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Essendon vs Melbourne
| Brownlow Medal | 3 Dyson Heppell (ESS) | 2 Jobe Watson (ESS) | 1 Brent Stanton (ESS) |
Match Report
A full-blown crisis has enveloped the Melbourne football club after a second successive drubbing was handed to them by Essendon on Saturday. The Demons were the subject of intense public scrutiny after succumbing meekly to Port Adelaide in round one, with many expecting a much stronger performance against the Bombers. But no such effort came.
After a reasonable first quarter, in which Melbourne were competitive to a degree (albeit outscored six goals to two), the wheels fell off alarmingly quickly in the second quarter, with Essendon scoring seven goals to two to take a 55-point lead into half time. From there things only got worse for Melbourne. The Bombers kicked eight goals to just one in the third quarter, and seven goals to the Demons' solitary behind in the last.
The final margin of the match was 148 points, the 20th largest in VFL/AFL history, and the Demons' worst-ever loss at the MCG. While the post-match media focus was directed entirely towards Melbourne, it should not be forgotten that Essendon's performance was outstanding. The Bomber midfield was dominant, with Dyson Heppell in everything and reigning Brownlow medallist Jobe Watson looking very much like he could go "back-to-back". Stewart Crameri and Tom Bellchambers finished off their good work, kicking 10 goals between them.
Melbourne were a shattered side after the match. Captain Jack Grimes and coach Mark Neeld were almost lost for words. With many members baying for blood, Cameron Schwab "fell on his sword" on the following Tuesday, resigning as the club's CEO.
The Demons will return to the MCG on Saturday to take on West Coast, and many are fearful the margin could be of a similar magnitude in that match. Essendon will travel to Perth to take on the also undefeated Fremantle on Friday night.
GOALS
Essendon: Crameri 6; Bellchambers 4; Watson 3; Davey, Heppell, Howlett, Merrett, Hurley, Stanton 2; Goddard, Ryder, Dempsey
Melbourne: Davey 2; Grimes, Clark, Jones
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Essendon: Heppell, Watson, Crameri, Zaharakis, Fletcher, Bellchambers, Goddard
Melbourne: McDonald, Jones, Howe
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Essendon: Heppell, Watson, Bellchambers, Crameri, Goddard, Fletcher, Stanton, Howlett, Zaharakis
Melbourne: Howe, Frawley, N Jones, Garland
COACHES' COMMENTS
James Hird (Ess): I'd like to think we played the way we wanted to play. It's no secret that we wanted to make sure that the defensive side was better than it has been [over the previous two seasons] and that happened tonight for us.
Mark Neeld (Melb): Clearly not good enough. [There's] only one way out of this, and it's together. The whole club is hurting. Every component. Head down; work hard. We were combative early. It didn't last long enough.
INJURIES
Essendon: Nil
Melbourne: McKenzie (calf) replaced in selected side by Rodan
SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Nick Kommer replaced David Zaharakis in the third quarter
Melbourne: David Rodan replaced Jack Watts in the third quarter
UMPIRES: Hosking, Kamolins, Wenn
Source
Match report by Andrew GigaczFootnotes
Video sourced from YouTube, courtesy of AFL Media.
