Essendon midfielder David Zaharakis says he is expecting a tough battle in the midfield against Adelaide on Friday night.
The 28-year-old said he is wary of the Crows’ strength through the middle of the ground, but highlighted the Bombers’ speed and spread as a key factor in breaking away from Adelaide’s shackles.
“Obviously they made the Grand Final last year, they’re a quality outfit with some new inclusions, especially in the midfield with Gibbs going through there and he’s a quality player,” Zaharakis said.
“History shows that they have a great midfield of inside, big-bodied players so we’ve got to try and counteract that and hopefully get them on the outside and with the spread around stoppages and contests.”
Zaharakis said that Essendon’s new-look midfield is capable of winning the tough contest on Friday, especially with the addition of recent recruits Jake Stringer and Devon Smith.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that can go through there. I guess just adding numbers with Jake and Dev in there, (they are) two quality players that give us different looks,” he said.
“Jake’s obviously a bit more of a bigger body and Dev is just a little speedy little nut who gets to the pill and can also explode out of stoppages.
“It’s a lot of depth in there, but it will take a good effort from all of us to beat Adelaide on Friday.”
Zaharakis – who averaged an impressive 26 disposals in 2017 – has been gifted with a healthy body in recent years, missing just one game in his last two seasons and only due to suspension.
The ball-magnet said that he wasn’t the only one to push through the pre-season with flying colours.
“The body’s been great in the last three years and it’s really good to get that consistency through pre-season,” he said.
“If you have a great pre-season it puts you in good stead for the year...we’ve had a lot of guys have a lot of great pre-seasons.”
While the Bombers have been unfortunate with recent injuries including Patrick Ambrose’s broken wrist and Martin Gleeson’s long-term ankle injury, Zaharakis said he wasn’t concerned about the untimely spate of injuries.
“They’re more impact injuries rather than anything else, so you can’t really avoid them.”
A large and loud crowd is expected to attend the match and Zaharakis encouraged fans to make it an intimidating atmosphere for the Crows.
“It’s always great at Etihad when the roof is shut for Friday night footy, everyone loves Friday night and especially our supporters (who) get out there. If we get 50,000 there on Friday night it will be amazing,” he said.
“Everyone knows how hard Adelaide Oval is to play at when we go over there and play against Adelaide.
“If our fans can make it as loud as that is and even louder and make it a real cauldron in there (to show the Crows) that they’re coming into enemy territory it will be great to see and great to run out to.”
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