Geelong are set to take on Essendon for the second time this year, when the Bombers venture down the highway for a Friday night clash at GMHBA Stadium. 

The Cats cruised to a comfortable 95-point victory in the first meeting between the sides, but cannot afford to take this game lightly as the conclusion of the home and away season draws near. 

Essendon has struggled with injuries this year and are in the midst of an eight game losing streak, but they have been able to give game time to a number of emerging young players that have shown impressive signs throughout 2025. 

Take a look at some of Essendon's key strengths heading into Friday night's important match, proudly presented by Deakin University. 

Ladder 

Geelong Cats: 4th (14-6)

Essendon: 15th (6-13)

Points For 

Geelong Cats: 2102

Essendon: 1281

Points Against 

Geelong Cats: 1517

Essendon: 1780

Deakin Performance Stat of the Week 

Nullifying Essendon's Handball Heavy Style

The key feature of Essendon's style in 2025 is their willingness to flick the ball around by hand, currently ranked the number one team in the competition for handballs per game (168.2). 

The Bombers like to control the footy and sit second in the AFL for total disposals per game (371.9), amassing 404 disposals in the first clash with the Cats earlier this year. 

Over the course of the season, Essendon have had nine different players that average over 20 disposals per game and by comparison, Geelong only have three. 

The main players to watch out for this week will be Zach Merrett, Archie Roberts and Sam Durham, all more than capable of accumulating big numbers if left unattended. 

2025 Essendon Team Stats

Restricting Zach Merrett

As has been the case for several years now, Essendon's biggest weapon is their captain and star midfielder, Zach Merrett. 

Currently sitting 10th in the AFL for average disposals per game this year (28.0), Merrett has been impactful in the forward half leading the Bombers for inside 50s, goal assists and score involvements. 

He was able to get busy against the Cats earlier in the season finishing with 29 disposals and four goal assists, but Sydney proved last week that it is possible to limit his impact with a tag, keeping Merrett to just 19 disposals and three clearances. 

It will be interesting to see if Geelong have a set plan for the Essendon skipper, Oisin Mullin could be a potential matchup following his brilliant performance against Zak Butters last week. 

Winning the ruck battle

Essendon have been reasonably strong around stoppages this year and it all starts in the ruck, with veteran big man Todd Goldstein doing a serviceable job for his side throughout the 2025 season. 

The Bombers have won the hit-out battle in 11 of their 19 games so far this year, with Goldstein currently ranked in the AFL's top 10 for average hit-outs to advantage per game (8.8), while also winning a game-high 31 hit-outs against the Cats in Round 14. 

However, last week Sydney were able to expose this area of Essendon's game, Brodie Grundy finishing with 39 disposals, 28 hit-outs and 13 clearances to have a huge impact on the result.