Essendon's VFL side moved a step closer to securing a finals' berth with a hard-fought eight-point win over Carlton at the MCG yesterday. The Bombers set up victory with a five-goal burst in the third quarter but then had to withstand a late charge from the Blues to secure the all important four points. Essendon is now in sixth place on the VFL ladder with a 10-7 win-loss record - two games clear of ninth-placed Williamstown. Marc Bullen was the star for the Bombers collecting 28 possessions and laying 10 tackles.
Another positive to come out of the win was the performance of Michael Long who played the entire first half. Long pulled up well from the hit-out and will be looking to complete an entire match this weekend. The negative came with news that fellow veteran Dean Wallis didn't get through the game. Wallis came off with hamstring soreness and his condition is being assessed.
The Bombers ahve three home and away matches remaining against Port Melbourne (eighth), Williamstown (ninth) and North Ballarat (12th). ""It is back in our hands now,"" an elated Terry Daniher said after the match. ""If we can finish strongly we can set ourselves up for a real crack at the finals.""
Daniher said the consistency of the young players over four quarters had been a key to the result. ""Marc Bullen, Michael Davis, Jordon Bannister and David Hille all worked hard over four quarters and that was the key,"" Daniher said. With senior coach Kevin Sheedy promising changes would be made after the senior team went down to Carlton, a number of these youngsters will be in a the running for a senior game this Sunday against Sydney.
The statistics from the game were:
Davis: 22 kicks, 9 handbalss, 6 marks
Bullen: 19, 9, 2
Cranage: 15, 11, 5
Bannister: 14, 9, 9
Hille: 14, 9, 9
Switala: 9, 7, 7
Goddard: 8, 7, 6
Davies: 9, 5, 2
Lalich: 10, 3, 3
Hall: 10, 1, 2
Robran: 4, 7, 4
Hawkins: 7, 2, 4
McAlister: 5, 4, 2
Podsiadly: 7, 1, 2
Kenny: 3, 4, 1
Wallis: 4, 3, 4
Hunt: 5, 1, 0
Wilson: 3, 2 0
Long: 3, 1, 1
