Match details
Melbourne v Essendon, Sunday July 11, MCG, 2.10pm (EST)  

Teams
Melbourne
B: Jamie Bennell, Jared Rivers, Clint Bartram
HB: Col Garland, James Frawley, Tom Scully
C: Nathan Jones, Jack Trengove, Brad Green
HF: Lynden Dunn, Jack Watts, Cameron Bruce
F: Colin Sylvia, Matthew Bate, Jordie McKenzie
FOLL: Mark Jamar, Brent Moloney, Aaron Davey
I/C: Joel Macdonald, Kyle Cheney, Paul Johnson, Liam Jurrah
EMG: Rohan Bail, Addam Maric, Neville Jetta 
In: Johnson, Sylvia, Jurrah
Out: Grimes (hamstring), Spencer (back), Jetta

Essendon
B: Andrew Welsh, Cale Hooker, Heath Hocking
HB: Mark McVeigh, Michael Hurley, Kyle Reimers
C: Leroy Jetta, Jobe Watson, Courtenay Dempsey
HF: Brent Stanton, Scott Gumbleton, Angus Monfries
F: Alwyn Davey, Jay Neagle, David Zaharakis
FOLL: Paddy Ryder, Jason Winderlich, Ben Howlett
I/C: Ricky Dyson, Tom Bellchambers, Travis Colyer, Nathan Lovett Murray  
EMG: Brent Prismall, Sam Lonergan, Jake Melksham
In: Dyson, Dempsey, Monfries, Howlett, Neagle, Colyer
Out: Henry Slattery (soreness), Lonergan, Tyson Slattery, Melksham, Michael Quinn

Media coverage
Television: Channel 7 (Melbourne, 3.30pm - one and a half hour delay); Radio: K-Rock, Triple M, 3AW

2010 form
Melbourne: LLWWWLLLWLLDLL
Essendon: LLWLLWLWWWLLLL

Ladder position
Melbourne: 14th, Essendon: 12th

Head-to-head
Played: 205, Essendon: 126, Draws: 2, Melbourne: 77

At this ground
Played: 105, Essendon: 63, Draws: 1, Melbourne 41

Last time they met
Round 12, 2009: Essendon 19.17 (131) d Melbourne 13.5 (83), Etihad Stadium

Coach v coach
Dean Bailey: 0 wins, 2 losses
Matthew Knights: 2 wins, 0 losses

Milestones
Essendon: Mark Mc Veigh - 200 matches

Injury list
Melbourne:
Healey (hamstring) - 4 weeks
Hughes (ankle) - test
Gawn (knee) - 1-2 weeks
Grimes (hamstring) - 3 weeks
Gysberts (back) - 1 week
Meesen (ankle) - indefinite
McDonald (hamstring) - 1 week
Petterd (shoulder) - season
Strauss (knee) - 3 weeks
Wonaeamirri (shoulder) - test
 
Essendon:
Darcy Daniher (adductor) - TBC
David Hille (hamstring) - 2-3 weeks
Jason Laycock (foot) - season
Anthony Long (hamstring) - 1 week
Tayte Pears (pancreas) - TBC
Taite Silverlock (broken fibula) - season
Henry Slattery (ribs) - 3 weeks

Summary
After its disappointing clash against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in round 13, Melbourne bounced back with a competitive showing against the second-placed St Kilda. The Demons stayed with the Saints for three quarters, trailing by the narrowest of margins at quarter-time and 16 points at the main break and final change. However, in the final term, St Kilda went to another level, kicking 4.3 to 1.2, running out 35-point winners. Melbourne now returns to its home ground for the first time since June 14, taking on Essendon, which is coming off an 84-point shocker against the Crows in South Australia. But after a hat-trick of wins from rounds three to five, Melbourne has not won since round nine against Port Adelaide in Darwin, although it picked up two points against Collingwood during the drawn Queen’s Birthday match in round 12. The Dons have also dropped their past four matches and have come under the microscope from the football media this week. Wins have been rare for both teams in recent weeks and it will be intriguing to see which team can break the trend. There is no doubt both teams view this as a winnable match.

Players to watch
Melbourne - Joel Macdonald: The former Lion produced one of his best matches for his adopted club last round, winning 24 disposals, including 12 contested possessions. Defensive coach Sean Wellman praised Macdonald’s competitiveness and ability to provide run and play on a mix of opponents against St Kilda last round.

Essendon - Jay Neagle: Having played just the opening round of the season against Geelong, the young tall forward is set to return. The 22-year-old has had his critics, but the Bombers publicly stated in the lead-up to this match that he would make his second appearance for 2010. Neagle comes in after three goals for Bendigo last weekend.

Leading disposal winners so far in 2010
Melbourne: Brent Moloney (354)
Essendon: Jobe Watson (338)

Leading goalkickers so far in 2010
Melbourne: Brad Green (31)
Essendon: Alwyn Davey (18)

How’s stat?
Since 2006, Melbourne and Essendon have met just once each season. Again in 2010, they will play each other just once.  

Memorable match
Preliminary final, Melbourne 6.6 (42) d Essendon 5.9 (39), MCG
This match had long term implications, relating to the then 19th man. Centreman Bob Corbett was hit on the back of the head and ended up having his jaw broken, leaving Melbourne one man short. The game was close, with Melbourne just ahead of Essendon in the dying minutes of the game, before a bandaged figure made his way onto the ground. It was Corbett, who had evaded the doctor in his determination to help his side out. He stood in the forward line, inspired the crowd and his teammates to hold its narrow lead. The end result was a three-point win to Melbourne - and a grand final encounter and second premiership against Collingwood. At least three Melbourne players fainted after captain Albert Chadwick shuffled the team around to cover the loss of Corbett. The Corbett incident resulted in the introduction of the 19th man from 1930, when a player was permitted to take the field in place of an injured teammate.

Foot in both camps
Bruce Brown, Phil Carman, Steven Clark, Cameron Clayton, Danny Corcoran, Tommy Crow, Neale Daniher, Allan Davis, Bill Earle, Tony Elshaug, Corrie Gardner Alf George, Vernon Hazel, Chris Heffernan, Peter Keenan, Frank Kelly, Otto Landmann, Rupe Lowell, Jack McKenzie, Paul O’Brien, Les Rainey, Ted Regan, Archie Roberts, Ken Roberts, Ray Smith, Trevor Spencer, Jimmy Sullivan and Fred Whelpton.

What Dean says …
"At the moment four and half just doesn't sound great. It sounds ordinary. We've got another set of games to go and we've got to look at being better than we were [on Sunday]."

Key Melbourne question
The Demons have their best chance of overcoming the Bombers since their most recent win against them in round 12, 2006. Can Melbourne achieve its first victory over Essendon in four years?