Australian Football

Match Report

On paper Saturday's match at Docklands between Essendon and North Melbourne looked shaped as a comfortable win for the Bombers, one which would keep them well in the race for a place in this year's finals. Arguably, that ultimately proved to be the outcome, but for three quarters the young Kangaroos side - which included two debutants and a second-gamer - took it right up to Essendon, and at times even threatened to take it away. In the end, though, the Dons' experience proved telling, and they kicked seven goals to four in the final term of a high-scoring encounter, to draw away and win by 27 points.

North was forced to make a very late change before the game began, with Robbie Tarrant injuring himself in the warm-up, his late withdrawal seeing Josh Williams coming into the side, joining Nick Larkey as a debutant for the Kangaroos, with Cameron Zurhaar having played his first game for the side only a week earlier. Williams' unplanned debut began perfectly when he took a mark and kicked the first goal of the match at the four-minute mark, giving North a seven-point lead.

From there the game became a free-flowing affair, with North jumping to a 15-point lead before the Dons kicked three in a row to hit the front. However, a late major to Jarrad Waite, his second, had the Roos leading narrowly at quarter time, each side having kicked four goals for the term.

The Bombers looked to have broken the game open early in the second quarter after James Stewart and Orazio Fantasia had both goaled in the first four minutes, but Ben Brown kept North well in the hunt with two marks and goals and the Roos were back in front after eight minutes. Essendon was back in front two minutes later when Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti kicked his second, after which the game experienced its first 'lull' with neither side scoring a major until just before time on, then Aaron Mullett goaled to put the Kangas ahead by two points. Each side added a goal in extra time and North's lead at half time was two points, as it had been at the first break.

Each side added a goal in the first five minutes of the third quarter, with McDonald-Tipungwuti and Brown both kicking their third. The Bombers took control over the next 15 minutes, though, and majors to Fantasia, Stewart and Dyson Heppell saw them jump out to a 17-point lead on the cusp of time on. But from there, the Kangaroos hit back hard to kick three in a row of their own, one each to Trent Dumont, Waite and Brown and they were back in front by a point 24 minutes in. Fantasia's fourth and a couple of behinds late in the term saw Essendon regain the lead by seven points, but the game looked a wide-open affair heading into the final quarter. 

The young North side probably needed to kick the first goal of the last term to have a chance but it was Essendon which kicked the first two, both to Cale Hooker. That opened up a 20-point lead and although the Kangas threatened comebacks with majors to Brown and Waite, the Bombers continued to score goals themselves, and they ultimately drew away to win by what was eventually a comfortable margin of 27 points.

Zach Merrett was a catalyst for the Dons, collecting 33 touches and laying three tackles, while Hooker's five goals - four of them in the last quarter - also earned him a place in the Bombers' best. For North, Ben Brown (six goals, nine marks) and Shaun Higgins (23 touches, five tackles) played great games, while Taylor Garner (10 marks, 25 possessions) put in arguably the best performance of his 30-game career.

A crucial match awaits Essendon at Docklands on Sunday afternoon - the Bombers will take on the Bulldogs. With both sides on nine wins, the winner of that match will take a vital one-game break over the loser, and make a strong claim for finals action in September.

GOALS
Essendon: Hooker 5; Fantasia 4; McDonald-Tipungwuti 3; Stewart, Daniher, Heppell 2; Parish, Zaharakis
North Melbourne: Brown 6; Waite 4; Williams, Garner, Mullett, Gibson, Dumont, Swallow

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Essendon: Merrett, Watson, Hooker, Heppell, Fantasia, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Goddard
North Melbourne: Higgins, Garner, Dumont, McDonald, Brown, Waite

BEST - THE AGE
Essendon: Merrett, Fantasia, Heppell, Watson, Stewart, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Hooker
North Melbourne: Brown, Garner, Higgins, McDonald, Waite, Durdin, Dumont

INJURIES
Essendon: Martin Gleeson (left elbow)
North Melbourne: Robbie Tarrant (back) replaced in selected side by Josh Williams

UMPIRES: Fisher, Fleer, Pannell 

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Eddie McGuire, Mark Ricciuto, Jonathan Brown