An injury-ravaged Essendon face an uphill battle when they take on the Western Bulldogs at the Dome tomorrow night. The unlucky string of injuries has hit the Bombers hard with 20 of the 44 players ruled out of selection this week.
Despite the key omissions, the Bombers have a fighting spirit and have previously shown they can win even when the odds are stacked against them, as was the case when an undermanned Essendon unit recorded a seven-goal win over Collingwood in Round 17.
An extremely inexperienced ruck division may cause Essendon its biggest headache. With David Hille and Jason Laycock both out injured, 19-year-old, Tom Bellchambers has been given the challenge of taking on Ben Hudson in only his second game of AFL. Patrick Ryder, 20, is expected to lend support. The duo has a combined total of 51 games experience compared to the Bulldogs' pair of Hudson and Will Minson with 135 games.
Given that inexperience, Essendon’s midfielders need to be at the top of their game to stop the opposition from bringing up just their second win in six weeks.
The Bulldogs have a handy supply of hard-running players who have no trouble finding the football. Adam Cooney, Daniel Cross and Matthew Boyd are in the AFL’s top 10 possession winners this season and Jobe Watson, Sam Lonergan, Ricky Dyson and Brent Stanton will need to find the energy and intensity that seems to have gone missing in the past few weeks if they are to match them around the ground.
However, the third-placed Bulldogs have not exactly been setting the world on fire themselves and, if the Bombers can execute their individual roles, they can sneak away with an unexpected win.
Mark McVeigh will return to the side having overcome a knee injury and may provide the inspiration the Bombers need to get over the line. Given his lack of match practice, McVeigh may be called upon in the forward line to add some support to Matthew Lloyd, who is still without Scott Lucas. Adam McPhee and Angus Monfries add some depth to an unusual-looking Bomber forward line which sees Andrew Welsh named in the full-forward position and Heath Hocking in the forward pocket.
A major positive - and source of inspiration - will be Essendon veteran, Jason Johnson, making his long awaited return to senior football after missing almost three months of football through injury. The 2000 Premiership player is expected to add some grunt to the midfield which is light on experience.
The Bombers' back six again appear the most settled part of the team despite being without the injured Dustin Fletcher. Mal Michael, in his second last game for the club, joins Henry Slattery, Jay Nash, Nathan Lovett-Murray and Ryder in defence against a talented but out of form Bulldogs forward line. If Jason Akermanis, Robert Murphy, Mitch Hahn and friends get too many chances this could be a game where they kick themselves back into form.
The final outcome on Friday could become clear early if the ball goes into the Western Bulldogs forward 50m too easily. The Bulldogs have a supply of avenues to goal and if they are given easy access to the football, they will dominate.
