PREVIEW: Round 15 2003

ESSENDON

v.

ADELAIDE

MATCH DATE: Friday, 11 July 2003
MATCH TIME: 8:10 PM
VENUE: AAMI Stadium

For Essendon to be considered a serious Premiership threat this season it must start beating sides above it on the ladder. As it stands, the Bombers have only got over two opponents this season that sit above it on the ladder. Conversely they have lost to five top-eight sides. The next two weeks will give Essendon a chance to improve that record and the first opportunity comes at AAMI Stadium tomorrow night when it takes on the Adelaide Crows. Not surprisingly, tomorrow night’s match is a sell out, with two in-form sides expected to provide an excellent contest. Essendon has scored convincing wins over Geelong and St Kilda since the break. Adelaide has the scalps of Carlton and Richmond to its credit. The win over Carlton was emphatic, last week it got over Richmond in an ugly game of football. Despite all the talk about the Adelaide midfield, it is its defence that has performed exceptionally well this season. After 13 rounds it is the second best in the competition in terms of points scored against. The likes of Nathan Bassett, Tyson Edwards, Kris Massie and Nigel Smart have done a very good job. Ben Hart is another solid defender but he has spent a bit of time on the wing in recent weeks. So the job is in front of Essendon’s forwards. Can they break down the Adelaide defence? A lot will depend on the pressure created in the midfield and that has gone missing at times this season. That said, Essendon is still the third most potent side in the competition in terms of points scored. If the ball gets inside 50m enough they are more than capable of kicking a winning score. Matthew Lloyd is in good form at the moment and he would seem likely to get Nathan Bassett or Nigel Smart. Scott Lucas is playing good football while Damian Cupido is capable of anything. They will be the main contributors in front of goal. At the other end, Adelaide is likely to rotate a number of players through the goal square - among them Wayne Carey, Scott Welsh and the high-flying Brett Burton. There is also some chance Bassett could go forward following the suspension of Ian Perrie. The loss of Perrie should not be under-estimated – he has kicked 16 goals this season and has taken a club-high 69 marks. Mark Ricciuto (20 goals) and Andrew McLeod (19) have made significant contributions up forward. Adelaide’s midfield is high class with McLeod and Ricciuto simply stars. Mark Bickely and Simon Goodwin are two other keys. You would expect the Bombers to find someone to sit on McLeod – possibly Damien Peverill or Mark McVeigh. The match up with Ricciuto will probably be more important when he goes forward – perhaps Dean Solomon is the man who has the strength and pace. This looks to be a game between two evenly matched sides. Adelaide might have the edge in the midfield but the Bombers look more potent and its defence is in form. It is just too close to call.

