AFL Round 8 Essendon v Hawthorn: Bombers come from behind to win a thriller against the odds
Essendon’s incredible fourth-quarter comeback win over Hawthorn was as dramatic as they come - but the on-field heroics only tells half the story.
Essendon
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Ben Rutten has paid tribute to high-priced midfielder Dylan Shiel’s new-found defensive intent as the club charts a path forward for recalled forward Devon Smith.
The high-priced recruits have typified Essendon’s slow start to the year after both being dumped from the club’s best 22 but were instrumental in the dramatic victory over Hawthorn.
In a remarkable contest that saw five Essendon players forced to withdraw on game day with illness and others playing while sick, both played key roles.
Star midfielder Zach Merrett revealed post match that Mason Redman and Jye Caldwell had joined ruckman Sam Draper in battling illness during the week before taking their place in the side.
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Smith was supposed to be training after a club decision to strengthen the muscles around his degenerative knee injury but had six tackles.
Shiel battled his way through knocks to his ankle and knee and then laid a key tackle late in the game that coach Rutten was quick to highlight.
The $900,000-per-season midfielder had been dropped then recalled last week as a medi-sub because of his defensive intent but found a way to impact the game despite only 15 possessions.
“He was a bit knocked around from pillar to post,” Rutten said of Shiel.
“He got a knock to his knee and ankle and came to the bench and was cramping, and composed himself and settled himself and that really big defensive effort at half forward, the tackle (on Jai Newcombe) was, strong and decisive, a really important effort for us. I thought he battled on really well for us.”
Essendon is yet to decide what happens with Smith given five likely inclusions next week from the players who pulled out on match day.
“The plan was he has a bit of a degenerative knee and we thought it was an opportunity to spend a couple of weeks getting some good work into that, the muscles in and around it, get some good conditioning into him to perform at his best for the rest of the season. (I’m) not sure what it means going forward now.”
Merrett said on 3AW Radio post-match the chaotic nature of the day galvanised the group.
“I was sitting on the couch at home and the message shot through. We had four automatically out.
“(Matt) Guelfi, (Jordan) Ridley, (Alex) Waterman and (Jake) Kelly and I got a text to say (Sam) Durham was munting, spewing in the toilet. I knew Draper and Caldwell had been sick during the week. Redman had been sick. So we had eight or nine players touch and go. I didn’t know who would be playing when we rocked up to the ground.
“It was a weird energy before the game and we didn’t want to make any excuses whatsoever.”
‘JAM IT’: DEFIANT BOMBERS WIN WITH A SMILE
- By Chris Cavanagh
Essendon was called out for showing “a lot of smiles” at training during the week in the midst of one of its worst starts to a season in history.
When AFL players say they don’t hear the “outside noise”, they are not always being truthful.
Essendon captain Dyson Heppell certainly heard comments from St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt on Fox Footy that the idea to “have fun and remember that it’s just a game” was “actually the worst thing you can do” when your team is struggling.
On Saturday night, Heppell returned fire and had the last laugh as his undermanned side took that exact mantra into its clash with Hawthorn and came away with a spirited 27-point win.
“Talk about smiling, anyone can jam it … for telling us to stop smiling,” Heppell said.
“We came in and had a great environment in the rooms and produced a fantastic performance.
“I’m proud of the attitude that the boys have been sticking to over this whole period. There is a lot of outside noise but within the four walls, it’s just been an unbelievable environment for the circumstances we have been in.”
After being forced to make five late changes due to illness – including Sam Durham who pulled out while coach Ben Rutten was on his way to Marvel Stadium – Essendon looked like a team that was playing with little to lose.
But the inclusions of players on the fringes of selection also helped deliver an injection of hunger and intensity that has been sorely missing from the Bombers for large stages this season.
Essendon entered the clash with the Hawks having averaged just 42.7 tackles a game and having won the contested possession count on only two occasions from its first seven matches.
It came away from Saturday night’s clash having laid a season-high 59 tackles and won contested possessions 124-119.
Some of those late inclusions in Devon Smith (six tackles), Aaron Francis (three tackles) and Kaine Baldwin (three tackles) helped lead the way in that department.
Smith was planning to be sidelined for weeks to rebuild some strength in his knee as part of a “mini pre-season” but answered the call from his coach on Saturday morning to scrap his training plans and instead prepare for the match.
Francis had not played for two weeks after battling a bad bout of Covid and had only trained once before also being called upon on Saturday.
“There’s some really nice stories out there for the guys that came up and played,” Rutten said.
“I thought just the resilience of the guys (was great). A lot of it was about how we can stay connected, how we can continue to look to play our way regardless of score, regardless of time on the clock, regardless of the situation in the game.”
How Essendon did “look to play” was quite different from previous weeks, after Rutten had on Thursday flagged hopes of building a more “aggressive brand with some flair”.
Handball happy in the early part of the season, the Bombers moved the ball forward by foot with far more intent against the Hawks.
In the first seven rounds they had an average kick-to-handball ratio of 1.29.
