The MCG is set to explode on the weekend and it is in the midfield that the fuse will be lit. If you can win the battle in the midfield you will almost certainly win the war and it will be critical this weekend when the Bombers take on the Lions in the 2001 Grand Final. Joe Misiti, Jason Johnson, Chris Heffernan and Blake Caracella v Michael Voss, Jason Akermanis, Simon Black and Nigel Lappin. They are eight players that ooze class and whichever group takes control will almost certainly have a premiership medal around their neck by the end of the day.

Essendon’s midfield has been somewhat unsettled this season with the likes of Joe Misiti, Chris Heffernan, Justin Blumfield and Mark Mercuri being sidelined for prolonged periods of time through injury. Given this statistics can be somewhat misleading. However Black, Voss and Lappin have collected in excess of 500 possessions each this season and Akermanis isn’t far behind. Jason Johnson is the Bombers leading disposal winner with 473 and no other players has in excess of 400. Injury is the major reason for this discrepancy but the Bombers also have a large number of players they can rotate through the mid-field meaning possessions are generally more evenly spread.

Of course midfielders are most effective if they can get their hands on the football first out of the midfield. For Essendon, Johnson clearly leads the way with 124 clearances while James Hird is second with 72. Hird’s figure is quite remarkable when you consider how much time he spends across the half forward line. For Brisbane, Simon Black is the clear winner with 166 clearances ahead of Voss with 122.

“There is no doubt that it will be a very important battle and I think if you match them all up fit and in form there isn’t much between them,” Essendon assistant coach Mark Harvey said. “I think Chris Heffernan has really improved for us over the last couple of weeks and he is a very important player for us. And Justin Blumfield improved again last weekend and he will be cherry ripe this weekend.”

“These blokes who have a few games under their belt now and now back in form. Joe Misiti was very good last weekend. Jason Johnson and Blake Caracella have had to shoulder a fair bit this season and with these players now regaining their best form we have got a pretty good group together,” Harvey said. “Last week our mid-field did pretty well in my opinion. We were without Hird and Mercuri and they are two pretty handy players to rotate through there.”