- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
On the back of a Bomber blitzkrieg in the second quarter, Essendon have eviscerated a lackadaisical West Coast Eagles outfit to the tune of 61-points.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Essendon Bombers 19.11.125
West Coast Eagles 8.16.64
The Essendon Bombers arrested a two-game losing streak with an impressive victory over the Geelong Cats in the Country game last week. Against a West Coast Eagles team which is flying high, can the Dons cause an upset in consecutive weeks? Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 1:10pm (AEST).
The WACA is infamous for its devilishly steep bounce, fear inducing pace and lightning quick outfield. Over the last decade it has slowed, but the memory of Australian fast bowlers terrorising visiting batsmen in the 70s and 80s will live forever.
It is ironic then that Western Australia’s inaugural AFL team has been branded as the competition’s flat track bullies in recent years.
Despite making the finals the past two seasons, the perception surrounding West Coast has been surprisingly dour, with few considering them as genuine Premiership contenders.
But after an impressive away win against a resurgent Port Adelaide and a gritty 9-point victory against the reigning premiers last week, the Eagles have gone a long way to shedding the unflattering label.
As such, West Coast will take a settled and in-form team into Sunday’s clash, only making one change as Jamie Cripps makes his way back into the team after a three-week layoff due to an ankle injury. Josh Hill is the unlucky player to be omitted.
On the other hand, Essendon have made no change to the team which defeated the Cats by 17 points last Saturday night.
In arguably their most impressive performance of the season, the Dons’ potent mix of strong marking key forwards and speedy small forwards wreaked havoc on the Geelong defence.
With Joe Daniher gradually evolving into a superstar of the competition and the emergence of Orazio Fantasia and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, the Bombers offence has improved drastically from last year, becoming far more efficient.
This is despite the team’s continual struggle to get the ball into their forward 50, with Essendon ranking 16th for inside 50s. The Dons are also yet to win an inside 50 count in any of their 8 games this year.
Prediction
With plenty of depth and size through the midfield and two-time Coleman medallist Josh J Kennedy a threat to kick a bag every game, on paper West Coast seem the superior team.
Conversely, the Bombers have shown that when rested, their mixture of youth and experience can overwhelm any side. With an emphasis on faster ball movement through the corridor and the personnel to break through the Eagles web, Essendon should prove to be a stiff challenge for West Coast at Etihad Stadium.
In a bewildering and unpredictable season to date, each team in the competition has shown that they can be both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – often in the same game. Expect a tight contest early, but with the likes of Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff and Elliot Yeo, the Eagles may have too much class for the Bombers.
West Coast by 26 points.
Join The Roar for live scores from the match and a live blog of the game at Etihad Stadium, starting from 1:10pm AEST.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.