Marsh Cup: Essendon defeats West Coast after match halted by lightning fears
Million-dollar recruit Tim Kelly picked up with West Coast where he left Geelong, but it was a Marsh Cup clash that will bring excitement to Essendon fans — despite the horrible weather that threatened to cancel the match.
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A lightning delay, a plucky Essendon outfit and a vintage Josh Kennedy performance overshadowed million-dollar man Tim Kelly’s highly-anticipated West Coast debut in the Marsh Community Series in Perth.
Eagles fans braved the wild weather, which included a 20-minute interruption in the second term, to pack out their Lathlain headquarters and catch a glimpse of their prized recruit.
But the undermanned Bombers spoiled Kelly’s welcoming party with a thrilling eight-point win — 14.11 (95) to 13.9 (87).
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Former Geelong star Kelly, who started in the engine room and rotated with Grand Final hero Dom Sheed at half-forward, took just 35 seconds to get his first touch in blue and gold.
He showed early signs of chemistry with ruck superstar Nic Naitanui and combined well with new captain Luke Shuey on a few occasions, finishing with 27 disposals and six clearances to go with a final-quarter goal.
Dual-Coleman medallist Kennedy, 32, reaped the benefits of a rare injury-free pre-season, moving well on his way to a game-high six majors in tough conditions for a key forward.
Youngster Jake Waterman (three goals) was also prominent in a forward-line missing Jack Darling (cheek) and Oscar Allen (ankle).
The only thing more impressive than Shuey in the second quarter was the weather — which caused the delay.
The Norm Smith medallist racking up 11 of his 31 touches in the nearly 50-minute stanza.
Sheed (28 and seven clearances) also made the most of the absence of Elliot Yeo and Andrew Gaff in the midfield to be one of the Eagles’ best.
Veteran defender Will Schofield, one of 14 premiership Eagles in action, will face a nervous wait with his high bump on ball magnet Dylan Shiel sure to be looked at by the Match Review Officer.
Shiel (29 disposals and five clearances) was the pick of Essendon’s midfield brigade along with former No.1 pick Andrew McGrath (24 and seven) and Darcy Parish (29, five and a goal).
Premiership Tiger Jacob Townsend showed a bit across half-forward in his Essendon debut, likewise ruckman Andrew Phillips, who became a three-club player after crossing from Carlton during the off-season.
Livewire Irving Mosquito was unleashed after half-time and created a buzz with his long run on the grandstand side of the ground before a clever crumbing goal late in the third term.
Youngsters Jordan Ridley and Brayden Ham were decent across half-back and the wing respectively, while Jayden Laverde, Will Snelling and the returning Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti did the damage up forward with two goals each.
Ruckman Tom Hickey was the only omission from West Coast’s 27-man squad after playing about three quarters in Wednesday night’s WAFL scratch match, leaving Nathan Vardy and athletic tall Bailey Williams to press their case to be Naitanui’s partner in crime for Round 1.
Williams showed glimpses of his enormous potential and Vardy was solid, but Naitanui (11 disposals and 28 hit-outs) was the stand-out ruckman on the ground in his first pre-season outing in four years.
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Both Naitanui and Essendon defender Michael Hurley didn’t feature in the final term, with the latter seen with ice on his left calf at three-quarter time.
Townsend went off late but it didn’t look serious.
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir and his assistants were keen onlookers ahead of next weekend’s pre-season derby in Joondalup.
SCOREBOARD
WEST COAST 2.2 5.6 8.8 13.9 (87)
def by
ESSENDON 5.3 7.5 12.9 14.11 (95)
GOALS
Eagles: Kennedy 6, Waterman 3, Ah Chee, Kelly, Williams, Petruccelle.
Bombers: McDonald-Tipungwuti 2, Laverde 2, Snelling 2, Phillips, Parish, Smith, Jones, Mosquito, Langford, McKernan, Merrett.
BEST
Eagles: Kennedy, Sheed, Shuey, Naitanui, Kelly.
Bombers: McGrath, Shiel, Parish, McD-Tipungwuti.
INJURIES
Eagles: TBC
Bombers: Hurley (leg)
REPORTS
Eagles: Nil
Bombers: Nil
CROWD
4302 at Lathlain Park.
EARLIER...
Perth’s wild weather has wreaked havoc on Essendon’s Marsh Cup meeting with West Coast, with the match delayed early in the second quarter amid bizarre scenes.
With the Dons up 33-20 with 17.22 to go in the term, umpires made the call to get the players off for safety reasons after lightning strikes got close to the ground.
Winter is coming. pic.twitter.com/BHjfd2Ur9j
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) February 27, 2020
Lightning only needs to be within 10km for play to be delayed.
Part of the sell-out crowd braved the stormy conditions on the unsheltered outer wing, complete with gale-force winds and rain.
Boundary rider Matthew Pavlich said on Fox Footy the halftime and three-quarter-time breaks would be shortened.
“The lightning is the main issue,” Pavlich said.
“The ground manager tells me there are about three or four storm cells passing through the area moving through and it’s just so unpredictable now.
“They’ve decided to park the game for a few minutes.
“The’re likely to shorten halftime and three-quarter-time breaks to still get in a full game.
“The priority is making sure the players and everyone are safe.”
The match is being played at the Eagles’ Lathlain headquarters Mineral Resources Park.
After a break of over 10 minutes, officials deemed the weather to have cleared enough for the players to return to the field.
After a short warm-up, the ball was thrown up in the same spot play was initially stopped.
Play has been suspended due to lightning.
— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) February 27, 2020
Let's hope it blows over quickly🤞#MarshSeries
We’re warming up again...the game will restart with a ball-up on the wing, where the match was paused. #MarshSeries pic.twitter.com/HK1qiogil7
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) February 27, 2020
Originally published as Marsh Cup: Essendon defeats West Coast after match halted by lightning fears