TonyK
CibbuanoRound one preview: Port Adelaide v Essendon
March 28th 2009 16:31
VENUE and TIME: AAMI Stadium, Sunday 29 March, 3.10pm (AEDT)
HEAD TO HEAD: Played: 18, Port Adelaide 12, Essendon 6
LAST TIME: Port Adelaide 24.14 (158) def Essendon 15.4 (94), Round 7, 2008 at Docklands.
RECENT HISTORY: Port Adelaide has won four of its past five against Essendon with two of those wins coming at AAMI Stadium.
FORM: Port Adelaide had a solid pre-season, recording wins over Sydney and St Kilda before going down to eventual NAB Cup premiers Geelong by 18 points in a quarter-final. Essendon progressed to the semi-finals of the NAB Cup thanks to hard-fought wins over the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane before losing to Collingwood.
MEDICAL ROOM: Port Adelaide will enter their round one clash against the Bombers at full strength with promising first-year player Jackson Trengove on the sidelines with a hamstring-related knee injury. Meanwhile, Essendon midfielder Mark McVeigh and talented youngster David Myers are unavailable due to ankle injuries. Kyle Reimers (quad) is expected to be on the sidelines for at least three weeks. Brent Prismall (knee), Jason Laycock (foot) and Andrew Welsh (ankle) face extended stints on the sidelines while young forward Scott Gumbleton will undergo surgery on his back which will see him miss 12 weeks.
KEY MATCH-UPS: Alipate Carlile vs. Matthew Lloyd
The Essendon skipper will undoubtedly be keen to perform well on Sunday and help the Bombers get their year off to a winning start in what could be his last season.
Lloyd will head into this match with some confidence given his solid record against the Power in recent times - he has booted 14 goals in four games.
Carlile filled the void left down back by Darryl Wakelin last season, playing all 22 games and averaging 13 possessions per game.
The 21-year-old is likely to line-up on Lloyd in what shapes as being a pivotal match-up in determining the outcome of this contest.
Lloyd is at his most dangerous on the lead so Carlile will need his teammates to apply immense pressure on the ball carrier and prevent the Bombers from delivering the football cleanly inside 50.
If Essendon isn’t precise with their use of the football the likes of Lloyd won’t be able to have an impact and the Bombers will be punished on the rebound by the likes of Nathan Krakeour who has had a stellar pre-season.
Henry Slattery vs. Shaun Burgoyne
The last time these two sides met in round seven Burgoyne was influential with 27 disposals, two goals and five inside 50’s.
The 26-year-old is damaging with his ability to break the lines, kick goals and pump the football inside 50 and create scoring opportunities for the likes of Warren Tredrea, Daniel Motlop, Brad Ebert and co.
If the Bombers are going to record a rare win against the Power they need to shut-down Burgoyne’s run.
Slattery has been given some major defensive assignments during his 52-game career and could well be given the task of tagging one of the competition’s premier midfielders.
Like Chris Judd and Gary Ablett, Burgoyne is capable of turning a game on its head in the space of a quarter, so Slattery will need to be switched on for the full four quarters and not give the Port star any time or space.
Kane Cornes vs. Jobe Watson
Watson had his best year statistically in 2008, averaging 24 disposals per game.
The 24-year-old, who formed a formidable combination with ruckman David Hille in the middle, is an important part of the Essendon side because of his ability to win the football at stoppages and dish it off by hand.
Port will be keen to limit his influence at the stoppages as it will go a long way towards keeping pacy midfielders such as Jason Winderlich and Andrew Lovett quiet, who rely on Watson to feed them the ball.
Cornes is arguably one of the competition’s best taggers and will most likely go head-to-head with Watson in the middle.
Expect Cornes, who averaged 27.9 disposals last season, to push forward at every available opportunity and test out the defensive side of Watson’s game.
VERDICT: Essendon has won its past three round one clashes but it is hard to see them continuing that trend on Sunday. Port simply has too much class through the midfield and should provide their forwards with enough quality supply to kick a winning score. Power by 32 points.
PORT ADELAIDE V ESSENDON
PORT ADELAIDE
B: Michael Pettigrew, Alipate Carlile, Jacob Surjan
HB: Nathan Krakouer, Troy Chaplin, Domenic Cassisi
C: Shaun Burgoyne, Chad Cornes, Steven Salopek
HF: Robert Gray, Justin Westhoff, Peter Burgoyne
F: Brett Ebert, Warren Tredrea, Daniel Motlop
Foll: Dean Brogan, Kane Cornes, Danyle Pearce
I/C: Travis Boak, Josh Carr, Brendon Lade, David Rodan
Emg: Tom Logan, Wade Thompson, Toby Thurstans
ESSENDON
B: Henry Slattery, Michael Hurley, Dustin Fletcher
HB: Heath Hocking, Paddy Ryder, Courtenay Dempsey
C: Bachar Houli, Brent Stanton, Andrew Lovett
HF: Alwyn Davey, Jay Neagle, Adam McPhee
F: Angus Monfries, Matthew Lloyd, Scott Lucas
Foll: David Hille, Jobe Watson, Jason Winderlich
I/C: Tom Bellchambers, Hayden Skipworth, Sam Lonergan, Ricky Dyson
Emg: Jarrod Atkinson, Jay Nash, Tayte Pears
New: Michael Hurley (Macleod)
HEAD TO HEAD: Played: 18, Port Adelaide 12, Essendon 6
LAST TIME: Port Adelaide 24.14 (158) def Essendon 15.4 (94), Round 7, 2008 at Docklands.
