Essendon overcomes 5am start, double brain fade to hang on against Sydney at SCG
Essendon players set their alarms for 5am and it showed with howlers that threatened to blow a brilliant start before Darcy Parish turned from villain to hero against Sydney. He reveals what the players did to fill in time before the first bounce.
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Essendon overcame two crucial moments of ill-discipline from star Aaron Francis to beat Sydney at the SCG, but the Swans showed there’s still fight without Lance Franklin.
Last year’s corresponding match finished in extraordinary circumstances when Dane Rampe climbed the goal-post after the final siren, and high drama was on the menu again on Sunday when Francis bumped Sydney’s Tom Papley in the final minutes after a mark was taken to give away a 50 metre penalty and gift a goal which brought the Swans within one point of pulling off a thrilling comeback victory.
Francis was pinged for a similar 50-50 error earlier in the match to give away a free to Isaac Heeney, which turned the momentum of the game.
In the end, Essendon’s Darcy Parish iced a thrilling contest with a match-sealing goal with a minute left that put the visitors out by more than six points, as the Bombers finished a day that started for them at 5am with a morale-boosting 79-73 triumph.
For the Bombers it’s their second win from two matches either side of the COVID lockdown, ith the win coming on the back of forward-half efficiency, after Luke Parker led a Swans revival in the midfield.
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The Swans lost no friends at the SCG, although coach John Longmire lamented the inconsistency of his side in its response to life without Franklin in 2020, starting with a 20-point deficit they gave up by quarter time.
“The start wasn’t anywhere near what we wanted,” Longmire said.
“We were just inconsistent over a number of things during the course of the game. You look at one thing and you get that right and then it’d be falling down somewhere else.”
For Parish his winner was redemption after he missed an absolute sitter midway through the second quarter, which opened the gates for the Swans to mount their stirring fightback.
Lewis Taylor and Papley kicked three goals each for the Swans and Tom McCartin, Nick Blakey and Heeney all hit the scoreboard in a positive sign Longmire has plenty of forward line options even with one of the greatest AFL scorers of all time on the sidelines for at least half the year.
HEENEY CONUNDRUM
In the lead-up to the match, experts touted Heeney the game’s No.1 player-in-waiting, and the blond superstar didn’t disappoint with a spectacular goal from the boundary line which changed the momentum of the match in the second quarter.
The ball had gone over the boundary line on the western side of the ground when Francis was pinged for making late and high contact with Heeney when the play was dead.
Essendon great Jobe Watson said it was the right call from the commentary box, and Heeney made the Bombers pay for the moment of ill-discipline with a superb strike from a tight angle.
But the jury is out on whether the forward line is where Heeney is best used. The Swans’ best player finished with only 10 disposals.
BIG TICK FOR FLY IN/FLY OUT
Alarms went off for Essendon players before 5am on Sunday, but the Bombers still had enough juice in the fourth quarter to stave off a hungry Swans outfit in a big tick for the AFL’s fly in/fly out system.
The Bombers shared a flight with North Melbourne – who upset the Giants in the earlier timeslot – and both Victorian clubs finished their long days with impressive wins.
This week it will be the Swans and Giants’ turn to share a flight, although they will both stay over in Melbourne on Friday night.
NRL players have spoken about how much they enjoy the luxury of sleeping in their own beds under the COVID-19 fly-in-fly-out model, despite the long hours they spend at airports on the day of the game.
Peter V’landys is even investigating the economics of purchasing a private jet to make fly-in-fly-out a new trend that becomes permanent post COVID.
STILL NO RUCK FOR SWANS
Longmire confirmed the Swans will be at least another week without ruckman Sam Naismith, in a huge blow ahead of next week’s away clash against the undefeated Kangaroos.
Not having a key ruckman last year was one of Sydney’s biggest problems and Naismith’s absence is only compounding the loss of Franklin and Sam Reid.
HOW BOMBERS BEAT 5AM START, THEN SWANS
Table tennis, massages by the pool, a bite to eat and a leisurely 45 minute stroll through the Sydney CBD proved the winning match day formula for Essendon.
The Bombers were the guinea pigs for the AFL’s COVID-19 forced fly-in, fly-out method and even after a 5am wake-up in Melbourne, Essendon star Darcy Parish still had the legs to kick a stunning matchwinner with a minute left against the Swans.
There was polite conversation between Bombers and North Melbourne players across the aisle on their early-morning co-share to Sydney, but the fact eight points was coming home in the luggage set up the promise of a much more rowdy trip home last night.
It’s odd to share those intimate moments with one of your enemies, but welcome to the COVID-19 phenomenon.
NRL boss Peter V’landys is so enamoured with the fly-in fly-out method, he’s considering buying a private jet for next season, and Parish and Essendon have also given the new approach to road trips a big tick of approval.
“To be honest, it was pretty easy in my eyes and in most of the boys’ eyes,” he said.
“We were just really excited to play footy again.
“Time went pretty quick throughout the day, so it was nice. It was new.
“You have just have to adapt. New things are thrown at you every week and the boys just adapted today.
“We tried to create our own energy out on the field and I carried on and created a bit of noise (after winning goal) because there was no crowd.”
Essendon had a long and unusual day to kill before the 3.35pm first bounce at the SCG, with North Melbourne playing the earlier game against GWS and running out convincing winners.
A timetable for walks through the centre of Sydney was part of the plan for ensuring the Bombers hadn’t run out of petrol before the game.
“We had a room booked at the hotel and boys were going on 45-minute walks in groups of four and things like that,” said Parish.
“We had a couple of massages at the pool and a bit of lunch. The time did flow through pretty quick.
“North had a win, so it’ll be a pretty pleasing plane ride home that’s for sure.”
Essendon coach John Worsfold was concerned whether some of the markers the side laid down in their round one win way back in March might be forgotten, and was pleased with the statement made against Sydney.
“We were really confident the players knew how to execute what we wanted them to in those last few minutes. They were really composed when we had the chance to go inside 50 and get the shot at goal and then defended it pretty strongly that last 30 seconds,” he said.
“We’ve got a few new things happening in the way we’re playing so to see the big gap after round one, we would have been keen to keep it going.
“As a club that’s trying some new things, one of our concerns was how well are the players going to remember everything we’d worked on through the pre-season to round one? But the way they’ve picked it up when they came back to training we were really pleased with and we were confident it would show.
“We’re only going to get better if we stick to working together to play the way we want to play.”
MORE FOOTY:
James Hird says Essendon was right to knock back Sydney’s trade offer for Joe Daniher
Trade Secrets series: How Essendon saved their 2013 draft in the wake of supplement penalties
Originally published as Essendon overcomes 5am start, double brain fade to hang on against Sydney at SCG
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