Key posts
Cameron strikes first
A light rain is falling at the Gabba as Charlie Cameron kicks the first goal of the night.
He took a mark about 4om from goal and was then walked to the line after a 15m penalty.
Scott praises Bomber debutant
Brad Scott has described Essendon debutant Zak Johnson as a composed and classy player.
“He’s one of three Parade College boys playing in the team tonight,” Scott told Fox Footy.
Essendon coach Brad Scott.Credit: AFL Photos
“I really have a lot of time for Zak. He’s a really composed player. He’s a fine young man.
“He’s a player when we watched him come through the talent pathway, the way we described him was when he had the ball, his team kept the ball. That’s the modern footballer.
“You’ve got to be able to retain possession when you’ve got it. He can win it in a contest, he’s a classy player, you know, and he won’t take a backward step.
“He’s earned his opportunity. We’ve got some availability challenges, but we wanted to get him into the team for quite some weeks, so he’s ready.”
Johnson was taken at pick 70 in last year’s national draft and is the seventh player to make his debut for Essendon this year.
“It’s always going to be a challenge when you have new players, regardless of whether they’re debutants or even if they’re experienced players from other clubs,” Scott said.
“That gelling of your team is a challenge. But I haven’t seen a team like this that’s as excited as we’ve got tonight.
“The youth brings exuberance, it brings excitement, and, yeah, when you’ve got guys who haven’t played together, that’s a challenge, but I’m really proud of our development program.
“Our VFL program is really aligned with our AFL program and the role that Zak’s been playing at VFL level is exactly the role he will play tonight.”
Fagan reveals forward planning
Chris Fagan says the Lions have been working on readjusting to life after the retirement of key forward Joe Daniher.
The Brisbane coach said they needed to improve their conversion rate once they moved the ball inside the 50m arc.
Hugh McCluggage of the Lions gets a kick.Credit: AFL Photos
“It’s something we’ve been working on pretty hard at training,” Fagan told Fox Footy.
“Our forward line’s probably been our most disrupted line this year, too, with injuries – Charlie Cameron’s missed a few, Kai Lohmann hasn’t played all that much, Logan Morris missed a game or two, and obviously, Joey’s not there any more.
“So it’s taking us a little while to get that connection. But I feel like the last couple of weeks, it’s starting to improve.“
Fagan also praised the form of midfielder Hugh McCluggage.
“I think he’s a really underestimated player, and he’s one of those blokes that keeps working on his game,” he said.
“I think if you have a look at him, statistically this year he’s improved his clearance work. I think he had 11 last week, and his actual tackle pressure has gone through the roof.
“I hope at some point he’s good enough to be selected as an All-Australian, not that it’s all about individual things, but he’s one bloke that if he did, you’d say, ‘well, he’s deserved that because he’s been pretty close for a long time’.”
Fagan said the club was not tempted to rest players off a five-day break for the Essendon clash, but would consider that approach later in the season.
“Everybody pulled up well from the game last week,” he said. “If someone had been a little bit dicey, we definitely would have made that call, but as it turned out we didn’t have any injuries from the game.“
Fagan said the Lions would try and deny Essendon the ball in the Bombers’ back end by limiting their uncontested marks.
“I think they use that as a form of defence, in a way to possess the ball. So I’d like to think we can force them along down the line quite regularly tonight,” he said.
Teams name their subs
No surprises with the subs vests tonight.
The Bombers have named Elijah Tsatas as their sub, while Deven Robertson will start as the sub for the Lions.
On the weather front, it is 18C in Brisbane and cloudy. There is a chance of a shower or two later on tonight.
Thirty-second guide to tonight’s game
Brisbane v Essendon, Gabba, 7.30pm
In a nutshell: The Lions’ title defence looks to be back on track after an ordinary fortnight in which they lost to Melbourne at home and then drew with North Melbourne in Tasmania. Last week they returned to type by putting away Hawthorn at the MCG. They sit second behind the Magpies on eight wins. Essendon’s 10th position on the back of six wins is slightly flattering. They have been knocked around by injuries to key players such as Sam Draper and Ben McKay, and are yet to take down a top-eight side.
