Essendon vs Western Bulldogs
Saturday June 30th, 2012, 7:40pm
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Team selection:
Western Bulldogs
IN: W Minson, R Hargrave, J Sherman, L Markovic
OUT: D Giansiracusa (foot), A Cordy, M Wallis, M Austin
For the full team announcemcent, click here.
Essendon
IN: Sam Lonergan
OUT: Angus Monfries
Head-to-head:
Round 21, 2011: Western Bulldogs 15. 11. (101) defeated by Essendon 23. 12. (150), Etihad Stadium
Round 1, 2011: Essendon 16. 17. (113) defeats Western Bulldogs 8. 10. (58), Etihad Stadium
Round 22, 2010: Western Bulldogs 17. 5. (107) defeat Essendon 11. 12. (78), Etihad Stadium
Round 10, 2010: Essendon 15. 9. (99) defeats Western Bulldogs 14. 6. (90), Etihad Stadium
Round 16, 2009: Essendon 11. 4. (70) defeated by Western Bulldogs 15. 13. (103), Etihad Stadium
Watch highlights from the Bulldogs last victory at Etihad Stadium over Essendon on the media player above - a flashback from Round 22, 2010.
Last time we met:
• Brent Stanton was dominant with 39 possessions, 11 marks, 5 clearances and two goals in Round 21 last year while Michael Hurley and Alywn Davey had four goals apiece
• Bulldog skipper Matthew Boyd saw his fair share of the pill with 36 touches, 8 clearances and 5 tackles
• While Essendon led in the hitouts (WB 38, ESS 45), marks (WB 61, ESS 118), tackles (WB 82, ESS 57) and clearances (WB 41, ESS 44) the Dogs came out on top in disposals (WB 373, ESS 360), contested possessions (WB 169, ESS 143) and inside 50s (WB 65, ESS 59)
• Luke Dahlhaus was nominated for the Rising Star award with a 19 disposal, 2 goal and three tackle performance
Recent Form:
Western Bulldogs
The Bulldogs must continue working hard to find consistency in their game. With a number of solid wins against Port Adelaide (15th) and North Melbourne (11th) as well almost creating upsets against Collingwood (1st) and Geelong (7th) the Bulldogs season has shown promise. They must now look to performing with the same level of intensity week in, week out. A loss to the Brisbane Lions last weekend was disappointing and the Dogs will be keen to make a comeback this Saturday.
Essendon
The Bombers have only forfeited three losses this season, all by a goal or less. Sitting third on the ladder they pose a real threat in the business end of the season. Falling to 16th placed Melbourne was a low point to their season with Sydney making it a second consecutive loss the week after. Essendon took the bye weekend to recoup and came back to defeat Fremantle last weekend in Perth.
Key Players:
• Michael Hurley has a good record against the Bulldogs kicking four goals in Round 21 last year. He picked up the pace last weekend against Fremantle slotting through six and will no doubt want to improve on his efforts this weekend.
• In his 100th outing in the red, white and blue Shaun Higgins will be looking to step up to fill the void left from fellow forward Daniel Giansiracusa who endured a foot injury against Brisbane Lions. After two four goal hauls this season mature aged recruit Tory Dickson could also assist Higgins as a second mid-sized forward.
• It will be the battle of the ball magnets on Saturday with Brent Stanton and Jobe Watson going head on with the Bulldogs Ryan Griffen and Matthew Boyd. Prolific ball winners and key players through the midfield the competition between these four players will be instrumental.
By the numbers:
• In Round 13 Essendon ranked third overall in the league for disposals (382) while the Bulldogs came in 7th with 361. Despite that Bulldogs still won in contested possession stats with 157 (ranked 2nd in round 13) versus the 9th placed Essendon who racked up 134.
• At the end of the bye rounds the Bulldogs are leading the league in total disposals, contested possessions and clearances.
• Essendon are finding more scoring shots than the Bulldogs per game (ESS 30, WB 22.8)
• The two teams, however, are considerably close in the tackle count with Essendon averaging 65.3 while Bulldogs are laying 65.7 tackles a game on average
Injury list:
Western Bulldogs
Dale Morris (leg) - indefinite
Daniel Giansiracusa (foot) - 4 weeks
Andrew Hooper (hamstring) - 3 weeks
James Mulligan (achilles) - 2 weeks
Tom Williams (shoulder) - test
For the full injury report, click here.
Essendon
Jason Winderlich (hamstring) - test
Scott Gumbleton (concussion) - test
Angus Monfries (hamstring) - 2 weeks
David Zaharakis (quad) - 4 weeks
Brent Prismall (hamstring) - TBA