RECENT HISTORY: Port Adelaide has won four of its past five against Essendon with two of those wins coming at AAMI Stadium.
FORM: Port Adelaide had a solid pre-season, recording wins over Sydney and St Kilda before going down to eventual NAB Cup premiers Geelong by 18 points in a quarter-final. Essendon progressed to the semi-finals of the NAB Cup thanks to hard-fought wins over the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane before losing to Collingwood.
MEDICAL ROOM: Port Adelaide will enter their round one clash against the Bombers at full strength with promising first-year player Jackson Trengove on the sidelines with a hamstring-related knee injury. Meanwhile, Essendon midfielder Mark McVeigh and talented youngster David Myers are unavailable due to ankle injuries. Kyle Reimers (quad) is expected to be on the sidelines for at least three weeks. Brent Prismall (knee), Jason Laycock (foot) and Andrew Welsh (ankle) face extended stints on the sidelines while young forward Scott Gumbleton will undergo surgery on his back which will see him miss 12 weeks.
KEY MATCH-UPS: Alipate Carlile vs. Matthew Lloyd
The Essendon skipper will undoubtedly be keen to perform well on Sunday and help the Bombers get their year off to a winning start in what could be his last season.
Lloyd will head into this match with some confidence given his solid record against the Power in recent times - he has booted 14 goals in four games.
Carlile filled the void left down back by Darryl Wakelin last season, playing all 22 games and averaging 13 possessions per game.
The 21-year-old is likely to line-up on Lloyd in what shapes as being a pivotal match-up in determining the outcome of this contest.
Lloyd is at his most dangerous on the lead so Carlile will need his teammates to apply immense pressure on the ball carrier and prevent the Bombers from delivering the football cleanly inside 50.
If Essendon isn’t precise with their use of the football the likes of Lloyd won’t be able to have an impact and the Bombers will be punished on the rebound by the likes of Nathan Krakeour who has had a stellar pre-season.
Henry Slattery vs. Shaun Burgoyne
The last time these two sides met in round seven Burgoyne was influential with 27 disposals, two goals and five inside 50’s.
The 26-year-old is damaging with his ability to break the lines, kick goals and pump the football inside 50 and create scoring opportunities for the likes of Warren Tredrea, Daniel Motlop, Brad Ebert and co.
If the Bombers are going to record a rare win against the Power they need to shut-down Burgoyne’s run.
Slattery has been given some major defensive assignments during his 52-game career and could well be given the task of tagging one of the competition’s premier midfielders.
Like Chris Judd and Gary Ablett, Burgoyne is capable of turning a game on its head in the space of a quarter, so Slattery will need to be switched on for the full four quarters and not give the Port star any time or space.
Kane Cornes vs. Jobe Watson
Watson had his best year statistically in 2008, averaging 24 disposals per game.
The 24-year-old, who formed a formidable combination with ruckman David Hille in the middle, is an important part of the Essendon side because of his ability to win the football at stoppages and dish it off by hand.
Port will be keen to limit his influence at the stoppages as it will go a long way towards keeping pacy midfielders such as Jason Winderlich and Andrew Lovett quiet, who rely on Watson to feed them the ball.
Cornes is arguably one of the competition’s best taggers and will most likely go head-to-head with Watson in the middle.
Expect Cornes, who averaged 27.9 disposals last season, to push forward at every available opportunity and test out the defensive side of Watson’s game.
VERDICT: Essendon has won its past three round one clashes but it is hard to see them continuing that trend on Sunday. Port simply has too much class through the midfield and should provide their forwards with enough quality supply to kick a winning score. Power by 32 points.
PORT ADELAIDE V ESSENDON
PORT ADELAIDE
B: Michael Pettigrew, Alipate Carlile, Jacob Surjan
HB: Nathan Krakouer, Troy Chaplin, Domenic Cassisi
C: Shaun Burgoyne, Chad Cornes, Steven Salopek
HF: Robert Gray, Justin Westhoff, Peter Burgoyne
F: Brett Ebert, Warren Tredrea, Daniel Motlop
Foll: Dean Brogan, Kane Cornes, Danyle Pearce
I/C: Travis Boak, Josh Carr, Brendon Lade, David Rodan
Emg: Tom Logan, Wade Thompson, Toby Thurstans
ESSENDON
B: Henry Slattery, Michael Hurley, Dustin Fletcher
HB: Heath Hocking, Paddy Ryder, Courtenay Dempsey
C: Bachar Houli, Brent Stanton, Andrew Lovett
HF: Alwyn Davey, Jay Neagle, Adam McPhee
F: Angus Monfries, Matthew Lloyd, Scott Lucas
Foll: David Hille, Jobe Watson, Jason Winderlich
I/C: Tom Bellchambers, Hayden Skipworth, Sam Lonergan, Ricky Dyson
Emg: Jarrod Atkinson, Jay Nash, Tayte Pears
New: Michael Hurley (Macleod)
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