Eleventh placed Fremantle face 10th placed Essendon on Sunday afternoon at Domain Stadium.
Who will bounce back?
Both Fremantle and Essendon sit on a 3-3 record and are coming off disappointing losses in round six. Barring a draw, only one side will emerge from the game with a positive win/loss record - and Freo have the odds in their favour with the Bombers winless at Domain Stadium in the past five visits to WA.
Same teams, different players
Much has been made of Essendon’s returning players for the 2017 season but Fremantle is more likely to name the most altered line-up from the teams’ last meeting.
In round six, the Bombers fielded 11 players who faced Fremantle in round 12 of last year, while Freo fielded 10 players who featured in the 79-point win.
Fresh Freo
After an “away” clash with the Eagles, Fremantle are playing their third straight game in WA while coming off an eight-day break. The Bombers struggled with a five-day break in their 38-point loss to Melbourne and head across the Nullarbor to play their third game in 13 days.
Inaccurate Dons?
Joe Daniher’s inaccuracy in front of goal has been one of the main talking points around the AFL this week. Against Melbourne, the Bombers’ key forward kicked 1.6 with one out on the full.
Daniher has kicked 13.16 this season but as a team the Bombers rank higher than Fremantle in scoring accuracy, kicking 78.51 compared to Freo’s 65.51.
Rebound kings
Fremantle have struggled with their delivery inside 50 over the past fortnight and they’ll have their work cut out against the Bombers defence. The Bombers have averaged 45.2 rebound 50s per game - the highest in the AFL - with 75.7 per cent of opposition entries returned to the midfield. Essendon’s 2015 All Australian defender Michael Hurley leads the league with 42 rebound 50s in 2017.
