VelvetSledge
Moderator
- May 24, 2007
- 17,477
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- Liverpool FC, Melbourne Storm
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- #1
ESSENDON BOMBERS
A semi-half-decent kind of performance against the reigning premier.
Peter Wright was the pick of the Dons, slotting four goals as the talisman up forward.
Dylan Shiel stepped up in the absence of Zach Merrett, whilst Darcy Parish continued to rack up possessions.
Andrew McGrath was utilized as a tagger against arguably the best player in the game in Christian Petracca, and kept him quiet for most of the match.
Not much to really talk about here; it was a foregone conclusion that we'd lose, but we kept the margin relatively small.
Which is about as good a win as we can get right now.
MELBOURNE DEMONS 14.15 99
def.
ESSENDON BOMBERS 10.10 70
GOALS: Wright 4, Stringer 2, Cutler, McGrath, Perkins, Wanganeen
BEST: Shiel, Parish, Wright, Ridley
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ADELAIDE CROM
Who cares, watch this. What an ending. Also lol port
ADELAIDE CROWS 15.6 96
def.
PORT ADELAIDE 13.14 92
GOALS: Gollant, Himmelberg 4, Dawson 2, Cook, McHenry, Schoenberg, Sholl
BEST: Dawson, Laird, Crouch, Himmelberg, Keays
ESSENDON EMERGENCIES: Devon Smith, Ben Hobbs, Cody Brand, Aaron Francis
ADELAIDE EMERGENCIES: Luke Pedlar, Brayden Cook, Josh Worrell, Jackson Hately
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Subs are announced one hour prior to bounce
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Wholesale changes are not a thing that a side sitting at 0-3 needs, but here we are.
Unfortunately, and perhaps unsurprisingly, our best player, Jake Stringer, has a hamstring injury and is expected to miss a couple of weeks. Whilst most were calling for him to be dropped after one particular miserable effort a few weeks back, James Stewart will also miss a run of games with a calf injury. Devon Smith has dropped from the sub role back to the emergencies (but will probably be sub again), whilst Tom Cutler has been forced into health and safety isolation due to being a close contact to a COVID case. This is a bigger loss than expected, as Cutler has genuinely been one of our better players so far in 2022. That said, that doesn't say a hell of a lot.
The Dons will be buoyed by the return of small forward Will Snelling, now resplendent in the #11 jumper after the retirement/delisting of David Zaharakis last year. Alec Waterman's booming leg and laser-accuracy around goal will be a welcome inclusion if we can get the ball to him, and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher has been rewarded with some great VFL form with a promotion to the seniors. Zerk's contract extension last year was totally unexpected, but also totally welcome.
The Crows have injected quality into the side that won an all-time great Showdown last week, with captain Rory Sloane returning, alongside former captain and raging racist Taylor Walker.
Brayden Cook and young key position beast Darcy Fogarty have been dropped from the side, whilst Luke Pedlar was last week's sub.
Has anyone else lost almost all enthusiasm for the season in record time?
I understand starting at 0-3 would dampen most spirits, but I'm used to being disappointed - I am an Essendon fan after all.
It seems as though there's a lot happening throughout the game that's putting me off, and only a win will put me back on the wagon. With multiple teams that were at our level or below last year soaring to the upper echelon of the ladder whilst we prop it up from 18th, to the abysmal umpiring quality around the league, the game just doesn't capture the interest like it has before. For me, at least.
Of course, this isn't helped by the injury list we have - I can't remember the last time that our list wasn't ravaged by long-term injuries in the early part of the season. Last year, we had three bad injuries against Port in Round 2, and this time around, we're missing the likes of Merrett, Langford, and Stewart for weeks or months at a time. Injuries are part of the game, and the best teams manage them well and get players back as soon as possible, but also manage a degree of luck in avoiding them in the first place. Clearly, we aren't there yet, as injuries are already making a big indent into any sort of hope we have this season.
The draw hasn't been kind to us either - most people would have looked at the start of our season, seeing that we started with three of last year's top four, and would assume that we'd be 0-3. Whilst Round 1 was an abysmal aberration that should be consigned to the halls of bullshit forever, there has been a far more polished effort in the past two weeks. It's hard to watch your team lose, but we are a far better side than our record suggests. These next three weeks will be the real test for us. With an injury-depleted list, perhaps low on confidence, we go into today's match as favourites, and probably will do against Freo and Collingwood in the coming weeks.
It's up to the boys to win the interest back, and I'll back them in to do so.
ROUND 17, 2021
Marvel Stadium
9/7/2021
ESSENDON BOMBERS 11.18 84
def.
ADELAIDE CROWS 2.9 21
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ESSENDON GOALS: Perkins 3, Wright 2, Hooker, Stringer, Waterman, Snelling, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Jones
ADELAIDE GOALS: Murphy, Schoenberg
ESSENDON BEST: Merrett, Perkins, Redman, Hind, Ridley
ADELAIDE BEST: Laird, Smith, Schoenberg, O'Brien
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CHANGES SINCE LAST TIME:
ESSENDON OUTS: Merrett, Stringer, Cox, Cutler, Smith, Langford, Hooker, Gleeson, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Stewart, Jones
ESSENDON INS: Kelly, Heppell, Durham, McGrath, Phillips, Wanganeen, Caldwell, Martin, Zerk-Thatcher, Shiel
ADELAIDE OUTS: Seedsman, Kelly, Mackay, Hamill, Murray, Thilthorpe, Davis, Pedlar, Berry
ADELAIDE INS: Brown, Dawson, Himmelberg, Rachele, Walker, Gollant, Crouch, Hinge
Let's be honest, we've started this season against last year's Top 3. A genuine dogshit card to have been dealt.
Whilst this Adelaide side is on a wave of momentum after their brilliant win last week, we should have them covered. The last-minute injury to Stringer is a kick in the teeth, but it's time to get on the winners list.
Essendon by 7.
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