Australian Football

Match Report

Essendon put a summer of turmoil behind them to run out impressive winners against a highly-fancied Adelaide in the AFL's season-opener at Football Park on Friday night. Reigning Brownlow medallist and Bomber captain Jobe Watson carried his fine 2012 form into this match and was the game's dominant player.

Things hadn't looked quite so rosy for Watson and his teammates half way through the opening term. The Crows got a huge jump on Essendon early and led 3.4 to 0.0 at the 15-minute mark. Dangerfield and Thompson were in everything at that stage and it looked as though the Dons' nightmare summer was going to carry through into the season proper. But the Bombers began to turn the tide from that point. A goal to Brent Stanton settled the team and they gradually worked themselves back into the match. At quarter-time, the Crows led by 13 but Essendon was at least on the board.

The second term saw the game take a dramatic turn as Essendon began to resemble the well-drilled machine that the Crows had in the first part of the match. Stewart Crameri and Ben Howlett goaled within the first two minutes and the Bombers were to add a further four majors for the term, while Adelaide added just one through the agency of Graham Johncock.

By half-time the Bombers led by 14 points but Adelaide looked as though they were struggling to stay in touch. It proved to be the case as Essendon piled on another six goals in the third-quarter to Adelaide's four, opening up a 23-point lead at the final change.

The Crows showed occasional signs of a potential comeback at stages of the last quarter but the Bombers remained steadfast, kicking a further five goals to run out convincing 35-point victors. Watson (34 possessions) was ably backed up by Stanton (26), Howlett (25 and 4 goals) and Alwyn Davey who chipped in for three goals, while the Crows were well served by the ever-reliable Scott Thompson and Matthew Wright. Taylor Walker had a dream-start to his year, kicking the season's first goal but his second and third only came late in the last quarter, prompting some Crows fans to wonder about just how big an impact the loss of Kurt Tippett would have on the Crows' 2013 season.

GOALS
Adelaide: Walker 3; Douglas 2; Jenkins, Johncock, Mackay, Petrenko, Porplyzia, van Berlo
Essendon: Howlett 4; Davey 3; Bellchambers, Crameri, Dempsey, Goddard, Hibberd, Hocking, Kommer, Melksham, Myers, Stanton, Watson

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Adelaide: Wright, Sloane, Douglas, Reilly, Vince
Essendon: Watson, Howlett, Heppell, Dempsey, Myers, Hibberd, Kommer, Merrett, Carlisle

BEST - THE AGE.COM.AU
Adelaide: Jaensch, Jacobs, Reilly, Sloane, Wright, Douglas
Essendon: Watson, Howlett, Fletcher, Heppell, Davey, Myers

COACHES' COMMENTS
Brenton Sanderson (Adel): The glaring stat for us is the tackles. I think we ended up being minus 26 or minus 27. They brushed us away. They got some easy goals [whereas] we had to really fight for our goals. They just killed us in centre-bounce clearances. We had our A-grade boys in there but unfortunately they got beaten. At times we looked a bit stagnant [in the forward line, without Tippett]. We didn't want to take risks.

James Hird (Ess): That performance didn't surprise me but I was very proud of the way they played. Tonight was a good performance but it's Round 1 and there's a lot more of the season to go. Heath Hocking's game [on Patrick Dangerfield] tonight was outstanding. Ben Howlett's game was excellent. Our whole backline, when they were under duress in that first 20 minutes was excellent as well. I was [also] very happy with the way Brendon Goddard played.

INJURIES
Adelaide: Brown (left foot)
Essendon: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Brodie Martin replaced Luke Brown (left foot) in the third quarter
Essendon: David Zaharakis replaced Stewart Crameri in the third quarter

UMPIRES: Rosebury, Meredith, Jeffery