The third game on Saturday for AFL Round 21 is between Essendon Bombers and North Melbourne Kangaroos. The match is to be played at Etihad Stadium with the opening bounce set to commence at 4:40pm local time with away team North Melbourne Kangaroos currently holding favouritism in the market. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Essendon Bombers and North Melbourne Kangaroos.

WHERE AND WHEN: Etihad Stadium, 4:40pm AEST, Saturday 17 August

Opening odds comparison:

Essendon Bombers	2.85	2.80	N/A	2.80	2.85	N/A
North Melbourne Kangaroos	1.42	1.43	N/A	1.43	1.42	N/A

Preview:

Essendon play North Melbourne on Saturday, 4.40pm at Etihad Stadium. The Kangaroos will be expected to win here, currently sitting at 11th position on the ladder with
a slight chance of playing on in September. The drugs scandal at Essendon finally seems to have caught up with the Bombers, who have lost their last three games by
over 50 points. While they are certainly not out of this one yet, the atmosphere at the club right now surely can’t be conductive to flowing and confident footy.

Teams:

Essendon Bombers:
B: M.Hibberd T.Pears K.Hardingham
HB: M.Baguley C.Hooker B.Goddard
C: H.Hocking J.Watson L.Dalgleish
HF: J.Daniher S.Crameri D.Heppell
F: N.Kommer J.Carlisle A.Davey
FOLL: T.Bellchambers J.Melksham B.Stanton
I/C: L.Jetta D.Zaharakis B.Howlett N.O’Brien
EMG: N.Lovett-Murray E.Kavanagh D.Hille
IN: Joe Daniher, Lauchlan Dalgleish, Nick O’Brien, Leroy Jetta, Stewart Crameri
OUT: Patrick Ryder (suspension), Scott Gumbleton (soreness), Dustin Fletcher (suspension), David Myers (rested), Jason Winderlich (hamstring)

North Melbourne Kangaroos:
B: L.Hansen S.Thompson A.Mullett
HB: J.Macmillan N.Grima S.Atley
C: R.Bastinac D.Wells S.Gibson
HF: L.Adams R.Tarrant B.Harvey
F: L.Thomas D.Petrie A.Black
FOLL: T.Goldstein B.Cunnington J.Ziebell
I/C: B.McKenzie B.Jacobs L.Delaney S.Wright
EMG: M.Firrito L.Greenwood T.Garner
In: Nathan Grima, Brad McKenzie
Out: Taylor Garner (omitted), Taylor Hine (omitted)

Fletcher keen to play on for Bombers

Essendon’s equal AFL games record-holder Dustin Fletcher says he’s keen to play on next year at the age of 38.

The veteran defender is due to play his 379th game for the Bombers on August 31 in round 23 against Richmond at the MCG after serving a two-match suspension.

Ruck great Simon Madden jointly holds the Essendon record of 378 games with Fletcher, who made his debut in 1993 and turns 39 in May 2014.

“I would love to be a part of the team next year but we will just have to see how the next few games go,” Fletcher said on the Essendon TV show on Fox Footy.

“We have a midfield that can compete with the best teams in the competition.

“We are lucky enough to have seven or eight good talls that can hold those key positions down and in the ruck with Paddy (Ryder) and Tommy (Bellchambers) I think we have a good basis.

“If I am still doing my bit well then I would like to go on and see how I go next year but time will tell and we will wait and see how this year unfolds.”

If seventh-placed Essendon are found to have brought the league into disrepute as part of the AFL’s anti-doping investigation and the Bombers are stripped of premiership points and don’t qualify for the finals series, Fletcher’s season would end on 379 games.

Hawthorn’s Michael Tuck (426) and Richmond’s Kevin Bartlett (403) are the only two players to reached the milestone of 400 VFL/AFL games.

Coach James Hird said Fletcher would not be pressured into a decision on a possible 22nd season in the AFL.

“It is Dustin’s decision and he’ll make the right decision for him and the club,” Hird said.

“I’m not sure what that is and I don’t think he knows what that is right at the moment.”