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The Greater Western Sydney Giants and Essendon Bombers will square off at Spotless Stadium in a meeting between two rejuvenated teams. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7.40PM AEST.
Essendon have been poor after a promising start to the season. Dominating wins against North Melbourne and Carlton, along with a close loss to the reigning premiers in Hawthorn, meant the Bombers were touted as premiership contenders.
The rest of their season has been mediocre they now sit 10th on the ladder. But their win against Richmond last week showed Mark Thompson’s team could once again be clicking.
One of the big talking points of the Dreamtime game was Jake Carlisle’s return to form in defence. The 22-year-old has struggled for most of the season up forward but looked to be back to his best. With Michael Hurley expected to line-up against the Giants, all eyes will be on the pair to see who plays forward.
Meanwhile, the Giants have had their own form issues. Consecutive 100-point beltings brought pressure onto a young playing group that had previously shown a willingness to at least provide a contest.
When all eyes were on the team to see how they would respond against Hawthorn at the MCG they did not disappoint, with only seven points in the final margin and much respect regained.
The challenge for GWS now is to back that effort up with another intense performance. They have a chance to win over some fans in a prime time slot and must take advantage.
As always, the midfield battle will be key to deciding the outcome. Callan Ward and Adam Treloar going up against Jobe Watson and Brendon Goddard will be pivotal, with both pairs clearly the best midfielders in their teams.
Prediction
Expect a close contest here. GWS started the season well and their worst footy was confined to a couple of weeks. Consecutive weeks of domination against teams not in the top eight can’t be completely dismissed but the Giants have generally shown throughout their existence that they’re willing to put up a fight.
However the Bombers should be good enough.
Essendon by 21.
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