Melbourne v Essendon Preview, MCG

Melbourne captain Max Gawn will be sidelined for at least two weeks due to a leg injury. It
means the Demons will be without their two best players, with Gawn joining Christian
Petracca on the sidelines. Melbourne replaced Gawn with versatile tall Harrison Petty, who
looks to have a mammoth task of going up against Sam Draper in the ruck. The Demons
thrashed lowly West Coast last week, while Essendon are coming off their best
home-and-away win since Brad Scott became coach at the start of 2023 with a win against
reigning premiers Collingwood.

TIP: Essendon by 28 points, Dylan Shiel for 25 or more possessions