PREVIEW: ESSENDON VS. WESTERN BULLDOGS
The battle of western suburbs is back and shapes as an important game in gauging exactly where these two sides are at.
The Bulldogs have had a hot start to the Home and Away season with scalps of Adelaide, Melbourne and St Kilda whilst the Bombers sit 2 and 1, with a very promising win over the Kangaroos, a solid win against the Blues and a very forgettable afternoon against Geelong.
It’s possibly too early to make any huge assertions about these two, but one thing the first three rounds have definitely told us is that it’ll be a very fast flowing, high scoring contest.
THE TEAM
B: Fletcher Michael Ramanauskas
HB: Winderlich Ryder Nash
C: Lovett Watson Dyson
HF: Lovett-Murray McPhee Monfries
F: Davey Lloyd Lonergan
Foll: Hille Stanton McVeigh
Inter: Laycock Houli Reimers Slattery
Emerg: Johns Johnson Peverill
IN: Lovett-Murray, Slattery
OUT: Jetta (hamstring), Peverill
In terms of players to come into the side, I’ve taken the hopeful prognosis with Nathan Lovett-Murray and I also believe Henry Slattery might get another chance, despite not lighting it up for Bendigo. Realistically, it’s hard to say whether or not Lovett-Murray with his groin injuries will line up, but he’s been put down as a chance. If he’s deemed not fit enough, I expect Courtney Johns to be given his first chance of the season in an attempt to stretch the Bulldogs’ slightly undersized defense. As for Henry Slattery, I think he may be important if we’re going to curb the impact of a player like Adam Cooney, as I don’t believe we have another match up for him that’s capable of holding him. Jason Johnson would also be a possibility of coming into the side after a good showing for Bendigo.
In terms of players to go out of the side, Leroy Jetta is our only forced change at this stage with his hamstring injury. Coming off a win last week, Matthew Knights will probably want to go in with as few changes as possible, but I still believe that Damien Peverill, after a disappointing display against Carlton in his first game of the season, is a very strong chance to get the axe. His tagging effort was virtually non-existent and he struggled to get hold of the ball; his main strength. Bachar Houli was the only other to put in a forgettable performance but Knights, as he should, will stick with him.
THE KEY PLAYERS
Mark McVeigh: Mark continues to step up, and in our two victories he’s been the driving force from the midfield. With the Bulldog midfield riding high on confidence, Mark’s must step up again to keep the ball going our way, and to keep their midfielders accountable.
Adam McPhee: It was clear as day in the Geelong game that we were breaking down at half forward, and it’s no coincidence that McPhee had a shocker. He gave us a genuine option for much of last week’s game, and his work in the 3rd Quarter against the Kangaroos played a large role in our dominance. If he’s able to provide a consistent option at half forward, the path to Lloyd becomes a lot easier.
Patrick Ryder: Having had a victory over Cameron Mooney in Round 2, Ryder carried on his extremely impressive form in handling Cloke and Kreuzer with ease before moving successfully on to Brendan Fevola. I think he’ll get the job on Scott Welsh this week, and if he’s able to take away the Bulldogs’ main lead up forward, stopping the Bulldogs’ dangerous smalls will become a whole lot easier. He provided a fair bit going forward last week as well.
Daniel Cross: With Scott West out, Cross surely becomes the key for the Bulldogs at the clearances and the stoppages. He’s had a strong start to the season, so the task won’t be easy, but stopping him would not only halter a lot of the Bulldogs’ run, but could give us a good shot at the clearances if our midfield is on their game.
Robert Murphy: Murphy can be effective just about anywhere, and his impressive endurance, great foot skills and strong overhead marking has the potential to cause Essendon a few headaches. The lack of a clear match up for him as well as our many lapses in accountability against the Blues are the issues that worry me most.
Adam Cooney: Cooney’s been in stellar form over the opening three rounds of the season, and if our midfielders blink on Friday night, Cooney will be lining up to hurt us. His disposal, pace and endurance are top class, and it’s hard to say whether our young midfielders have smarts or the tanks to go with him.
