Autopsy 2023 Scratch Match v Essendon @ Austworld Centre Oval (Thurs, 23 Feb, 4:00pm AEST)

[Jen2310]

HAHAH Essendon

Too hot in the Sun?​

Since the AFL did away with an official preseason competition, practice matches have become a little less formal, to the point where teams agree to play anywhere between four and eight quarters, with or without time on.

But Essendon players were surprised, to say the least, when they got on the bus home following their hitout with Gold Coast, and saw Suns players still out on the field at Carrara, playing among themselves. “I thought you said they were done?” quizzed one senior player to a football department staffer.

Despite agreeing to six quarters, the game was called off after five. Essendon told their players it was at the behest of the Suns, but turns out it was the other way around.

Could young Blue become a Swans King?

Carlton’s Tom De Koning, known to his teammates as “King”, is about to be the subject of a royal rumble for his services. Plus, North Melbourne’s unusual pitch for Jack Bowes and the story behind a practice game cut short.

www.theage.com.au

 

[GC2015]

HAHAH Essendon

Could young Blue become a Swans King?

Carlton’s Tom De Koning, known to his teammates as “King”, is about to be the subject of a royal rumble for his services. Plus, North Melbourne’s unusual pitch for Jack Bowes and the story behind a practice game cut short.

www.theage.com.au

I was actually walking past as the Essendon players were getting on the bus and they definitely looked puzzled when they saw our boys still on the field running laps and doing kicking drills. That really says something about the Bombers if they are openly lying to their players about their opposition forfeiting when in fact it was your club that forfeited. You could tell in that fifth quarter that Essendon's players were really struggling with the conditions and our mostly VFL team were really starting to get on a roll against them. So much so that Sexton actually had a chance to win the game with a kick after the... fifth quarter 10 minute siren? I'm confident we would have handed the Bombers a pretty hefty loss if that match had kept going but unfortunately they pulled the pin. Just a really strange situation all round but I'm guessing Essendon's coaching staff saw their players struggling and tried to put a stop to it before they lost the lead so the players would walk away from the match feeling like they won.