Mark Robinson: Bombers quickly earning respect of rivals after taking Swans to the wire
Sydney’s Young Bloods got the points in an SCG thriller, but the young Bombers might have got more out of the game, writes Mark Robinson.
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Two Sydney players have tormented Essendon.
Lance Franklin for 15 years — and he kicked the winner with three minutes to play on Thursday night.
The other is Dane Rampe.
Two years ago Rampe climbed a goalpost and robbed Essendon of victory.
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On Thursday night he was more conventional.
He got a hand to an Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti shot at goal after Franklin’s major to deny Essendon what would have been a remarkable victory.
Can you be remarkable in defeat? Clearly, yes.
The Bombers have a level of character about them that may not surprise them, but is quickly earning respect in the competition.
It was 28 shots at goal to 20, but the Bloods wouldn’t think this was a walk in the park on a pleasant Thursday evening.
The Bombers almost tackled them to defeat.
The Swans ground out the win and remain undefeated after four rounds. They take the win and move on.
The Young Bloods, led on Thursday night by a veteran Blood in Luke Parker, now play Greater Western Sydney (SCG) and Gold Coast (Metricon), before meeting Geelong at the SCG.
If they are 7-0, we have a legitimate premiership contender, if they aren’t already.
The margin was three points. The previous two matches between these two teams were won by Sydney by six points and 10 points.
Thursday night wasn’t one for the ages, but it had everything you like about footy.
In the tense final quarter, when the Swans allowed Essendon to keep pushing for victory, the home team kicked four behinds in a row. Nick Blakey strangely kicked to a lead that didn’t exist, and his kick went out of bounds.
It was as much about the Swans as it was the Bombers.
Jake Stringer’s first quarter gave Essendon possibilities.
His first goal came from an unlikely source. He outbustled Tom Hickey in a ruck contest in the F50, took the ball, and snapped the goal.
His second was from an intercept mark. Moments earlier, he laid a smother to keep the ball inside 50m.
The Bombers finished the quarter with a run of three consecutive goals, the best from 200cm wingman Nik Cox. He gathered a ground ball at half-forward and kicked the goal on the run.
If the 18-year-old is doing that in his third game, what will he be producing in game 100? He shapes to be something special.
Pressure, as always, is indicative of the scoreboard.
The Bombers kicked six straight goals through the first and second quarters, largely because they were damaging on the outside.
Their pressure through that period was 163, and Sydney’s was 165.
The Swans kicked the next five goals. Their pressure during their period of dominance was 198 — which is super elite in regards to this season — and Essendon’s was 174.
Tackles and harassment caused turnovers, and turnovers resulted in goals. A plus eight-clearance win emphasised the Swans’ control.
The second half was dour, a win-your-own-ball contest.
That’s where the Bombers thrived.
The Bombers went at 208 with pressure to Sydney’s 174.
It says plenty about Essendon’s brand.
The Bombers might be considered a bottom-five team, but they’re playing hard-nosed footy. They responded to Sydney’s second-quarter surge, and then almost won the game.
Franklin was opposed to Aaron Francis, and though he kicked the winner, Francis was enormous. The player who separated Essendon was Sam Reid, who safely can be described as playing career-best footy. He took seven marks, one of them an easy one against Peter Wright in the second quarter.
For a big bloke, Wright couldn’t get his feet planted and/or hold his ground.
Reid started the third quarter with the first goal, this time opposed to Jayden Laverde. He would finish the match as Sydney’s second highest-ranked Swan on the ground — behind Parker.
Marks inside 50 were 18 to 11 the Swans’ way.
Storylines were everywhere.
Isaac Heeney was productive before being injured — again.
This time it’s a broken hand. Last year he played just six games before having a season-ending operation on his ankle.
It’s a pity for him and for the competition because he was looming large in the Swans’ forward zone.
McDonald-Tipungwuti was only average. His best footy is when he plays the ball and his opponent, and not for the umpires’ whistle.
The umpires’ interpretation of a player having insufficient intent to keep the ball in play hit an incredulous level last night.
Francis was pinged for making a diving ground-ball spoil on Franklin, and the ball sharply squirted out of bounds. Then Matt Guelfi was penalised for punching a high ball that travelled over the boundary line.
Ease up, umpires, this is not last touch out — not yet anyway.
In the end, Franklin kicked the winner, which was all too familiar.
Not familiar was Essendon’s mentality to stay in the contest.
The Young Bloods got the points. But the young Bombers might have got more out of the game.
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