ACL injury fear for star on a nightmare night for Essendon; Dockers prevail over Hawks in Perth thriller

Essendon fear star midfielder Nic Martin has injured his anterior cruciate ligament in the Bombers’ upset loss to Richmond in one of the worst matches of the season.

The Tigers celebrated premiership hero Nick Vlastuin’s 250th game with a stirring nine-point victory – 6.10 (46) to 4.13 (37) – despite not scoring a goal in the second and third quarters.

Nick Vlastuin had a real impact in his milestone game.Credit: Getty Images

Martin’s right knee twisted when he was tackled by Rhyan Mansell in the first quarter of the game. His left knee crashed into the Astroturf surrounding the boundary, but the damage was done to the ACL in his right knee.

Nic Martin finished his night on crutches.Credit: AFL Photos

The Bombers are also sweating on a foot injury to important on-baller Will Setterfield, who was trodden on. He was sporting a large ice pack to his right foot in the rooms.

The Dons’ lengthy injury list has provided an alibi for their performances this season but a loss to the similarly depleted and rebuilding Tigers will put Brad Scott’s team under scrutiny.

The Tigers and Bombers came into this game with losing streaks of seven and five games respectively – and played accordingly.

The two clubs played the first goalless quarter of the season in a match riddled with errors. Neither side could perform the basics of the game. Kicks were punted out of bounds under little pressure. Ground balls were fumbled, and uncontested chest marks were grassed.

Surprisingly, the 47 kick clangers exceeded by just three the season average of 44.

Not that those in the yellow and black in the crowd of 52,125 will mind. For the Tigers faithful who have kept coming in this dark season, they were rewarded with a fourth victory of the year, and a win to complement their memorable upset over another fierce rival, Carlton, on the first night of their campaign.

And they saw a favourite son, Vlastuin, honoured in a milestone game. He was chaired off by Nathan Broad and Ben Miller to a guard of honour formed by players from both clubs.

Fittingly, the gun defender made a key spoil in the closing seconds which snuffed out any hope the Bombers had of pinching the game at the death.

Full-time: Richmond 6.10 (46) defeat Essendon 4.13 (37)

That’s it for the blog tonight. Thank you for joining our Saturday footy coverage.

Fremantle forced their way back into the top eight with a 13-point win over Hawthorn in an intense contest at Optus Stadium. GWS triumphed over Geelong in Sydney, meanwhile Adelaide got the better of the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium.

Richmond narrowly beat Essendon at the MCG, but we should probably never speak of that game again.

Check back in again on our websites tomorrow for Sunday footy. Thanks again.

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says the Dockers will savour their exhilarating win over Hawthorn, but are conscious of the monumental challenge that awaits next week – ladder-leaders Collingwood at the MCG.

“It’s the biggest challenge in footy. You go not only to take on Collingwood, who’re the best team in the comp, but you go take on ‘the Magpie Army’ and the crowd – it’s a great challenge for us,” Longmuir said.

Justin Longmuir (centre) speaks with Dockers skipper Alex Pearce (left) and former captain Nat Fyfe (right) at Optus Stadium.Credit: AFL Photos

“We’ll enjoy this win first – wins are hard to come by. [We’ll] allow our players to sit on it for a few days, [and] then start prepping for Collingwood.”

The Magpies won their last clash in round nine, when Jamie Elliot kicked six goals to propel them to a 14-point win at Optus Stadium.

Essendon coach Brad Scott said tonight’s error-riddled and low-scoring affair against Richmond was a “flattening” result for the battered team.

Brad ScottCredit: AFL Photos

“That’s not how AFL footy is supposed to look,” he admitted. “For us, it’s trying to put on a brave face and be positive and upbeat, which is what you need to be as a leader. But it’s getting sort of hard to deny that it’s not flattening.”

However, Scott said it was important for the team to “fight our way through it”.

“Just deal with the circumstances in front of us at the moment, and not try and dwell on what we haven’t got, and focus more on the privilege of playing AFL footy,” he said.

Fremantle have forced their way back into the top-eight with a come-from-behind 13-point win over Hawthorn in an intense, finals-like contest at Optus Stadium.

The 12.5 (77) to 9.10 (64) win is the Dockers’ seventh in eight games, strengthening their case for a September surge that appeared unlikely mid-season.

