Australian Football

Match Report

Three weeks after being undefeated and in equal first place on the ladder, Geelong has slumped to a third loss in a row against a team outside the top eight, this time to Essendon at the MCG on Saturday night. The Cats started the match as warm favourites but were jumped by the Bombers and trailed by more than four goals at quarter time. Essendon extended the lead to 40 points over the next two quarters before withstanding a withering final-term burst from the Cats to sneak home by 17 points. 

Essendon hit the ground round running, with Darcy Parish passing to Cale Hooker who goaled for the Bombers after just 38 seconds. That set the scene for the next 20 minutes as Joe Daniher, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Orazio Fantasia all added majors to see the Dons 23 points clear. Steve Motlop finally got Geelong on the board with a goal after a free kick at the 24-minute mark but ex-Giant James Stewart, playing his first game in the red and black, closed out the quarter with two goals and it was the Bombers by 27 at the first end-change. 

Tom Hawkins had an early chance to get the Cats back into the match with the first shot of the second term but his kick missed. The Bombers then had two misses of their own before Daniher kicked his second to take the margin beyond five goals. Dan Menzel provided some relief for Geelong with a goal at the 18-minute mark but the Dons finished the term off with two of the last three goals, including a third to Stewart to lead by 32 points at the half. 

Geelong started the third term well with a goal to Hawkins in the first minute but McDonald-Tipungwuti answered for the Dons with in the next two minutes. This pattern was to repeat itself over the remainder of the term with majors to Cats Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Stewart and Dangerfield again each being answered by goals to Daniher, Josh Green and McDonald-Tipungwuti. Daniher broke the sequence to kick his third at the 25-minute mark and Essendon was 40 points clear and in complete control at three-quarter time. 

The last change of ends sparked a transformation in the game. Hawkins kicked the first goal of the final term at the four-minute mark and when he followed up with another three minutes later, a comeback seemed in the offing. The Cats charge gained momentum when George Horlin-Smith cut the margin top 22 with his first, and when Menzel followed up with another, Geelong was within 16 points with plenty of time to play.

Fantasia halted to charge with a goal at the 13-minute mark, but the Cats scored the next two to be within 10 as the term entered time on. A beautiful running goal from Daniher gave the Dons some respite but Geelong attacked almost manically from there. The Cats had multiple scoring chances from there but kicked five behinds in a row before a crucial turnover at the 29-minute mark saw Fantasia goal for the Bombers to seal the match, Essendon home by 17. 

Daniher's 16 touches and five goals were pivotal to the Bombers' win, while for Geelong, Dangerfield picked up 30 possessions in a performance that will do his Brownlow Medal chances no harm.

Having lost three games in a row, the Cats will face another tough task at Kardinia Park on Friday night, taking on the reigning premiers, the Western Bulldogs. Essendon (11th, 4-4) will host the third-placed West Coast Eagles at Docklands on Sunday. 

GOALS
Essendon: Daniher 5; McDonald-Tipungwuti, Fantasia, Stewart 3; Green 2; Hooker
Geelong: Hawkins 4; Dangerfield, Menzel 2; Motlop, Stewart, Horlin-Smith, Parsons, Smith

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Essendon: Daniher, Zaharakis, Merrett, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Kelly, Hurley, Goddard
Geelong: Dangerfield, Menegola, Hawkins, Guthrie

BEST - THE AGE
Essendon: Daniher, Merrett, Zaharakis, Hurley, Fantasia, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Stewart, Kelly
Geelong: Dangerfield, Hawkins, Taylor, Menegola, Selwood

INJURIES
Essendon: Nil
Geelong: Stanley (knee)

UMPIRES: Fisher, Schmitt, McInerney

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network