Round 16 - Collingwood Match Review

Essendon crashed to their third successive loss as the pressure mounts on Bomber coach Kevin Sheedy following the Bombers 29 point loss to Collingwood at the MCG in AFL Round 16.

The loss has the Bombers sitting 10th on the AFL ladder with an 8-8 record and the unenviable task of winning 4 of their next 6 games to see September action and possibly save Sheedy’s job.

After a pathetic first quarter which saw the Bombers down by 24 points, as the Pies kicked five goals straight for the term after Bomber forward Scott Lucas registered the opening goal for the game and the signs were not good heading into the first break.

However out of nowhere, the Bombers bounced back into the match during the opening five minute at the start of the second quarter where Damien Peverill, Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas slotted three in-a-row.

But the Bombers revival was short lived as Collingwood replied with the next six goals to give them a 45 point break up at the 24-minute mark of the second term, and it looked like it was going to be a dark dark day for Sheedy and his team.

Handy work from Adam Ramanauskas and Matthew Lloyd gave Lucas the chance for his third goal for the first half near the end of the term, after siren he marked and goaled from 45 metres out on a tough angle on the siren to reduce the Collingwood lead to 39 points at the long break.

After a half-time spray from Sheedy, a totally different Essendon lineup hit the field for the third term with Mark McVeigh proving a handful for the Pies as he scored two goals in the first three minutes of the third term, as the Bombers went on to register eight for the term, their best return for a single quarter this season.

Matthew Lloyd and Andrew Lovett also chipped in with two goals each for the term as the Bombers had cut the Magpie lead to 15 points at the last change and that margin was reduced even further to 10 points after Ricky Dyson kicked the opening goal of the final term.

But that would be as close as the Bombers would get as Dyson’s goal was the Bombers only major for the final quarter as the Pies settled with the final three goals of the match through Rocca, Fraser and Davis and condemned the Bombers to their third loss out of three in the month of July.

Scott Lucas managed four goals and Matthew Lloyd three, while Damien Peverill (32 possessions) and Jobe Watson (22) got plenty of the ball along with Mark McVeigh (21 touches and two goals).

“I don’t think we’re that far away from Collingwood to be quite honest and they’re in the finals with a chance. We probably mucked up games earlier in the year where they didn’t. We’ve still got a lot of improvement in our players.” Sheedy said after the match. “We have got to try and get our team balanced and still look for some more skill and speed in that midfield around stoppages. I thought (Mark) McVeigh gave us a lift, I thought Rama (Adam Ramanauskas) was really good again, which was excellent.”

Essendon play host to a slumping Adelaide at the Phone Dome next Sunday afternoon in AFL Round 17 looking to get back on the winning list.

Game Details
Ground	MCG
Home / Away	Away
Attendance	65,531
Umpires	Ryan, Jeffery, McInerney

Scores
	1 / 4	2 / 4	3 / 4	Full Time
Essendon	1.2	5.5	13.8	14.9.93
Collingwood	5.4	11.8	15.11	18.14.122

Best Players
Essendon	McVeigh, Watson, Hille, Lucas, Lloyd, Ramanauskas
Collingwood	Cloke, Davis, Lockyer, Pendelbury, Fraser, Thomas

Goals
Essendon	Lucas 4, Lloyd 3, McVeigh, Lovett 2, Peverill, Monfries, Dyson
Collingwood	Davis, Rocca 4, Cloke 3, Pendlebury 2, Thomas, Licuria, Didak, Fraser, Lockyer

Injuries and Reports
Injuries	Nil
Reports	Nil

The Team
B:	Nash	Michael	Slattery
HB:	Fletcher	Welsh	McPhee
C:	Ramanauskas	McVeigh	Peverill
HF:	Hislop	Lloyd	M. Johnson
F:	Lucas	Lovett	Hille
R:	Ryder	Watson	Stanton
INT:	Dyson	Laycock	Lovett-Murray
	Monfries
EMG:	Bolton	Bradley	J. Johnson

Posted 21 July 07 in Match Review News