Species: gunnus on-ballerus
Habitat: Generally live under packs or at the feet of ruckman
Features: Run all day, great skills with both hand and foot
Traits: Invariably win games of football
The star on-baller is indeed a rare breed but invariably the good sides always have a handful of these players. The Bombers are one side blessed with a high-quality on-ball division as is Hawthorn, Richmond and Port Adelaide. It is no coincidence that they are at the top of the AFL table. Another side that boasts an excellent line-up in the middle is the Bombers’ opposition this weekend – the Brisbane Lions.
At the GABBA this Saturday night the Bombers will face one of the toughest assignments in football – beating the Brisbane Lions on their home turf. And as usual the mid-field battle will be the key. Brisbane boasts an excellent fleet of on-ballers and runners who create many opportunities for their forwards. Simon Black, Jason Akermanis, Nigel Lappin and Michael Voss are the key players in this area.
The Lions scored a very important win over the Sydney Swans three weeks ago and this quarter were brilliant. Between them they had 110 possessions – Black (32), Akermanis (30), Lappin (24) and Voss (24). They are fierce competitiors – they laid 17 tackles between them in that match – only four less than the rest of the team combined. If they can manufacture a similar contribution against Essendon this Saturday night we will have a fantastic game of football on our hands.
“There is no doubt that they have a quality running fleet,” Essendon assistant coach Mark Harvey said. “But by the same token we wouldn’t swap the group we have in the middle. We are a couple short (because of injury) but they have worked pretty hard in recent weeks.”
To Tag or not to tag – that is the question that the Essendon coaching panel will be looking at this week. Rarely has Essendon given tagging roles in the past few seasons – they have given players such as Damien Peverill run-with roles and he has shut down opposition on-ballers and hurt them the other way. But such is the class of Michael Voss – it might be something the Essendon match committee look at.
“We might have a look at it but we don’t like being negative,” Harvey said. “The options are either to run-with these players or play wide of them. At stages during the game we will assess what damage is being done and equally what we are getting out of it the other way. Then Kevin will make a decision on whether we stick with the match-up, change it or get the player to change his style of football.”
Whichever the Essendon match-committee go, this Saturday night’s battle in the middle will be decisive. The Essendon mid-field has coped with quality opposition before so there is no reason to think they won’t do it again.
