ESSENDON v. MELBOURNE
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ESSENDON:
Lucas 3, Henneman 2, Winderlich, Stanton, J Johnson
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MELBOURNE:
Yze 4, Davey 2, Miller 2, Moloney, Robertson, Neitz, White, McDonald, Green, Johnstone
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ESSENDON:
Adam McPhee, Kepler Bradley, Dustin Fletcher, Andrew Welsh, Mark Bolton
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In a disappointing start to the Bombers 2005 campaign, Essendon was comprehensively beaten by an emotion charged Melbourne by 46 points at the MCG tonight.
Emotions were running high even before the first bounce as the Demons paid tribute to Troy Broadbridge after tragically losing their team mate in the Boxing Day Tsunami disaster. It was also a big game for the Bombers. Having been under constant scrutiny throughout the pre-season, Essendon was out to show it was the real deal this season and put their critics to rest. But, after showing some positives in the first half, the Bombers were unable to convert their opportunities, obviously finding it difficult to find goal kickers without their spearhead Matthew Lloyd. In the second half the Demons took control of the game, feasting on the Bombers errors while at the same time having a number of goal scoring options. At times the Essendon midfield looked able to match it with Melbourne, but too many times they turned the ball over kicking into half forward, only to see the ball go back the other way twice as quickly with damaging consequences. It didn’t take long in the second quarter for the momentum to swing as Melbourne took the ascendancy. Doubling the Bombers score, the Demons turned a two-point quarter time deficit into a 20-point half time lead. The Demons kicked three unanswered goals before Scott Lucas kicked the Bombers first for the quarter. At times Essendon was its own worst enemy during the quarter, with three direct skill errors turning over for Melbourne goals and not taking the opportunities when the ball entered the forward 50. The third quarter was one the Bombers would have preferred to forget, unable to register a goal while Melbourne managed another three to take the three quarter lead to 39 points. The Bombers had plenty of the ball but could not capitalise on the opportunities while the Demons were the opposite with Adem Yze taking his goal tally to three for the evening with two consecutive majors. The coach kept the Bombers in the huddle for a long time during his three quarter time address, but it appeared the game was all but over heading into the last quarter. Dean Solomon was rested for the last term and when Travis Johnstone kicked a goal half way through the last quarter he put the icing on the Melbourne cake. In a night without too many positives, Kepler Bradley was a clear best on ground performer for the Bombers and promises to be an important contributor to the side this year. He finished the night with 25 possessions and 10 marks, playing across half back. Not only did Bradley stop goals, he was also creating drive across half back and never gave up even when the result was beyond doubt. Andrew Welsh played a solid role in defence and Angus Monfries also showed promise in his debut game. Scott Lucas provided a constant target all night up forward in the absence of Matthew Lloyd, finishing the game with three goals (the Bombers leading goal scorer). At the other end of the ground, Dustin Fletcher was even more impressive on Melbourne skipper David Neitz, keeping him to only one goal for the game.
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> MORE PHOTOS... |
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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.
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| No injuries reported. |
| Round 2: v Carlton, Friday night 1 April at the MCG. |