STRENGTHS
I believe the Essendon tall defenders to be of a bit of worry to the Western Bulldogs. Mal Michael shouldn’t be too daunted by Will Minson as he matches him physically, even if he is giving away a few centimeters, Patrick Ryder’s on a roll at the moment, and will go with Scott Welsh well on the lead and Dustin Fletcher, if he takes Brad Johnson as I expect, will beat him overhead and have the closing speed to go with him on the lead. Johnson may have the edge on the ground, but Fletcher’s still very agile for a big guy.
On top of this, I still believe the Essendon run is impressive. All of Ramanauskas, Winderlich, Nash, Lovett, Dyson, Lovett-Murray, McPhee, Davey, Stanton, McVeigh, Houli and Reimers are capable of carrying the ball, and any team with 12 runners is a threat. Run was the catalyst of our win in the NAB Cup, and even with Jetta and Dempsey missing, there’s an impressive group.
WEAKNESSES
The Essendon midfield remains very young, and we’re still at a stage where it’s unclear how well we’ll pull up every week. After a hard running game last Saturday night, and with this being a Friday night match, there are no guarantees that we’ll be fit and firing come the last quarter. The Bulldogs midfield is made up of a few more seasoned players, that at this stage a more likely to put in a four quarter effort.
Our other weakness is accountability and our defensive structure down back. Over the last two weeks, we’ve let the opposition’s star midfielders run riot and left gaping holes in defense. With the Bulldogs playing at peak confidence, they could well be in a position to really take advantage, to which there is no answer, as was the case in Round 2.
THE VERDICT
This is certainly one of the hard tips of the round, and at this stage, it’s hard to call either way.
I think the Bombers hold the draw card up forward in Matthew Lloyd, who’s got a good record against the Bulldogs. If we can get our system going to him, as we did to Scott Lucas in the NAB Cup, we’ve got a great avenue to goal.
Looking forward to a fast flowing, attacking match.
Essendon by 18 points.
The battle of western suburbs is back and shapes as an important game in gauging exactly where these two sides are at.
The Bulldogs have had a hot start to the Home and Away season with scalps of Adelaide, Melbourne and St Kilda whilst the Bombers sit 2 and 1, with a very promising win over the Kangaroos, a solid win against the Blues and a very forgettable afternoon against Geelong.
It’s possibly too early to make any huge assertions about these two, but one thing the first three rounds have definitely told us is that it’ll be a very fast flowing, high scoring contest.
THE TEAM
B: Fletcher Michael Ramanauskas
HB: Winderlich Ryder Nash
C: Lovett Watson Dyson
HF: Lovett-Murray McPhee Monfries
F: Davey Lloyd Lonergan
Foll: Hille Stanton McVeigh
Inter: Laycock Houli Reimers Slattery
Emerg: Johns Johnson Peverill
IN: Lovett-Murray, Slattery
OUT: Jetta (hamstring), Peverill
In terms of players to come into the side, I’ve taken the hopeful prognosis with Nathan Lovett-Murray and I also believe Henry Slattery might get another chance, despite not lighting it up for Bendigo. Realistically, it’s hard to say whether or not Lovett-Murray with his groin injuries will line up, but he’s been put down as a chance. If he’s deemed not fit enough, I expect Courtney Johns to be given his first chance of the season in an attempt to stretch the Bulldogs’ slightly undersized defense. As for Henry Slattery, I think he may be important if we’re going to curb the impact of a player like Adam Cooney, as I don’t believe we have another match up for him that’s capable of holding him. Jason Johnson would also be a possibility of coming into the side after a good showing for Bendigo.
In terms of players to go out of the side, Leroy Jetta is our only forced change at this stage with his hamstring injury. Coming off a win last week, Matthew Knights will probably want to go in with as few changes as possible, but I still believe that Damien Peverill, after a disappointing display against Carlton in his first game of the season, is a very strong chance to get the axe. His tagging effort was virtually non-existent and he struggled to get hold of the ball; his main strength. Bachar Houli was the only other to put in a forgettable performance but Knights, as he should, will stick with him.
