Bombers Win An anZAK Day Thriller

Essendon scored one of their most remarkable victories in modern times, coming back from 14 points down at the 25 minute mark of the final quarter, to steal a 5 point victory against Collingwood in the ANZAC Day blockbuster at the MCG on Saturday afternoon in AFL Round 5.

With just seconds remaining on the clock, it was rookie David Zaharakis – whose great grandfather fought at Gallipoli – that booted the winning goal to give his side a 13.15 (93) to 12.16 (88) victory and move back into the AFL Top 8.

Paddy Ryder was awarded the ANZAC Medal, after being forced to ruck all day against Magpies duo Josh Fraser and Leigh Brown when Bomber ruckman David Hille went down with what looked to be a season-ending knee injury in the second minute of the match.

With Hille’s knee buckling, the Magpies took full advantage of the situation by getting the jump on the Bombers with quick goals to Anthony Rocca and first gamer Brent Macaffer and it looked like being an ugly day for the Bombers.

The Bombers however steadied midway through the opening term and began to get on top of the Magpies but inaccuracy in front of goal was costly with Angus Monfries and David Myers both missing twice before Jason Winderlich finally kicked the Dons first at the 24-minute mark of the opening term. Magpie forward Travis Cloke then goaled after the quarter time siren at the other end to give his side a 15 point lead at the first change.
The Bombers speed around the ground marked a change in the game during the second term as Andrew Lovett, Sam Lonergan and Adam McPhee gave the Bombers the lead for the first time in the match with Ricky Dyson and Brent Stanton being prominent contributors.

Essendon managed five goals for the second term as the Magpies could only respond with two goals for the quarter by forward Jack Anthony and going into the half time break the scores were locked together at 6.6 (42) apiece.

The Bombers inaccuracy continued to haunt them during the third term as the squandered the chances to put away the Magpies as they returned a 3.7 output for the third quarter and eek out a 9 point lead going into the final term.

Alwyn Davey’s bouncing goal during the term gave the Bombers a handy 17 point break before a late snap from Leon Davis edged the Pies to within nine points at the final change.

The Pies via Scott Pendlebury and Leon Davis saw the Magpie army prematurely celebrating victory as they grabbed a 14 point lead heading into time-on of the final term. But the Bombers remarkable last gasp comeback was sparked by a snap by Leroy Jetta and was followed up by a goal from deep on the boundary by Ricky Dyson. Jetta had the chance to seal the victory but could not control the ball as it bounced towards the goal line and bounced behind to give the Magpies a 1 point lead, and it was left up to Zaharakis to become an instant hero as he calmly snapped the winning goal with just 5 second left on the clock.

Brent Stanton finished with 34 possessions and was backed up by Ricky Dyson 28, Jobe Watson 27 and Adam McPhee 26 while key forwards Scott Lucas and skipper Matthew Lloyd remained goalless for the match.

“They had to play and the way they played was good because they never gave up even though they were sore,” Essendon coach Matthew Knights said after the game. “They were sore, but they said to me at three-quarter time they were right to go so we just had to push on and it would have been too difficult then for the rest of our group if those guys couldn’t play on.”

“To have the belief and resilience when you’re three goals down and there’s four-and-a-half minutes to go and the rain starts coming … to keep taking the game on is something which was very brave by our playing group,” Knights added. “It’s something that I’m very proud of.”

Next up for the Bombers is a trip north to Brisbane for AFL Round 6 next Saturday night – a venue they have not won at since 2000.

Posted 25 April 09 in Match Review