On Saturday night, that ratio was 1.73 as Essendon recorded 223 kicks and only 129 handballs.
“That’s not what we’re trying to do – handball and refer pressure,” Rutten said of previous performances.
“We’re trying to take the ball forward as best we can and making sure we’ve got options ahead of the ball and having the confidence to go forward.”
It is only one win and another tough task lies ahead next weekend in the form of Sydney at the SCG.
But after a rough start, things are looking just a little better for the Bombers.
“We came together as a group and it’s one of those games,” Rutten said.
“It certainly galvanised the group that was here today.
“To be able to get the reward under pretty unique circumstances today … I think it will definitely be good for the group.”
MADE OF THE WRIGHT STUFF
Less than 20 months ago, Peter Wright couldn’t get a game in a struggling Gold Coast Suns side.
Right now, he’s arguably among the best 10 key forwards in the competition.
It’s hard to believe that the Suns were so happy to push ‘Two Metre Peter’ out the door that they agreed to pay a chunk of his wage for him to play with Essendon in 2021 and 2022.
After a slow start in his new colours, Wright shone brightly in the second half of last season – including a career-best seven-goal outing against the Western Bulldogs.
In a battling Bombers side this season, he has been one of the few shining lights and now has 23 goals to his name from eight games after booting six majors against Hawthorn on Saturday night.
Wright has long been criticised for his work rate and hunger for the contest, but put his body on the line and crashed packs multiple times against the Hawks.
The Bombers are now more trusting to target the 203cm giant in attack and Wright is holding up his end of the bargain.
He has taken 16 contested marks this season and his six majors on Saturday night came from only six shots on goal.
Wright’s goalkicking accuracy this season now sits at a sky-high 65.7 per cent.
“Ever since he’s come to the club, I’ve just loved his work ethic and his appetite to get better,” Essendon coach Ben Rutten said of Wright.
“No matter how good a form he’s in or who the opponent is, he’s putting the time in during the week and is a great role model for our younger players. To get the reward, it’s not surprising. He’s doing the work and he’s a really important player and member of our squad. He shows some real leadership. It’s a pretty young forward line he’s got in and around him and to help and be a support for those guys and allow them to grow into AFL players but also to be able to understand his responsibility and take his game to the levels he is, it’s a credit to him, really. He’s doing the work.”
Wright joins a growing club of former Suns players to be thrown on the scrap heap in moves that have come back to haunt Gold Coast.
Jarryd Lyons is the club’s poster boy after his move to Brisbane where he has become a staple of the Lions’ midfield.
But don’t forget Wright or Fremantle midfielder Will Brodie after their performances this year.
The best bit for Essendon is Wright is still only 25 years old.
What a steal.
Miracle at Marvel: Dons do it against all odds
A depleted Essendon came back from the dead against Hawthorn to score just its second win of the season in a result that coach Ben Rutten hopes will “galvanize” the side going forward.
Rutten revealed post-game that he received notification while on his way to Marvel Stadium that Sam Durham would be a fifth late out after succumbing to a non-Covid related illness.
Jordan Ridley, Jake Kelly, Alec Waterman and Matt Guelfi had all been ruled out earlier in the day with the same illness which swept through the club during the week and also saw ruckman Sam Draper miss a training session.
The late changes made for seven forced changes from the Bombers’ side which lost to the Western Bulldogs last Sunday, on the back of injuries Jake Stringer (hamstring) and Nik Cox (ankle).
Rutten said felt a “lot of pride” at the way his team had performed after it overcame a 25-point deficit during the third quarter to steamroll Hawthorn by 27 points.
The Bombers kicked the final seven majors of the game, with an accidental soccer goal from Zach Merrett midway through the last quarter put Essendon in front for the first time since the opening quarter.
“The last 24 hours in particular, there’s some really nice stories out there for the guys that came up and played,” Rutten said.
“Then there’s sometimes a fair bit of courage in making the call not to play as well, especially when you know other guys are kind of dropping around. Sometimes you feel like the best thing you can do is play but the guys made really clear, responsible team-first decisions.
“So there’s some of the really, really nice stories within this game.”
Rutten said his team just had to stick at it after a slow start, which saw them go into half-time trailing by 18 points.
“I thought just the resilience of the guys (was great),” Rutten said.
“A lot of it was about how we can stay connected, how we can continue to look to play our way regardless of score, regardless of time on the clock, regardless of the situation in the game.”
Peter Wright took his season tally to 23 goals with six majors, including three in the all-important final term.
“Ever since he’s come to the club, I’ve just loved his work ethic and his appetite to get better,” Rutten said of Wright.
“He’s doing the work and putting the time in during the week…and to get the reward, it’s not surprising.”
The win moved Essendon to 2-6 ahead of a clash with Sydney at the SCG next Saturday night.
Match report: Dons do it against all odds
- James Mottershead
A spirited Essendon pulled off a win for the ages after it lost five players moments before the bounce.
