eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Observations
West Coast: The Eagles had a disappointing loss to Richmond, the Tigers winning every quarter to down West Coast by 27 points. Andrew Gaff was prolific on the outside with 32 disposals and 2 goal assists whilst Liam Ryan was the focal point up front when Josh Kennedy was concussed, kicking 3 goals in a very good display.
Essendon: A tale of two halves for Essendon. First half was incredibly disappointing whilst the second half was incredible. Zach Merrett and Andrew McGrath had the ball on a string between them, amassing 68 disposals, 11 clearances and 9 tackles between them whilst Joe Daniher came back with 3 goals, 10 marks and THAT DAMNED SMILE.
Head to Head (last 5)
West Coast 3-2 Essendon
Form Guide
West Coast: 4W 1L
Essendon: 1W 3L 1D
Sportsbet odds
West Coast: $
Essendon: $
Line: .5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
West Coast vs Essendon
FB: Aaron Francis - Brandon Zerk-Thatcher - Adam Saad
FF: Bailey Wiliams - Oscar Allen - Liam Ryan
HB: Martin Gleeson - Michael Hurley - Jordan Ridley
HF: Jamie Cripps - Jack Darling - Brendan Ah Chee
MF: Kyle Langford - Zachary Merrett - Devon Smith
MF: Andrew Gaff - Tim Kelly - Jarrod Brander
HF: Matthew Guelfi - James Stewart - Irving Mosquito
HB: Josh Rotham - Jeremy McGovern - Shannon Hurn
FF: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti - Cale Hooker - Jake Stringer
FB: Liam Duggan - Tom Barrass - Bradley Sheppard
OB: Samuel Draper - Darcy Parish - Dylan Shiel
OB: Tom Hickey - Dominic Sheed - Luke Shuey
IC: Andrew McGrath - William Snelling - Mason Redman - Dylan Clarke
IC: Xavier O'Neill - Tom Cole - Jackson Neson - Mark Hutchings
West Coast in: Oscar Allen, Jackson Nelson, Tom Hickey; Out: Josh J Kennedy (concussion), Nic Reid (omit), Nic Naitanui (managed)
Essendon in: Michael Hurley, Aaron Francis, Sam Draper; Out: Joe Daniher (managed), Brayden Ham, Andrew Phillips
West Coast defence vs Essendon forward line
So far this season Essendon averaged 21.6% in terms of goals/inside 50 this season, a little below the AFL average. West Coast have the third best defence in the AFL this season, conceding a goal 20.7% of the time it enters defensive 50. Essendon will likely rest star Joe Daniher due to the short turn around, so expect Cale Hooker to lead the forward line this week, most likely opposed to Jeremy McGovern, a battle of the titans as the two are both great marks and excellent one-on-one, whilst Tom Barrass will go to James Stewart and Shannon Hurn to go head to head with Jake Stringer. Brad Sheppard has a good record at shutting Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti down so expect those two to renew acquaintances
Midfield/rucks battle
It'll be an interesting one in here, West Coast are 1st for clearance differential in the AFL, Essendon are 6th. The pair are also 11th and 16th for contested possession differential this season. West Coast's inside core of Tim Kelly, Dominic Sheed, Luke Shuey and Brendan Ah Chee is still very strong alongside tagger Mark Hutchings, who has been able to shut down Essendon prime mover Zach Merrett on multiple occassions. Essendon will be hoping that their core of Darcy Parish, Andrew McGrath and Dylan Shiel will be able to step it up to cover for him and get him into the play. On the outside, Kyle Langford is having a career best year on a wing, his kicking has been a delight both finding a player on the 45 and for goal, expect him to try to outpoint the tall but athletic Jarrod Brander whilst Devon Smith goes up against Andrew Gaff, arguably the best two way winger in the league. Rucks wise, Sam Draper will go head to head with Tom Hickey and Bailey Williams, James Stewart to be his back up.
West Coast forward line vs Essendon defence
West Coast have a goals/inside 50 rate of 24.7%, one of the best in the AFL. Essendon have been really good at restricting the opposition in this area, conceding a goal 21.8% of the time it enters defensive 50, around the AFL average. No Josh Kennedy, out with concussion, helps the Dons, but Jack Darling is a very good leader none-the-less and Michael Hurley will have his hands full against him, whilst Brandon Zerk-Thatcher will get a chance on someone around his own age in Bailey Williams, and Aaron Francis will play on impressive young tall Oscar Allen. Liam Ryan has given Adam Saad plenty of trouble in the past and Saad's pride is a great thing, so expect him to try to change that here.
X-Factor Player
Will Snelling is one of six players to play every game so far this year for Essendon and has been quietly building all season. Expect a big couple of weeks for the lad.
Key stat
West Coast: Offensive conversion. No Kennedy is a big out, but their forward line is still very powerful, need to maintain the rage so to speak
Essendon: Clearances. When they win, they're +41 in clearance differential so far this season, when they lose they're -12.
Tip
Hmm. I'd love to win, but can't see it unfortuntately, they're a class outfit. West Coast by 22.
