Adelaide vs. Essendon
Saturday April 15
7:10pm (ACST)
Adelaide Oval
The Bombers arrive in South Australia looking to rebound from their first loss of the season, while the Crows sit undefeated and on top of the ladder.
Conor McKenna and Josh Green return for Essendon. Adelaide has made one change with Troy Menzel coming in for the injured Mitch McGovern.
Check out Robert Shaw's match preview here.
Weather:
Fine with a top of 24.
Recent Meetings:
R19, 2016, Adelaide Crows 22.11 (143) d Essendon 9.7 (61) at Adelaide Oval
R20, 2015, Adelaide Crows 27.9 (171) d Essendon 8.11 (59) at Etihad Stadium
R14, 2014, Essendon 15.11 (101) d Adelaide Crows 14.8 (92) at Etihad Stadium
R1, 2013, Essendon 18.9 (117) d Adelaide Crows 11.16 (82) at AAMI Stadium
R19, 2012, Adelaide Crows 16.8 (104) d Essendon 15.10 (100) at AAMI Stadium
Teams:
Essendon
In: Josh Green, Conor McKenna
Out: Heath Hocking, Martin Gleeson
B: Patrick Ambrose, Michael Hurley, Andrew McGrath
HB: Mark Baguley, Mitch Brown, Brent Stanton
C: Brendon Goddard, Jobe Watson, Darcy Parish
HF: Orazio Fantasia, Cale Hooker, Travis Colyer
F: Josh Green, Joe Daniher, Conor McKenna
R: Matthew Leuenberger, David Zaharakis, Dyson Heppell
I: James Kelly, Zach Merrett, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Kyle Langford
E: Martin Gleeson, James Stewart, Matt Dea
Adelaide
In: Troy Menzel
Out: Mitch McGovern (hamstring)
B: Rory Laird, Daniel Talia, Luke Brown
HB: Brodie Smith, Kyle Hartigan, Wayne Milera
C: David Mackay, Matt Crouch, Rory Sloane
HF: Rory Atkins, Tom Lynch, Riley Knight
F: Andy Otten, Taylor Walker, Eddie Betts
R: Sam Jacobs, Richard Douglas, Charlie Cameron
I: Jake Lever, Jake Kelly, Curtly Hampton, Troy Menzel
E: Jonathon Beech, Jordan Gallucci, Reilly O'Brien
Scott Lucas' key factors
Control the midfield:
"We've seen opposition teams in the first three rounds have more inside 50's than the Bombers. So in order to do that you really need to control the contested ball around the stoppages, win the clearances, control field position and get it inside 50 to give your forwards a realistic chance of kicking a winning score."
Lower the eyes:
"Adelaide is a fantastic contested marking team and intercept marking team. So you've got to lower your eyes ... if you bomb the ball, they'll control the air."
Apply forward pressure:
"Adelaide is a very good team at scoring from defensive half scoring chains, with Laird (run) and Brodie Smith (elite kicking game). When the ball comes in, just don't let it out too easily."
Control Tex and Eddie:
"Betts as a small forward, expect Baguley to go to him early on. The big Texan has been in fantastic form ... if Hurley can really dampen his influence early in the game it will be critically important."
Start well:
"The crowd and the impact they can have is significant so if you can start well, quieten the crowd, settle in, confidence will grow."
Key match-ups
Baguley v Betts: The Bombers small defender normally gets the first crack at the opposition's most dangerous small forward, and they don't get much more dangerous than Eddie Betts.
Merrett v Sloane: They are the most in-form midfielders across the two sides. Expect both to get plenty of the ball, but the player who is able to do more damage delivering the ball inside 50 could have a big say on the result.
Hurley v Walker: The Bombers All-Australian defender had ten rebounds from the defensive 50 last week. With Josh Jenkins and Mitch McGovern already out of the side, if Hurley can shut down Walker, the Bombers will be in a good position.
