ESSENDON has broken West Coast hearts, snatching victory in the final seconds of the game to win by five points on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Windy Hill.
Both sides brought plenty of pressure and traded goals in the final quarterbut struggled to capitalise on their opportunities, with Essendon ultimately winning the arm wrestle 4.7 (31) to 4.2 (26).
Veteran and life-long Bombers fan Sophie Alexander was the hero of the day, marking and going back to convert at the top of the goalsquare with the Bombers down by a single point.
Essendon co-captain Bonnie Toogood lifted her side with two important goals, supported by a midfield led by Georgia Nanscawen (24 disposals, seven tackles) and young gun Amy Gaylor (22 and six, 319 metres gained).
In worrying signs though, experienced defender Sophie Van De Heuvel was caught up awkwardly in a tackle in the second quarter and was in the hands of trainers clutching her left knee, after starting well.
West Coast’s game was characterised by its clever run and carry, led by Ella Roberts (21 disposals and eight tackles) with confidence and composure.
The Eagles had the measure of the Bombers for large portions of the game, making the loss a heartbreak.
It was Essendon that got off to a quick start, with an early goal to Toogood after Van De Heuvel delivered it straight to her chest 40m out from goal.
The game tightened up though. West Coast had repeat forward 50 entries, leading nine to six inside 50s at quarter-time, but the combination of shallow entries and the Bombers’ defence meant the Eagles were unable to get reward for effort.
It was late in the quarter when a 50m penalty was awarded to West Coast’sAbbygail Bushby, which she converted.
The roles were reversed in the second quarter, with Essendon unable to capitalise on its opportunities inside 50 to make the distance to goal.
The Eagles looked much more composed, confident to chip the ball around with short kicks and create a slow build-up, taking 12 uncontested marks for the term.
This slow build-up was exemplified by the kick-mark combination of Ella Roberts, Mikayla Western and Kayla Dalgleish, resulting in second-gamer Dalgleish’s first AFLW goal.
In the third quarter, Toogood missed two opportunities to put her side in front within minutes of each other – but in the closing stages of the quartershe made the toughest shot of the three attempts from the pocket to go in three points up at three-quarter time.
The ball moved swiftly from end to end in the last term, with Bomber Georgia Gee and Eagle Dalgleish trading goals, and an incredible team effort ending in Eagle Kellie Gibson running into an open goal, before Alexander’s final blow.
A debut close to home
The opening rounds of this AFLW season have been characterised by exciting debuts. One of the many young talents to take the field was Eagle debutant Kayley Kavanagh. Taken with pick 14 in the 2023 AFLW Draft, the inside mid waited 615 days to take the field after sadly suffering an ACL injury during her first pre-season. Kavanagh made her debut justminutes away from her community club Strathmore. Finishing up withseven disposals and two tackles, she lined up against former teammate in breakout Bombers midfielder Gaylor.
Up next
Essendon heads up to Darwin to open Indigenous Round with the Dreamtime game against Richmond at TIO Stadium on Friday night. Meanwhile, the Eagles are staying in Melbourne for the week before they take on St Kilda at RSEA Park on Saturday at 3.05pm AEST.
ESSENDON 1.0 1.2 2.5 4.7 (31)
WEST COAST 1.0 2.1 2.2 4.2 (26)
GOALS
Essendon: Toogood 2, Gee, Alexander
West Coast: Dalgleish 2, Bushby, Gibson
BEST
Essendon: Nanscawen, Gaylor, Prespakis, Toogood, Dyke
West Coast: Roberts, Drennan, Swanson, Thomas, McGrath
INJURIES
Essendon: Van De Heuvel (knee)
West Coast: Nil
Reports: Nil
Crowd: 2,635 at Windy Hill
