B: 61. W. Berry, 36. M. Hartley, 53. S. Hooper
HB: 14. J. Ridley, 10. A. Francis, 70. J. Sheahan
C: 77. H. Hocking, 59. A. Heppell, 19. K. Mutch
HF: 33. J. Laverde, 17. J. Stewart, 20. J. Merrett
F: 15. J. Green, 22. M. Leuenberger, 55. D. Younan
R: 38. S. Draper, 37. D. Clarke, 39. T. Mynott
Int: 76. L. Collins, 75. T. Crosbie, 63. M. Darby, 57. N. Hind, 54. K. Huntly, 62. N. Lazzaro, 72. J. Ottavi, 56. T. Simpson
23P: 64. J. Harrison
–
In: L. Collins, S. Hooper, J. Ottavi, M. Darby, T. Simpson, J. Harrison, J. Laverde, M. Leuenberger, K. Mutch
Out: B. Zerk-Thatcher, L. Lavender, J. Houlahan, J. McQueen, D. Parish
B: 44. J. Henderson, 15. S. Collins, 7. D. McFarlane
HB: 12. R. Barrack, 5. N. Coughlan, 28. M. Brett
C: 31. K. Declase, 6. J. Sharp, 10. J. Maishman
HF: 46. F. Brancatisano, 9. K. Aylett, 29. D. Brew
F: 14. A. Hooper, 18. J. Porter, 2. M. Munro
R: 36. J. Berry, 3. M. Sodomaco, 4. T. Gribble
Int: 17. M. Augerinos, 37. J. Bennett, 25. N. Buykx, 13. J. Cleeland, 49. J. Lockwood, 35. B. McNamara, 27. E. Petterwood, 33. B. Rees
23P: 38. K. Gray
–
In: B. Rees, F. Brancatisano, J. Lockwood, J. Cleeland, B. McNamara
2017 Rd 3 @ North Melbourne Recreation Reserve: Werribee 14.13 (97) d Essendon 9.20 (74)
FORM COMING IN
Werribee (12th, 3-9) has lost back-to-back matches to top-eight opposition, a 58-point loss to Collingwood last week following a defeat at the hands of Geelong. Meanwhile, Essendon (4th, 7-5) has suffered back-to-back losses to top-four opponents after going down to the Casey Demons and then Richmond by 32 points in Round 14.
KEY QUESTION
How important is this game to the Bombers? The answer is: Very important. After failing consecutive tests against the top two, Essendon is only percentage ahead of ninth position and has dates with fellow top-eight teams Collingwood, Port Melbourne, Geelong and then Footscray after this game, meaning a victory here is crucial for keeping pace.
KEY STAT
The Bombers struggled with ball in hand in the face of pressure from Richmond last week and won’t get a let up against Werribee, which laid 101 tackles in the wet against the Magpies in Round 14. Pressure machine Dominic Brew recorded almost a fifth of that total with a huge 20 tackles – more than the AFL record for tackles in a game (19).
