The line up
B: Dea, Hooker, Goddard
HB: Saad, Hurley, McKenna
C: McGrath, Merrett, Zaharakis
HF: Smith, Baguley, Parish
F: McDonald-Tipungwuti, Brown, Fantasia
FOLL: Bellchambers, Heppell, Myers
I/C: Stringer, Francis, Langford, Guelfi
EMG: Colyer, Leuenberger, Laverde, McNiece
Unchanged
Read: Hawks make one change to Round 20 team
What to expect
Having won eight of their last ten games, Essendon are the in-form side of the competition.
A Round 8 loss to cellar dwellers Carlton has proven to have kicked the Bombers into gear, having since recorded victories over the likes of Geelong, GWS, West Coast, North Melbourne and Sydney.
After being as low as 15th on the ladder before this 10-game run, John Worsfold's side is now well and truly in the hunt for finals.
The Bombers have built their rejuvenated form around a desire to run and take the game on.
With the half-back running power possessed in the likes of Adam Saad, Andrew McGrath and Conor McKenna, Essendon sits as the clear number one side in taking running bounces in 2018, averaging 12.4 a game while Richmond sit second with 8.7.
Saad is leading the way in incredible fashion, having had 41 more bounces than the next-most in the competition, Giant Heath Shaw.
Essendon also ranks fourth for uncontested possession in the competition, a number that has continued to rise in correlation with their winning ways.
Player to watch
Devon Smith has arguably been the recruit of the year after crossing from the Giants at the end of the 2017 season.
Smith is the best tackling pressure player in the competition, averaging 8.5 per game which is a whopping 1.6 more than the second-ranked Blue Ed Curnow.
It has been an almighty improvement in the 25-year old's game this year, after a previous career-high that did not surpass five tackles a game.
Along with his defensive intent, Smith is also impacting games offensively, averaging 21.2 possessions and just-shy of a goal per game.
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