Humble by name but not by nature!
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TBC can be fresh and hungry but it doesnāt make him mobile. I donāt think he is lazy or lacking hunger or anything like that, he just canāt run - fast enough or long enough.
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The ultimate preview: Rd 8
A comprehensive look at Sundayās match against the Crows.
Jul 19, 2019, 11:01pm
The Bombers will be looking to bounce back against the Crows on Sunday. (Photo: AFL Photos)
Take a look at our comprehensive preview of Essendonās clash against Adelaide on Sunday.
ADELAIDE v ESSENDON
Sunday, July 26
1:05pm AEST
Adelaide Oval
Live on Fox Footy
THE HISTORY
Games played - 39
Won ā 20
Lost ā 19
Drawn ā 0
THREE QUICK FACTS
1. Youthful Bombers
The Bombers last week fielded the fourth-most inexperienced side behind Sydney, Gold Coast and Fremantle with an average of 79 games per player. Their average age of 25 years and four months was the same as Adelaideās, while they had an extra five players under 100 games than the Crows (17 to 12).
2. McKernanās half-century in the sash
Shaun McKernan will play his 50th club game and 84th overall, reaching the milestone against the club where his journey began. The younger brother of North Melbourne great Corey McKernan, Shaun joined the Bombers via the 2014 rookie draft after six seasons at Adelaide. Heās booted 51 goals in the red and black, with a career-best output of 19 last season.
3. Worsfold jumps up another spot
Having last week equalled Rodney Eade for AFL/VFL games coached, John Worsfold will move up to equal 13th overall alongside Frank āCheckerā Hughes on 378 games. Hughes coached Melbourne to four premierships and the first draw (against Essendon) in the 1948 VFL Grand Final.
LAST TIME WE MET
Round 18, 2019: Adelaide 10.15 (75) lost to Essendon 15.6 (96) at Adelaide Oval
In one of its most memorable wins of 2019, Essendon staged a stunning comeback to stun Adelaide and register its fourth consecutive victory.
The Bombers looked done and dusted when Josh Jenkins booted his fourth goal in the second term to stretch the deficit to 30 points.
But a blitz in the second half, which saw the Bombers kick 10 goals the Crowsā three, would seal their first-ever victory over Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.
Zach Merrett came up clutch with two final-quarter goals to earn three Brownlow votes, while Mitch Brown kicked a team-high four.
It was a club debut to savour for Will Snelling, with the former Port Adelaide player celebrating his first Essendon goal and win in his home state.
FORM
Essendon
Round five: Defeated Collingwood 10.3 (63) to 7.6 (48) at the MCG
Round six: Defeated North Melbourne 9.13 (67) to 7.11 (53) at Metricon Stadium
Round seven: Lost to Western Bulldogs 7.9 (51) to 14.9 (93) at Metricon Stadium
After an encouraging 4-1 start, the Bombers hit a roadblock against the Bulldogs last week.
Blooding a youthful midfield sans Dyson Heppell and Dylan Shiel, the Bombers were dealt a harsh lesson in contested ball (93 to 128) and clearances (23 to 30) in the 42-point loss.
Adam Saad (23 disposals, 429 metres gained) was again a shining light, while Andrew McGrath (24 disposals, six clearances) battled hard in midfield.
While the Bombers have been largely settled in defence and midfield, an injury-hit forward line has presented them with challenges.
They kicked just seven goals last week - their lowest tally of the season - but Worsfold said that was a result of a low quantity and quality of inside 50s rather than personnel, backing the same forward mix to get the job done against the Crows.
Adelaide
Round five: Lost to Fremantle 5.4 (34) to 8.6 (54) at Metricon Stadium
Round six: Lost to West Coast 5.4 (34) to 10.7 (67) at The Gabba
Round seven: Lost to St Kilda 8.7 (55) to 12.6 (78) at Adelaide Oval
Last weekās defeat to St Kilda cemented Adelaideās worst-ever start (0-7) to a season, leaving Matthew Nicks winless as coach.
Despite the loss, the Crows showed positive signs, getting to within nine points midway through the last term.
Key forward Taylor Walker returned to form with three goals, while youngster Tom Doedee led the side admirably in the absence of injured captain Rory Sloane.
After seven rounds, the Crows are the Leagueās lowest-scoring side while conceding the most points, clearances and inside 50s.
