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Essendon have rebounded from a week of heavy scrutiny to thump Geelong, ripping up the form book with a 34-point win at the MCG.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Essendon Bombers 12.12.84
Geelong Cats 7.8.50
Things won’t get any easier for the struggling Essendon Bombers when they host the red-hot Geelong Cats in the Saturday twilight fixture. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 4:35pm (AEST).
The Bombers filled their fans with hope in Round 1 when they beat the Adelaide Crows, but it’s turned out to be false hope, with the ‘Dons winning just one of their last seven.
The staggeringly bad losing streak leaves them sitting in 15th place on the table and already three wins outside a fast-disappearing top eight, with chances of finals realistically already slipping away.
Their form has been horrific. Since their Round 4 win over Port Adelaide, they have lost to the Collingwood Magpies by 49, the Melbourne Demons by 36, the Hawthorn Hawks by 23 and more embarrassingly, the hapless Carlton Blues last week by 13.
It was the Blues first win of the season and allowed them to move off the bottom of the table, but Essendon’s attacking structure looks woeful. They kicked 10 goals and a ridiculous 18 behinds last week and their lack of accuracy in front of goal has followed them around like a bad smell this season.
Add that to a defence which is yet to keep any of the eight sides they have played to under 90 points, and it’s all adding up to a side who don’t look like they know where their next win is coming from.
Comparing the Bombers with Geelong is like comparing apples and oranges though.
The Cats have started the season on fire, and while their wins have been critiqued from all angles, there is no denying they sit in third spot with a record of five wins and three losses. Of course, the logjam in the top eight means they could well drop to the bottom of the top eight with a loss, but one of those seems unlikely.
Of course, with Patrick Dangerfield, Gary Ablett and Joel Selwood on the field, they have been able to dominate games out of the middle and with patience, they have gradually worn teams down.
Against Essendon and their poor defence though, they may not have to be so patient with space is likely to open at will.
Their game last week saw a 21-point win over Collingwood in a dour 66-45 affair, but running up 93 points in a 61-point thumping of the GWS Giants the week before more than proves they can put teams to the foot down on their day.
Prediction
Geelong will make another statement here, putting the Bombers to the sword in what will be another poor day for the Essendon-based club.
Cats by 36.
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