PORT ADELAIDE midfielder Brad Ebert is expecting a wounded Essendon to present another challenge to his side, after three very different games to start the season.
The Power is unbeaten in 2018, having navigated a difficult encounter against a bullish Brisbane on Saturday, after a big win over Fremantle and a come-from-behind effort against Sydney.
The Bombers came under fire from their own Coach John Worsfold, after their 21-point defeat by the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
Worsfold said his side’s performance was as poor as any in his time at the club.
Ebert said he expected the Essendon players to respond in a hotly contested game at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
“They’ve been up and down a little bit so far so they’ll be out to prove that they’re improving as well,” Ebert said.
“It’ll be a good challenge again for us and we’re excited about it.”
While Ebert said he enjoyed playing at Etihad Stadium because of the high-scoring, fast-paced nature of games there, he admitted his side didn’t have a great record at the Docklands venue.
Particularly sharp was the memory of the 70-point defeat to the Bombers at Etihad last season, although the 28-year-old said it wouldn’t have a bearing on this Sunday’s performance.
“We obviously remember it and it wasn’t a pretty day for us,” he said.
“We realised that we did have a poor game there last year but we’re probably looking at what happened in the last three weeks more than what happened, you know, 30 weeks ago or whatever.
“The boys remember how it went and how it felt, but lists change, game styles change in the course of the off-season so to go back and say this is what they did in that game, it probably loses a bit of relevance coming into the new season.”
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