Essendon face a rampaging West Coast Eagle side this Saturday afternoon in a clash that looks likely to shape the finals race.

The Eagles have won three of their last four and are a team building towards a top eight position at the end of the season, while the Bombers are clinging onto eight position after dropping their last two games.

With a crucial clash for both sides ahead, we take a look at the key match ups that will have a considerable bearing on the end result.

Heath Hocking vs. Luke Shuey

The Bomber run-with man is expected to have the job on Eagle young-gun Luke Shuey this Saturday afternoon. Shuey has often struggled through the tag in his short yet damaging career.

Shuey has developed into a player that can win his own ball on the inside as well as hurt teams on the outside with his pace and line-breaking kicking, making him a number one target for many opposition teams. The 24-year-old showed last week that he does have the ability to work his way through a tag, gathering 31 possessions and kicking a goal after Magpie tagger Brent Macaffer latched onto him.

Hocking had the job Richmond’s Brett Deledio last week and kept the damaging midfielder to 19 possessions, despite slipping forward and booting two goals. ‘Buddha’ will again need to do a number on Shuey for the Bombers to have any chance to steal the four points.

Jobe Watson vs. Matt Priddis

With the skipper expected to play his first game since round 12, no doubt he will slot right back into the thick of the action through the midfield. A likely opponent to go head-to-head with the Brownlow medallist is the in form Eagle midfielder Matt Priddis. Watson and Priddis are alike in that their strengths are their hands in close feeding out to teammates, making them likely to keep each other in check.

Priddis, who has often flown under the radar, has averaged 34.3 disposals in his last three matches, including a massive 42 possessions effort against the Pies last weekend. He has now firmed into outright fifth favourite for the Brownlow medal.

Despite missing the last eight matches after surgery to an injured hip flexor tendon, Watson is expected to make an immediate impact to the team after being put through a vigorous and testing rehabilitation program. After being a sneaky chance of playing in the VFL last weekend, the Essendon captain said himself he is ready to play on the big stage after a cheeky remark last week about his return, saying: “You don’t race group one horses in the bush.”

Paddy Ryder vs. Nic Naitanui

This match up between these two dynamic ruckman is sure to be worth the price of an admission ticket.

Naitanui has struggled at times through the season after fighting through injury and fitness issues, yet still managed to boot two goals in the Eagles big win against the Pies last weekend.

It’s been well reported how well Ryder’s last month has been for the Bombers, playing a huge role in the ruck. Playing majority of the season alone in the role, Ryder has still managed to push forward and hit the scoreboard, kicking 15 goals for the season, including four in his last three matches.

It should be a spectacular sight come the first bounce, and many more throughout the match, watching these two leaping machines trying to fly over each other in the ruck and win the ball down for their respective teammates.

Cale Hooker vs. Josh Kennedy

Hooker continued his solid season last weekend keeping Jack Riewoldt to just two goals, and will again have another huge match up on Saturday when he lines up against Eagle big-man Josh Kennedy.

Kennedy is in good touch, booting eight goals in the last two weeks, taking his tally for the season to 46. Kennedy has shown throughout the season he is capable of tearing games open for the Eagles when he gets on song, like back in round eight when he demolished the GWS Giants’ defence, booting an astonishing 11 goals straight.

“Hooksey” will need to keep a close eye on Kennedy and look to defend first and attack second as he has done the entire season, in an attempt to make the Eagle forward accountable for him and limit his output.