Essendon v North Melbourne
Saturday, July 11 - 7.40pm
Metricon Stadium 

North Melbourne will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak when it takes on Essendon this Saturday. 

North is coming off its worst loss of the season, after going down to the tune of 49-points last time out against the Dogs. 

On the flip-side, Essendon will be full of confidence after defeating Collingwood last Friday night. 

Both teams relocated to the Gold Coast early in the week, adding intrigue to an already exciting match-up. 

Last time we met

Round 17, 2019

It was the Bombers who prevailed with a late Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti goal breaking North hearts.

Ben Brown’s sixth goal of the night edged the Roos into the lead, before McDonald-Tipingwuti stole the show at the death.

Brown was in brilliant form for the Roos, taking 12 marks and 18 disposals to go with his 6 majors. 

Zach Merrett had 34 touches for the Bombers, with McDonald-Tipungwuti booting 4 goals. 

The match-up 

Robbie Tarrant v Shaun McKernan 

After a fine start to the season, Tarrant was beaten by his opponent for the first time on Saturday, as the Dogs’ Josh Bruce booted 6 goals. 

The North vice-captain will be looking to respond against the Bombers, and will likely match-up on Shaun McKernan.

In the absence of Jake Stringer, Joe Daniher, and James Stewart, McKernan is the Bombers only senior key-forward available, meaning the likes of Cale Hooker and Aaron Francis could swing forward. 

McKernan has booted 5 goals from 3 games this year.

The key men

Jy Simpkin and Andrew McGrath 

The number 12 and number 1 picks respectively from the 2016 Draft will go head-to-head in the midfield this weekend. 

Simpkin is enjoying a career-best year, as he looks to make the jump from promising youngster to the game’s elite.

The Roos’ number 12 has had the 9th most disposals and 6th most clearances in the AFL this season, and will be critical to the Roos’ fortunes in the absence of Ben Cunnington.

McGrath has found himself playing more midfield minutes this year, averaging career-best numbers in disposals and clearances.

The stat 

Ben Brown’s 25 goals against Essendon is more than he’s managed against any other team.

The teams 

Essendon

B: M.Hurley, C.Hooker, M.Gleeson
HB: A.Saad, J.Ridley, C.McKenna
C: B.Ham, A.McGrath, K.Langford
HF: D.Parish, J.Laverde, O.Fantasia
F: A.McDonald-Tipungwuti, S.McKernan, J.Townsend
FOLL: A.Phillips, D.Smith, D.Shiel
I/C: D.Zaharakis, W.Snelling, Z.Merrett, M.Hibberd
EMG: T.Bellchambers, J.Begley, A.Francis, N.Cahill
IN: C.McKenna, Z.Merrett
OUT: M.Redman (omitted), J.Stringer (injured)

North Melbourne

B: J.Macmillan, R.Tarrant, S.Atley
HB: J.Pittard, J.Walker, K.Hayden
C: J.Polec, J.Simpkin, T.Dumont
HF: S.Higgins, C.Zurhaar, B.Scott
F: T.Thomas, B.Brown, C.Taylor
FOLL: T.Goldstein, L.McDonald, J.Anderson
I/C: P.Ahern, J.Mahony, T.Campbell, A.Hall
EMG: M.Williams, A.Bonar, B.McKay, T.XerriIN: B.Scott, P.Ahern, T.Campbell
OUT: M.Williams, T.Xerri (both omitted), B.Cunnington (injured)

North Melbourne has recorded its fourth straight defeat, falling to Essendon by 14 points on Saturday night.

The Roos got off to a positive start, leading by five points at the first change, but a dominant second quarter from the Bombers gave them a ten-point lead at the main break.

North was playing catch-up for much of the night, with missed shots proving costly for both teams.

Ruckman Todd Goldstein was excellent with 19 disposals and 30 hitouts, feeding the likes of Jy Simpkin (23 disposals), while Cameron Zurhaar and Trent Dumont battled hard all night. 

The Roos went into the game without Jed Anderson (quad), adding to the absences of Ben Cunnington and Jack Ziebell. 

Talking point

'The Bull' crashes through again
Cam Zurhaar was at his physical, combative best for the Roos, creating havoc around the stoppages, and again he had Bomber Michael Hurley in his sights. Last year when the sides met it was Zurhaar's huge bump that broke Hurley's collarbone and saw him miss five weeks. The strongly-built North forward again lined up the Essendon defender on Saturday night with a crunching bump in the second quarter, flattening Hurley, but fortunately there was no injury this time around. It was Zurhaar's best game of the season, with the powerful Roo booting two goals and finishing with a season-high 19 disposals. 

ESSENDON 2.5 5.11 8.11 9.13 (67)?
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.4 4.7 6.11 7.11 (53)??

GOALS?
Essendon: Zaharakis 3, Langford 2, Laverde, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Snelling, Townsend
North Melbourne: Zurhaar 2, Atley, Brown, Goldstein, Higgins, Scott

BEST?
Essendon: McGrath, Zaharakis, Fantasia, Parish, Saad, Ridley
North Melbourne: Goldstein, Simpkin, Zurhaar, Dumont, Hall, McDonald

INJURIES?
Essendon: Nil
North Melbourne: Anderson (quad) replaced in selected side by Williams, Taylor (head)