West Coast: The Eagles had a disappointing loss to Richmond, the Tigers winning every quarter to down West Coast by 27 points. Andrew Gaff was prolific on the outside with 32 disposals and 2 goal assists whilst Liam Ryan was the focal point up front when Josh Kennedy was concussed, kicking 3 goals in a very good display.
Essendon: A tale of two halves for Essendon. First half was incredibly disappointing whilst the second half was incredible. Zach Merrett and Andrew McGrath had the ball on a string between them, amassing 68 disposals, 11 clearances and 9 tackles between them whilst Joe Daniher came back with 3 goals, 10 marks and THAT DAMNED SMILE.
Head to Head (last 5)
West Coast 3-2 Essendon
Form Guide
West Coast: 4W 1L
Essendon: 1W 3L 1D
Sportsbet odds
West Coast: $
Essendon: $
Line: .5 ($1.90)
Possible sides
West Coast vs Essendon
FB: Aaron Francis - Brandon Zerk-Thatcher - Adam Saad
FF: Bailey Wiliams - Oscar Allen - Liam Ryan
HB: Martin Gleeson - Michael Hurley - Jordan Ridley
HF: Jamie Cripps - Jack Darling - Brendan Ah Chee
MF: Kyle Langford - Zachary Merrett - Devon Smith
MF: Andrew Gaff - Tim Kelly - Jarrod Brander
HF: Matthew Guelfi - James Stewart - Irving Mosquito
HB: Josh Rotham - Jeremy McGovern - Shannon Hurn
FF: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti - Cale Hooker - Jake Stringer
FB: Liam Duggan - Tom Barrass - Bradley Sheppard
OB: Samuel Draper - Darcy Parish - Dylan Shiel
OB: Tom Hickey - Dominic Sheed - Luke Shuey
IC: Andrew McGrath - William Snelling - Mason Redman - Dylan Clarke
IC: Xavier O'Neill - Tom Cole - Jackson Neson - Mark Hutchings
West Coast in: Oscar Allen, Jackson Nelson, Tom Hickey; Out: Josh J Kennedy (concussion), Nic Reid (omit), Nic Naitanui (managed)
Essendon in: Michael Hurley, Aaron Francis, Sam Draper; Out: Joe Daniher (managed), Brayden Ham, Andrew Phillips
West Coast defence vs Essendon forward line
So far this season Essendon averaged 21.6% in terms of goals/inside 50 this season, a little below the AFL average. West Coast have the third best defence in the AFL this season, conceding a goal 20.7% of the time it enters defensive 50. Essendon will likely rest star Joe Daniher due to the short turn around, so expect Cale Hooker to lead the forward line this week, most likely opposed to Jeremy McGovern, a battle of the titans as the two are both great marks and excellent one-on-one, whilst Tom Barrass will go to James Stewart and Shannon Hurn to go head to head with Jake Stringer. Brad Sheppard has a good record at shutting Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti down so expect those two to renew acquaintances
Midfield/rucks battle
It'll be an interesting one in here, West Coast are 1st for clearance differential in the AFL, Essendon are 6th. The pair are also 11th and 16th for contested possession differential this season. West Coast's inside core of Tim Kelly, Dominic Sheed, Luke Shuey and Brendan Ah Chee is still very strong alongside tagger Mark Hutchings, who has been able to shut down Essendon prime mover Zach Merrett on multiple occassions. Essendon will be hoping that their core of Darcy Parish, Andrew McGrath and Dylan Shiel will be able to step it up to cover for him and get him into the play. On the outside, Kyle Langford is having a career best year on a wing, his kicking has been a delight both finding a player on the 45 and for goal, expect him to try to outpoint the tall but athletic Jarrod Brander whilst Devon Smith goes up against Andrew Gaff, arguably the best two way winger in the league. Rucks wise, Sam Draper will go head to head with Tom Hickey and Bailey Williams, James Stewart to be his back up.
West Coast forward line vs Essendon defence
West Coast have a goals/inside 50 rate of 24.7%, one of the best in the AFL. Essendon have been really good at restricting the opposition in this area, conceding a goal 21.8% of the time it enters defensive 50, around the AFL average. No Josh Kennedy, out with concussion, helps the Dons, but Jack Darling is a very good leader none-the-less and Michael Hurley will have his hands full against him, whilst Brandon Zerk-Thatcher will get a chance on someone around his own age in Bailey Williams, and Aaron Francis will play on impressive young tall Oscar Allen. Liam Ryan has given Adam Saad plenty of trouble in the past and Saad's pride is a great thing, so expect him to try to change that here.
X-Factor Player
Will Snelling is one of six players to play every game so far this year for Essendon and has been quietly building all season. Expect a big couple of weeks for the lad.
Key stat
West Coast: Offensive conversion. No Kennedy is a big out, but their forward line is still very powerful, need to maintain the rage so to speak
Essendon: Clearances. When they win, they're +41 in clearance differential so far this season, when they lose they're -12.
Tip
Hmm. I'd love to win, but can't see it unfortuntately, they're a class outfit. West Coast by 22.
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