Round 4 1995, Essendon vs. Collingwood

Game Statistics


ESSENDON.......6.4 9.7 11.11 16.15 (111)
COLLINGWOOD....6.1 7.3 14.7  17.9  (111)

Goals:

ESSENDON: Cockatoo-Collins 3, Mercuri, Somerville, Fletcher, Symons 2, Hird, O'Donnell, Misiti, Olarenshaw, Young 1.
COLLINGWOOD: Rocca 9, B James 3, Brereton, Buckley, Williams, Walker, McGuane 1.

Crowd:

94,825!!! at the MCG

Comment:

...(gasp)....(gasp)....(gasp). I really don't think there are any words in the English language that can describe that! A draw, yes a DRAW in front of almost 95,000 people, yes, ninety-five thousand people. And I'm proud to say I was one of them, one of the many who made up the second biggest ever crowd to a home and away game. I knew it was going to be big, when we got to the ground at 11:30am, the crowd was already huge, the car park almost full, and every body sitting there watching nothing - no reserves game. Now, don't get me wrong, I respect all those who died during the World Wars, but I see no reason why a reserves game shouldn't be played on Anzac Day. There, that's my editorialising, now to the game.

And what a game it was. When the final siren sounded everyone jumped up - everyone, and then everyone sat down again - no one knew what to do! It was like just winning the Grand Final and then waking up and finding out it was all just a dream. The conflicting emotions were unbelievable. Anyway, the game started at a ferocious pace, both sides kicking six goals in a terrific first quarter. It was the second quarter when Essendon took control, but only managed to kick 3 goals to Colingwood's 1, and there were opportunities (not wanting to mention Symons' little indiscretions) to make the margin bigger than 16 points at half time.

It was in the third quarter that we would rue missing those opportunities, with Collingwood taking complete control from the midfield, kicking 7 goals to our only 2. The scene was set for the last quarter, in front of the massive crowd - would Collingwood hold on? Or would the Dons get up and get the points? Well, none of the above. Essendon played a blitzing eight minutes or so, kicking four goals to be up by one straight kick. Cockatoo-Collins played superb football in the last term to ignite the Bombers, but then Rocca (who I hadn't mentioned up until now, not wanting to mention his nine goal haul that kept Collingwood in the game, although I must admit, he played very well) received a dubious free kick and kicked the goal to tie it up.

The last play of the day went to Nathan Buckley, our good friend Nathan. He was running towards goal, about 60 metres out, well within his kicking range, when he decided to pass it to three Essendon defenders (oh, and I think there was a Collingwood player there somewhere)! Good work Nathan, we knew we could count on you. So that was it, a draw. A bloody draw, doesn't really feel right does it? But, if a draw had to be the outcome to see such a dramatic, intense and brilliant game of football, then so be it. The other good players for the game were "Smokin" Joe Misiti, who picked up 30 possessions and closed down Mick McGuane; and Ricky Olarenshaw, who dominated in the first half. Well, there's not much more that can be said about a game like that, except perhaps "That's what I like about football!"

Standing after Round 4:

Well, we're still unbeaten (technically), we just don't have as many points as the other unbeaten teams. There are only the two remaining unbeaten now - Carlton and Richmond, which leaves us in third place. The interesting thing about getting a draw is that percentage may not really matter now, as long as Collingwood don't finish on the same amount of wins (fat chance), we don't have another draw, and somebody else doesn't have a draw. The ladders is as follows:

--------------P-W-L-D-For-Agst--%---Pts
CARLTON.......4 4 - - 497 264 188.3 16
RICHMOND......4 4 - - 359 273 131.5 16
ESSENDON......4 3 - 1 412 313 131.6 14
WEST COAST....4 3 1 - 338 250 135.2 12
GEELONG.......4 3 1 - 364 337 108.0 12
FOOTSCRAY.....4 3 1 - 360 394  91.4 12
HAWTHORN......4 2 2 - 338 275 122.9  8
ADELAIDE......4 2 2 - 323 277 116.6  8
Fremantle.....4 2 2 - 382 334 114.4  8
Brisbane......4 2 2 - 382 444  86.0  8
North Melb....4 2 2 - 313 388  80.7  8
Sydney........4 1 3 - 372 370 101.4  4
Collingwood...4 - 3 1 348 408  85.3  2
Melbourne.....4 - 4 - 322 394  81.8  -
St Kilda......4 - 4 - 240 414  58.0  -
Fitzroy.......4 - 4 - 256 474  54.0  -

Next Week:

A breather next week - St Kilda at Optus Oval. Expect a much, much smaller crowd and a much, much bigger final margin (the Dons way of course). The Saints have been ordinary this year, lagging near the bottom of the ladder, so I wouldn't expect much resistance. the only thing in their favour is the fact that we've just played a huge game and the players could be tired.
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