The pair met on one occasion last year in Round 13. Scarlett kept Lloyd to just one goal that night, but it was Essendon that came away with the four points when they disposed of Geelong by 36-points. Scarlett was awarded votes that night for keeping Lloyd to a solitary goal, but those behind the scenes at the Bombers knew that Lloyd had done his job that evening.
Assistant coach Mark Harvey explains that it is irrelevant how many goals Lloyd kicks, as long as the team is victorious. ""I think the thing that people don’t realise is how much pressure Matthew puts on at ground level. He is a terrific tackler and chaser and quite often gets defenders looking over their back when they are running the ball out of defence,"" Harvey said.
""Although Matthew has been relatively quiet over the past couple of weeks, he has still managed to kick three or four goals with limited opportunities and I think that is why he is such a great player."" Lloyd currently sits behind St Kilda’s Fraser Gehrig on the AFL’s goal kicking tally. He has kicked 30 goals this season in eight outings, so he is averaging between three and four goals a game.
Scarlett has also enjoyed continued success this season at full-back. Last week he kept Melbourne spearhead David Neitz goal-less. Harvey said that Scarlett is deceptively strong, despite his wiry appearance. ""He also has good speed and good agility. I think he reads the ball well through the flight and off the boot. That gives him a distinct advantage when it comes to spoiling,"" Harvey said.
Harvey believes that Lloyd thrives on big games and also the challenge of facing such a quality opponent. ""The Dome is Matthew’s favourite venue for goal kicking and I am sure he will look forward to the challenge and rise to it,"" he said. ""It will be an intriguing dual between Matthew and Scarlett. I hope our other forwards can preoccupy their opponents so it is virtually a one on one combat.""
Despite the hype surrounding the Lloyd v Scarlett match-up, Harvey put into perspective the dual in relation to the importance of this game. ""This isn’t all about Matthew this game, this is about stringing games together like we have and forging a position to the top two or three,"" Harvey said.
One of the contributing factors to Essendon’s recent success this season has been the team’s ability to find multiple goal scorers. Last week against Adelaide Essendon had 11 players that booted majors. The week before against the Western Bulldogs, eight players contributed on the scoreboard. This takes pressure off Lloyd being the only forward focal point and being relied upon to kick big scores every week.
""We are getting goals through the midfield from Solomon, Jason Johnson and Murphy. That is what you need – if around 60% of your goals can come from forwards and the rest can come from midfielders and even some defenders, it is a good position to be in. That is the sort of balance you want and I think that is what we are heading towards,"" Harvey said.
