Essendon trailed for the entire game until its stirring last quarter fightback which included four remarkable goals from Damian Cupido, Ken Hall, Ben Haynes and Ted Richards. Cupido's goal was as good as any you would see. Having gathered the ball at full pace and just metres from the boundary line, he gathered his balance weaved around his opponent before slotting a brilliant left foot snap. It was an exciting sign for Essendon fans.
Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy was far from impressed with some of his senior players. ""I think some of our senior players got a rude awakening today because when they went off we played better and I told them that,"" Sheedy said after the match. ""I suppose it was exciting for us from that point of view (to see the young players do well) and I thought we played with a lot of freedom. That will always be the case when you play so many youngsters. I do think we have a bit to do though.
""Perhaps when you clear three or four players, the players left behind can start to feel a bit comfortable - I can assure them they would want to start thinking that way.
""I would like us to have played better in the first half but we probably have a better idea where we are now. I thought the Swans played very, very well. There will be a fair bit of life in the game coming up against the Kangaroos.""
The standout youngsters for Essendon were Jason Laycock and Jobe Watson. ""Laycock is going to be a very, very good player,"" Sheedy said. ""We didn't even talk to him before the draft - we didn't think there was any way he would come through to us. Today was his first game in an Essendon jumper. I'm looking forward to seeing thre next 50 or 100. On that sort of performance I would think he would play senior football at some time this season.""
The only injury concern for Essendon was Sam Hunt who left the ground after rolling an ankle. His condition was still being assessed by club medical staff.
