Friday only AFL Round 2 match is between Essendon Bombers and Hawthorn Hawks with the game to be played at Etihad Stadium. The opening bounce is set to commence at 7.50pm with away team Hawthorn Hawks currently holding favouritism. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Essendon Bombers and Hawthorn Hawks.
Round: Round 2, Friday March 28, 7.50pm
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
Weather: 23° Shower or two.
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Odds Comparison:
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| Essendon Bombers | 2.90 | 2.95 | 3.05 | 2.95 | 2.90 | 2.95 |
| Hawthorn Hawks | 1.41 | 1.41 | 1.40 | 1.41 | 1.41 | 1.40 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Preview:
After a staggered start to the season, round 2 of the AFL kicks off this weekend. The second match of the round is between Essendon and Hawthorn, with this mouth watering encounter taking place on Friday night, 7.50pm at Etihad Stadium. The Hawks will go into this clash as favourites, after beating Brisbane by eight goals last week – no Lance Franklin needed.
Essendon also had a win last week, however, and are still out to prove themselves after the supplements scandal of last season. Essendon’s key recruit Paul Chapman will play an important role for this game, and anything is possible if he can repeat his impressive four goal form from last week. Luke Breust and Jarryd Roughead kicked five goals each for the Hawks last week, but despite the impressive score, Hawthorn did look sketchy at times and the Bombers could pull off an upset.
Teams:
Essendon Bombers:
Backs: Baguley Hooker Fletcher
Half-backs: Hibberd Hurley Goddard
Centres: Zaharakis Watson Heppell
Half-forwards: Chapman Carlisle Ambrose
Forwards: Stanton Daniher Hardingham
Followers: Ryder Hocking Howlett
Interchange: Gleeson Myers Z Merrett J Merrett
Emergencies: Ashby Colyer Kavanagh
No changes
Hawthorn Hawks:
Backs: Hodge Gibson Burgoyne
Half-backs: Suckling Cheney Birchall
Centres: Shiels Mitchell Hill
Half-forwards: Breust Roughead Smith
Forwards: Gunston Hale Rioli
Followers: McEvoy Langford Lewis
Interchange: Puopolo O’Brien Simpkin Duryea
Emergencies: Spangher Litherland Wanganeen
In: Rioli
Out: Wanganeen
News:
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson is wary of the threat posed by an Essendon side already bearing the unmistakable stamp of Mark Thompson.
Two of the AFL’s fiercest rivals meet at Etihad Stadium on Friday night on the back of big round-one wins.
Hawthorn began the post-Buddy Franklin era with an eight-goal dismissal of Brisbane while Essendon were even more impressive, smashing North Melbourne even more comprehensively than the 39-point margin suggests.
“We’ve got a fair amount of time for the Kangaroos and the way they go about it, but they were made to look inept last week,” said Clarkson.
“The Bombers did some things really well and we’ll obviously be very wary about some of those things.”
North Melbourne struggled to get their hands on the ball against Essendon, losing the overall disposals count 450-291 and also being smashed in contested possessions (154-110), clearances (52-30) and inside 50s (60-40).
Clarkson sensed the hand of two-time Geelong premiership coach Thompson behind much of Essendon’s good work.
“I haven’t seen Essendon play, and I don’t think many have, like they played last week,” said Clarkson.
“Are we going to get the same as that?
“It’s a different coach this time around with Bomber (Thompson) and already we’re seeing some subtle changes to the the way they go about things.
“It’s a little bit of the old Bomber and Geelong in the way they want to set up and play.”
But while acknowledging Essendon posed a different challenge during Thompson’s one-year tenure before he hands the reins back to James Hird, Clarkson also stressed that the reigning premiers had evolved following Franklin’s move to Sydney.
“Buddy is no longer there, so we’re going to structure up differently,” said Clarkson.
“That will take a while for opposition sides to work out.”
Essendon star Brendon Goddard is confident the Bombers finally have some clear air after the board made clear to Hird and his supporters on Wednesday their expectations while he served out the remainder of his 12-month ban.
“We don’t need or want any more distractions, although we’ve dealt with a lot in the past,” said Goddard, a member of Essendon’s leadership group.
“I think the message has been passed on to Hirdy.
“He’s across how the players are feeling and he’s welcomed the feedback.
“He’s ready to move on.”