The Brisbane Lions will host the Essendon Bombers at the Gabba on Saturday night, with both teams coming into the match on the back of unexpected Round 1 wins.
The Lions blew their crosstown rivals the Gold Coast Suns away in the first quarter last week, and while they faded late it proved to be enough to hold out for a one-point win.
Essendon on the other hand romped to victory against the new-look Hawthorn Hawks, with the return of banned players lifting them to excellent form.
One of those performances is certainly more impressive than the other, despite both being wins, and the Bombers look to be the clear favourites coming into this match.
They’ve got key position players with much greater maturity than the Lions, and also an excellent depth of midfield talent.
However a big question hanging over their heads is how much of that form was real, and how much of it was just them riding high on emotion?
They will also have to contend with Brisbane’s home ground advantage up at the Gabba, and what is likely to be some wet, soggy conditions at the ground.
That being the case they still look likely to get the win but in what will probably prove to be a low-scoring affair you’d say Essendon to win by 1-39 points for $2.20 is the most likely result.
Rather than expecting a game of pace and skill it’s likely to be something of a grind and goals probably come more from small players close to the sticks than they do the big talls.
That being the case you might look at some of the inside midfielders in the match to get 30 touches – players like Tom Rockliff $1.40, Zach Merrett $1.45 or Dyson Heppell at $1.91.
Orazio Fantasia to kick three goals at $1.91 could be a goer, or if you want a flyer, Travis Colyer to do the same for $8.