Best Win Since 2000 No. 42
Round 10 2003 vs West Coast
| Essendon | 7.1.43 | 10.6.66 | 14.10.94 | 19.14.128 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 4.2.26 | 11.3.69 | 13.8.86 | 16.10.106 |
Context
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Essendon were 10th with an unfamiliar 4-5 W/L record. James Hird, Dustin Fletcher, Joe Misiti and Damian Peverill were all missing for the Bombers.
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West Coast were starting to show that they had the talent to challenge for premierships, sitting in 2nd with a 7-2 W/L record and the best percentage (130.0) in the competition.
Why it’s on the list / key moments
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AKA “The time Rob Forster-Knight played in both the VFL and AFL sides in one weekend”.
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The Bombers fielded a young and inexperienced side, many of whom would not go on to have overly successful AFL careers. The Eagles were only a fraction older, on average, but were boasting young superstars in the making such as Chris Judd (19 years of age), Daniel Kerr (20) and Dean Cox(21).
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The game would then swing back-and-forth all afternoon. Judd kicked a goal early in the 3rd quarter to give the Eagles an 8 point lead. The margin could have been much worse, as West Coast soon kicked 5 consecutive behinds in 4 minutes. Eventually, Essendon’s spurts of pressure and daring play proved to be enough.
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Matthew Lloyd caught Daniel Kerr stone cold with a tackle inside 50 early in the 4th quarter, only for the umpire to keep his whistle away. Lloyd followed up his own tackle and found Adam McPhee with a desperate handball, who snapped towards the goal square and had his kick shepherded through by Damian Cupido.
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The Eagles hit back again with the next 3 goals, reducing the margin to 9 points with a few minutes of play remaining. Ben Cousins, who earned himself a Brownlow vote for his efforts, thought he could run the ball out of defense, but he was instead caught by Cupido, who won himself a free kick and a deafening roar from the home fans. Cupido then goaled from the resulting set shot to all but seal the victory.
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A minute later, the Bombers transitioned from defense to attack in a flash, giving Cupido the time and space to toy with the Eagles defenders and eventually snap effortlessly from 40m to put the icing on the cake.
Extra notes
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Adam McPhee kicked 4 goals for Essendon. He’d only kick a bag of 4 one more time in his career.
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James Davies kicked the only goal of his Essendon career. It was his 3rd and final AFL game.
What happened next?
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Essendon lost their next two matches, first to Sydney in a (then rare) comprehensive defeat in Sydney, then to the Kangaroos in a tight Friday night game at Docklands. The Bombers managed to win an Elimination Final away to Fremantle before being easily accounted for by Port Adelaide in the Semi Finals.
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West Coast’s young side faded as finals approached, dropping from 2nd to 7th during the run home. They’d lose their Elimination Final against Adelaide by 56 points.
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