Bombers Shot Down By Crows

Adelaide broke a 17 year hoodoo as they comfortably defeated Essendon by 56 points in their AFL Round 20 clash at the Phone Dome on Saturday afternoon. The win marked the Crowds first ever victory over the Bombers in Melbourne and in the process spoiled the 250 AFL game celebrations of Bombers skipper Matthew Lloyd.

After a close first half, the Crows cemented their AFL Top 8 spot with a 12 goal to six second half which included a run of five consecutive Crow goals in the third quarter.

Matthew Lloyd kicked three goals in his 250th game while Damian Peverill and Jay Nash collected 33 possessions with Ricky Dyson, Patrick Ryder and Jobe Watson also amongst the Bombers best.

Injuries however reared their ugly head during the contest with Courtenay Dempsey leaving the field in the first quarter with a leg injury, key defender Dustin Fletcher was sidelined with a groin in the second term while ruckman Jason Laycock was concussed after a heavy clash.

Patrick Ryder gave the Bombers the perfect start with a long set shot goal to start the scoring but from theta point on the Crows stamped their authority on the game running hard and rebounding out of half back and added three goals to take a 14 point break into the first change.

Led by Lloyd and ruckman David Hille, they brought the Bombers back into the contest to begin the second half with the first two goals of the second term which saw the scores level at the 14 minute mark of the term. But the Crows hit back with four goals to one to finish off the first half and establish a 19 point lead at the main break.

Adelaide blew the game apart with the first five goals of the second half to end the game as a contest. The margin blew out to 56 points before Hille added second major and Adam McPhee converted a set shot to reduce the margin to a still formidable 42 points with one quarter left to play.

Graham Johncock began the scoring in the final term with his third goal before little known Crow forward Nick Gill had six shots on goal for three majors as the Crowd had a six goal to four quarter to blow the final margin out to 56 and end a dismal day for the Bombers.

“I was pretty disappointed in our first 10-15 minutes. I didn’t think we were playing team orientated football, we weren’t getting to the contest quick enough and Adelaide was beating us to the punch,” Essendon coach Matthew Knights said after the match. “Their initiative was better and they were also good with their tackling and harassment. They really didn’t give us much room to move, and I thought the first 10 minutes really set the scene for the rest of the day.”

“We’ve just got to make sure we stand strong now and finish off the final two weeks and do our club proud.

“We’re not going to make the eight so it’s important we play well and try and pick up one of two games in the last two.”

“It’s vital to finish with good energy and enthusiasm and to play strong football. It’s really important,”

The Bombers end the season with Phone Dome games against the Western Bulldogs and St. Kilda.

Posted 16 August 08 in News Match Review