An enthralling encounter awaits as Footscray hosts Essendon at Victoria University Whitten Oval on Sunday, as Stephen O’Brien reports.
Footscray in their first season as a standalone VFL side have taken all before them this year . After a shaky start to the season they had compiled seven consecutive wins before falling to top four side Box Hill Hawks by seven points last week .
The Dogs have a great blend of youth and experience , old wise heads like Brett Goodes , Nick Lower, Jordan Russell and Brent Prismall have led from the front and are consistently among the doggies best players. Coach Chris Maple must be delighted with the output of these players together with their on field leadership .
Essendon, despite sitting 10th on the table, have also been in a rich vein of form having not lost in their previous four matches before falling four points short of pace setter Port Melbourne last week . The Dons appeared headed for a large defeat during the third quarter when trailing by six goals against the Borough before storming home, hitting the lead with minutes left in the match, only to have Port steady and goal just prior to the siren .
Dan Coghlan, the young man from South Croydon, was again named in the best last week and it has been the mixture of quality VFL listed players as well as a sprinkling of AFL teammates who have made the Bombers competitive against higher rated opposition in the middle part of the season . The Dons will face an uphill battle to make the final eight should they not get over the Dogs this weekend.
Sam Darley, the Western Bulldog recruited from GWS, has had a stellar season at VFL level and will need to be closely monitored. Key Forwards Jarred Grant and Liam Jones will provide lively targets for the Dogs, with the jobs on them likely to go to Tayte Pears and Ariel Steinberg . Steinberg is having his best season in the Dons colours and those match ups promise to be a highlight.
Freewheeling runners Christian Howard and Jason Tutt are standouts at this level with Elliott Kavanagh to get a run with role against one of those players. Daniel Gianciracusa will likely have Jason Ashby or Dylan Van Unen for company and Shaun Higgins as well as Tory Dickson returning from injury pose more headaches for the Bombers.
To be competitive in this game, Essendon need Leroy Jetta to find his best form and Cory Del Olio and Orazio Fantasia to convert some goals . Captain Ben Duscher so often carries his team on his back and his likely clash with Goodes will be pivotal. Interestingly Tom Bellchambers has been named in the 1st ruck despite being listed as missing for a few weeks with ongoing ankle problems. Should he play, his contest with Tom Campbell will be another of the highlights .
VERDICT: Footscray with class on every line should come out eventual winners to the tune of 10 pts
Last Modified on 19/07/2014 21:32