Adelaide Oval will play host to Saturday's Round 5 AFL game between Essendon Bombers and Melbourne Demons. The game kicks off at 4:10 pm with Melbourne Demons heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Essendon Bombers vs. Melbourne Demons game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Saturday April 15, 2023 at 4:10 pm

Where: Adelaide Oval

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Essendon Bombers vs Melbourne Demons Odds

Essendon Bombers vs Melbourne Demons Preview

Things are about to get real in a hurry now for the Bombers.

Essendon enters a tricky stretch of schedule over the next month, starting with a difficult assignment against a Melbourne team that just won by 63 points against West Coast a week earlier.

To their credit, the Dons have been much-improved under Brad Scott and actually resemble a serious top-eight contender – even if fans don’t want to get too excited.

Unlike last year, the Bombers have shown they are capable of weathering the storm against teams like the Suns and Giants, while the spine continues to take big steps forward with Mason Redman, Sam Draper, and Jake Stringer all playing good footy.

The Dees pose a much different challenge though in a number of different ways.

Melbourne looked disjointed and out of sync for much of the back half of last season, but the fact they lead the league in points and rank third inside 50’s suggests they’ve regained some of their poise on attack.

The Dees also possess tremendous depth, highlighted by the emergence of promising forward Jacob van Rooyen and young midfielder Judd McVee.

Overall, I like backing against teams traveling back from Perth the week earlier, but this still looks a tall order for the Dons.

Melbourne has covered in seven of its last eight games at the Adelaide Oval and owns a very impressive inter-state record over the last two seasons.

In my opinion, the Dees are the most polished and reliable team right now, so I think this could be a bit of a learning curve for Scott’s young Bombers.

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