Essendon has won its past two practice matches. It played three good quarters of football to defeat Sydney by 32 points at Optus Oval two weeks ago before it over-ran a very young Hawthorn side to win by 37-points in Bendigo last weekend. There have been glimpses of what this side is capable of but the coaching panel would dearly love to see four quarters of it this weekend.
""The pre-season is about getting your team as best prepared as possible for round one of the AFL season. This is the final chance for us to have a look at them in a competitive situation before we play the Swans so it is an important hit out for us,"" Essendon assistant coach Dean Wallis said. ""You really want to see the team put some cohesive football together for longer periods of time as the pre-season unfolds.""
""Both sides are at full strength so it should be a good game of football. I think it is also important that we put on a good a spectacle for the local community. This is an important game for the people of Mildura as we are all aware.""
The forward line set up for the Bombers looms as one of the most intriguing elements of the game. Matthew Lloyd returns for the Bombers having been rested last week, relegating youngster Courtney Johns to the bench. Johns played well last weekend, taking some strong marks and kicking two goals.
""At some stage we will have a look at Lloyd and Johns working together in the forward line and see how they go,"" Wallis said. ""It is something we will see at some stage during the course of the season so the more time they spend together before that, the better.""
""Courtney has not played a lot of football and the more he plays the better – he will get more confidence in his body over time. And what better way for him to learn to play key position forward than by playing along side one of the great full forwards.""
Another performance that will be closely monitored is that of young ruckman Paddy Ryder. The 17-year-old has shown some encouraging signs over the past two weeks and is still some sort of chance of playing in the season opener against Sydney at The Dome.
""Paddy is improving which is a great sign – his form this Friday night and on the training track next week will determine if he plays against Sydney,"" Wallis said. ""With Jason Laycock out he will be considered as will Tristan Cartledge who did a couple of nice things last week.""
Live score updates of the game will be available on essendonfc.com.au
Essendon's team for Friday night is:
Backs: McVeigh Fletcher Winderlich
Half Backs: Lovett-Murray McPhee Bradley
Centres: Stanton Slattery Solomon
Half Forwards: M. Johnson Lucas Hird
Forwards: Hille Lloyd Monfries
Rucks: Ryder J. Johnson Peverill
Bench: Welsh Bolton Johns Heffernan Nash Dempsey Dyson Lee Cole Cartledge
The Richmond squad is:
No. 1 – Chris Newman
No. 2 – Darren Gaspar
No. 3 – Brett Deledio
No. 4 – Andrew Raines
No. 5 – Troy Simmonds
No. 7 – Nathan Brown
No. 8 – Thomas Roach
No. 10 – Greg Stafford
No. 11 – Joel Bowden
No. 12 – Matthew Richardson
No. 13 – Trent Knobel
No. 15 – Kayne Pettifer
No. 16 – Patrick Bowden
No. 17 – Kane Johnson
No. 18 – David Rodan
No. 21 – Shane Tuck
No. 23 – Daniel Jackson
No. 24 – Mark Coughlan
No. 25 – Jay Schulz
No. 26 – Adam Pattison
No. 27 – Andrew Krakouer
No. 30 – Richard Tambling
No. 31 – Chris Hyde
No. 32 – Greg Tivendale
No. 33 – Brent Hartigan
No. 34 – Cleve Hughes
No. 39 – Andrew Kellaway
No. 41 – Nathan Foley
