Round 12 sees us head to the schoolie's town for a match against the Gold Coast Suns in a game that could be essential to our emerging top 4 aspirations. It’s weird that in a game of 12th versus 2nd, the team in 12th are likely to be favourite, but such is the Jekyll-Hyde nature of Gold Coast. (and the ghosts of Essington)
Can you believe we’re 2nd on the ladder after 11 rounds? Yes, our form the last two weeks hasn’t been ideal and the injury list is building which is exposing our lack of quality depth a bit, but at the end of the day, winners are grinners, and we have put ourselves into a really good position for the rest of the season.
The Round That Was
Richmond came out with a very simple gameplan; make Essendon earn everything, and to be honest it nearly worked. And whilst part of me bemoans our inability to gain percentage, there is a lot to gain from hard-fought wins even against lower teams. Add to that there are players who just play their best games when they see the red sash, so it should have been no surprise that Dusty turned back the clock against us. Still, my heart would appreciate a comfortable win, please.
Ridley was absolutely amazing on return and a deserving recipient of the Yiooken Trophy.
Cox was subbed out with Hamstring awareness, so we won’t see him again for 8-10 weeks.
RICHMOND 3.3 6.7 9.10 10.14 (74)
ESSENDON 3.3 7.7 10.12 12.14 (86)
GOALS
Richmond: Martin 3, Lefau 2, Bolton 2, McIntosh, Pickett, Ralphsmith
Essendon: Stringer 4, Langford 3, Hind 2, A.Davey jnr, Ridley, Merrett
BEST
Richmond: Prestia, Martin, Baker, D. Rioli, Nankervis, Ralphsmith
Essendon: Ridley, Stringer, Merrett, Langford, Laverde
INJURIES
Richmond: Bolton (concussion)
Essendon: Cox (hamstring)
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Steely Green (replaced Bolton in the fourth term)
Essendon: Elijah Tsatas (replaced Nik Cox at quarter-time)
Crowd: 79,359 at the MCG
Gold Coast on the other hand did what everyone expected to do and lost again on the road. Whilst Carlton was essentially in the lead the whole game, the Sun was at least keeping it close for 3 quarters until the Blues sadly bolted away in the first half of the 4th quarter. Despite being beaten overall, Witts continued his good form and poses a big challenge for us, with Goldy struggling a bit in the last two weeks.
CARLTON 3.4 4.9 10.11 15.12 (102)
GOLD COAST 2.1 4.2 8.6 11.7 (73)
GOALS
Carlton: Williams 4, Curnow 4, Owies, McKay, Kennedy, E.Hollands, Hewett, Cripps, Acres
Gold Coast: King 3, Long 2, Holman 2, Witts, Lukosius, Johnston, Humphrey
BEST
Carlton: Cripps, Walsh, Curnow, Weitering, De Koning, Williams
Gold Coast: Andrew, Witts, Miller, Long, Anderson
INJURIES
Carlton: Nil
Gold Coast: Nil
LATE CHANGES
Carlton: Nil
Gold Coast: Sam Flanders (illness) replaced by Alex Davies
SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Jack Carroll (replaced Matt Owies in the fourth quarter)
Gold Coast: Jake Rogers (replaced Jed Walter in the third quarter)
Crowd: 39,597 at Marvel Stadium
The Last Time We Met
Oh yeah.. This is it. This is the game where destiny took hold and slapped us in the face and said LANGFORD IS A FORWARD! We went into this game without Wright, Stringer or Weideman (When we were still playing him as a key forward) - Langford, who had spent his preseason in the backline, was sent forward. He kicked 5 goals in a dominate display, and the rest as they say is history. Langford would go on to lead Essendon’s goal-kicking for 2023 and looks set to repeat that feat in 2024.
Kyle Langford watches his highlights from Round 2, 2023.
ESSENDON 3.4 7.6 11.6 16.12 (108)
GOLD COAST 3.2 6.6 10.12 11.14 (80)
GOALS
Essendon: Langford 5, Shiel 2, Menzie 2, Guelfi 2, A. Davey, Perkins, Martin, Phillips, Setterfield,
Gold Coast: Casboult 2, King 2, Lukosius, Hollands, Jeffrey, Ainsworth, Fiorini, Witts, Sexton
BEST
Essendon: Merrett, Langford, Redman, Parish, Setterfield, Shiel
Gold Coast: Miller, Rowell, Weller, Collins, Jeffrey
INJURIES
Essendon: Zerk-Thatcher (right ankle)
Gold Coast: Nil
LATE CHANGES
Essendon: Sam Weideman (toe) replaced in selected side by Massimo D'Ambrosio
Gold Coast: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Matt Guelfi (replaced Heppell in the third quarter)
Gold Coast: Alex Sexton (replaced Fiorini in the third quarter)
Crowd: 32,915 at Marvel Stadium
The Selection Table
Possible Outs -
Davey -
Caddy -
Goldy - Managed
Cox - Injured
Possible Ins -
Bryan - BOG in the VFL again. Look as this stat-line.
Roberts - To play on the wing
Jones - Back from his dubious suspension
Shiel - Play him in the guts maybe - Not as sub
My Prediction - My gut says this will be a tough-fought loss, but the importance of this match to our season, I’m starting to believe for real. Essendon by 18.