THE KEY PLAYERS
Mark McVeigh: Mark continues to step up, and in our two victories he’s been the driving force from the midfield. With the Bulldog midfield riding high on confidence, Mark’s must step up again to keep the ball going our way, and to keep their midfielders accountable.
Adam McPhee: It was clear as day in the Geelong game that we were breaking down at half forward, and it’s no coincidence that McPhee had a shocker. He gave us a genuine option for much of last week’s game, and his work in the 3rd Quarter against the Kangaroos played a large role in our dominance. If he’s able to provide a consistent option at half forward, the path to Lloyd becomes a lot easier.
Patrick Ryder: Having had a victory over Cameron Mooney in Round 2, Ryder carried on his extremely impressive form in handling Cloke and Kreuzer with ease before moving successfully on to Brendan Fevola. I think he’ll get the job on Scott Welsh this week, and if he’s able to take away the Bulldogs’ main lead up forward, stopping the Bulldogs’ dangerous smalls will become a whole lot easier. He provided a fair bit going forward last week as well.
Daniel Cross: With Scott West out, Cross surely becomes the key for the Bulldogs at the clearances and the stoppages. He’s had a strong start to the season, so the task won’t be easy, but stopping him would not only halter a lot of the Bulldogs’ run, but could give us a good shot at the clearances if our midfield is on their game.
Robert Murphy: Murphy can be effective just about anywhere, and his impressive endurance, great foot skills and strong overhead marking has the potential to cause Essendon a few headaches. The lack of a clear match up for him as well as our many lapses in accountability against the Blues are the issues that worry me most.
Adam Cooney: Cooney’s been in stellar form over the opening three rounds of the season, and if our midfielders blink on Friday night, Cooney will be lining up to hurt us. His disposal, pace and endurance are top class, and it’s hard to say whether our young midfielders have smarts or the tanks to go with him.
STRENGTHS
I believe the Essendon tall defenders to be of a bit of worry to the Western Bulldogs. Mal Michael shouldn’t be too daunted by Will Minson as he matches him physically, even if he is giving away a few centimeters, Patrick Ryder’s on a roll at the moment, and will go with Scott Welsh well on the lead and Dustin Fletcher, if he takes Brad Johnson as I expect, will beat him overhead and have the closing speed to go with him on the lead. Johnson may have the edge on the ground, but Fletcher’s still very agile for a big guy.
On top of this, I still believe the Essendon run is impressive. All of Ramanauskas, Winderlich, Nash, Lovett, Dyson, Lovett-Murray, McPhee, Davey, Stanton, McVeigh, Houli and Reimers are capable of carrying the ball, and any team with 12 runners is a threat. Run was the catalyst of our win in the NAB Cup, and even with Jetta and Dempsey missing, there’s an impressive group.
WEAKNESSES
The Essendon midfield remains very young, and we’re still at a stage where it’s unclear how well we’ll pull up every week. After a hard running game last Saturday night, and with this being a Friday night match, there are no guarantees that we’ll be fit and firing come the last quarter. The Bulldogs midfield is made up of a few more seasoned players, that at this stage a more likely to put in a four quarter effort.
Our other weakness is accountability and our defensive structure down back. Over the last two weeks, we’ve let the opposition’s star midfielders run riot and left gaping holes in defense. With the Bulldogs playing at peak confidence, they could well be in a position to really take advantage, to which there is no answer, as was the case in Round 2.
THE VERDICT
This is certainly one of the hard tips of the round, and at this stage, it’s hard to call either way.
I think the Bombers hold the draw card up forward in Matthew Lloyd, who’s got a good record against the Bulldogs. If we can get our system going to him, as we did to Scott Lucas in the NAB Cup, we’ve got a great avenue to goal.
Looking forward to a fast flowing, attacking match.
Essendon by 18 points.
Can't see us winning unless Lloydy kicks a bag because the Doggies will apply a lot more defensive pressure than the Blues did on Saturday. Hopefully our backline can rise to occasion as well. Will be a cracker game.