While a win for Hawthorn would have helped solidify their top-four hopes, a loss leaves their top-eight prospects shaky with games against Adelaide (away), Collingwood and Brisbane (away) in their run home.

Luke Jackson, Andrew Brayshaw, Sam Switkowski and Oscar McDonald sing the Fremantle song after a crucial win.Credit: Getty Images

Andrew Brayshaw was at his industrious best for Fremantle, pairing 29 disposals with 14 tackles.

With blood pouring down his face post-match – symbolic of his efforts – Brayshaw told Fox Footy: “To be able to play that brand for four quarters against a strong outfit, proud of the boys.

“It was hot in there … we tried to be really strong and physical from the start.

“[We] gave our forwards a chance, and to kick 12.5, really straight, [that was] elite from our forwards and our backs held up all day.

“The group’s got a lot of belief – we’re really confident with the way we’re playing.”

The Dockers believe Sam Switkowski is one of the league’s best small forwards and he showed why, kicking three goals with 16 disposals at 94 per cent efficiency in his return from a hamstring lay-off.

Young Hawthorn key forward Calsher Dear booted three goals before falling quiet later in the match – his second in an injury-hit season.

Luke Ryan wrestles with Calsher Dear in an action-packed contest at Optus Stadium.Credit: AFL Photos

His performance supported coach Sam Mitchell’s decision to bring him back into the team ahead of the also-fit-again Mitch Lewis, though the Hawks’ forward-line makeup will remain a hot talking point.

It was a physical contest from the outset with bruising tackles and off-the-ball biff. Combative Hawks captain James Sicily made a point of tussling with extroverted Docker Patrick Voss before the bounce, and the push-and-shove continued throughout the night.

The Dockers started the contest hot before Hawthorn claimed contested possession ascendancy, making it count in the second term with a five-goal-to-three quarter.

However, the Hawks’ pressure dropped at the start of the second half and the home side took advantage with two quick goals.

The Hawks got back on top late in the premiership quarter, but the Dockers continued their trend of early-quarter dominance in the fourth with goals to Switkowski and Voss.

A flood of inside-50 entries followed, and eventually the dam wall burst. Sean Darcy booted his first to reclaim the lead, before the ever-reliable Josh Treacy kicked truly several minutes later.

Final: Fremantle 12.5 (77) def Hawthorn 9.10 (64)

Essendon’s Nic Martin is the latest victim on the Bombers’ injury list, with coach Brad Scott admitting the midfielder has “almost certainly” done his ACL.

“That just sends a shiver down everyone’s spine at quarter-time when that word ripples out.” Scott said in a post-match interview.

Martin’s right knee twisted when he was tackled by Rhyan Mansell in the first quarter of the game. His left knee crashed into the Astroturf surrounding the boundary, but the damage was done to the ACL in his right knee.

Scott said Will Setterfield had a “pretty serious foot injury as well”.

“It’s a tough situation, but we’ve just got to find our way through it,” Scott said.

Richmond coach Adem Yze admitted tonight’s win over Essendon “wasn’t the prettiest” but praised his team’s resilience.

“Credit to the boys, we fought it out,” he said in a post-match interview.

“Wasn’t the prettiest game, but when we’re sitting where we are and going through what we’re going through on our build, we’ll take the wins and celebrate them because they are really important for our group.”

Yze also praised Vlastuin who was honoured for his 250th milestone game.

The Dockers have eventually capitalised on a flurry of inside-50 entries.

Sean Darcy converted a set shot, before Josh Treacy kicked truly several minutes later.

Suddenly, the home side leads by 11 points and the crowd is right behind them now.

Dockers big man Josh Treacy.Credit: AFL Photos

Fremantle have again kicked the first two goals of the quarter – Pat Voss bringing the margin back to two points with a 45-metre bomb (fittingly on the same night his former side, Essendon, struggled to score from anywhere).

It came after Sam Switkowski kicked his third in what’s been an impressive return from a hamstring lay-off. The Dockers believe he is one of the league’s best small forwards, and he’s showing why.

The Socceroos recently defeated Japan at Optus Stadium with a 90th-minute goal and Hawk Connor Macdonald has repeated those striking heroics a month on.

The small forward somehow got boot to ball in heavy traffic near the point post and it rolled through, putting the visitors back in front.

This game has all the makings of a late-season classic, and an early preview of what we could see come September.