Not only did the Bombers need to overcome a late reshuffle, but it trailed Hawthorn at every change, before staging a remarkable final-quarter fightback to win 16.12 (108) to 11.15 (81).
The Hawks were left to rue poor goalkicking and left the job to too few.
Two Rising Star hopefuls led their sides from the front, but it was Nic Martin and his last quarter which ultimately bested Jai Newcombe’s career-best game.
Hawthorn made the most of Essendon’s pregame personnel debacle to get the jump on the Bombers, taking an 11-point lead into quarter-time.
It should’ve been more for the Hawks, who were wasteful in front of goal, squandering easy chances.
After spraying three shots in the first six-minutes, the Bombers kicked the first two of the game and thought they had a third when Ben Hobbs snapped truly. But a replay showed it caught the fingertips of Denver Grainger-Barras and the ball was returned to the goalsquare for a kick-in.
It wasn’t until time-on, Hawthorn was able to boot its first major, coming from the unlikely source of Max Lynch, who hadn’t kicked an AFL goal. Five minutes later, a Harry Morrison goal was sandwiched between Lynch’s second as the 23-year-old proved the avenue to goal the Hawks needed.
A frenetic first 10-minutes of the second term yielded five goals with both sides struggling to gain the ascendancy as they went goal-for-goal.
Eventually Jacob Koschitzke broke the pattern and kicked the Hawks to an 18-point halftime lead.
It was a small slice of what the Hawks deserved, after having eight more scoring shots and nine more inside 50s.
Newcombe did the damage around the ball, the Rising Star hopeful had 21 touches and four clearances at halftime, while Dylan Moore continued his red-hot form with 13 disposals and a goal.
The Bombers found their mojo again to take over territory in the third quarter, but as the Hawks had done in the first half they blew their chances in front of goal.
Hobbs got his first goal which drew the Dons within two goals deep into the term, but a 50m penalty after a push in the back as Essendon was attacking helped the Hawks take back momentum in the shadows of three-quarter-time as Finn Maginness kicked Hawthorn to a 15-point lead.
The Bombers needed the first goal of the last quarter and they got it courtesy of a Kaine Baldwin set shot to cut the margin to 10-points.
The Hawks were without Lynch for the first seven minutes as he underwent a concussion test, thrusting 19-year-old Jackson Callow into the ruck.
Martin, who might be Essendon’s most impactful player, came alive, kicking a snap goal before setting up Peter Wright for his fourth.
Marvel Stadium was sent into raptures as Essendon fans thought Mason Redman had given the Bombers the lead, but Wright had slung Sam Frost to the ground on the goal line to cost the Dons the six points.
A long ball to the top of Essendon’s goalsquare minutes later fell to the feet of Zach Merrett, who couldn’t bend down to pick it up, but, in a fluke, the ball ricocheted off his shin for a goal and the Bombers led.
If the Bombers’ faithful wasn’t believing already, they were when Wright ran onto a ball over the back on the wing, ambled forward and kicked a 55m goal on the run to put his side nine-points up.
A minute later, Aaron Francis sealed the deal, and an unlikely Essendon win.
Mass exodus
Essendon was on the backfoot before a ball had been kicked, making five late changes as illness swept through its ranks.
Jordan Ridley, Jake Kelly, Matt Guelfi, Sam Durham and Alec Waterman were all withdrawn from the Bombers’ side an hour before the game.
Remarkably, Devon Smith was one of the five inclusions after being ruled out for at least two-weeks with a knee injury just days before the game.
Don’t you forget about me
Jai Newcombe’s name must be in Rising Star discussions.
The 20-year-old, who was picked up in last season’s mid-season draft with the first pick, was instrumental around the ball for the Hawks, especially as Tom Mitchell struggled to get his hands on the ball.
Newcombe finished with 28 disposals, five clearances and 445m gained.
Mitchell’s four-year low
Shortened games of 2020 aside, Mitchell hadn’t dropped below 20 disposals since Rd 5 2018, until Saturday night.
The 28-year-old battled to get his hands on the ball and finished with just 14 touches.
Scoreboard
BOMBERS 2.2 6.3 8.10 16.12 108
HAWKS 3.7 8.9 10.13 11.15 81
MOTTERSHEAD’S BEST Bombers: Wright, Martin, Parish, Merrett, Hind, Heppell. Hawks: Newcombe, O’Meara, Gunston, Scrimshaw, Lynch, Sicily.
GOALS Bombers: Wright 6, Martin 2, Francis 2, Parish, Caldwell, Hobbs, Baldwin, Merrett, Perkins. Hawks: Lynch 2, Gunston 2, Koschitzke 2, Morrison, Breust, Macdonald, Moore, Maginness.
INJURIES Bombers: nil. Hawks: nil.
UMPIRES Dore, Pell, Mollison.
Marvel Stadium
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JAMES MOTTERSHEAD’S VOTES
3 P. Wright (ESS)
2 N. Martin (ESS)
1 D. Parish (ESS)
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