Essendon has gone down by 71 points to St. Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
Watch James Hird speaking post match here on Bomber TV ?
The depleted Saints were fanatical in overcoming a recent form slump and a three-year drought against the previously rampant Bombers, winning 21.7 (133) to 8.14 (62).
Essendon kicked two of the first three goals to lead by nine points, but the Saints shocked everyone by piling on 20.7 to just 6.12 for the remainder of the match.
In an electrifying third term, Stephen Milne kicked four of St Kilda's six goals as the team stormed to an unassailable 46-point lead by the final change.
Aggravating matters for the Bombers, who donned their predominantly grey clash strip for the first time, were injuries to star forward Michael Hurley, who was subbed out late in the third term with a left hamstring injury, along with Kyle Hardingham (shoulder) and Kyle Reimers (concussion).
Essendon stopper Heath Hocking is also certain to come under scrutiny for an off-the-ball bump that left St Kilda favourite Lenny Hayes momentarily dazed.
In two separate incidents, spectators entered the arena, with the second almost becoming involved in the play before being tackled by security.
St Kilda hadn’t beaten the Bombers since round eight, 2009, losing their four subsequent clashes by an average of 25 points, and the pre-match consensus was they would struggle just to be competitive this time, given they had lost three of their previous four games in high-scoring shootouts.
They were also without Brendon Goddard and big men Jason Blake and Rhys Stanley.
Essendon dominated early but frittered away opportunities while the Saints scored with great efficiency.
The Saints' pressure was relentless. Despite trailing 17-7 early on the inside 50s they led the tackles 34-15 and caused numerous Bomber errors.
Thirteen of St Kilda's goals came from turnovers.
The blowout margin was a surprise given that each of Essendon's previous three losses had been by a total of 11 points.
Ben McEvoy was a giant for the Saints around the ground, repelling many Bomber attacks, while at ground level Nick Dal Santo, Hayes, David Armitage and Leigh Montagna provided superb service to a multi-pronged attack led by Milne, skipper Nick Riewoldt (four goals), Justin Koschitzke (two in the first quarter) and Beau Wilkes (two).
The Bombers barely had a winner, though Dyson Heppell and Courtenay Dempsey were solid.
Ahmed Saad's left knee appeared to be St Kilda's only concern.
The Bombers travel to AAMI Stadium to play Port Adelaide before a tough run home against five top-eight sides, while the Saints take on the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.
St Kilda 4.3 9.5 15.6 21.7 (133)
Essendon 3.5 5.6 7.8 8.14 (62)
GOALS
St Kilda: Milne 5, Riewoldt 4, Koschitzke 2, Siposs 2, Wilkes 2, Saad 2, Schneider 2, Gilbert, Gram
Essendon: Hille 2, Melksham 2, Carlisle, Hurley, Reimers, Davey
BEST
St Kilda: Milne, Dal Santo, Hayes, Riewoldt, Siposs, McEvoy, Simpkin
Essendon: Dempsey, Heppell, Watson, Melksham, Lonergan
INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Essendon: Hurley (hamstring), Reimers (concussion)
SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: James Gwilt replaced by Farren Ray in the fourth quarter
Essendon: Michael Hurley (hamstring) replaced by Ricky Dyson in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stevic, Meredith, Mitchell
Official crowd: 45,838 at Etihad Stadium
The depleted Saints were fanatical in overcoming a recent form slump and a three-year drought against the previously rampant Bombers, winning 21.7 (133) to 8.14 (62).
Essendon kicked two of the first three goals to lead by nine points, but the Saints shocked everyone by piling on 20.7 to just 6.12 for the remainder of the match.
In an electrifying third term, Stephen Milne kicked four of St Kilda's six goals as the team stormed to an unassailable 46-point lead by the final change.
Aggravating matters for the Bombers, who donned their predominantly grey clash strip for the first time, were injuries to star forward Michael Hurley, who was subbed out late in the third term with a left hamstring injury, along with Kyle Hardingham (shoulder) and Kyle Reimers (concussion).
Essendon stopper Heath Hocking is also certain to come under scrutiny for an off-the-ball bump that left St Kilda favourite Lenny Hayes momentarily dazed.
In two separate incidents, spectators entered the arena, with the second almost becoming involved in the play before being tackled by security.
St Kilda hadn’t beaten the Bombers since round eight, 2009, losing their four subsequent clashes by an average of 25 points, and the pre-match consensus was they would struggle just to be competitive this time, given they had lost three of their previous four games in high-scoring shootouts.
They were also without Brendon Goddard and big men Jason Blake and Rhys Stanley.
Essendon dominated early but frittered away opportunities while the Saints scored with great efficiency.
The Saints' pressure was relentless. Despite trailing 17-7 early on the inside 50s they led the tackles 34-15 and caused numerous Bomber errors.
Thirteen of St Kilda's goals came from turnovers.
The blowout margin was a surprise given that each of Essendon's previous three losses had been by a total of 11 points.
Ben McEvoy was a giant for the Saints around the ground, repelling many Bomber attacks, while at ground level Nick Dal Santo, Hayes, David Armitage and Leigh Montagna provided superb service to a multi-pronged attack led by Milne, skipper Nick Riewoldt (four goals), Justin Koschitzke (two in the first quarter) and Beau Wilkes (two).
The Bombers barely had a winner, though Dyson Heppell and Courtenay Dempsey were solid.
Ahmed Saad's left knee appeared to be St Kilda's only concern.
The Bombers travel to AAMI Stadium to play Port Adelaide before a tough run home against five top-eight sides, while the Saints take on the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.
St Kilda 4.3 9.5 15.6 21.7 (133)
Essendon 3.5 5.6 7.8 8.14 (62)
GOALS
St Kilda: Milne 5, Riewoldt 4, Koschitzke 2, Siposs 2, Wilkes 2, Saad 2, Schneider 2, Gilbert, Gram
Essendon: Hille 2, Melksham 2, Carlisle, Hurley, Reimers, Davey
BEST
St Kilda: Milne, Dal Santo, Hayes, Riewoldt, Siposs, McEvoy, Simpkin
Essendon: Dempsey, Heppell, Watson, Melksham, Lonergan
INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Essendon: Hurley (hamstring), Reimers (concussion)
SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: James Gwilt replaced by Farren Ray in the fourth quarter
Essendon: Michael Hurley (hamstring) replaced by Ricky Dyson in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stevic, Meredith, Mitchell
Official crowd: 45,838 at Etihad Stadium