TEAMS
ESSENDON
Backs: Mason Redman, Aaron Francis, Michael Hurley
Half-backs: Conor McKenna, Jordan Ridley, Adam Saad
Centre : Kyle Langford, Zach Merrett, Brayden Ham
Half-forwards: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, David Zaharakis, Will Snelling
Forwards: Jayden Laverde, Jacob Townsend, Devon Smith
Followers: Tom Bellchambers, Darcy Parish, Andrew McGrath
Interchange: Shaun McKernan, Mitch Hibberd, Ned Cahill, Martin Gleeson
Emergencies: Matt Guelfi, Dylan Clarke, James Stewart, Tom Cutler
In: Bellchambers, Francis, Gleeson
Out: Hooker (calf), Phillips (omitted), Fantasia (calf)
ADELAIDE
Backs: Luke Brown, Daniel Talia, Will Hamill
Half-backs: Fischer McAsey, Tom Doedee, Rory Laird
Centre: David Mackay, Chayce Jones, Tom Lynch
Half-forwards: Kyle Hartigan, Brodie Smith, Brad Crouch
Forwards: Tyson Stengle, Taylor Walker, Shane McAdam
Followers: Reilly OāBrien, Matt Crouch, Paul Seedsman
Interchange: Lachlan Murphy, Ben Keays, Elliott Himmelberg, Andrew McPherson
Emergencies: Bryce Gibbs, Jake Kelly, Ben Crocker, Rory Atkins
In: Murphy, Himmelberg
Out: McHenry (managed), Kelly
BOMBER TO WATCH
Brayden Ham
At a time when the Bombersā depth is being tested, youngster Brayden Ham has stepped up to the plate.
Featuring in the last four games, the second-year winger has impressed with his speed, hard running, kicking and, of course, flowing mullet.
Theyāre encouraging signs from the 21-year-old, who continues to defy his No.72 selection in the 2018 NAB AFL Draft.
With Adelaide conceding the most kicks and second-most marks, Ham could be well positioned to do some damage on Sunday.
Brayden Ham in action against the Bulldogs last week. (Photo: AFL Photos)
DANGEROUS OPPONENT
Reilly OāBrien
After Tim Englishās best-on-ground performance last week, the Bombers can ill-afford to let another ruckman get on top this week.
Theyāll be on high alert against Reilly OāBrien, who has been among the Leagueās best-performing ruckmen this season and had a career-high 27 disposals when these two sides last met.
The Bombers floated the idea of trialing two rucks as they search for the right balance, but settled on recalling Tom Bellchambers to replace an omitted Andrew Phillips.
After managing the veteran over the past two weeks, the Bombers will be hoping for a big performance from a refreshed Bellchambers.
Reilly OāBrien crashes in against the Saints last week. (Photo: AFL Photos)
KEY TALKING POINTS
1. Another All Australian down
Dyson Heppell, Dylan Shiel, Jake Stringer, Joe Daniher, and now Cale Hooker.
Essendonās All Australians canāt take a trick in 2020, with an injured Hooker the latest casualty.
And when you add Zach Merrettās suspension in round five, it means Michael Hurley will be the only one of the Bombersā eight All Australians to have not missed a game after round eight.
Despite the significant loss of starpower and experience, the Bombersā ledger sits at 4-2 in a tick for their depth.
Thereās been plenty to love about the emergence of Jordan Ridley and Brayden Ham and improvement of Adam Saad, Andrew McGrath and Kyle Langford, while second-gamer Ned Cahill will get another chance to strut his stuff on Sunday.
2. A parochial crowd
It might be a little strange for the Bombers to hear the jeers of opposition fans on Sunday.
With a capacity of 50 per cent allowed at Adelaide Oval, the Crows faithful - one of the most parochial in the League - will give Essendon the feeling of playing on genuine enemy territory for the first time this season.
Itās something John Worsfold and Michael Hurley touched on in interviews this week, so the Bombers will be keen to make a fast start and silence the crowd early.
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We will know in the first five minutes if weāre on or not.
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Essendon really has abused me hard for the past 15 years. I go into a game against the bottom of the ladder team just hoping that weāll be competitive.
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At this stage if nothing changes I do too but what I meant was if he isnt going to be used why wasnt he delisted last year and someone brought in or retained who might be used
Except against the Pies we were shocking for the first 10 mins and then completely dominated them.
