Round 14 1995, Essendon vs. Adelaide

Game Statistics



ESSENDON.........7.5 16.11 21.16 27.20 (182)
ADELAIDE.........2.3  3.3   6.7   8.12  (60)

Goals:

ESSENDON: Salmon 8, Wanganeen 4, Mercuri, Lloyd, Cummings 3, Long 2, O'Donnell, Denham, O'Connor, Morgan 1.
ADELAIDE: Modra, Ricciuto 2, Robran, Smart, Tregenza, Chalmers 1.

Crowd:

40,269 at the MCG

Comment:

...and that was the end of Adelaide. What a superb performance by our Mighty Dons this week. All the signs pointed to a big win this week - Adelaide playing so poorly in Melbourne and the Bombers due to bounce back after three losses in four games. Well it happened, with Essendon winners all over the ground, in fact I think you'd be hard pressed to find an Essendon player that didn't win on the day. But what can be said about Adelaide? Give up? Seriously, there really doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel for them. Even given that the opposition was minor, it was good to see the Bombers take full advantage of that. They exploited Adelaide's lack of manning-up, and found players on their own on every part of the ground.

Well, where do you start for the Bomber's best players? Well perhaps in the centre of the ground, where Peter Somerville is enjoying his best season with the Dons. He dominated the ruck, not just tapping the ball out, but directing it to the rovers, which gave us great drive out of the centre. And to the rovers, and Sean Denham is having another good season, especially of late, this week picking up the most possessionson the ground. He enjoyed some free running that under the pressure of a higher placed side he wouldn't have been able to achieve. Danny Morgan, the second gamer for the Bombers, played well roving also. He picked up 24 possessions, equal second highest, and really showed he has a future with the Dons. Gary O'Donnell, our second highest kick winner for the game also played well in the middle.

Now to the back line, where one of my favorite players, Michael Symons, played the best game I've seen him play. It was quite incredible to see him run at least fifty metres with the ball off the backline on four or five occassions, and then kicking precisely to top it all off. Many people would say that the backline is the place for Micky as his kicking sometimes lets him down in front of goal, but ironically he kicks well to players in position. His aggression at the ball really showed out during the game. Other good backline players were Fletcher, who was moved up to the wing for a run (which he did well), Darcy, Calthorpe (who had a brilliant run down the wing, passing to Hird, receiving again, then passing to Salmon who goaled), and Scott Cummings (who ended up on the forward line in the last quarter, kicking three casual goals).

Now to the forwards, and how can I not say something about the Big Fish, Paul Salmon. His performance was quite magnificent, kicking eight goals in style. The good thing about his game was the way he marked and led, with confidence. He always went in for the second effort, and when he got the ball he definitely had his kicking boot on, kicking only two behinds. We certainly need him to fire if we are to be Grand Final material. James Hird started at his favored position, centre-half-forward, and relished it. In the first half he picked up 18 possessions and 7 marks, stats some players would like to have for the whole game! Quite ironically, in Essendon's mammoth half time score of 16 goals, Hird didn't have one. In the second half he injured his arm, and didn't really take much further part in the game. One can only wonder at what he would have done in the second half for the Bombers.

One player I have left to now, to put on the forward line is Gavin Wanganeen. Picked, as usual, to play on the backline, he actually played nearer to the half forward line. He kicked four goals in the first half, three of which were quite freaky. The first was a soccer goal, he attempted to grab the ball, before decided to boot it off the ground for some Wanga magic. Another one he grabbed the ball off hands in the forward pocket, then ran along the boundary line to the goal face to put the goal through. For the third goal, he was waiting the goal square for a pass, it arrived, he dropped the mark, but recovered and with his back to the goal line, he kicked the ball over his head for a goal - magic. A special mention must also be made of first-gamer Matthew Lloyd. He had dream start to his league career, kicking a goal off the ground with his first kick in AFL in the first minute of the game. He ended up with three goals and showed he is surely champion material.

Anyway, I think i've mentioned nearly every player, and those I haven't mentioned all played very well, it's just that some players had an outstanding day. This was really the team lifter that we needed going into the big game against Richmond next week. - Brad

Votes:

Votes were almost impossible to give, seeing so many players having terrific games in all different parts of the ground. Everyone disaggrees, but here's how I saw it:

3 - Gavin Wanganeen
His four brilliant goals, and the fact that he set up at least just as many gave him an edge over the other players on the ground.

2 - Paul Salmon
It would be difficult not to give Salmon votes after kicking eight goals in such style.

1 - Michael Symons
He cut apart the Adelaide forward line, running rings around their attackers to clear the ball on numerous occasions for the Dons.
I would have loved to give votes to Sean Denham (he really deserved a vote), James Hird (for his first half extravaganza) and Peter Somerville.

Standing after Round 14:

Because North won, we stay in fifth spot. There is a real gap now between the top six and the rest of the competition. It seems it is really only a matter of sorting out the order. The ladder is as follows:

---------------P--W--L-D--For-Agst---%--Pts

Carlton.......14 12  2 0 1447 1053 137.4 48
Richmond......14 11  3 0 1345 1202 111.9 44
Geelong.......14 11  3 0 1646 1216 135.4 44
Nth Melb......14 10  4 0 1457 1298 112.2 40
Essendon......14  9  4 1 1560 1190 131.1 38
West Coast....14  9  5 0 1227 1076 114.0 36
Melbourne.....14  7  7 0 1213 1140 106.4 28
Footscray.....14  6  7 1 1154 1340  86.1 26
Hawthorn......14  6  8 0 1167 1171  99.7 24
Collingwood...14  5  7 2 1303 1270 102.6 24
Adelaide......14  6  8 0 1073 1299  82.6 24
Fremantle.....14  5  9 0 1306 1389  94.0 20
Sydney........14  4 10 0 1374 1419  96.8 16
Brisbane......14  4 10 0 1261 1483  85.0 16
St. Kilda.....14  3 11 0 1053 1475  71.4 12
Fitzroy.......14  2 12 0 1060 1625  65.2  8

Next Week:

Well possibly the game of the round for us coming up, Friday night versus Richmond. Richmond are in the middle of their tough draw at the moment, and we have a very good chance of beating the early ladder leaders. Harvey got through the reserves without problems, and may be ready to resume. And who knows when Alessio will be back. Hird and Mercuri are expected to be right for Friday after minor injuries against the Crows.
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