Match stats
| Essendon | Match Stats | Career | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | K | M | H | D | G | B | HO | T | FF | FA | Age | Games | G |
| 46 | Baguley, Mark | 12 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 25y 320d | 9 | 0 |
| 2 | Bellchambers, Tom | 9 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 23y 271d | 45 | 25 |
| 22 | Carlisle, Jake | 15 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 21y 187d | 30 | 7 |
| 12 | Crameri, Stewart | 13 | 8 | 3 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 24y 239d | 43 | 73 |
| 29 | Davey, Alwyn | 6 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 28y 326d | 88 | 106 |
| 15 | Dempsey, Courtenay | 17 | 7 | 6 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 25y 221d | 76 | 19 |
| 31 | Fletcher, Dustin | 13 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37y 334d | 367 | 69 |
| 9 | Goddard, Brendon | 16 | 11 | 14 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 27y 321d | 207 | 106 |
| 21 | Heppell, Dyson | 19 | 9 | 17 | 36 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 20y 327d | 45 | 8 |
| 1 | Hibberd, Michael | 17 | 9 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 23y 93d | 24 | 2 |
| 39 | Hocking, Heath | 7 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 25y 100d | 82 | 29 |
| 26 | Hooker, Cale | 8 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24y 175d | 68 | 5 |
| 40 | Howlett, Ben | 10 | 6 | 15 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 24y 167d | 59 | 27 |
| 18 | Hurley, Michael | 14 | 8 | 5 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22y 309d | 65 | 77 |
| 38 | Kommer, Nick | 3 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22y 190d | 2 | 1 |
| 17 | Melksham, Jake | 8 | 3 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 21y 220d | 61 | 27 |
| 20 | Merrett, Jackson | 6 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 20y 38d | 3 | 2 |
| 23 | Myers, David | 12 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 23y 280d | 47 | 12 |
| 30 | Ryder, Paddy | 7 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 25y 23d | 134 | 88 |
| 5 | Stanton, Brent | 26 | 11 | 7 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26y 340d | 184 | 119 |
| 4 | Watson, Jobe | 19 | 6 | 19 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 28y 57d | 156 | 83 |
| 11 | Zaharakis, David | 14 | 8 | 12 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23y 44d | 68 | 64 |
| Rushed | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Totals | 271 | 144 | 181 | 452 | 28 | 16 | 40 | 61 | 21 | 19 | 24y 341d | 1863 | 949 | |
| Melbourne | Match Stats | Career | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | K | M | H | D | G | B | HO | T | FF | FA | Age | Games | G |
| 17 | Blease, Sam | 5 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22y 46d | 23 | 19 |
| 10 | Byrnes, Shannon | 5 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 28y 364d | 110 | 101 |
| 11 | Clark, Mitch | 5 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25y 169d | 95 | 93 |
| 36 | Davey, Aaron | 10 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 29y 300d | 159 | 161 |
| 8 | Frawley, James | 15 | 8 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 24y 198d | 103 | 3 |
| 20 | Garland, Colin | 9 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 24y 343d | 82 | 12 |
| 27 | Gillies, Tom | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 23y 30d | 15 | 1 |
| 31 | Grimes, Jack | 9 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23y 330d | 55 | 5 |
| 38 | Howe, Jeremy | 16 | 14 | 7 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22y 281d | 37 | 39 |
| 40 | Jamar, Mark | 0 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 29y 240d | 126 | 45 |
| 45 | Jones, Matt | 6 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25y 170d | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | Jones, Nathan | 18 | 2 | 7 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 25y 76d | 137 | 69 |
| 25 | McDonald, Tom | 6 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20y 200d | 23 | 0 |
| 26 | Nicholson, Daniel | 4 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22y 155d | 22 | 2 |
| 15 | Rodan, David | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 29y 180d | 178 | 129 |
| 30 | Sellar, James | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 24y 13d | 39 | 12 |
| 12 | Sylvia, Colin | 5 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 27y 149d | 140 | 120 |
| 46 | Terlich, Dean | 9 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 23y 114d | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Toumpas, Jimmy | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19y 94d | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | Trengove, Jack | 5 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 21y 216d | 60 | 29 |
| 7 | Viney, Jack | 9 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 18y 358d | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Watts, Jack | 5 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22y 11d | 57 | 38 |
| Rushed | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Totals | 152 | 74 | 110 | 262 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 35 | 19 | 21 | 24y 117d | 1468 | 879 | |
Match highlights
Brent Stanton had 26 kicks for Essendon vs. Melbourne (AFL, Premiership Season, R2)Heath Hocking had 10 tackles for Essendon vs. Melbourne (AFL, Premiership Season, R2)
51,153 attended Essendon vs. Melbourne at M.C.G. (AFL, Premiership Season, R2)
Essendon 28.16.184 vs. Melbourne (AFL, Premiership Season, R2)
Essendon d. Melbourne by 148 points (AFL, Premiership Season, R2)