The only game on Friday for AFL Round 1 is between North Melbourne Kangaroos and Essendon Bombers. The match is to be played at Etihad Stadium with the opening bounce set to commence at 7:50 PM with home team Essendon Bombers currently holding favouritism in the market. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between North Melbourne Kangaroos and Essendon Bombers.
Round: Round 1, Friday 7:50 PM March 21, 2014
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
Weather: 26° Rain developing. Windy.
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Odds Comparison:
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| North Melbourne Kangaroos | 1.64 | 1.57 | 1.62 | 1.57 | 1.64 | 1.60 |
| Essendon Bombers | 2.25 | 2.45 | 2.35 | 2.45 | 2.25 | 2.30 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Preview:
North Melbourne take on Essendon, 7.50pm Friday night at Etihad Stadium. The Bombers have started well in recent seasons, unlike North Melbourne who have not won an opening game since 2009. While North Melbourne will be favourites to win this one, both teams had pretty ordinary pre-seasons and both will be suffering from the loss of key players. Essendon will miss Tom Bellchambers and Jake Melksham, while the Roos will be without Andrew Swallow and Robbie Tarrant.
Essendon will be looking for a fresh start this year, after the supplements scandal that dominated their 2013 season. In many ways, the early part of the season will be a test for Essendon and how they manage to recover from last year’s scandal. With James Hird still suspended, interim coach Mark Thompson will have the job of pulling the troops together.
While North Melbourne also had a difficult season, many of their losses in 2013 were by single figures and they did show promise at different times of the year. The Roos will also be boosted by the arrival of St Kilda’s Nick dal Santo, who could give North Melbourne that extra spark needed to improve their midfield.
Teams:
North Melbourne Kangaroos
Backs: McKenzie Grima McMahon
Half-backs: Atley Thompson Macmillan
Centres: Bastinac Ziebell Dal Santo
Half-forwards: Gibson Black Adams
Forwards: Thomas Petrie Hansen
Followers: Goldstein Wells
Rover: Harvey
Interchange: Cunnington Wright McDonald Mullett
Emergencies: Currie Tippett Nahas
New: Luke McDonald, 19, Werribee (VFL); Nick Dal Santo, 30, St Kilda
Essendon Bombers
Backs: Heppell Fletcher Baguley
Half-backs: Hibberd Hurley Hooker
Centres: Myers Watson Hocking
Half-forwards: Chapman Carlisle Howlett
Forwards: Zaharakis Daniher Hardingham
Followers: Ryder Goddard
Rover: Stanton
Interchange: Ambrose Gleeson J Merrett Z Merrett
Emergencies: Jetta Colyer Ashby
New: Paul Chapman, 32, Geelong; Patrick Ambrose, 22, Essendon (VFL); Martin Gleeson, 19, North Ballarat U18; Zach Merrett, 18, Sandringham U18
News:
It’s time for North Melbourne to show something more than just potential.
Key forward Drew Petrie, who will lead the side in their AFL round one clash with Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Friday night, says a repeat of last year’s performances won’t be good enough.
The additions of triple All-Australian midfielder and ex-Saint Nick Dal Santo and No.8 draft pick Luke McDonald have helped convince pundits the Kangaroos are surging into finals calculations in 2014.
“The expectations have come mainly externally,” Petrie told reporters on Thursday.
“It’s a compliment in a way that football people expect us to go well given how they analyse our list.
“We know we’re in our fifth season under Brad Scott and given how much better we played last year, it’s about time we do take another step again.
“We’re definitely a better team than what we were last season. Hopefully we’ve improved more than the other teams.”
North finished 10th last season and have played one final under Scott, in 2012.
Scott is banking on a group of second-tier players to emerge as genuine match-winners to complement the likes of Dal Santo, five-time club champion Brent Harvey and two-time club champion Daniel Wells.
Petrie says while Friday night will be a tough encounter against finals contenders Essendon, the Kangaroos urgently need a good start to the season.
“We haven’t won a round one game in a lot of years,” said Petrie, who will lead the side in the absence of injured skipper Andrew Swallow.
“We’ve been playing catch-up football a lot throughout the back half of the last few years.
“So we’ve got to get off to a good start this year to hopefully hold a spot in the top half of the ladder.
“It’s always hard once the second half of the year comes around to get into the top eight.”
Petrie says North’s pre-season losses to Carlton and Hawthorn came during a heavy training phase and since then they’ve beaten Geelong and eased up on the track.
“We’ve had a chance to rest in the last couple of weeks,” Petrie said.
North lost 10 matches by 16 points or less in 2013 and finished with a percentage of 119.5, the sixth-best in the league.
Petrie says McDonald, the 19-year-old son of ex-Kangaroos’ forward Donald McDonald, will add some steel to North’s defence.
“He’s pretty competitive. He’s got a bit of aggression like his old man had,” Petrie said.