PREVIEW: Round 4 2003

ESSENDON

v.

WESTERN BULLDOGS

MATCH DATE: Saturday, 19 April 2003
MATCH TIME: 7:10 PM
VENUE: The Dome

A backs-to-the-wall Bombers v a backs to-the-wall Bulldogs – this Saturday night’s clash at The Dome shapes as a genuine scrap. The loser will find themselves with a 1-3 record at the completion of four rounds and under an enormous amount of pressure to stay in touch with the final eight even this early in the season. There is plenty on the line this Saturday night and it might just jolt the Essendon players out of the lethargy that overcame it in the second half of last Friday night’s match against Carlton. The first thing Essendon needs to get rights is its start – its opening quarters of the season so far have been indifferent to say the least. They have trailed at the first break by 20 points, 14 points and 11 points in their respective matches against Brisbane, Melbourne and Carlton in the first three rounds. And the numbers could have, and probably should have, been far worse. Brisbane and Carlton in particular missed many easy shots on goal. So there will surely be a “WAKE UP” message delivered loud and clear, to the playing group before they run onto The Dome this Saturday night. The Bombers will be without a number of senior players this week and it will put its middle group of players to the test. Down back Essendon will be without Sean Wellman, the midfield will be missing Joe Misiti and Adam Ramanauskas while Paul Barnard will be missing up forward. Just where the Bombers go to find replacements remain to be seen. Mark Bolton looks the logical replacement for Sean Wellman – a tall running defender. Up forward Ted Richards might get his chance after some excellent performances in the VFL side this season. He has played forward and back so his versatility would be a bonus. Jason Laycock may be the other option up forward. In the midfield, selectors will look at the likes of Shane Harvey, Jordan Bannister and Cory McGrath. So what do the Bombers need to do to win the game? Well, for starters it needs it stars to play well, in particular James Hird and Matthew Lloyd. Hird needs to win a lot of the ball and really influence the game while Lloyd is due to kick a bag. Both play well at The Dome. If they can click, the younger players will grow in confidence and Essendon will have taken serious strides towards winning the game. It is in the midfield that the Western Bulldogs do the damage when they are playing well. Scott West and Daniel Giansiracusa are quality midfielders. But the Bulldogs have class all over the ground. Rohan Smith is a quality half back while Brad Johnson and Nathan Brown can be match winners in front of goal. But the jewel in the crown for the Bulldogs is Luke Darcy – arguably the best big man in the game at the moment. Darcy was sensational against Essendon at The Dome last year and much of the Bombers’ planning will revolve around minimising his influence. So to combat all this, the Bombers need good performances from a number of players. Jason Johnson, Dean Rioli and Damien Peverill need to win a lot of ball at ground level in the midfield. David Hille and Steven Alessio need to be at their best in the ruck. The Johnson / Brown questions shape as the toughest to answer. Mark Johnson may return to defence for this game to take one of them. Joel Reynolds may take the other. Both these players have speed but they will need the Essendon midfield to pressure the ball carrier to make their job easier.

