AFL Round 22 Essendon v Gold Coast: All the news and analysis as Mac Andrew wins it for the Suns after the siren

Bombers coach Brad Scott promises fans his players are more disappointed than anybody to see their finals hopes disappear as he promises to make a ‘concerted effort’ to fix their issues.

Ronny Lerner

5 min read

August 11, 2024 - 9:34AM

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A bitterly disappointed Essendon coach Brad Scott has assured the Bombers’ long-suffering supporters that there will be a “concerted effort” in the off-season to remedy what is ailing the perennially underachieving club.

Just as they did last season, Essendon has crashed and burned this year, after sitting in the top five as late as Round 17, to dramatically drop out of the finals frame.

The Bombers have now lost seven of their last 10 games, the latest of which a humiliating after-the-siren defeat to Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium.

And while they remain a mathematical chance to finish in the top eight, two games against premiership contenders Sydney and Brisbane (away) to finish the season strongly suggest finals footy is now in the pipe-dream realm for the Bombers.

Zach Merrett looks on after the Bombers lose to Gold Coast on Saturday night. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Their finals win drought will now almost certainly stretch into a 21st year next season.

“Nothing’s easy in this game,” Scott said after the Dons’ one-point loss to Gold Coast.

“We’ll have a concerted effort in the off-season, don’t worry about that.”

When adding the Gold Coast loss to recent defeats against other bottom-six sides Adelaide and St Kilda with their finals hopes on the line, Scott admitted the team had “certainly stressed” themselves and their supporters in the past month.

But the Bombers coach was adamant that dropping eminently winnable games to inferior opposition (according to the ladder, anyway) wasn’t as a result of mental weakness or an inability to cope with pressure.

“It’s just a tight comp. That’s what it is,” Scott said.

“We beat Fremantle the week before. We’re not a team that is good enough at the moment just to come out and expect to just blow teams off the park.

“Every game that we’ve played this year has been a tight tussle at most stages.”

While Scott said his players were shattered, he believed going through such traumatic footy experiences would only hold them in good stead in the long run.

"It's something every kid dreams of" ðŸ˜

Mac Andrew delivered the match-winner after the siren for the Suns.

ðŸ“º Watch #AFLDonsSuns on ch. 504 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/OyUPVaNHdS
âœï¸ WRAP https://t.co/TFgj89kRC3 pic.twitter.com/AUCzYvAXqk
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) August 10, 2024

“I’m speaking here now mostly to our fans who are bitterly disappointed and I can assure them that our players, whether they believe it or not, are more disappointed than anyone else,” Scott said.

“This game is a challenge, it’s full of frustrations and jubilations but you’ve just got to be able to bounce back from the devastation of a loss like that.

“It’s cold comfort but I am a big believer in that you’ve got to keep putting yourself in the position.

“The easiest part is we just start the season 0-6 and then just storm home and everyone’s happy. You win the same number of games, but we’d rather put ourselves in the frame and push and push and push and put ourselves in that position.

“As hard as it is now, you can draw on that in the future because you’ve been there, you’ve experienced it.

“You need to stress yourself and then you get a response from it and we’ve certainly stressed ourselves and stressed our supporters and now it’s how we get the response.”

Utility Nik Cox won’t be available to face the Swans due to concussion.

HUMILIATION COMPLETE: ESSENDON HEARTS BREAK AFTER THE SIREN

Essendon’s late-season humiliation is complete after a Mac Andrew shot after the final siren delivered Gold Coast a heart-stopping one-point victory at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.

After suffering recent losses against bottom-five Adelaide and St Kilda with their finals hopes on the line, the Bombers delivered the coup de grace to their embarrassing finish to the year by losing to the bottom-six Suns 13.9 (87) to 12.14 (86).

The result ended the Suns’ horrific 17-game losing streak on the road and if there was one team that they were going to break that infamous drought against, it just had to be the pathetic Bombers who have crashed out of the finals frame in ignominious fashion.

For the second year in a row, after sitting in the top five late in the piece, Essendon have capitulated to throw their top-eight hopes down the gurgler.

The Suns celebrate Mac Andrew after-the-siren winner. Picture: Mark Stewart

Adding salt to the wound for the Bombers was the fact that they had victory well within their grasp in the final quarter, but a diabolical 1.9 prevented from shutting the door on the Suns and after taking a spectacular pack mark with 20 seconds left, Andrew made Essendon pay the heftiest of prices.

Jake Stringer (three behinds) and Sam Draper (two) were the main culprits for the Bombers after three-quarter time.

Andrew played the role of pantomime villain in the second half, after being one of the chief protagonists in a wild all-in brawl at half-time, but the chorus of boos he copped whenever he got near the ball only seemed to fuel him as he booted three of his four majors after the main break.

Andrew marked in the final seconds. Picture: Mark Stewart

And went back and kicked truly to end Essendon’s season. Picture: Mark Stewart

In ugly scenes, Essendon fans were threw drinks bottles on the ground after Andrew kicked the match winner.

As they do so often, Essendon won the inside-50 count 62-51, but their appalling goalkicking, especially in the crucial final quarter, brought them unstuck as the Suns cleaned them up in contested possessions 146-132.

Matt Rowell was absolutely sensational for the Suns with 33 disposals (21 contested), nine clearances and seven tackles, while Sam Flanders (22 touches and two goals) and Sam Clohesy (23 possessions) were also pivotal to the result in a seesawing match that featured eight lead changes.

The Bombers were best-served by Nic Martin (36 touches) and Zach Merrett (32), while Nate Caddy (three) and Draper (three) combined for six goals.

Bombers captain Zach Merrett after the loss. Picture: Mark Stewart

MAC ANDREW THE MATCHWINNER ðŸ¤¯#AFLDonsSuns pic.twitter.com/NFQKdyntvP
— AFL (@AFL) August 10, 2024

MENZIE COSTS DONS

Essendon could’ve enjoyed a game-high 17-point lead early in the second quarter had Jye Menzie managed to kick a goal from the goal square, but unfortunately for the Bombers, the goal sneak’s boot failed to make contact with the ball. The Suns then kicked the next three goals in eight minutes to lead by seven points.

Tempers flared at half-time. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Nic Holman and Andrew were in the thick of it. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

BIG BRAWL ERUPTS

Mason Redman and Ben King sparked a huge all-in brawl at half-time near the interchange bench. The fracas lasted a lot longer than the usual push-and-shove that occurs in the modern game and the AFL will be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospects of dishing out thousands and thousands of dollars worth of fines to all the players involved.

CLOHESY FLIES HIGH

Gold Coast young gun Sam Clohesy submitted a late mark-of-the-year contender late in the first quarter when he flew high on Jade Gresham’s back on the wing to rein in a hanger. Essendon ruckman Sam Draper also took a lovely aerial grab midway through the second term when he took a ride on Sam Collins’ shoulders on the wing as well.