It’s the dawn of a new era for the Bombers when they kick off the NAB pre-season competition against the Brisbane Lions tonight. It will be a new look Essendon team and a new look Essendon coaching box doing battle on the AFL’s new frontier – the Gold Coast.
While the result is largely irrelevant, senior coach Matthew Knight and his coaching panel will want to signs that the new regime has things in hand with the season proper a little over a month away. A host of experience will also look on from the sidelines as the young Bombers get their chance to push for senior selection.
Among those missing from tonight’s clash will be Matthew Lloyd, Dustin Fletcher, Scott Lucas, Mark McVeigh, Alwyn Davey, Adam Ramanauskas, Andrew Lovett and Andrew Welsh. Jobe Watson and Jason Winderlich will both miss with slight injury concerns.
What will Essendon fans be looking for tonight?
They will want to see the ruck combination of Jason Laycock and David Hille work effectively and make a contribution on the scoreboard. Essendon fans can expect them to spend more time up forward this season.
They will get another glimpse of the future bookends – Paddy Ryder and Scott Gumbleton. They have not played a lot of football together but should they continue to develop Essendon fans will have a lot to look forward to in the next decade.
They will get another taste of the improved Bomber leg speed. Even without Davey and Lovett, Essendon fans will be keen to get another look at Leroy Jetta, Bachar Houli and the improving Courtenay Dempsey.
They will get their first look at Essendon’s first two draft selections – David Myers and Tayte Pears. Both have the size to handle senior AFL football and it will be most interesting to see how they handle the pressure and tempo.
Other questions Essendon supporters will be asking themselves – can Angus Monfries develop into a high quality mid-fielder? It is crunch time for Courtney Johns – can he dominate a game from the goal square? Can Heath Hocking add to the Essendon midfield in his first full season as an AFL player?
All these questions and more will be answered during season 2008. The first chapter of the story will be told tonight.
Essendon’s squad is:
Backline: Pears Michael Slattery
Half-backs: Myers Ryder Lovett-Murray
Centres: Hocking Johnson Monfries
Half-forwards: McPhee Gumbleton Dempsey
Forwards: Jetta Johns Houli
Rucks: Hille Dyson Peverill
Bench: Laycock Nash Hooker Atkinson Magin Lonergan Reimers Dick
