Round 13 - Melbourne Match Review

For the fourth time in the past five matches, Essendon snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat, posting a remarkable come-from-behind victory over Melbourne at the Phone Dome in AFL Round 13.

A goal to Scott Lucas with six seconds to go, gave the Bombers the victory and kept them in touch with the upper reaches of the AFL ladder.

But in reality, the nail biting finish would never had been imagined at quarter time as the Bombers had seemingly blown the match apart with an 8 goal to 2 opening term to lead by 37 points and were well on the way to send outgoing Demon coach Neale Daniher with a humiliating loss.

Stand in ruckman Jason Laycock was dominating the centre-square hit-outs with Jason Johnson, James Hird and Damien Peverill feeding off Laycock’s delivery.

Bomber forwards Scott Lucas and Matthew Lloyd had four of their side’s eight first-quarter goals, including Lloyd’s 800th career goal after he slotted home his second, to become only the 10th player in AFL/VFL history to achieve that milestone.

Whereas the first term was all one way red and black traffic, whatever Daniher said to his side at the quarter time break worked as they began the second term with five straight goals.

Demon forward Aaron Davey had the chance to put the Demons in front at the 27-minute mark in the second term shooting from the forward pocket but his shot just floated wide, and Essendon gained some breathing space with the last three goals of the half through Lucas, Lloyd and Laycock finished the term with a goal from tight angle after the half-time siren, which saw the Bombers lead by 19 at the main break.

The Demons began the third term as the did the second with all the momentum as they quickly erased the Bomber lead to kick seven of the next nine goals in the third quarter and take a 13 point lead heading into the final term with Demon forward Russell Robertson, who was unsighted in the first half, getting three of the Demons’ seven goals in the term.

In the final term, the Demons had chance after chance to stick a fork in the Bombers registering 1.6 up until the start of time-on and it finally looked like the Demons were all set for victory when Aaron Davey goaled at the 21-minute mark to put Danihers’ side up by 17 points, but his brother Alwyn Davey replied for the Bombers from the next centre bounce a minute later to keep the Bombers chances alive before Scott Lucas booted the final two goals of the game, the match winner coming with just six seconds left on the clock.

Despite the thrilling victory, Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy was not happy after the match.

“It was a game we were very, very fortunate to win,” Sheedy said. “It was a disappointing performance, to be honest, and we have just got to get our minds right about playing four quarters. You just cannot front up and play well in the first quarter like that and let a team get back in the game by halftime.

“We play Geelong and Western Bulldogs in the next two weeks and we’re just going to have to really look at our side and make some changes. Some players will feel the heat at selection.”

Essendon remain in the comfy surrounds of the Phone Dome for AFL Round 14 with a Friday night clash against ladder leader Geelong in a game that marks Bomber superstar James Hird’s 250th AFL match.

Game Details
Ground	Dome
Home / Away	Home
Attendance	47,552
Umpires	Margetts, Grun, Ryan

Scores
	1 / 4	2 / 4	3 / 4	Full Time
Essendon	8.3	12.5	14.8	19.11.125
Melbourne	2.2	9.4	16.9	18.15.123

Best Players
Essendon	Hird, Laycock, Lucas, Lloyd, Watson, Fletcher
Melbourne	McDonald, Bruce, Bate, Jones, Neitz, Sylvia

Goals
Essendon	Lucas 5, Lloyd 4, Davey, Laycock, Lovett, McVeigh 2, Hird, McPhee
Melbourne	Neitz, Robertson 3, Davey, Petterd, Sylvia 2, Bate, Bruce, Godfrey, Johnstone, Newton, Ward

Injuries and Reports
Injuries	Nil
Reports	Nil

The Team
B:	Nash	Michael	McVeigh
HB:	Welsh	Fletcher	McPhee
C:	Bolton	Watson	Camporeale
HF:	Hird	Lucas	Slattery
F:	J. Johnson	Lloyd	Davey
R:	Ryder	Peverill	Winderlich
INT:	M. Johnson	Laycock	Lovett
	Stanton
EMG:	Bradley	Dyson	Monfries

Posted 29 June 07 in Match Review News