	TV AND RADIO DETAILS TV COVERAGE Channel 9: Melbourne: 8.30pm Adelaide: 8.30pm Perth: 8.30pm Canberra: 10.45pm Sydney: 11.15pm Brisbane: 11.15pm Fox Footy (pay TV): NSW/ACT: 9.30pm QLD: 9.30pm SA: 11.00pm VIC/TAS/NT: 11.30pm WA: 11.30pm All times are local times. RADIO COVERAGE Live coverage: 3AW Melbourne 7:00 PM ABC Melbourne 7:00 PM MMM Melbourne 7:00 PM ABC Perth 5:30 PM NIRS Perth 5:30 PM 6PR Perth 6:00 PM 5AA Adelaide 6:30 PM ABC Adelaide 6:30 PM MMM Adelaide 7:00 PM NIRS Brisbane 7:30 PM ABC Canberra 8:00 PM ABC Hobart 8:00 PM ABC Darwin 8:00 PM NewsRadio Newcastle 8:00 PM NewsRadio Sydney 8:00 PM NewsRadio Brisbane 8:00 PM All times are local times. HEAD TO HEAD RECORD GAMES PLAYED 24 ESSENDON WINS 15 ADELAIDE WINS 9 DRAWN GAMES 0 ESSENDON HIGHEST SCORE v ADELAIDE Round 14, 1995 ESSENDON 27.20.182 v. ADELAIDE 8.12.60 ESSENDON LOWEST SCORE v ADELAIDE Round 15, 2003 ESSENDON 7.7.49 v. ADELAIDE 13.12.90 LAST TIME THEY MET Round 19, 2002 ESSENDON 3.3 6.5 7.6 11.10.76 ADELAIDE 5.3 8.7 14.11 18.16.124 ESSENDON GOALKICKERS: Moorcroft 2, J Johnson, Lloyd, Barnard, Wellman, Salmon, Peverill, Misiti, M Johnson, Lucas ADELAIDE GOALKICKERS: Burton 3, M Stevens 3, Biglands 2, Johncock 2, Edwards 2, Ladhams, Johnson, Massie, Ricciuto, Stenglein, Goodwin ESSENDON BEST PLAYERS: Peverill, Blumfield, Wellman Venue: Football Park     Crowd: 43,720     Full match report... LAST 10 MEETINGS YEAR ROUND SCORES VENUE 2007 17 ESSENDON 18.9.117 ADELAIDE 16.9.105 Dome 2007 1 ESSENDON 16.9.105 ADELAIDE 10.14.74 AAMI 2006 10 ESSENDON 6.14.50 ADELAIDE 30.8.188 AAMI 2005 11 ESSENDON 9.9.63 ADELAIDE 24.7.151 AAMI 2004 8 ESSENDON 20.15.135 ADELAIDE 12.12.84 AAMI 2003 15 ESSENDON 7.7.49 ADELAIDE 13.12.90 AAMI 2002 19 ESSENDON 11.10.76 ADELAIDE 18.16.124 FP 2002 4 ESSENDON 19.8.122 ADELAIDE 11.15.81 CS 2001 12 ESSENDON 18.14.122 ADELAIDE 11.7.73 CS 2000 10 ESSENDON 20.12.132 ADELAIDE 12.12.84 CS

B A C K S	10. Mark McVeigh In very good form the past two weeks.	31. Dustin Fletcher Back to his best last week - a key to the win.	6. Sean Wellman Working his way back to best form.
H B A A L C F K    S	33. Adam McPhee Continues to work hard and contribute in the midfield or down back.	21. Danny Jacobs In great form. Taking telling marks and using the ball well.	12. Andrew Welsh Magnificent last week. Looks a future leader.
C E N T R E S	7. Dean Solomon Terrific last week. His hardness will be very important against the Crows.	14. Jason Johnson Very important in the absence of Misiti.	9. Adam Ramanauskas Getting back to full fitness. Runs with it and uses it well.
H F A O L R F W    A    R    D    S	25. Scott Lucas Should not under-estimate his influence over the past two weeks.	23. Mark Bolton Quiet last week but better than that. Consistency has become his hallmark.	20. Ted Richards Brilliant when he came on last week. Just needs to keep making a contribution.
F O R W A R D S	13. Damian Cupido Could have kicked seven last week. If he gets it 15 times it could be the difference.	18. Matthew Lloyd Superb last week. Wouldn't another bag of eight be nice!	28. Cory McGrath Showed he can be a useful goalkicker against Port Adelaide.
R U C K S	19. David Hille Is handling the first ruck well. Still learning.	1. Mark Johnson Looks more like a midfielder every outing. Adds hardness.	5. James Hird Set the Bombers up last week with a top-shelf first half.
I N T E R C H A N G E	4. Jobe Watson Second game. Being out of the spotlight will help.	37. Marc Bullen The find of the season. Smart and find the football.	11. Damien Peverill Was outstanding against Geelong two weeks ago.
	29. Joel Reynolds Looks like a star of the future. Been having a real impact.
E M E R G	27. Steven Alessio	16. Paul Barnard	15. Robert Forster-Knight
IN:	Jobe Watson, Cory McGrath
OUT:	Joe Misiti (foot), Steven Alessio (omitted)