Essendon v Port Adelaide: AFL Thursday Preview

Essendon will be looking to avoid a 0-3 start to the new AFL campaign when they take on Port Adelaide on Thursday night.

It has been a poor start for the Bombers, and the 61-point home loss against Adelaide will have set alarm bells ringing for the members.

They need a response on Thursday night when the other side from Adelaide, Port Adelaide, arrive at Marvel Stadium, baying for blood.

The Power will be in an upbeat mood after they thrashed Richmond at the weekend, and they have a great record against Essendon.

Ken Hinkley’s men have won the last three meetings, two of them by the narrowest of margins, and will be confident of making it four.

It’s a big game to get Round 3 underway, and the pressure is on the Bombers.

Essendon v Port Adelaide betting preview

Bombers need a lift

Essendon can be forgiven for slipping to a 26-point loss at Hawthorn in Round 1, but the defeat against Adelaide at the weekend has not gone down well.

To lose by 61 points against the Crows, another side keen to play finals this season, was a hammer blow to say the least.

Essendon now get the chance to repay their supporters at Marvel Stadium, by taking all four points against Port Adelaide.

It will be far from easy, as they have lost the last three meetings against the Power.

If it ends up being a tight game, Essendon can be backed at 6.00 to win by 1-12 points.

Despite the loss to the Crows, one plus point was the star performance of Zach Merrett, who kicked four goals and collected 36 disposals.

Merrett can be backed at 1.95 to kick a goal at anytime against Port Adelaide, and is also 1.87 to collect 30+ disposals.

Power surge to victory

Port Adelaide bounced back from a heavy opening defeat against Collingwood, to smash Richmond by 72 points on Saturday.

Mitch Georgiadis starred when booting four goals in the win, and can be backed at 9.50 to boot the first of the game on Thursday.

Connor Rozee also stood out when collecting 36 disposals and is available at 2.90 to go 35+ once again at Marvel.

The last time the two sides met was in Round 4 last season when Port won by 69 points, but that was at the Adelaide Oval.

It was much closer in Melbourne the time before, with Port edging it by four points.

They are 6.00 to win it by 1-12 on this occasion also.

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Essendon v Port Adelaide odds

Essendon - 2.30
Port Adelaide - 1.62

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.