This week in Matthew Knights’ match preview, exclusive to essendonfc.com.au, the senior coach reveals how he will be closely monitoring the performance of Jason Winderlich and Scott Lucas as they play their first game this week.

 

Knights also reflects on the Essendon v Bulldogs game and tells how the Bombers will be approaching this week’s clash with the Brisbane Lions.
 
The Essendon team of 26 is: Jay Neagle, Ricky Dyson, Scott Gumbleton, Jobe Watson, Angus Monfries, Leroy Jetta, Jason Winderlich, Mark McVeigh, Andrew Lovett, Sam Lonergan, Courtenay Dempsey, Jay Nash, Matthew Lloyd, David Hille, Henry Slattery , Hayden Skipworth, David Myers, Scott Lucas, Darcy Daniher, Alwyn Davey, Patrick Ryder, Dustin Fletcher, Adam McPhee, Tyson Slattery, Heath Hocking and Tom Bellchambers.
 
Ins: Lucas, Davey, Winderlich, Myers, Daniher.
 
Outs: Bachar Houli, Michael Quinn, Jarrod Atkinson, Nathan Lovett-Murray(emergency), Cale Hooker (emergency). 
 
Read Knights' preview below:
 
FORM LINE
 
The form our players displayed in the second half of our game against the Western Bulldogs is what we will be modelling our game on this week. We were a little bit scratchy in the first half of that game and our coaching staff were a lot happier when our players opened the game up a little bit in the second half.
 
Given it has been two weeks since we last played, we are probably going to be pretty fresh again this week but our players know the game plan and the way we want to play so we will focus on executing that on Friday night.
 

The theme that stuck out for me from Brisbane’s game is they stuck together very well. They teamed together very cohesively, particularly in their backline and when moving the ball out of defence. Obviously they have done a lot of work together over the summer and are well drilled and we have to expect a Brisbane side that will play at a pretty high level and we will have to be right on our game to beat them and that is what we are going to endeavour to do.

 

PLAYERS TO WATCH
 
Scott Lucas is coming in for his first game of the season and it is really important for him to get some good match time under his belt. I think he is well and truly over his knee injury so it will be great to see him moving around injury-free.
 

Jason Winderlich is another player we are really looking forward to watching this week. His career was really at the crossroads some three months ago and there was a big question mark over whether he would come back and play senior football. To see him come back into the senior line-up this week and moving around in the midfield will be really exciting for the club.

 

From a Brisbane perspective, I think Josh Drummond will be a big player for the Lions this week. He had a fantastic game against St Kilda and his skills really helped set the side up in the first half of the match. He has always shown an enormous amount of talent across the half-back line and he will need to be held accountable this week.
 

Matthew Leuenberger is also coming back in for the Lions this week. He was an early draft pick and a budding young star in the ruck so it will be great to see him go against young Tom Bellchambers and David Hille in the ruck. They are two young players we are looking at from Brisbane that are pushing up and getting better in the AFL ranks.

 

INS AND OUTS
 
We have four players coming back in this week in Jason Winderlich, Scott Lucas, David Myers and Alwyn Davey. From a game-time perspective, it is important these players get some minutes to ensure they give themselves the best possible chance to be in good shape for Round 1.
 
We want to make sure everyone in the team has had the right amount of game time heading into Round 1 so the players who aren’t selected this week will not miss because of form. It is more a strategic move because we can only play 26 who will rotate off the bench on Friday while others will play a full game down at Geelong on Sunday in the VFL.
 
Our new recruit Tyson Slattery will definitely play in our backline this week so it is exciting for him to get some more game time under his belt. Meanwhile another of our new recruits, David Zaharakis is getting closer to playing his first game. Although he will probably miss at this stage, he is the first emergency so if we have any niggles between today and tomorrow night, he will be the player that comes in.
 

Alwyn is a big barometer for our team and means a lot to us in regards to our success moving forward as a club so it will be great to see him out on the turf running around with his teammates. He is looking forward to the game but is also a little nervous because he hasn’t played for such a long time. At this stage he will more than likely play the second half of the game and it is a great reward for Alwyn for all the work he has done to get his body right.

 

TOPIC OF THE WEEK
 
It was only this time last year that I was coaching my first or second game of AFL football and Michael Voss is going through the same thing at the moment.
 
He has had a remarkable history as a player and I am sure he will translate a lot of that playing career into his coaching.
 
I watched the Brisbane Lions live in their first game against St Kilda on the Gold Coast and they were terrific in the first three quarters. Their attack on the ball was relentless and their tackling was ferocious so we expect a Michael Voss coached side to be very aggressive and really up for the game so it is something that I am really looking forward to.
 

Michael has a lot of experience from working at the AIS over the last twelve months and he has watched a lot of football from a commentary perspective so I am sure he is going to be up with the modern trends of the game and they will be fairly forward in their preparation.