SYDNEY v ESSENDON

Venue ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Date Sunday, May 18 Time 2.10pm
Head to head Sydney 77 Essendon 128 Drawn 1
Last time Essendon 11.8 (74) bt Sydney 11.7 (73) R10, 2007, SCG
Betting TABSportsbet: Sydney $1.06 Essendon $7.50 Centrebet: Sydney $1.10 Essendon $7.50

Sydney
Backs: Kennelly Barry Mattner
Half-backs: C Bolton Richards Jack
Centres: McVeigh Kirk Buchanan
Half-forwards: R O'Keefe Roberts-Thomson Moore
Forwards: Bevan O'Loughlin Everitt
Followers: Jolly Goodes J Bolton
Interchange: From: Ablett Barlow Bird Brennan Malceski Playfair Smith
In: Ablett Brennan Malceski Smith
Out: Mathews

Essendon
Backs: Daniher Michael Fletcher
Half-backs: Myers Ryder Reimers
Centres: Stanton Watson Slattery
Half-forwards: Lonergan Neagle Jetta
Forwards: Houli Lloyd Laycock
Followers: Hille Lovett McVeigh
Interchange: From: Dyson Hislop Johns Monfries Ramanauskas Welsh Winderlich
In: Fletcher Laycock Lonergan McVeigh Ramanauskas Reimers Winderlich
Out: Lovett-Murray (suspended) McPhee (suspended) Atkinson Nash

Summary Essendon have had a difficult week with coach Matthew Knights forced to mark his territory after chairman Ray Horsburgh publicly revealed veterans Jason Johnson and Damien Peverill were yesterday's men at Bomberland. How the young Bombers and Knights react on-field will be interesting. The Bombers' gameplan features a capacity for running exceeded only by Forrest Gump, though that leads to a high turnover game which Port Adelaide exploited brutally in their last encounter. Sydney love to strangle such teams by controlling the stoppages, and they'd also have been buoyed by Adam Goodes' solid performance for the Big V in last weekend's rep clash. Essendon also have several players out injured, which should give the Swans the edge.

Key Can Sydney find the regular routes to goal without Barry Hall and will Bombers' spearhead Matthew Lloyd continue his improved form?

Tip Sydney by 19 points