<p>The middle round of the season begins in the Sunshine State, where the Brisbane Lions host Essendon for another Thursday night clash.&nbsp;</p> <p>After two weeks of results that made sense given the form line but still boggled the mind, the Lions roared back to life at the MCG last week when they dismantled the Hawks.&nbsp;</p> <p>A dominant seven-goal to two second quarter was sufficient to adequately gap the game as they returned to what they excelled at in all parts of the ground. The win ensured they stayed ahead of their state rivals and remained within two points of the Pies at the top of the ladder.</p> <p>Essendon secured a go-ahead win against the Tigers, but it came at another brutal cost on the injury front. Losing key talls Kyle Langford and Zach Reid to recurring hamstring injuries during the game against the Tigers deepened the tall-man injury crisis. The news on Monday that Ben McKay was injured too and wouldn’t be playing against the Lions has us contemplating a potentially unprecedented situation.</p> <p>It’s a live scenario where someone could be selected by the club in the mid-season draft on Wednesday night and then play their first game not even 24 hours later!&nbsp;</p> <p>The Dons have already confirmed that Zak Johnson will become the club's seventh debutant this year and will play his first game against the Lions. Star midfielder Darcy Parish got through his return game in the Reserves unscathed after a long injury layoff but the club might err in bringing him back straight away and give him another week of conditioning. After all, the Dons need talls and not on-ballers.</p> <p>The Lions will decide whether to play number one ruck Oscar McInerney after he was again missing against the Hawks. He was named as an emergency for the clash but didn’t play at any level last week as he manages his shoulder pain.&nbsp;</p> <p>Kiddy Coleman missed the clash against the Hawks after feeling sore from his return game against the Dees last week.</p> <p>Aside from that, it was a clean bill of health for the Lions following the Hawks game as they continue to gather momentum.&nbsp;</p> <p>For the latest team news, analysis, odds, and betting tips, check out our Lions vs Bombers prediction and preview below.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Brisbane Lions vs Essendon Predicted Teams</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Brisbane Predicted Team List</h3> <p>B: Dayne Zorko, Jack Payne, Ryan Lester</p> <p>HB: Noah Answerth, Harris Andrews, Darcy Wilmot</p> <p>C: Jaspa Fletcher, Hugh McCluggage, Zac Bailey</p> <p>HF: Charlie Cameron, Eric Hipwood, Will Ashcroft</p> <p>F: Cam Rayner, Logan Morris, Callum ah Chee</p> <p>Foll: Oscar McInerney, Josh Dunkley, Lachie Neale</p> <p>Int: Kai Lohmann, Jarrod Berry, Levi Ashcroft, Darcy Gardiner, Keidean Coleman</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Essendon Predicted Team List</h3> <p>B: Andy McGrath, Jayden Laverde, Jaxon Prior</p> <p>HB: Mason Redman, Zak Johnson, Archie Roberts</p> <p>C: Xavier Duursma, Zach Merrett, Angus Clarke</p> <p>HF: Elijah Tsatas, Nate Caddy, Nic Martin</p> <p>F: Isaac Kako, Pater Wright, Archie Perkins</p> <p>Foll: Todd Goldstein, Jye Caldwell, Sam Durham</p> <p>Int: Jade Gresham, Will Setterfield, Matt Guelfi, Ben Hobbs, Dylan Sheil</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Brisbane vs Essendon Prediction &amp; Betting Tips</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Head-to-Head Prediction</h3> <p>The Lions have made all the running on the recent head-to-head, winning five of the past six matches.&nbsp;</p> <p>The one win to the Bombers came in unique circumstances where the Lions were missing nine first-choice players, ruled out with COVID but still only fell by 10 points to the Bombers on their home deck.</p> <p>Luckily for the Dons, the big absences for their tall stocks are not at the front end of the ground. Luckily, they still have Peter Wright and Nate Caddy in the side to kick the ball too. They’re set for a big duel with the mighty pair of Harris Andrews and Jack Payne. The worry for the Dons is that up the other end, Logan Morris and Eric Hipwood might have a day being too tall, too big, and too strong for Jayden Laverde and whoever gets assigned the role to play taller.</p> <p>The Lions have shown to have more gears to their game which they are slowly ironing out, whereas the Bombers still seem to be ‘Zach Merrett or bust’.</p> <p>We’re looking at the home side here and quite comfortably too.</p> <p><strong>Betting tip:</strong> <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/australian-rules/afl/brisbane-lions-v-essendon-9229216">Lions</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>First Goal Prediction</h3> <p>Lions livewire Callum ah Chee has been in great goal-kicking form as of late, with the bow coming back at the G last week with a four-goal haul against the Hawks.</p> <p>With goals in each of his past five matches, we’re looking at him to get on the scoreboard first and get the home side off to a strong start.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Betting tip: </strong><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/australian-rules/afl/brisbane-lions-v-essendon-9229216">Callum ah Chee</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Most Disposals Prediction</h3> <p>Brisbane young star always saves his best and most prolific performances for home games. The Norm Smith Medallist has hit the 30- disposal marker in all his games at the Gabba thus far this year and in his two games against Essendon, has gone 28 and 30 touches. Both at the Gabba.</p> <p>We’re looking at him here to top the pops.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Betting tip: </strong><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/australian-rules/afl/brisbane-lions-v-essendon-9229216">Will Ashcroft</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Brisbane Lions vs Essendon Bombers Match Details</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Date: </strong>Thursday, May 29th</p> <p><strong>First Bounce: </strong>7:30 PM, AEST</p> <p><strong>Location: </strong>The Gabba, Brisbane</p> <p><strong>How to watch: </strong>Channel 7, Fox Footy/Kayo Sports</p>