Round 8 1995, Essendon vs. West Coast

Game Statistics

ESSENDON.........6.2 9.3 12.7 16.12 (108)
WEST COAST.......7.3 9.5 12.9 13.12 (90)

Goals:

ESSENDON: Hird 4, Alessio 3, Mercuri, Long, Calthorpe, Bewick 2, Grenvold 1.
WEST COAST: Ball, Worsfold 3, Heady 2, Banfield, Turley, Pyke, Gehrig, Matera 1.

Crowd:

About 40,000 at Subiaco Oval

Comment:

This was by far our most impressive win of the season. Even though the Eagles haven't really dominated this year, they are still considered by many to be the yard-stick of the competition, especially when played at home. The game started at a fast past, goal for goal, with Jimmy Hird lighting up the Essendon forward line. He kicked three goals in the first quarter, and really laid the foundation for a solid performance. The Eagles led at every change, and usually in Perth they take control of the game after half time, but to our credit we played possibly our best last quarter for the year. We kicked 4.5 to 1.3, giving us a winning margin of three goals. It was good to see Peter Somerville having one of his best performances in the ruck. He beat a number of Eagles ruckmen including Turnball, Hynes and Ball to give Essendon first chance at the footy nearly every time. Not only that, but he was able to palm the ball to a player, thus giving us every opportunity to break down the Eagles' defence. Darren Bewick played a marvellous game in front of his home crowd, kicking two goals and setting up a number of others. The battle between Long and Matera was a beauty, with Matera getting on top early, only to have Long shut him down in the last quarter and make some brilliant play himself. Undoubtedly the play of the day was when Jimmy Hird passed the ball from 60 metres out to the running Calthorpe, who was sprinting at full pace, who took the ball and ran into an open goal. This was a very important win for the Dons, who have passed one of their first real tests this year, and continue their dominance over the Eagles.

Standing after Round 8:

That win keeps us in third position, half a game ahead of Geelong, and half a game behind leaders Carlton and Richmond. Our percentage remains strong, equal with Geelong's. The ladder is as follows:

--------------P-W-L-D--For--Agst--%---Pts
CARLTON.......8 7 1 -  806  580 139.0 28
RICHMOND......8 7 1 -  732  672 108.9 28
ESSENDON......8 6 1 1  869  616 141.1 26
GEELONG.......8 6 2 -  931  660 141.1 24
WEST COAST....8 5 3 -  736  588 125.2 20
NORTH MELB....8 5 3 -  730  741  98.5 20
HAWTHORN......8 4 4 -  659  641 102.8 16
FOOTSCRAY.....8 4 4 -  691  850  81.3 16
Sydney........8 3 5 -  832  777 107.1 12
Fremantle.....8 3 5 -  800  819  97.7 12
Adelaide......8 3 5 -  611  661  92.3 12
Brisbane......8 3 5 -  768  864  88.9 12
Collingwood...8 2 5 1  695  767  90.6 10
Melbourne.....8 2 6 -  659  686  96.1  8
Fitzroy.......8 2 6 -  619  912  67.2  8
St. Kilda.....8 1 7 -  550  854  64.1  4

Next Week:

We play Footscray on "EJ Whitten Day". On paper this looks like an easy game for Essendon, but given the high that Essendon must invariably come off after beating the Eagles, and the emotion that will run through Footscray, this game could be tougher than it looks. But rest assured, the Bombers will come through victorious.

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