Saturday third AFL Round 21 match is between Essendon Bombers and North Melbourne Kangaroos with the game to be played at Etihad Stadium. The opening bounce is set to commence at 4:40pm local time with away team North Melbourne Kangaroos currently holding favouritism. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Essendon Bombers and North Melbourne Kangaroos.
WHERE AND WHEN: Etihad Stadium, 4:40pm AEST, Saturday 17 August
[iframe_loader width=”690″ height=”530″ src=”https://sportsnews.com.au/afl/match.php?id=3130178″]
Opening odds comparison:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Essendon Bombers | 2.85 | 2.80 | N/A | 2.80 | 2.85 | N/A |
|
North Melbourne Kangaroos
|
1.42 | 1.43 | N/A | 1.43 | 1.42 | N/A |
Preview:
Essendon play North Melbourne on Saturday, 4.40pm at Etihad Stadium. The Kangaroos will be expected to win here, currently sitting at 11th position on the ladder with
a slight chance of playing on in September. The drugs scandal at Essendon finally seems to have caught up with the Bombers, who have lost their last three games by
over 50 points. While they are certainly not out of this one yet, the atmosphere at the club right now surely can’t be conductive to flowing and confident footy.
Teams:
Essendon Bombers: 
B: M.Hibberd T.Pears K.Hardingham
HB: M.Baguley C.Hooker B.Goddard
C: H.Hocking J.Watson L.Dalgleish
HF: J.Daniher S.Crameri D.Heppell
F: N.Kommer J.Carlisle A.Davey
FOLL: T.Bellchambers J.Melksham B.Stanton
I/C: L.Jetta D.Zaharakis B.Howlett N.O’Brien
EMG: N.Lovett-Murray E.Kavanagh D.Hille
IN: Joe Daniher, Lauchlan Dalgleish, Nick O’Brien, Leroy Jetta, Stewart Crameri
OUT: Patrick Ryder (suspension), Scott Gumbleton (soreness), Dustin Fletcher (suspension), David Myers (rested), Jason Winderlich (hamstring)
North Melbourne Kangaroos:
B: L.Hansen S.Thompson A.Mullett
HB: J.Macmillan N.Grima S.Atley
C: R.Bastinac D.Wells S.Gibson
HF: L.Adams R.Tarrant B.Harvey
F: L.Thomas D.Petrie A.Black
FOLL: T.Goldstein B.Cunnington J.Ziebell
I/C: B.McKenzie B.Jacobs L.Delaney S.Wright
EMG: M.Firrito L.Greenwood T.Garner
In: Nathan Grima, Brad McKenzie
Out: Taylor Garner (omitted), Taylor Hine (omitted)
AFL should give Bombers ultimatum: Kennett
Former Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett says Essendon should be prevented from playing in the AFL next season if the fall-out from their supplements saga isn’t resolved by the end of November.
With the spectre of court action looming, after the Bombers and four of their officials were charged with bringing the game into disrepute, Kennett says the AFL can’t afford to let the saga drag on indefinitely.
The former Victorian premier says the AFL must put the reputation of the code first, even if it means playing with just 17 teams next year.
“I don’t like courts,” Kennett told Melbourne’s SEN radio on Thursday.
“I do think there is a circuit-breaker.
“If I was the AFL Commission I would say to Essendon `You do whatever you like. But if this is not resolved by the end of November, you will not as a team be competing next year.’
“We are not going to have 17 clubs and the reputation of our code become the top priority next year when we’re trying to play a competition.
“It’s just too costly.
“The AFL and Essendon are dragging down the reputation of the code.”
Kennett said the Bombers had failed their players.
The club, along with coach James Hird, assistant Mark Thompson, football manager Danny Corcoran and club doctor Bruce Reid were all charged on Tuesday night with bringing the game into disrepute over their roles in the Bombers’ 2011-12 supplements program.
All of those parties are scheduled to front the AFL Commission on August 26, although there is speculation they will instead seek a court injunction.
The commission has the power to hand out suspensions and fines, and strip the Bombers of premiership points and draft picks, should the charges be sustained.
“Essendon, right from the word go, have failed in a duty of care to their players,” Kennett said.
“For that whether the CEO knew or didn’t know, the coach, the assistant coach, the football manager all should have been dismissed or stood down.”
Essendon chief executive Ian Robson resigned in May and chairman David Evans followed in July, along with high performance manager Dean Robinson.