory Lobb and Jonathon Patton, Jeremy Cameron will be under a lot of pressure to kick their goals, and will be going head-to-head with Patrick Ambrose, who he has an admittedly good record against. One match-up to watch is Aaron Francis against Toby Greene in all likelihood, the 6-6-6 and injuries the Giants have probably forcing the young Essendon defender to go head-to-head with one of the better small forwards in the game.
X-Factor Player
Dylan Shiel is coming up against his old side in round 1, and we can expect him to be one of the stronger performers as he seems the type to thrive on that. Go well young man.
Key stat
Essendon: Clearances. When Essendon win the clearances they win the game the vast majority of the time, and when they lose they rarely get the win.
Greater Western Sydney: Defensive conversion. GWS are at their best when they strangle opposition sides. Very important they do it here when the Bombers two big stars are still coming back from injury.
Tip
We have won 6 of our past 8 round 1 games. Dons by 22
