Bombers hold on to beat Crows
When Essendon made their way onto Adelaide Oval on Sunday afternoon, they were sitting in a seemingly precarious 12th position on the ladder.
When they walked off the ground a few brutal hours later, victorious over Adelaide by three points, the ladder suddenly showed the Bombers one win shy of top spot – and still with a game in hand.
It wasn't anywhere near as straightforward as that.
David Zaharakis and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti celebrate the Dons' win.Credit:Getty Images
The first three quarters were played largely on Essendon's terms before the Crows, chasing their first victory in almost an entire year, summoned a brave fourth-quarter fightback.
What had loomed as a blowout quickly turned into a nail-biting thriller.
Down by 19 points midway through the third term, Lachlan Murphy and Paul Seedsman goaled late in the stanza to reduce the Bombers' advantage to six points before Adelaide suddenly had all the play in the fourth.
But the Crows' comeback was stymied by a combination of wayward finishing – they booted 1.6 in the final period – and some desperate Essendon defending.
The Crows fought hard but are still without a win this season.Credit:Getty Images
Elliott Himmelberg's late shot was thumped through for a behind by much-improved Bombers defender Jordan Ridley, before Michael Hurley took a big grab on the last line.
Brodie Smith had one last flying effort, which sailed out on the full, before Mason Redman plucked a game-saving grab in the last minute.
Adelaide had spent much of the match clinging on grimly for dear life.
Murphy's juggled mark and goal after the quarter-time siren levelled the scores and Essendon's lead was still only seven points at half-time despite the Bombers' overwhelming superiority in clearances (25-13) and inside-50s (23-14).
Conor McKenna's moment of Irish brilliance sparked Essendon in the third.
He turned on the afterburners, bounced the pill three times and produced a marvellous Gaelic solo, leaving Chayce Jones, Matt Crouch and Rory Laird eating his dust.
His pinpoint, perfect pass found Kyle Langford who converted and when Langford slotted his second for the quarter, the Bombers' advantage was out to a match-high 19 points.
But Adelaide refused to surrender.
They fought and fought. It was almost enough.
HALF-TIME HEADBUTT
Crouch made a beeline for Townsend and during the pair's jumper-grappling stoush, appeared to pull the Bombers recruit aggressively towards him, resulting in a clash of heads.
With blood flowing from both players' foreheads, umpire Brent Wallace hedged his bets and told the pair, "you're both on report", before taking their numbers.
INJURY ISSUES
Essendon's spate of syndesmosis injuries continued with forward Jayden Laverde joining captain Dyson Heppell and Jake Stringer.
Laverde limped off in the second term after hurting his right ankle while being tackled by Kyle Hartigan.
Adelaide had their own injury woes with Brad Crouch and acting skipper Tom Doedee both exiting the match with hamstring injuries.
RIDLEY'S RISE
Seemingly stuck at the back of Essendon's pecking order of half-backs, behind the likes of McKenna, Adam Saad, Martin Gleeson and Aaron Francis, rejuvenated Ridley has been one of the competition's most improved players in 2020.
Ridley played only six games last season and was unsighted at senior level from round seven onwards.
Now, he's one of the first picked at Windy Hill.
He has cemented himself in the Bombers' back six and is emerging as one of the league's premier intercept marks, his efforts in defence crucial in Essendon's gripping win.
ADELAIDE
2.1 4.3 7.5 8.11 (59)
ESSENDON
2.1 5.4 8.5 9.8 (62)
GOALS
Adelaide: Murphy 3, Walker 2, Smith, Stengle, Seedsman
Essendon: Langford 2, McDonald-Tipungwuti 2, Cahill 2, Parish, Laverde, Townsend
BEST
Adelaide: Smith, Seedsman, Murphy, Hamill, Keays, Laird
Essendon: Merrett, McGrath, Ridley, Parish, Hibberd, Zaharakis
UMPIRES
Whetton, Gavine, Wallace
VENUE
Adelaide Oval
CROWD
15155