Essendon coach John Worsfold has leapt to the defence of Orazio Fantasia after the small forward was upstaged by teammate Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti in the last-gasp win against North Melbourne last Saturday.
Worsfold said Fantasia played a key defensive role in limiting the rebound of Roos defender Marley Williams, giving McDonald-Tipungwuti more space to weave his goalkicking magic that included the winner in the last few seconds.
"He took Marley Williams all night, which potentially meant we could get McDonald-Tipungwuti into the position that we wanted him," Worsfold told reporters on Tuesday.
"The players play a role in the team structure, so it's a credit to him. We know Orazio is going to have an impact for us.
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"They'll get their turns. There's games this year where Orazio has kicked goals and 'Walla' [McDonald-Tipungwuti] hasn't because of the match-ups we want to try and see.
"So it's a pretty narrow perspective to say it's just about Orazio and his numbers."
Captain Dyson Heppell will be back to lead the eighth-placed Bombers against Adelaide on Friday night if he completes training requirements this week.
Experienced defender Patrick Ambrose, who has missed three weeks with a thigh injury, is the expected replacement for key backman Michael Hurley against the seventh-placed Crows.
But Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, pick 66 in the 2017 draft, is pushing for an AFL debut after solid VRead More – Source
Essendon coach John Worsfold has leapt to the defence of Orazio Fantasia after the small forward was upstaged by teammate Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti in the last-gasp win against North Melbourne last Saturday.
Worsfold said Fantasia played a key defensive role in limiting the rebound of Roos defender Marley Williams, giving McDonald-Tipungwuti more space to weave his goalkicking magic that included the winner in the last few seconds.
"He took Marley Williams all night, which potentially meant we could get McDonald-Tipungwuti into the position that we wanted him," Worsfold told reporters on Tuesday.
"The players play a role in the team structure, so it's a credit to him. We know Orazio is going to have an impact for us.
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"They'll get their turns. There's games this year where Orazio has kicked goals and 'Walla' [McDonald-Tipungwuti] hasn't because of the match-ups we want to try and see.
"So it's a pretty narrow perspective to say it's just about Orazio and his numbers."
Captain Dyson Heppell will be back to lead the eighth-placed Bombers against Adelaide on Friday night if he completes training requirements this week.
Experienced defender Patrick Ambrose, who has missed three weeks with a thigh injury, is the expected replacement for key backman Michael Hurley against the seventh-placed Crows.
But Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, pick 66 in the 2017 draft, is pushing for an AFL debut after solid VRead More – Source
