Marvel Stadium will play host to Saturday's Round 1 AFL game between Essendon Bombers and Hawthorn Hawks. The game kicks off at 7:25 pm with Hawthorn Hawks heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Essendon Bombers vs. Hawthorn Hawks game and give you our free tips and bets.
When: Saturday March 20, 2021 at 7:25 pm
Where: Marvel Stadium
Bet: Bet On This Match HERE
Essendon Bombers vs Hawthorn Hawks Odds
Essendon Bombers vs Hawthorn Hawks Preview
Two famous old rivals now face a similar fate in 2021, and both the Bombers and Hawks would love nothing better than to start the season with a win as you can predict, there may be few and far between for both these sides.
Despite the Bombers’ attempts to move the game to the MCG to allow more to attend, it’s stuck at Marvel Stadium, however it’s an improvement on when these two met at 4:30 pm on a Thursday afternoon at Adelaide Oval last season.
In that game, Joe Daniher played a major role in helping the Bombers come back from six goals down to record a famous 16-point win over the Hawks.
That clearly won’t be happening this time.
Hawthorn will open as the betting favourites, and they looked impressive in their AAMI series match over North with forward duo Jacob Koschitzke and Tyler Brockman starring and you’d expect both to be in the side for the first game.
The Dons took it up to the Cats, only to fall short in their pre-season hit-out, but these are very hard to judge and get a read off for Round 1.
I’d expect both Hawthorn and Essendon to finish in a similar part of the ladder this season, but that ain’t the top 8.
There’s just something about having a big win in Round 1 that suits Essendon, and at the $2.15 head to head price I reckon it’s worth backing the Bombers for an on-brand win.
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Head To Head Bet
We're tipping Essendon Bombers to win at $1.90 odds.
First Goal Scorer
First Goal Scorer: Jacob Koschitzke at $12.
Essendon Bombers vs Hawthorn Hawks Teams
ESSENDON
FB Jayden Laverde, Aaron Francis, Mason Redman
HB Nick Hind, Cale Hooker, Jordan Ridley
C Andrew McGrath, Zach Merrett, Dyson Heppell
HF Brayden Ham, Nikolas Cox, Kyle Langford
FF Harrison Jones, Peter Wright, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
Foll Sam Draper, Jye Caldwell, Dylan Shiel
I/C Ned Cahill, Will Snelling, Darcy Parish, Devon Smith
Emerg Archie Perkins, Nick Bryan, Martin Gleeson, Tom Cutler
HAWTHORN
FB Sam Frost, Kyle Hartigan, Changkuoth Jiath
HB Jarman Impey, Blake Hardwick, Harry Morrison
C Tom Phillips, Jaeger O’Meara, Will Day
HF Luke Breust, Jacob Koschitzke, James Worpel
FF Shaun Burgoyne, Jonathon Ceglar, Tyler Brockman
Foll Ben McEvoy, Liam Shiels, Tom Mitchell
I/C Oliver Hanrahan, Dylan Moore, Daniel Howe, Tim O’Brien
Emerg Connor Downie, Mitch Lewis, Michael Hartley, Damon Greaves