Round 11 2003
ESSENDON v. SYDNEY

ESSENDON 1.2 7.3 9.5 12.7.79 SYDNEY 4.0 7.2 16.4 21.7.133 Result: SYDNEY won by 54 points. Venue: Stadium Australia     Crowd: 45,917

ON THIS PAGE: Goals - Report - Injuries - Next Week

	ESSENDON: Lloyd 5, Lucas 3, Rioli 2, Richards, Cupido
	SYDNEY: Hall 5, Davis 4, Goodes 3, O'Loughlin 2, Nicks 2, Schneider, Cresswell, Kirk, Williams, O'Keefe

ESSENDON: M Johnson, Lloyd, Mercuri, Lucas

A nine goal third quarter by the Sydney Swans blew the Bombers away at Stadium Australia tonight, with the Swans running out victors by 54 points. After a strong second term the Bombers led by one point at the main change, but simply could not keep up with the Swans in the third quarter. Late goals to Matthew Lloyd saw him finish with five for the night, and Mark Johnson tried his best all night for the Bombers. But the second half belonged to the Swans, as they dominated in all areas of the ground to climb further up the ladder, as the Dons stay outside the final eight. The first quarter started slowly, with both teams taking some time to find their feet. It was the Bombers who drew first blood, with a good run from Bolton through the centre of the ground topped off by a good pass to Lloyd on the lead. Lloyd duly put through the goal, and Essendon were off to a good start. But from that point on Sydney slowly took control of the quarter. A period of intense forward pressure by the Swans eventually resulted in Hall putting through their first goal. The Swans went on to kick the next three goals straight, their trademark accuracy in front of goals giving them a 16 point lead at the first change. The second quarter belonged to the Bombers, kicking six goals to the Swans’ two to go into half time with a one point lead. The quarter started perfectly for the Dons, with Rioli kicking a goal within the first minute. But then things didn’t quite go to plan, with Sydney kicking the next two goals to extend their lead to 24 points. Things didn’t look great for the Dons at that point, but then Hille started to dominate the ruck, and the Bombers began winning the ball in the centre of the ground. Lucas was presenting himself well at centre half forward, and he was the one who got the Bombers going again on the scoreboard with the next two goals in as many minutes. Essendon kept up the pressure, but Sydney fought back towards the end of the quarter with Hall proving a handful for Jacobs in defence. When the siren sounded for half time the Bombers took the smallest of margins in to the long break, happy with the fight shown by the players in the second quarter. Mark Mercuri continued his recent good form, and along with Mark Johson and Lucas were the Bombers best in the first half. But it all went wrong for the Bombers in the third quarter, as Sydney piled on nine goals to two to take the game out of Essendon’s reach. The Swans came out firing from the first bounce, and it wasn’t long before the margin started increasing at a rate that started to alarm Bomber fans. By the end of the third quarter onslaught the Dons were 41 points behind, and needing a miracle in the final term to get up and win. The Bombers had trouble getting possession of the ball in the centre of the ground, and the pressure on the defenders was immense. In the end it took its toll on the Bombers, and the Swans victory was ensured by their free running play which characterised their third quarter performance. In the final term Sydney threatened to blow out the margin even further than the ten goal lead they quickly assumed shortly in to the fourth quarter. The match was certainly taken beyond the reach of the Dons, but Matthew Lloyd gave Bomber fans something to cheer about towards the end of the match when he kicked three quick goals to finish with five for the night. But it did little to ease the misery of a 54 point loss to a Sydney side which is flying high on confidence at the moment. It was really a game played in two halves, and as such there were few four quarter performers for the Bombers. Mark Johnson was one player who did work hard for the entire game, finishing with a game high 25 disposals. Matthew Lloyd did well to finish with five goals, although three of those were in the final term when the result of the game was beyond doubt. Scott Lucas and Mark Mercuri were very good in the first half and Marc Bullen also did well in his third game for the year. It was an extremely disappointing result for the Bombers, especially after leading at half time. Sydney simply blew Essendon away with nine goals in the third quarter, and the relatively young Bombers could not stop the Swans from scoring freely. The Bombers now have a week to regroup and take on the Kangaroos, who would be on a high after their three point victory over Richmond last night in Jason McCartney’s final game for the club. But as we have seen this season, the Bombers form from week to week can vary in the extreme, and we may well see a different Essendon side come out in Round 12 to try to square the ledger at six wins, six losses going in to the bye weekend.

> MORE PHOTOS...

Relive the match! Each week we present live scores and live reports throughout the match. So if you missed the game, or just want to relive what happened, click on one of the links below to read all about it. FIRST QUARTER REPORT... SECOND QUARTER REPORT... THIRD QUARTER REPORT... FOURTH QUARTER REPORT...

	Mad Dog's Fan Rant - Round 11, Thursday, 10 June 2010
	Highlights: Round 11 vs Sydney, Tuesday, 8 June 2010
	Weekend Rewind: Round 11 vs Sydney, Monday, 7 June 2010
	The Swans used the ball better says Knights, Monday, 7 June 2010
	Matthew Knights' Selection Table: Rd 11, Thursday, 3 June 2010
	The Recovery Room - Round 11, Monday, 31 May 2010
	Match Highlights Round 11, Wednesday, 10 June 2009
	Weekend Rewind, Tuesday, 9 June 2009
	Matthew Knights press conference, Sunday, 7 June 2009
	Best 22: Round 11, Thursday, 4 June 2009
	Bachar Houli Interview, Wednesday, 3 June 2009
	Matthew Knights Press Conference, Tuesday, 2 June 2009
	Bomber Radio - 10 June 2007, Monday, 11 June 2007 (Engine Room only)
	Bomber Radio - 11 June 2006, Tuesday, 13 June 2006 (Engine Room only)
	Bomber Radio - 5 June 2005, Monday, 6 June 2005 (Engine Room only)
	ROUND 11: MARK ALVEY INTERVIEW, Monday, 7 June 2004 (Engine Room only)
	ROUND 11: ROBERT SHAW INTERVIEW, Monday, 7 June 2004 (Engine Room only)
	ROUND 11: MARK ALVEY TAKES TALKBACK, Monday, 7 June 2004 (Engine Room only)
	ROUND 11: KEVIN SHEEDY POST MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE, Saturday, 5 June 2004 (Engine Room only)
	ROUND 11: MATTHEW LLOYD INTERVIEW, Monday, 9 June 2003 (Engine Room only)
	ROUND 11: SEAN WELLMAN TALKBACK - PART 2, Monday, 9 June 2003 (Engine Room only)
	ROUND 11: SEAN WELLMAN TALKBACK - PART 1, Monday, 9 June 2003 (Engine Room only)
	ROUND 11: SEAN WELLMAN INTERVIEW, Monday, 9 June 2003 (Engine Room only)

ESSENDON   SYDNEY 163 Kicks 166 81 Handballs 80 44 Marks 72 42 Hitouts 49 51 Tackles 61 9 Free kicks 14 View all individual player stats for this game...

Injuries to be confirmed.

Round 12 v Kangaroos at The Dome on Friday night, 13th June 2003.