Round 9 – Essendon v Sydney: Bombers shoot down wayward Swans

 

 

For the second time in two weeks the Bombers have given up good leads to fast finishing teams.

 

Thankfully the margins were too great for the opposing side to eventually overcome, or in Sydney’s case, poor kicking for goal let them down but some of that can be related to some good pressure by the Bombers.

 

On both occasions Essendon have only kicked two goals after half-time, indeed a worrying trend, and an issue that must be quickly addressed and eradicated.

 

Too often it has been the reverse for the Bombers; poor starts that entails too much catching up, the good finishes usually falling short.

 

Again the Bombers suffered another season ending injury with first gamer Lewis Hayes going down with an ACL injury. One can only feel how devastating this must be for him after working so hard over the past few seasons to finally gain senior selection. The depth of the Bombers playing list is surely being tested with four severe injuries in as many weeks. It certainly will create some positions on our list for the mid-season draft.

 

Discussing the Bombers’ prospects against the Swans on the way to match I stated to my mate Leigh and my grandson Ben that I was quietly confident of a win. It has been a few years since we’ve won against Sydney, I’m a firm believer in the ‘law of averages’ and felt the Bombers were due for a win – and of course Buddy Franklin has retired, no bag of goals would ensure!

 

It was a ripping opening quarter for the Bombers. It was everything supporters had dreamed of for all year. Sure and precise, excellent decision making, very few turn-overs, and fast movement of the ball were a delight to watch. We were outrunning our opponents with ease and our tackling was fierce. We were ‘on’ from the very first minutes.

 

Andy McGrath played a blinder in the first quarter. He attacked the ball with confidence, broke lines with his run and could not put a foot wrong – certainly his best game for a long time.

 

Zach Reid undoubtably is coming of age. He marked everything that came his way, cool and calm whenever he had the ball and was very telling with his delivery. Ben McKay also had a good game down back, his confidence is increasing week by week and is creating a good understanding with his fellow backs.

 

Jye Caldwell was a welcome return this week. Together, he  and Will Settlefield, provide much of the mid-field grunt and tackling with their fierce but positive at the ball attitude. Settlefield is fast becoming a pivotal cog in the team playing an important and often unobtrusive role in the mid-field.

 

With Merrett tagged, it provided the opportunity for other players to put their hands up and take up the slack of the potential shortfall of the ball use normally expected from Zach. No need to worry, Martin and Durham both had their hands firmly in the air. Durham’s hands also clutched a screamer and a Mark of the Year contender.

 

Two of our 2025 debutants kicked their first goals for the team on Saturday delighting supporters with their exuberance and excitement they displayed with their achievement. These guys want to play footy at the top level, and they want to stay there. This is where the future of our club lies, the young kids. Quite possibly there will be further debutants in the coming weeks.

 

Like many Essendon supporters I was not expecting Todd Goldstein to be a part of our team this season. He rucked manfully against a very good ruckman in Brodie Grundy, taking marks and setting up players with his ball use, both by hand and foot. Goldy played like a player who desperately wants to maintain his place in the team.

 

In the end we were probably lucky to win the game. In the past those close ending games we’d lose wilting under relenting opposition pressure but our boys held up well especially a couple of new players fast becoming ‘hardnuts’, namely Archie Roberts and Jaxon Prior both slotting into, and fulfilling their defensive roles well.

 

It’s another four points making us 5/3 after 9 rounds (and a game behind), and briefly a spot in the eight, not where many pundits thought we’d be. With wins over the Western Bulldogs and Richmond in the next two weeks could be season defining – we’ll wait and see!

 

Go Bombers!

 

ESSENDON    3.1    9.1    11.4   11.5 (71)
SYDNEY        1.1    2.4    5.10    8.15 (63)

 

GOALS
Essendon: Caddy 3, Merrett 2, El-Hawli, Day-Wicks, Perkins, Kako, Durham, Redman
Sydney: Hayward 2, McLean, Grundy, Campbell, Co.Warner, Sheldrick, McInerney

 

BEST
Essendon: Martin, McGrath, Reid, Setterfield, Redman, Caddy, Durham
Sydney: Blakey, Grundy, Rowbottom, Ch.Warner, Roberts

 

INJURIES
Essendon: Hayes (knee)
Sydney: Nil

 

SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Dylan Shiel (replaced Lewis Hayes at three-quarter time)
Sydney: Angus Sheldrick (replaced Ben Paton in the third quarter)

 

Crowd: 43,799 at Marvel Stadium

 

 

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