Essendon fans were fuming with late umpiring decisions in close Anzac Day loss to Collingwood
Essendon fans were booing ferociously long after the final siren after they felt let down by a non-call from the umpires. Instead, Collingwood was paid a free kick and held on for a dramatic win.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It was the moment that started Essendon fans booing ferociously long after the final siren.
A free kick was paid to young Magpie Callum Brown for in the back during the dying moments of play, and immediately had Bomber fans on their feet.
They wanted a free paid against another Magpie, Jaidyn Stephenson, for holding the ball seconds earlier, but play was allowed to continue.
ROBBO: PENDLES BOOING WAS ‘SHAMEFUL’
‘SHAME ON YOU’: BUCKS BLASTS BOOING BOMBERS
Brown missed the goal and the chance to put the Pies nine points up but as the Bombers launched one last drive forward, the siren sounded. Game over.
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said it was pleasing to secure the victory - taking the Pies to a 4-2 ledger - given how they had to stem the Essendon momentum for much of the second half.
“I would have liked to have taken advantage of our momentum a little bit earlier,” he said. “But the fact we were able to hold on when essendon clearly had the momentum for the majority of the second half was a really solid sign.”
He was critical of the Magpies’ last kick inside 50, saying it was an area they needed to clean up before their next clash with Port Adelaide at the MCG on May 3.
Essendon coach John Worsfold said his players took many risks with getting any reward.
“I think our players tried to go too quick, early,” Worsfold said.
“Whether it was getting the ball in and out of their hands too quick … even maybe our first three or four handballs either went to Collingwood players or didn’t hit their targets in the first minute or 30 seconds of the game.
“We were chasing a little bit with those mistakes and trying to get the ball inside really fast before our forwards had a chance to really get back there themselves. That was a big part of what we talked about (at quarter time).”
JOE'S DOWNTOWNER
Last Friday, Joe Daniher attended the funeral of his grandfather Jim.
On Thursday, he did him proud when he booted four goals.
The most spectacular was the one after the halftime siren when his team needed something special.
So often shaky in front of goals, he went back and launched from 60m out.
It brought the Essendon crowd to its feet, and gave his team a huge lift going into the long break.
But four minutes into the last term, the Bombers were surging and only eight points down.
Daniher seemed almost certain to cut the margin back even further when he lead out for the ball only 35m out.
But as the Bombers fans rose in the seats, Daniher's mark was spoiled ... by his teammate.
Inexplicably, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti came across and ruined the moment.
Then he followed it up with a strange decision to switch across the other side of the ground which was cut off by Jordan De Goey at the 24-minute-mark.
DE GOEY FEVER
Sometimes an arm-wrestle needs a circuit-breaker.
De Goey provided that when he pounced on a mistake from Bomber Dylan Shiel.
Seventeen minutes into the game, Shiel was looking to sweep the ball out of the Essendon back half, but the heat caused him to err with the handball.
That provided De Goey with a fleeting opportunity. He grasped it and slammed it on his right foot from 40m for a goal.
Then he followed it up with something ever better — a double-fisted team-first tap back to Will Hoskin-Elliott which provided another major four minutes later.
De Goey was at it again in the last quarter.
He was thrust into the midfield during the crucial last-quarter and kicked another crucial goal to give Collingwood a hint of breathing space 18 minutes in.
It was the Magpies’ only goal of the term.
Buckley said he was pleased to see the ball in his star’s hands as he knows how much he likes to own the big moments.
“He is an ‘Alpha Male’, Jordy,” Buckley said.
“If anyone really wanted to have the ball in their hands at that moment, I reckon he would have been in the top three on the field.
“Whether he kicked it or not would have been secondary for him. He would have just (loved) the opportunity to stand up for his team - and he did.
“I think he scored more from the midfield than the forward (role).
“We had the last three, four or five shots, and couple of out of bounds, and a couple of points, so finishing is an area of improvement from today.”
TOUGH TOM
Courage isn't the most appropriate word to use when referencing football on Anzac Day, given what the servicemen and women past and present have endured.
But Collingwood wingman Tom Phillips deserved praise for the way he attacked the ball in a big contest in the first term.
He launched himself at Mitch Brown out on the AFL members' wing, he knew he was going to get hurt yet stood his ground, doing what he needed for the team.
END TO END BOMBERS
Red-time goals are killers, and Nathan Buckley had every reason to be furious at three-quarter-time.
The ball was deep in Collingwood's forward line with just over a minute less than a minute to go in the third term with the difference 15 points.
In a heartbeat, it swept from one to the other. Anthony Tipungwuti gave it off to birthday Stringer, who handballed over to Mark Baguley who cut the deficit to nine points with only 47 seconds left.
ESSENDON 1.0 5.3 8.6 10.9 (69)
COLLINGWOOD 4.5 7.6 9.9 10.13 (73)
GOALS
Essendon: Daniher 4, Baguley 3, Stringer 2, Guelfi
Collingwood: Cox 2, De Goey 2, Mihocek, Thomas, Stephenson, Hoskin-Elliott, Adams, Sidebottom
BEST
Essendon: Daniher, Saad, Stringer, Shiel, Merrett, Ambrose, Hurley, Heppell
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Grundy, Sidebottom, Treloar, De Goey, Howe, Langdon, Moore, Crisp
INJURIES
Essendon: Smith (knee)
Collingwood: Cox (knee)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stephens, Hosking, Ryan
Official crowd: 92,241 at the MCG
GLENN McFARLANE’S VOTES
3: Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
2: Joe Daniher (Essendon)
1: Brodie Grundy (Collingwood)
Originally published as Essendon fans were fuming with late umpiring decisions in close Anzac Day loss to Collingwood
First year wrap, contract latest: Where 2023 draft’s top 30 sit
With season two ahead, check out how the top 30 players picked in the 2023 AFL Draft are tracking — including a contract update.
In demand Pies star scares off potential future buyers
Chased by North Melbourne in the 2024 trade period, Pies star Brayden Maynard looked to be one to watch during this season. But not if you ask the man himself about his future.