Catch live Peter Jackson VFL action - the 1st Elimination Final - between Collingwood and Essendon on 1116 SEN on 1116 AM or DAB+ digital radio in Melbourne, the SEN App or via the player below.
Here is a quick preview of today's match-up courtesy of VFL.com.au.
2018 ENCOUNTERS
Rd 16 @ Windy Hill: Collingwood 14.14 (98) d Essendon 11.6 (72)
Collingwood jumped the Bombers on the ladder with this win, booting six goals to two in the third term to turn a five-point deficit at half time into a 26-point lead by the final change.
Rd 3 @ Victoria Park: Collingwood 16.10 (106) d Essendon 12.6 (78)
The Magpies ground Essendon down over the last three quarters, recovering from a 17-point deficit early in the second term to kick 10 of the next 13 goals of the game and charge to victory.
FORM COMING IN
Collingwood (12-6) finished the home-and-away season with consecutive wins against Port Melbourne, Frankston and then Sandringham. / Following a six-match losing streak, Essendon (9-9) revived its finals quest with two late-season victories over Footscray and then the Northern Blues.
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KEY QUESTION
How do the Magpies counter an apparent ruck disadvantage? Collingwood’s young ruck division is ranked in the VFL’s bottom two for hitouts and hitouts to advantage per game, but Magpies senior coach Jared Rivers may have uncovered a sidekick for Max Lynch and Sam McLarty to help take on dominant Bombers ruckman Sam Draper (fifth in the VFL for total hitouts), with 192cm Tom Jok winning 18 hitouts against the Zebras last week thanks to his exceptional athleticism.
KEY STAT
Conceding first possession at stoppages hasn’t stopped Collingwood defeating Essendon twice in 2018. The Magpies easily lost the hitout count in both encounters and conceded 20 and 13 more clearances to the Bombers in Rounds 3 and 16 respectively, but pressured their opponents into turning the ball over by laying 31 and 16 more tackles in each of those clashes. For such reasons, Essendon is ranked 11th in the VFL for goals scored per entry inside-50 (Collingwood ranks fourth).