	TV AND RADIO DETAILS TV COVERAGE Channel 10: Melbourne: 7.30pm Adelaide: 6.30pm Fox Footy (pay TV): NSW/ACT: 7.00pm QLD: 11.00pm SA: 10.00pm VIC/TAS/NT: 10.30pm WA: 8.30pm All times are local times. RADIO COVERAGE Live coverage: 3AW Melbourne 6.00 PM MMM Melbourne 6.00 PM 6PR Perth 5.00 PM 5AA Adelaide 5.30 PM All times are local times. HEAD TO HEAD RECORD GAMES PLAYED 145 ESSENDON WINS 87 WESTERN BULLDOGS WINS 56 DRAWN GAMES 2 ESSENDON HIGHEST SCORE v WESTERN BULLDOGS Round 22, 1982 ESSENDON 32.16.208 v. WESTERN BULLDOGS 9.8.62 ESSENDON LOWEST SCORE v WESTERN BULLDOGS Round 4, 1955 ESSENDON 2.11.23 v. WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.12.36 LAST TIME THEY MET Round 14, 2002 ESSENDON 5.4 8.9 13.13 17.16.118 WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.3 9.5 14.6 18.10.118 ESSENDON GOALKICKERS: Lloyd 5, Caracella, Rioli 2, Salmon, Wellman, Alessio, Blumfield, Reynolds, Lucas, Ramanaskaus, Jacobs WESTERN BULLDOGS GOALKICKERS: Brown 4, Darcy, McGuiness 3, Johnson, Bandy 2, Grant, Smith, Hunter, Alvey ESSENDON BEST PLAYERS: Hird, Lloyd, Caracella, J Johnson, Peverill Venue: Colonial Stadium     Crowd: 44,864     Full match report... LAST 10 MEETINGS YEAR ROUND SCORES VENUE 2007 15 ESSENDON 14.14.98 WESTERN BULLDOGS 20.11.131 Dome 2006 22 ESSENDON 18.17.125 WESTERN BULLDOGS 22.15.147 Dome 2006 3 ESSENDON 13.15.93 WESTERN BULLDOGS 15.14.104 Dome 2005 10 ESSENDON 21.11.137 WESTERN BULLDOGS 17.8.110 Dome 2004 22 ESSENDON 17.11.113 WESTERN BULLDOGS 14.12.96 Dome 2004 7 ESSENDON 18.13.121 WESTERN BULLDOGS 14.11.95 Dome 2003 19 ESSENDON 22.15.147 WESTERN BULLDOGS 12.8.80 The Dome 2003 4 ESSENDON 20.9.129 WESTERN BULLDOGS 16.14.110 The Dome 2002 14 ESSENDON 17.16.118 WESTERN BULLDOGS 18.10.118 CS 2001 14 ESSENDON 24.10.154 WESTERN BULLDOGS 11.10.76 CS

B A C K S	1. Mark Johnson Might go back this week and take Johnson or Brown.	31. Dustin Fletcher In the wars last weekend. Might take Bandy.	21. Danny Jacobs Had his hands full with Whitnall last week. Expect better.
H B A A L C F K    S	7. Dean Solomon First three quarters were good last week but struggled late in the match.	25. Scott Lucas Still being used forward and back. Might be time to settle him down.	29. Joel Reynolds Quiet against Carlton but is making steady progress.
C E N T R E S	33. Adam McPhee Spent some time on Koutoufides last week. Has been pretty good.	5. James Hird Got a lot of the ball last week but turned it over a couple of times.	10. Mark McVeigh Might get a job in the midfield with Misiti out.
H F A O L R F W    A    R    D    S	43. Dean Rioli Essendon's best player this season. More of the same will do nicely.	23. Mark Bolton Important inclusion after suspension. Gives flexibility, height and speed.	2. Mark Mercuri Has made a quiet start to the season. Fans would love to see the Mercuri of old.
F O R W A R D S	13. Damian Cupido Has had an impact up forward. Will enjoy playing under the roof.	18. Matthew Lloyd Due to kick a bag of goals.	17. Darren Walsh First game. Has plenty of speed and good skills.
R U C K S	19. David Hille Quiet last week. Previous form was good.	14. Jason Johnson Will spend more time in the middle with Misiti out.	11. Damien Peverill Getting the ball but probably not hurting opposition enough.
I N T E R C H A N G E	27. Steven Alessio Has been good when coming onto the ground. Experience useful against Darcy.	12. Andrew Welsh Probably plays back given the lack of Bulldog height up forward.	36. Jordan Bannister Took 14 marks in the VFL last weekend.
	38. Shane Harvey Total of seven goals and 53 possessions in VFL in past two weeks.
E M E R G	20. Ted Richards	15. Robert Forster-Knight	8. Jason Winderlich
IN:	Mark Bolton, Jordan Bannister, Darren Walsh, Shane Harvey
OUT:	Joe Misiti, Sean Wellman, Adam Ramanauskas (injured), Paul Barnard (suspended)