What will another fresh face bring to the team?

We will sorely miss the experience of James Gwilt in the backline for the remainder of the season. It does, however, provide the opportunity for us to get our first look at Aaron Francis. Having done everything that the Coaches have asked of him in the VFL, Francis has overcome a number of niggling injuries and setbacks to string together consistent performances over the last month for Essendon VFL. Watch out for his strong contested mark, his great leap and read on the flight of the ball in the backline.

Take a closer look at Francis’ top moments from the VFL

Will Essendon be able to bring the pressure?

The last month has  seen us bringing huge amounts of pressure to the contest. Our press off the backline has been well executed and has almost completely choked the oppositions ball movement through the centre of the ground. An ability to excecute this against the Lions on the weekend will be crucial to getting the game on our terms. 

Master or apprentice?

Signaled as the main match up of the day by Robert Shaw, the ruck match-up between Matthew Leuenberger and Brisbane’s Stefan Martin should provide plenty of interest. The two have had similar seasons to date, with Leuey averaging 26 hitouts and Martin 27 per game. They also have similar clearances, score involvements, marks and tackles. This is sure to have some extra significance for Leuey as he comes up against his old team for the first time. 

Can we crack the 100?

We’ve been much better in front of the goals over the last month, producing three of our highest scores to date this year. The best came against the Saints two weeks ago, where nine individual goal scorers pushed the score to 98 points. With the forward line finally starting to fire, the boys will surely be hoping to crack the ton for the first time in 2016. Daniher will take pleasure in knowing that he has the support of Laverde, Fantasia, Brown, McKernan and potentially even Francis rolling through the forward line.

Who will get their second win?

Perhaps the biggest question for the day is who will come away with the four points. While there isn’t much at stake in terms of this season, there will be plenty of pride on the line as both teams look to avoid the wooden spoon. We haven’t received the undesirable title since 1933 and hope that, come the final siren on Sunday, it stays that way.