After returning to the winners list last week, Essendon will be keen to restore momentum against the Western Bulldogs. We’ll have live scores from 7.40pm AEST.
The bye proved to come at the right time for the Bombers, as they travelled to Perth to take on Fremantle and returned with four points.
Michael Hurley notched a career-best six goals in the contest and Jobe Watson once again led the way in the midfield. His 27 touches and a goal fuelled talk of him as a Brownlow contender.
But these two weren’t the only major contributors: Brent Stanton and David Myers both had 28 touches.
It was the perfect response to two consecutive losses going into the bye, now the question turns to whether they can back it up at Etihad Stadium, a venue they have a strong record at.
It’s a venue they share with the Bulldogs, who weren’t able to put together a strong performance last week when they hosted the Lions.
Despite holding favouritism going into the clash, the Dogs were a big disappointment in what was a 58-point loss.
The performance of younger players Tom Liberatore and Christian Howard was encouraging, but some of the bigger names just didn’t have their usual impact.
They’ve brought back Ryan Hargrave and Will Minson for this week’s game.
The Bombers, meanwhile, have swapped Angus Monfries (hamstring) for Sam Lonergan.