Sunday’s AFL 2018 Round 16 match is between Essendon Bombers and Collingwood Magpies. The opening kick is set to commence at 15:20 local time with the game to be played at MCG. The away team Collingwood Magpies are the favourites for the match.
View our preview and teams for the game between Essendon Bombers and Collingwood Magpies.
When: 15:20 | Sunday 08/07/2018
Where: MCG
Preview:
This is the game of the round, both teams are red hot with the Pies sitting second and Essendon winning 5 out of their last 6.
Essendon’s run and scoring power has been amazing in the last month.
I want to see if they can keep it up against a really good side.
It’s only been one week without Adam Treloar and they weren’t tested.
It’s a huge blow to not have him playing as his speed was vital this year.
Josh Thomas has provided a spark up forward for Collingwood.
He has been a quiet achiever but is one of the most improved players in the competition.
Four goals last week and a contender for goal of the year!
KEY BATTLE: Scott Pendlebury v Dyson Heppell
I think the Collingwood captain may sacrifice his game and try and shut down the Bombers captain and prime midfielder.
Essendon has a 26-17 (60.5 percent) line record as a home underdog since 2012.
The Verdict
Essendon in an upset.
The Bombers have a 26-17 (60.5 percent) line record as a home underdog since 2012.
Unibet Odds:
Essendon at $2.35
Collingwood at $1.62
Odds:
Tip: Collingwood Magpies at $1.62
Value Bet: First Goal Scorer: Scott Pendlebury at $23.00
More Info:
Teams:
Essendon Bombers: 
B: Hooker, Ambrose, McGrath
HB: Saad, Hurley, McKenna
C: Heppell, Z.Merrett, Colyer
HF: Smith, McKernan, McDonald-Tipungwuti
F: Fantasia, Brown, Baguley
FOLL: Bellchambers, Goddard, Stringer
I/C: Myers, Langford, Guelfi, McNiece
EMG: Francis, Long, J.Merrett, Dea
IN: McNiece
OUT: Dea
Collingwood Magpies: 
B: Maynard, Mihocek, Crisp
HB: Howe, Scharenberg, Appleby
C: Mayne, Pendlebury, Phillips
HF: De Goey, Crocker, Hoskin-Elliott
F: Thomas, Cox, Stephenson
FOLL: Grundy, Sier, Sidebottom
I/C: Adams, Daicos, Greenwood, Langdon
EMG: Murray, Oxley, Wills, Brown
IN: Greenwood
OUT: Dunn
AFL News:
Collingwood have jumped into second spot on the AFL ladder, extending their winning run to six with a 39-point victory over Gold Coast.
But a scrappy final quarter meant the Magpies squandered a golden opportunity to boost their percentage, prevailing 14.15 (99) to 8.12 (60) at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night, when they should have won by much more.
The contest was over before halftime, with the visitors piling on eight unanswered goals across the first two quarters to snap the Suns’ early resistance.
Among them was a goal-of-the-year contender from Josh Thomas, who beat Jarrod Harbrow to a loose ball, somehow kept it in as he slid towards the boundary, then snapped from a difficult angle with little room to manoeuvre as two Suns players closed in.
The Magpies coasted on and led by as much as 59 points in the third term but failed to put their lowly opponents to the sword.
Gold Coast took advantage with four straight goals and actually won the last quarter by a point, but a better side would have made more of the scoring opportunities they generated late and made a genuine game of it.
In the end, neither team will be overly happy with how they performed.
Thomas finished a game-high four goals and rookie Jaidyn Stephenson kicked three but ruckman Brodie Grundy was the outstanding player on the field.
He helped himself to 49 hitouts, 23 disposals, nine tackles and six clearances in a dominant display.
Jarryd Lyons (32 touches, 12 clearances), Touk Miller (33 touches, seven clearances) and Jarrod Harbrow (29 touches, 12 marks) led the way for Gold Coast.
As usual with Collingwood matches on the tourist strip, the vast majority of the 13,637-strong crowd was clad in black and white – and for the most part, they liked what they saw.
For the Suns, it was sadly more of the same.
They made a bright, high-pressured start and went goal-for-goal with Collingwood in the first 20 minutes to suggest an upset might have been brewing.
But the Suns went missing for the middle part of the match, slumping to their ninth consecutive defeat – now the third-worst losing streak in the expansion club’s short history.
