New Bomber Will Snelling had to wait 1056 days between his first and second AFL games, but it was all worth it when he lined up in Essendon’s thrilling 21-point victory over Adelaide on Saturday.

Just 53 days after arriving at The Hangar, the South Australian played a key role in the win in front of his family and friends in an emotional culmination of endless hard work.

“It felt every bit of (1056 days), to be honest. I’ve had to grind for two-and-a-half/three years to get to this point,” Snelling said after the game.

“I was pretty emotional during the week getting the call-up. It goes back to all of the people that supported me for two years. It’s pretty grim when you’re on the list but not getting played.

“To come here and in five or six weeks already get a gig, it just shows so much confidence from the coaches, which really makes it easier to play.

“It’s just made it that much easier, to be honest, being at Adelaide Oval where I’ve played 15/20 games.

“I could probably hear Mum among the 50,000 people, she’s that loud. It means so much, they’re all down here now, which is great and I’m just keen to get around them.”

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Skipper Dyson Heppell (20 disposals, five tackles and a goal) and vice-captain Zach Merrett (31 disposals, five inside 50s, two goals and 691 metres gained) were prolific when the side needed them to stand up in the second half.

Snelling described their leadership as unbelievable and inspiring, and said the belief was always there that the team could overcome a 30-point deficit in the second term to claim the remarkable win.

“It’s a testament to how well as a team we can come back.

“The conversation around half-time and three-quarter time was if we’re going to have a crack at the end of the year, these are the sort of guys you need to put away.

“It was really well player-driven by the leaders, I think our leaders stood up in the last half as well. It just goes to show our maturity in the back end of the year, which is great.

“When it’s crunch time, we saw ‘Hepp’ get a crucial kick in front of goal, ‘Junior’ (Merrett) kicked two or three tonight when we needed it the most. It’s been outstanding and it gives you so much confidence.”

Snelling impressed on his home deck in the red and black on Friday, gathering 15 disposals and booting a goal.

He also laid three of the Bombers’ 66 tackles and he said piling pressure on the Crows was a key focus heading into the game, with the Dons recording 24 tackles in the first term.

“As a pressure forward, they wanted me to come in and – where Orazio has been playing that role – really fit in to my role straight away,” Snelling said.

“I had a bit of a role on (Crows defender Rory) Laird as well, so it was a bit of a focus of mine just to shut him out and I think I did a pretty good job, all of the forwards helped me out with that as well.”

Strength in numbers and scintillating speed across the ground was also a feature of the sensational comeback win and Snelling said it is important to utilise the natural athleticism of the side’s dynamic midfield. 

“We play our best when we’re out running. We’ve got such quick outside mids that we can just go really quick and cut them up.

“When we kicked out best and quickest goals, it was just off the back of that run and carry.”

The Bombers will head to Gold Coast next week to take on the Suns from 4:40pm on Sunday, July 28.