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there inlies a big issue, that if they are basing it of the fact he can still beat phillips in one area alone that speaks volumes about how narrow minded the coaches really are.
no one has claimed phillips is a great tap ruckman.
freo- wins the hitouts by 1 with a +7 clearances
sydney- loses hitouts by 4 with a -1 clearance
carlton- wins the hitouts by 7 with a -15 loss in clearances
Granted they are just numbers without context, but itās as if the justification by the coaches is as you say oh heās a better tap ruckman, itās not producing much better outcomes cos heās in the side.
and his tap ruck work wouldnāt have been great against better opponents, heād have been smashed in that area as well as around the ground too, because he gives 0 effort outside of that one area, to which against other ruckman in the comp he isnāt that great at anyway.
If thatās the logic they are trying to run with at the club for justification in picking someone like belly, that club really is more ā ā ā ā ā ā than it appears.
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We are in dire straits. Woosha, do something fcs do something.
Whatās the chances we bomb it long to our midget forward line tomorrow?
Whatās the chances of Tahlia taking 150 marks, and the crows playing themselves back into form.
Learningsā¦
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Absolute certainty. We canāt just make one mistake. We need to make sure we compound it.
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This game reminds me of the Gold Coast game late last season - everyone thought we would wipe the floor with the Suns, who hadnāt won in ages, except we were injury hit and fielded a less experienced team that the Suns in that game. And we just scraped over the line thanks to two goals in the last minute.
As per the EFC official site: :ā¦The Bombers last week fielded the fourth-most inexperienced side behind Sydney, Gold Coast and Fremantle with an average of 79 games per player. Their average age of 25 years and four months was the same as Adelaideās, while they had an extra five players under 100 games than the Crows (17 to 12). ā¦"
We face the same scenario on Sunday against the Crows - the Crows have been winless this year and we are again injury hit; again losing an AA player and will most likely field a younger and/or less experienced team than the Crows.
Have a look at our inexperience- players who have played less than 50 games - in Sundayās line up:
- 1 game: Cahill
- 3 games: Hibberd
- 9 games: Ham
- 11 games: Snelling
- 15 games: Ridley (and playing like a 200 game player currently)
- 30 games: Redman
- 30 games: Francis
- 44 games: Laverde
So, we have over a third of our team hasnāt even played 50 games yet.
This a key reason - but not the only reason - for our struggles.
We lacked leaders on the ground last week - and the ones we did have, like Smith, were terrible - and itās the loss of leadership that hurts as much as proven all AA ability.
Put Heppell in for Hibberd, Shiel in for Ham, Stringer in for Laverde last week and we would be a very, very different team around the ball. Our senior player leadership loss is even more pronounced because it has come from one part of the ground, now the most important part: the midfield.
The game on Sunday, for this very reason, is line ball. We need to return to maximum intensity and it must be the game that the experienced players like Bellchambers & Zaharakis bring their very best to the fore given how selective they often are with when they display their very best.
Anything less than 100% intensity and we will lose, guaranteed. We have to treat the Crows as if we are playing the Pies again. We have to treat the game like it is a big game, not a walk in the park.
If we treat it alike itās a walk in the park it certainly will be - for the Crows who, once they get a sniff, will get a run on and runaway with the game and kick their highest score of the season for the first win.
We have to hit them hard, hit them early, hit them on the scoreboard early and take all belief away from the Crows that they are a chance.
And itās up to Bellchambers, Zaharakis, Smith, Merrett & Hurley to set the standard and lead the way.
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The Bombers last week fielded the fourth-most inexperienced side behind Sydney, Gold Coast and Fremantle with an average of 79 games per player. Their average age of 25 years and four months was the same as Adelaideās, while they had an extra five players under 100 games than the Crows (17 to 12) .
Iād been wondering about this but hadnāt had the time to look up the data myself. We are a long way from ārebuildingā ala Sydney (and even Adelaide) but we should be mindful that weāve culled pretty hard in recent years and have plenty of natural improvement to come from just more game time.
Parish / McGrath/ Zerrett has to be close to the youngest starting on ball line up in the league?
I still think we should win even with the team we have but anyone thinking it will be easy or comfortable are kidding themselves. Will more than likely be a scrappy close affair with only a goal or 2 in it
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Without doubt if we win it will be two goals at best margin, however we took some great learnings
Canāt score goals? Brings in Gleeson.
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Bomber training this week.
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We need a big, convincing win to cure what ails us. Weāll get rolled and probably beat Brisbane the next week.
The Crows can smell blood. We arenāt winning diddly squat tomorrow or next week.