HEAD TO HEAD:
Played – 198
Won – 104
Lost – 90
Drawn - 4
LAST FIVE TIMES:
R10, 2016, Richmond 16.9 (105) d Essendon 10.7 (67) at the MCG
R22, 2015, Richmond 10.14 (74) d Essendon 7.5 (47) at the MCG
R9, 2015, Richmond 10.12 (72) d Essendon 8.11 (59) at the MCG
R20, 2014, Richmond 14.11 (95) d Essendon 11.11 (77) at the MCG
R11, 2014, Essendon 15.14 (104) d Richmond 7.12 (54) at the MCG
LAST TIME WE MET:
Essendon gave a spirited performance in the annual Dreamtime At the ‘G game earlier this year. Despite going down by 38 points, coach John Worsfold was pleased with the team’s performance on the big stage. Darcy Parish showed great signs as a crumbing forward kicking two goals for the night, while David Zaharakis and Brendon Goddard led by example.
KEY PLAYERS:
In his return from suspension, David Zaharakis is going to be crucial to the Bombers’ midfield success. The star player has given some close attention by opposition teams this season and he’ll be looking to make amends for missing last week’s game through suspension. He will look to bounce back this week and return to his very best which was on show the last time the two teams met.
Matthew Leuenberger will be looking to pick-up where he left off before he injured his knee against West Coast two weeks ago. The former Lion was missed last week and has been consistent in providing the Essendon midfielders with first use of the ball. The big man’s work once the ball gets to ground level has also been impressive with the contest he creates and, more importantly, his follow up work seeing him average 2.5 clearances a game, the seventh best at the Club.
As the most experienced player in Essendon’s forward line, Joe Daniher will shoulder a lot of responsibility against the Tigers. The youngster has emerged as a leader this year, both on and off the field. Despite being on track to once again top Essendon’s goal kicking, Daniher has acknowledged his accuracy in front of goal still requires work. Essendon are in the process of building a new forward group and have seen the emergence of Orazio Fantasia, Will Hams, Darcy Parish, Mitch Brown and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti all showing an ability to kick goals. It is important for the team and Daniher to have the same spread of goalkickers as they did last week to have maximum impact against the Tigers.
WATCH OUT FOR:
Dustin Martin is the danger player for the Bombers on Saturday afternoon. He collected 38-disposals, six inside 50s and seven clearances the last time we met.
