Friday only AFL Round 1 match is between North Melbourne Kangaroos and Essendon Bombers with the game to be played at Etihad Stadium. The opening bounce is set to commence at 7:50 PM with home team North Melbourne Kangaroos currently holding favouritism. 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:

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:

North Melbourne have declared Essendon’s supplements scandal is not an acceptable topic of conversation during Friday’s AFL round-one clash at Etihad Stadium.

North’s key forward Drew Petrie, who will captain the side in the absence of injured skipper Andrew Swallow, says his players won’t be sledging the Bombers on the topic of drugs.

“It’s not in the spirit of the game at all and our players won’t be engaging in any kind of sledging around the ASADA stuff,” Petrie told reporters on Thursday.

“But all other sledging is open season,” he added with a grin.

Essendon are still under ASADA investigation for their 2012 supplements program.

It’s not known when ASADA will decide whether they will issue infraction notices against players.

Essendon coach James Hird is serving a 12-month AFL suspension because of the supplements scandal. Hird’s ban expires in August and his assistant Mark Thompson is coaching the side in 2014.

The Bombers were banned in August 2013 from that year’s finals series as part of the AFL’s penalties handed down over the club’s use of supplements.