Bombers Dog Of A Night

Essendon’s 2008 AFL season is drawing to it’s inevitable conclusion as an injury depleted Bombers went down to the Western Bulldogs by 46 points at the Phone Dome in AFL Round 21 on Friday night.

In front of 37,294 fans, the Bombers got off to the perfect start with skipper Matthew Lloyd giving his side the perfect start by booting the first goal of the match from outside 50 in the first two minutes of the match before the Bulldogs hit back with goals to Robert Murphy and Mitch Hahn. A tight first quarter ensured with both sides adding three goals for the term as the Bombers headed into the first change with a slender one point lead.

Lloyd began the second term like the first with the opening goal to stretch the Bombers lead and an upset was on the cards. But the Bulldogs fighting for a Top 2 position, finally got into gear and banged home six goals unanswered to take a comfortable 28 point lead into half time.

Lloyd goaled again to start the second half to give his team a minor sniff of a comeback but then the Dogs slammed through seven goals to the Bombers’ one to end the game as a contest and rack up 16 goals to 6 in the previous two quarters and head into the final term with a commanding 57 point lead.

The final quarter was an uneventful affair with the result beyond doubt, defensively both sides relaxed as the Bombers added a six term to reduce the margin as the Dogs added four goals of their own.

“I think you should be wary of the Western Bulldogs,” Bombers coach Matthew Knights said after the match. “They played some cracking football early in the year. They did beat Hawthorn in Tasmania and they were sparkling that day. Come first final I think they are going to be a very capable football team. They don’t have many injury concerns, which is important for this time of year. Their foot skills are very good … I wouldn’t be underestimating them if I was playing them in a final.”

Knights signaled out praises for youngsters Rhys Magin, Cale Hooker and Tom Bellchambers despite the loss.

“Physically, he (Bellchambers) is pretty well endowed for a ruckman,” Knights said. “Sometimes it takes three or four years to put size on a ruckman, but he’s got the size, so we’re going to work on his game learning and if we can do that he’s going to be a good player for us in time.”

“It’s good for Rhys Magin, Cale Hooker and Tom Bellchambers to know how revered Jason and Pev are. It is going to be a big celebration for us this weekend. We celebrate the careers of two wonderful people and we hope to give them a great send-off.”

Brent Stanton finished with 28 touches and 2 goals while the retiring Jason Johnson added 26 possessions. Matthew Lloyd, Sam Lonergan and Mark McVeigh were also amongst the Bombers best on a forgettable night.

The Bombers wrap up their 2008 AFL Season against St. Kilda at the Phone Dome next Sunday afternoon.

Posted 23 August 08 in News Match Review