Ben McKay will miss the Brisbane clash after his foot was stomped on last week.Credit: Getty Images
At the selection table: Brisbane go into tonight’s clash unchanged. On paper, they look as good or better than any team in the competition, boasting an all-star midfield of Lachie Neale, Josh Dunkley and Hugh McCluggage. The injury curse continues at the Hangar with the Bombers losing another after last week’s 23-point victory over an undermanned Richmond – McKay (foot), Zach Reid (hamstring) and Kyle Langford (quad). They bring in debutant Zak Johnson, Elijah Tsatas and Archer Day-Wicks.
The stats say: On this year’s sample size, Essendon will have more of the ball, but will also turn it over more often. They will concede clearances, marks and inside 50s to the Lions. Essendon average 75 points a game and concede 88 points. The Lions average 89 points a game and concede 78 points.
History says: The Lions lead 4-1 in their recent head-to-head clash, including their past two at home. Scores in their past two victories over the Bombers were 87 to 67, and 87 to 45.
What the coaches say:
Chris Fagan: “We haven’t done a lot (since Saturday’s win over Hawthorn). We’ve just been really in recovery mode. We had a reasonably short hitout (on Tuesday), but the good thing is everyone’s recovered well from the game on the weekend, so that’s all you can ask.”
Brad Scott: “If we had a 100 per cent availability list, we wouldn’t have unveiled six debutants this year. It’s a challenging situation, but we can be down in the dumps and focus on the negatives, or we can be optimistic and focus on the opportunities it creates.”
What the experts say: It’s all in Brisbane tonight. All 14 of The Age’s AFL experts are leaning towards a Lions victory. Our top tipster Michael Gleeson has picked Brisbane by 52 points.
Jones’ foot was pointing the wrong way
By Michael Gleeson
Harrison Jones looked down at his foot, and it was pointing back at him.
“I thought, ‘Oh that’s disgusting’,” Jones recalls.
Harrison Jones leaves the field.Credit: Getty Images
In shock at the time, he just remembers it being weird, but not immediately painful.
It was just on three-quarter-time against North Melbourne in round eight when the versatile, tall wingman contested a ball at the boundary and landed with his foot at a right angle, which was, as it happens, the perfectly wrong angle for a rare dislocation.
He tumbled over the line and found himself with his back against the fence.
“Initially, I thought I had just rolled my ankle – then I looked down I thought, ‘That is not a roll’. It was pointing the other way, it was facing towards me.”
Jones had suffered a subtalar dislocation (of the heel joint), which he was told accounts for only 1 per cent of dislocations.
Read the full interview with Jones as he explains the bizarre injury HERE
How they line up
Brisbane v Essendon, Gabba, 7.30pm
BRISBANE LIONS
Backs: D.Zorko, J.Payne, R.Lester
Half-backs: N.Answerth, H.Andrews, D.Wilmot
Centre: J.Fletcher, H.McCluggage, Z.Bailey
Half-forwards: C.Cameron, E.Hipwood, W.Ashcroft
Forwards: C.Rayner, L.Morris, C.Ah Chee
Followers: D.Fort, J.Dunkley, L.Neale
Interchange: K.Lohmann, D.Robertson, J.Berry, L.Ashcroft, D.Gardiner
Changes: None
ESSENDON
Backs: A.McGrath, J.Laverde, A.Roberts
Half-backs: Z.Johnson, M.Redman, J.Prior
Centre: X.Duursma, Z.Merrett, A.Clarke
Half-forwards: A.Perkins, N.Caddy, N.Martin
Forwards: B.Hobbs, P.Wright, I.Kako
Followers: T.Goldstein, J.Caldwell, S.Durham
Interchange: E.Tsatas, J.Gresham, W.Setterfield, M.Guelfi, A.Day-Wicks
In: Z.Johnson, E.Tsatas, A.Day-Wicks
Out: B.McKay, K.Langford, Z.Reid (all injured).
The road to the finals
As outlined in the graph below, the top three sides have started to stamp themselves on the competition, but the top eight is anything but set.
Games like tonight will play a bearing on the road to the finals.
Welcome to Thursday night footy
Good evening, folks. Thanks for joining us for our live coverage of tonight’s round 12 clash between Brisbane and Essendon at the Gabba.
It’s a big step for the Bombers, who only sit outside the top eight on percentage, but have not been considered a serious finals contender this year. Taking a scalp such as the reigning premiers on their home deck would change that narrative. Let’s see if they are up to the task.
