Peter Jackson VFL - Round 6
Northern Blues vs Essendon
Preston City Oval – 2pm
Saturday, May 23 2015

Head to Head
Blues 0
Essendon 2

Last Time They Met
Essendon 16. 11. (107) defeated Northern Blues 8. 15. (63) – Round 8, 2014 at Windy Hill

Following last week’s slip-up, the Northern Blues will be looking to bounce back and keep in touch with in the all-important top eight when they return to Preston City Oval against Essendon on Saturday.

In their first game at Cramer Street for the year, the Blues will have to do something they haven’t done if they are to get back on the winner’s list: beat Essendon. The Bombers are two and zip against the Blues since they came into the VFL competition in 2013.

After a disappointing loss at Etihad Stadium last week against North Ballarat, a similar result for the Blues will have them slipping away from the pack, while a win will see them square the ledger at 3-3.

A number of changes has again shaken up the Blues line-up, undoubtedly headlined by the inclusion of American recruit Alexander Aurrichio as 23rd man.

The 198cm, 107kg ruckman will get his first taste of VFL footy this coming Saturday, after impressing his coaches with his constant improvement in the AFL Victoria Development League.

Rounding out the inclusions are Carlton’s David Ellard, Kristian Jaksch, Matthew Watson, Matthew Dick and Blaine Johnson – who returns from a one-week suspension – while Sean Bolger, Steve Murray and Paul Dirago have all been added to the squad.

The changes bring the Carlton contingent to 16 for the clash against Essendon, which - similarly to the Blues - has endured an inconsistent start to the season.

A loss to Box Hill saw Essendon slip below the ledger last week, with the Bombers yet to string together two consecutive results in 2015.

Given Essendon’s (10th on the ladder) identical record to the Blues (12th) of 2-3, both sides will be looking for the ever-important four points, or face the danger of perilously slipping away from the teams above them.

While Essendon has released an extended bench, both Alex Browne and first-round draft pick Jayden Laverde have both been named for the contest against the Blues following solid outings in the loss to the Hawks.

Having struggled with the containment of North Ballarat’s outside game last time out, the Blues will have to bounce back against an Essendon on-ball brigade also containing former JJ Liston Trophy winner Jordan Schroder.

Ariel Steinberg will be looking to continue his solid start to the season, while Jonathan Giles will be supported in the ruck battle by Sam Tagliabue opposed to Sean Bolger and Aurrichio.

Having taken the No.1 forward all season, Tom Fields’ likely opponent is shaping up to be Tayte Pears; the Essendon-listed utility booted three goals for the Bombers last week having started up forward.

Northern Blues' squad* to take on Essendon:

*Team subject to Carlton-listed players not playing against Geelong at Etihad Stadium.
**Denotes 23rd man.
BOLD = Carlton-listed player.