Best Win Since 2000 No. 14
Round 3 2004 vs West Coast
| Essendon | 8.0.48 | 10.1.61 | 16.3.99 | 22.5.137 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 3.0.18 | 7.5.47 | 15.8.98 | 20.11.131 |
Context
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Essendon had started the season 0-2, though both losses were to eventual top 4 sides, Port Adelaide and St Kilda. James Hird had been fined $20,000 and heavily scrutinised for his criticism of umpire Scott McLaren on The Footy Show during the week. Hird had called McLaren’s umpiring “disgraceful”.
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West Coast had started the season 1-1, though the loss was to Port Adelaide by only 3 points.
Why it’s on the list / key moments
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AKA “The Hird hugging the fan game”.
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James Hird’s heroics rescued the match from going down in the history books as a game that slipped away from the Bombers’ grasp. His last quarter was one of the best of his career and brought with it one of the AFL’s most iconic moments at Docklands stadium.
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Essendon burst out of the blocks with 8 straight goals to be 48-0 up after less than 20 minutes. The Eagles kicked the next 4 to make it a contest. By HT the margin was down to 14 points. The Eagles had turned the game around and led the scoring shots. The Eagles hit the front late in the 3rd quarter, but Matthew Lloyd kicked his 4th goal of the quarter to give the Dons a 1 point lead at 3QT.
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Nathan Lovett-Murray, in only his 2nd game, snapped a brilliant goal from a couple of metres inside the boundary line to put the Bombers 7 points up midway through the 4th quarter.
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As the score read 125-125, Matthew Lloyd took a one-hander while being manhandled by Trent Carroll. He converted to give the Bombers what many hoped was the winning goal. Damian Adkins soon answered again for the Eagles to tie the scores.
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Lloyd should have been paid a freekick 25m out after copping an arm across his shoulder in a marking contest. No free kick was paid and eventually a ball-up was called. Enter James Hird. In the commentary box, Robert Walls delivered one of the most prophetic calls of all time…
“James Hird got that ball out of the centre bounce. He’s moving down towards this contest. If anybody’s going to get it, it’ll be James.”
Ironically, Hird can probably thank poor umpiring for the chance to win the game himself. Essendon ruckman David Hille caught Eagles star Chris Judd stone cold, but somehow no free kick was paid as the ball flew out of Judd’s hands. The ball spilled towards Marc Bullen, who played his part by handballing out to Hird who, on a tight angle in the pocket, snapped for an incredible goal. Hird proceeded to run up to a front-row Bomber fan and hug him like he was a teammate. -
Matthew Lloyd was absolutely superb despite the game being remembered for Hird’s matchwinning goal. Lloyd was picture perfect in front of goal, finishing with 8.0, and took some fantastic marks along the way.
Extra notes
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James Hird received no Brownlow votes for his 34 disposals, 8 clearances and 3 goals. Chris Judd received 1 vote for his 23 disposals, 8 clearances and no goals.
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Ricky Dyson’s debut for Essendon.
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Mark Mercuri kicked his last ever goals for Essendon. He kicked 3 on the night before going goalless in his remaining 7 career matches.
What happened next?
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The win kicked off a great run of results for Essendon as they won their next 5 games. The Bombers were top 4 by the halfway point of the season, but their form deteriorated, eventually finishing 8th with very little steam. The Bombers found one last wind to knock off 5th-placed Melbourne in an Elimination Final, but left it all too late in their Semi-Final loss to Geelong.
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West Coast beat the Bombers handily in the return fixture in Perth and pipped the Bombers to 7th place on the ladder. Sydney booted the Eagles out of the finals at the first hurdle. Who knew they’d play each other in the next 2 Grand Finals?
Click here to go to best win #13.