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Melbourne have pulled away from Essendon for an important win in a scrappy game at Etihad Stadium.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Essendon Bombers 10.14.74
Melbourne Demons 17.10.112
The early Sunday game is a big one, as the Essendon Bombers host the Melbourne Demons at Etihad Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 1:10pm AEST.
It might be early in the year, but it feels like there’s quite a bit riding on this result.
The general pre-season sentiment was that Melbourne were a good chance to break their run of eleven consecutive seasons missing the finals.
But after two early wins they have lost three in a row, after being in strong positions for each of those games.
Last week they outplayed the Tigers for long stretches, but were hauled in during the last quarter to suffer a frustrating 13-point loss.
The Bombers have also faded a little after a promising start, but did enough to hold on for a narrow win against Collingwood.
That leaves them also in the mix around the fringes of the top eight, but with a positive record of three wins and two losses.
This is a very emotional season for the Bombers. Making the finals would be a really cathartic moment after the pain of the last few years, but emotion only gets you so far. They’d want to keep winning these sorts of games to stay ahead of where they need to be on the ladder.
In short, winning games like today’s is vital to both sides achieving what they want out of this season.
Playing their second big game in five days is probably less than ideal preparation for the Bombers, and it’s having an impact at selection, with Matthew Leuenberger, Aaron Francis and James Kelly all rested while Brent Stanton is omitted and Patrick Ambrose misses with injury.
Matthew Dea, Martin Gleeson, Tom Bellchambers, Ben Howlett and Conor McKenna are Essendon’s inclusions.
Melbourne have also made five changes, with Jake Spencer and Tim Smith injured, Billy Stretch and James Harmes dropped, while Jesse Hogan misses due to bereavement.
Jordan Lewis, Mitch Hannan, Cam Pedersen, Oscar McDonald and Tomas Bugg come in for the Demons.
Melbourne go into the game without a recognised ruckman, and will rely on Cam Pedersen and Jack Watts to compete against Tom Bellchambers, who himself is playing his first game in almost two years.
Prediction
This is a difficult one to pick. The Bombers sit higher on the ladder, would prefer this venue, and should have an advantage in the ruck.
But overall I think the Demons are playing slightly better football, and have had an extra day to recover from the gruelling games both sides played last week. I expect the Demons to finish slightly stronger in a close one.
Melbourne by 6 points.
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