After a few weeks of shortened rounds, we’re back to a full round of nine matches and an early start, with Round 14 kicking off on Thursday night with West Coast and Essendon.
The Eagles suffered their second loss in three weeks when losing to Hawthorn in their most recent outing (123 – 103), which has left them in tenth position on the ladder and one win outside of the eight.
With more than half of their remaining games against teams in the top half of the competition, the Eagles need to start winning.
After a heavy loss to Sydney three matches back, the Bombers have recorded a hard-earned victory over Carlton before a comfortable win over the Gold Coast (115 – 72).
These latest wins have Essendon supporting a 9-3 winning record this year and firmly entrenched in the top eight, sitting in fourth spot.
They also boast a 4-1 covering the line when playing away from home.
It was a competitive effort by West Coast against the Hawthorn however, given the current form of both sides and the fact that West Coast are 2-4 when playing at home this year, the Bombers represent good value for mine.
Odds comparison by AFL Odds:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| West Coast Eagles | 1.85 | 1.80 | 1.87 | 1.80 | 1.85 | 1.85 |
|
Essendon Bombers
|
1.98 | 2.00 | 1.93 | 2.00 | 1.98 | 1.98 |
Teams:
1 Mitchell Brown
2 Mark LeCras
3 Andrew Gaff (INT)
4 Daniel Kerr
5 Brad Sheppard (INT)
7 Chris Masten
8 Beau Waters
9 Nic Naitanui
11 Matt Priddis
13 Luke Shuey
16 Eric Mackenzie
17 Josh Kennedy
18 Bradd Dalziell
20 Dean Cox
23 Darren Glass
24 Matt Rosa
26 Sam Butler
27 Jack Darling
28 Ashley Smith
30 Blayne Wilson (EMG)
31 Will Schofield (EMG)
34 Mark Hutchings (INT)
35 Patrick McGinnity
43 Ashton Hams (EMG)
46 Simon Tunbridge (INT)
In
Ashley Smith ,Mark Hutchings ,Brad Sheppard ,Simon Tunbridge
Out
Shannon Hurn (Ankle) , Scott Selwood (thumb) , Blayne Wilson (Omitted) , Andrew Embley (Suspension)
New
Simon Tunbridge
Essendon Bombers:
1 Michael Hibberd
2 Tom Bellchambers
4 Jobe Watson
5 Brent Stanton
6 Joe Daniher (EMG)
8 Jason Winderlich
9 Brendon Goddard
10 Nick O’Brien (EMG)
11 David Zaharakis (INT)
12 Stewart Crameri
15 Courtenay Dempsey
16 Tayte Pears (INT)
17 Jake Melksham (INT)
18 Michael Hurley
20 Jackson Merrett
21 Dyson Heppell
22 Jake Carlisle
23 David Myers (INT)
26 Cale Hooker
29 Alwyn Davey
30 Patrick Ryder
32 Travis Colyer (EMG)
38 Nick Kommer
40 Ben Howlett
46 Mark Baguley
In
Courtenay Dempsey ,Tom Bellchambers
Out
Heath Hocking (Calf) ,Joe Daniher (Omitted)
