AFL Round 3 – Fremantle v Essendon: The price you pay following the Dons

What a week the Dons had to get through,  and the way they  turned up to play in the first quarter it looked like they would rather have been playing a different sport somewhere else.   The Purple mob seemed to be every where and that obnoxious pest Ballantyne was upsetting every one in a Dons jumper.  The ground was wet and the ball slippery and the home side was killing Essendon.  Hibberd and Carlisle were working like troopers on the backline but at the first break Fremantle was thirty points up.   I’m thinking,  have I got better things to do than listening to the footy?  I was also thinking, what are those “cocky”  Don supporters  from last week thinking now?

Second quarter, the Dons have lifted their game and even managed a goal when Michael Hurley marked  a shocker of a kick for goal from Brendon Goddard and kicked truly.  However Fremantle added another couple so at half time they were six goals up and I wasn’t feeling too confident.   Could we mount another comeback like we did against Adelaide?  I have to be honest, i didn’t think so.

There seemed to be a new spirit in the team after the big break, skill was up, tenacity was up and we started kicking goals. The goals didn’t come easily though.   Fremantle seem to play a mixture of Rugby and Cross country wrestling so it was tough going, really tough, and the ground conditions didn’t help.   We added five goals five to Fremantle’s two points. A lot of this was due to Jake Carlisle’s demolition of  Matthew Pavlich, superbly backed up by Michael Hibberd and the rest of the back line. Jobe Watson, Paddy Ryder and David Zaharakis  started helping Tom Bellchambers around the ground.  Brendon Goddard and Michael Hurley were great up forward so by the orange break we were only three points down. I couldn’t believe it, from a hopeless case at half time to be in with a real show.

The last quarter was almost too much for me, I couldn’t sit down and listen.  I couldn’t stand up and listen.   I went outside for a good five minutes at the twenty minute mark, came back and the scores were  bloody level! And then Paddy Ryder kicked a goal -we are six points up and only a minute  or so to go.  Un-bloody-believable! But Fremantle wasn’t  ready to give up, in the last remaining seconds they had two snaps for goal. Thank God they were both points. SIREN. I let out a huge cheer which was heard by the good wife and I reckon a few of our neighbours. Small price to pay when you barrack for  the Dons.

Leave a Comment

*