Round 16 1995, Essendon vs. Fitzroy

Game Statistics


ESSENDON.........9.3 12.7 15.12 22.18(150)
FITZROY..........2.2  5.4  7.7  12.7  (79)

Goals:

ESSENDON: James Hird, Salmon 4, Somerville 3, Mercuri, O'Connor, Cockatoo-Collins 2, Wanganeen, O'Donnell, Darcy, Misiti, Morgan 1.
FITZROY: Boyd 3, Baldwin, Morton 2, Johnson, Hogg, Hawking, Payne, Manson 1.

Crowd:

25,295 at the MCG

Comment:

Well that was a nice little practice match, wasn't it? I mean what can you really say about Fitzroy? Apart from the fact that they've got to go (unless they can improve markedly). This game was treated like a practice match by both players and coach alike. In reality we possibly could have won by about 25 goals, instead of the eleven we did win by. Players tried out some new things, and unfortunately some old habits surfaced (like handballing too much around the forward line, and getting into trouble numerous times), and the coach, especially in the last quarter, tried players in different positions. This was fine given that we had no opposition today, but I hope that sanity prevails in the coming weeks and we return to a more efficient brand of football.

We started out the game with a strong will to win, and the scoreboard showed this at quarter time, with a seven goal advantage already. It really looked as though it was going to be another game like the Adelaide game, a blood bath. But then something happened after quarter time. Suddenly we could not kick straight, kicking more points each quarter - three in the first, four in the second, five in the third and six in the last (do I see a pattern here?). And it wasn't as though these were difficult kicks, or that Fitzroy had applied much pressure either, I think there may be some more goal-kicking practice done at training this week.

Now I don't want to sound repetitive, but once again the umpiring was bad, I mean bad. I'm not going to say much more than that except for two things - learn how to bounce the ball properly, and possibly the worst decision was the Michael Long "throwing" decision - there was no way that was a throw, he tapped the ball on like he usually does with his class. But anyway, enough about the umpires. Now to the more positive aspects of the game. Jimmy Hird kept up his terrific form from last week, being involved with most forward thrusts by the Dons, kicking four himself and later in the game moving onto the ball where he continued to create the play. And speaking of Michael Long, he also returned to good form. Possibly the highlight of the game was his run down the MCC members wing, it went for about 120 metres and then, unlike many players who run that far with the ball, he kicked the ball accurately onto Chris Daniher's chest, a perfect play. Other good players were Mark Mercuri, who came back from injury and kicked a couple of goals; the Cockie, who is getting better and better since his injury; and Peter Somerville, especially in the first half, who continues to improve this year.

In the end Essendon did just what they had to do to win by a big enough margin. I'm sure that they had energy in reserve, and that some improvement can take place (especially in the goal-kicking department) before we meet some of the better sides running into the finals. This was really an opportunity for the players to have a good run, without worrying about losing the game. Things are looking good, with reports that Alessio and Harvey played well in the reserves today (who had a sizeable win), and many other players showing good form. - Brad

Votes:

In a game more like a pre-season game than a game for premiership points, some players rose above the pack to have a big impression on the game:

3 - James Hird
In my opinion best on ground again. He kicked four himself, and probably set up at least another five or six. His marking strength is second-to-none.

2 - Michael Long
Long returned to top form today, eluding all Fitzroy opponents and using his creative play to set up the Bombers win. Probably could have been best on ground.

1 - Mark Mercuri
Quite difficult to give the last vote, with a number of players unlucky to miss out. In his return game, I thought Mercuri played well. He had been down a bit on form after a blistering start to the year, but now it seems like he is going to come good at the time of the season when it really counts.

The Statistics for Round 16:

Possessions     Kicks           Handballs       Marks
LONG        34  MERCURI     17  LONG        20  MERCURI      9
MERCURI     27  COCKATOO-CO 16  DENHAM      13  SOMERVILLE   9
COCKATOO-CO 27  MISITI      15  GRENVOLD    11  HIRD         8
MISITI      23  LONG        14  COCKATOO-CO 11  SALMON       6
HIRD        23  HIRD        13  HIRD        10  DANIHER,C    6
O'DONNELL   20  SOMERVILLE  12  DANIHER,C   10  LONG         6
DANIHER,C   20  O'DONNELL   12  O'CONNOR    10  O'CONNOR     5
MORGAN      19  CALTHORPE   11  MERCURI     10  DARCY        5
DENHAM      18  MORGAN      11  DOOLAN       9  COCKATOO-CO  5
SOMERVILLE  17  DANIHER,C   10  MORGAN       8  FLETCHER     4

Standing after Round 16:

We stay in fourth place this week, and the final eight is really starting to take form. North losing has put us in a safer position, as well as the percentage boost we got this week. It seems like Carlton will finish on top (much to my dismay) and Geelong in second, but you never know what could happen in the next few weeks. We need to win most of our games (read: all) and rely on Geelong or Carlton to drop a few if we are to get into the top two. We are really fighting it out with West Coast, Richmond and North for the remaining spots in the top four. Footscray's win has given them a good chance to stay in the final eight, but the race is on amoung Melbourne, Adelaide (yes, Adelaide), Hawthorn and Collingwood for the last spot in the finals (not that it would matter, as Geelong or Carlton would obliterate them anyway!). In the next week I'll be doing "Brad's Prediction For the Final Eight", based on who teams play in the remaining rounds, and form etc. This should be online within the week. The ladder is as follows:

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

Carlton.......16 14  2 0 1670 1221 136.77 56
Richmond......16 12  3 1 1520 1370 110.95 50
Geelong.......16 12  4 0 1842 1391 132.42 48
Essendon......16 10  4 2 1811 1370 132.19 44
West Coast....16 10  6 0 1410 1227 114.91 40
Nth Melb......16 10  6 0 1595 1476 108.06 40
Footscray.....16  8  7 1 1375 1480  92.91 34
Melbourne.....16  8  8 0 1426 1301 109.61 32
Hawthorn......16  7  9 0 1382 1349 102.45 28
Collingwood...16  6  8 2 1500 1440 104.17 28
Adelaide......16  7  9 0 1238 1486  83.31 28
Sydney........16  5 11 0 1566 1637  95.66 20
Fremantle.....16  5 11 0 1447 1581  91.52 20
Brisbane......16  5 11 0 1445 1709  84.55 20
St. Kilda.....16  4 12 0 1210 1682  71.94 16
Fitzroy.......16  2 14 0 1189 1906  62.38  8

Next Week:

Our return game against the Dockers next week. This should be another straight forward game for the Dons, played at the MCG and the Dockers are down on form at the moment (but they play Richmond tomorrow and could prove me wrong). It will be interesting to see if Harvey and Alessio are right to play in the seniors next week. They would certainly add marking power and strength to the current team.
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