2023 Essendon Men's 200m Gift

With an incredible 92 entries, the 2023 Essendon Men's 200m Gift will be a hotly contested event!

At the back we have the pleasure of seeing the 2019 Stawell Gift winner Dhruv Rodrigues Chico line up against the 2023 Stawell Gift winner in Ryan Tarrant! Both running from a mark of 1m. We then see the 2022 Stawell Gift winner Harrison Kerr off 5m. Followed by the RAD squad trained Stawell finalists in Jara Konteh and Saye Morris off 5m and 6m respectively.

With a number of last years' finalists not entered attention should turn to a number of other strong performers. Jake Ireland retains his mark of 9m after placing 6th in the Stawell 200m and should definitely be a danger to the field. Brayden Portelli, a well-established runner in the amateur ranks recently clocked a 10.85 and is another threat from that 9m mark. Massimo Acquaro will be another to keep an eye on off 11m, clocking 21.54 on the Gold Coast in April and making a strong showing at the Cobden Gift making the 100m final last month. Kevin Brittain is another on the radar after his 5th place at Ringwood over the same distance. He'll look to lead a lot of the field from start to finish off 16m

MASSIMOOOOO

Acquero to romp it in

Ireland 20.79 off 9 Stawell. Should be on 7
Aquaro 21.54 track should be on 9
johns 20.90 pb within 5 years gets 8m start mark is 3m
We still got a review panel? Doubt it

Will johns not the athlete he once was. Change in coaching perhaps hasn’t worked as intended

Pick of the yard is Michael Dinan, Mortlake finalist and the further the better for Michael, the 200 will suit him.

Tim Rosen would be the other to challenge. Had the same mark at Maryborough and ran a close 4th, clearly going well at the moment and has to be in close. Despite the questionable hammy

Hi all
Sorry in advance if this is a silly question  but!!
Is the 200m a stand alone event ? And as such would winning the 200m gift possibly affect the athletes 120m gift mark…?
 Or can there be a discretionary pull applied ??
 Thanks just want everyone to be able to have a real crack at this one!!
Thanks

The 200 is a stand alone event. You cannot be penalised in another event for winning the 200.

Vi goes back to back! 20.62 off 13m this year not far off his 20.58 off 16m last year. He also took out the 70m open off 5.75m in 7.52 (finishing 2nd last year in 7.57 off the same mark) and to go with his Maryborough gift win from last season as well off 9m, there is no doubt he'll be one to watch for the rest of the season.

Meanwhile youngsters Dashiell Muir (Dash by name Dash by nature) and Jared Glover put in excellent performances over the night to claim 2nd and third respectively.

Ireland, Antonino, Quinn, Morris and Riali rounded out the final.