Housekeeping - Thanks again to ghostdog for last week's preview. I could tell the Dreamtime game meant a lot to him and I'm glad he was able to give it the love and respect it deserves.
If anyone wants to jump in for a preview, just let me know.
Can you believe we’re 2nd on the ladder after 11 rounds? Yes, our form the last two weeks hasn’t been ideal and the injury list is building which is exposing our lack of quality depth a bit, but at the end of the day, winners are grinners, and we have put ourselves into a really good position for the rest of the season.
The Round That Was
Richmond came out with a very simple gameplan; make Essendon earn everything, and to be honest it nearly worked. And whilst part of me bemoans our inability to gain percentage, there is a lot to gain from hard-fought wins even against lower teams. Add to that there are players who just play their best games when they see the red sash, so it should have been no surprise that Dusty turned back the clock against us. Still, my heart would appreciate a comfortable win, please.
Ridley was absolutely amazing on return and a deserving recipient of the Yiooken Trophy.
Cox was subbed out with Hamstring awareness, so we won’t see him again for 8-10 weeks.
RICHMOND 3.3 6.7 9.10 10.14 (74)
ESSENDON 3.3 7.7 10.12 12.14 (86)
GOALS
Richmond: Martin 3, Lefau 2, Bolton 2, McIntosh, Pickett, Ralphsmith
Essendon: Stringer 4, Langford 3, Hind 2, A.Davey jnr, Ridley, Merrett
BEST
Richmond: Prestia, Martin, Baker, D. Rioli, Nankervis, Ralphsmith
Essendon: Ridley, Stringer, Merrett, Langford, Laverde
INJURIES
Richmond: Bolton (concussion)
Essendon: Cox (hamstring)
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Steely Green (replaced Bolton in the fourth term)
Essendon: Elijah Tsatas (replaced Nik Cox at quarter-time)
Crowd: 79,359 at the MCG
Gold Coast on the other hand did what everyone expected to do and lost again on the road. Whilst Carlton was essentially in the lead the whole game, the Sun was at least keeping it close for 3 quarters until the Blues sadly bolted away in the first half of the 4th quarter. Despite being beaten overall, Witts continued his good form and poses a big challenge for us, with Goldy struggling a bit in the last two weeks.
CARLTON 3.4 4.9 10.11 15.12 (102)
GOLD COAST 2.1 4.2 8.6 11.7 (73)
GOALS
Carlton: Williams 4, Curnow 4, Owies, McKay, Kennedy, E.Hollands, Hewett, Cripps, Acres
Gold Coast: King 3, Long 2, Holman 2, Witts, Lukosius, Johnston, Humphrey
BEST
Carlton: Cripps, Walsh, Curnow, Weitering, De Koning, Williams
Gold Coast: Andrew, Witts, Miller, Long, Anderson
INJURIES
Carlton: Nil
Gold Coast: Nil
LATE CHANGES
Carlton: Nil
Gold Coast: Sam Flanders (illness) replaced by Alex Davies
SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Jack Carroll (replaced Matt Owies in the fourth quarter)
Gold Coast: Jake Rogers (replaced Jed Walter in the third quarter)
Crowd: 39,597 at Marvel Stadium
The Last Time We Met
Oh yeah.. This is it. This is the game where destiny took hold and slapped us in the face and said LANGFORD IS A FORWARD! We went into this game without Wright, Stringer or Weideman (When we were still playing him as a key forward) - Langford, who had spent his preseason in the backline, was sent forward. He kicked 5 goals in a dominate display, and the rest as they say is history. Langford would go on to lead Essendon’s goal-kicking for 2023 and looks set to repeat that feat in 2024.
Kyle Langford watches his highlights from Round 2, 2023.
ESSENDON 3.4 7.6 11.6 16.12 (108)
GOLD COAST 3.2 6.6 10.12 11.14 (80)
GOALS
Essendon: Langford 5, Shiel 2, Menzie 2, Guelfi 2, A. Davey, Perkins, Martin, Phillips, Setterfield,
Gold Coast: Casboult 2, King 2, Lukosius, Hollands, Jeffrey, Ainsworth, Fiorini, Witts, Sexton
BEST
Essendon: Merrett, Langford, Redman, Parish, Setterfield, Shiel
Gold Coast: Miller, Rowell, Weller, Collins, Jeffrey
INJURIES
Essendon: Zerk-Thatcher (right ankle)
Gold Coast: Nil
LATE CHANGES
Essendon: Sam Weideman (toe) replaced in selected side by Massimo D'Ambrosio
Gold Coast: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Matt Guelfi (replaced Heppell in the third quarter)
Gold Coast: Alex Sexton (replaced Fiorini in the third quarter)
Crowd: 32,915 at Marvel Stadium
The Selection Table
Possible Outs -
Davey -
Caddy -
Goldy - Managed
Cox - Injured
Possible Ins -
Bryan - BOG in the VFL again. Look as this stat-line.
Roberts - To play on the wing
Jones - Back from his dubious suspension
Shiel - Play him in the guts maybe - Not as sub
My Prediction - My gut says this will be a tough-fought loss, but the importance of this match to our season, I’m starting to believe for real. Essendon by 18.
Housekeeping - Thanks again to ghostdog for last week's preview. I could tell the Dreamtime game meant a lot to him and I'm glad he was able to give it the love and respect it deserves.
If anyone wants to jump in for a preview, just let me know.
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