Best Win Since 2000 No. 11
Round 2 2015 vs Hawthorn
| Essendon | 2.2.14 | 7.3.45 | 9.4.58 | 12.6.78 |
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| Hawthorn | 1.3.9 | 3.5.23 | 7.8.50 | 11.10.76 |
Context
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Essendon had started the season with a loss at the SCG to 2014 Grand Finalist, Sydney. The Bombers looked excellent until Sydney went on a 53-0 run to finish the game.
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Hawthorn had won back-to-back premierships and opened their season with a 10-goal thumping of Geelong.
Why it’s on the list / key moments
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For the second week running, the Bombers looked pretty comfortable in the 1st half as they kicked 7 of the first 8 goals.
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Off-season recruit, Adam Cooney, was receiving the loving “Coooooh” cheers from the crowd in his first home game in red-and-black. In the 2nd quarter, Cooney kicked a beautifully weighted pass inside 50 which Travis Colyer didn’t have to break stride for. Colyer fed off to Paul Chapman who ran into an open goal. Two minutes later, Zach Merrett snapped a goal of his own to make the scores 45-10.
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Early in the 3rd quarter, Travis Colyer kicked a fantastic drop punt set shot from outside the boundary line to slow the Hawks’ comeback.
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The Hawks had cut the margin to 3 points late in the 3rd quarter before the Bombers finally strung together some end-to-end football. Joe Daniher marked thanks to a good kick to advantage from Tom Bellchambers, before kicking his 3rd goal of the afternoon.
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Another goal drought left Essendon trailing 60-76 and facing a second consecutive 2nd half fade out. Jake Carlisle marked a long kick from David Zaharakis before kicking truly.
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With less than 2 minutes remaining, Cale Hooker marked on the last line of defense. He kicked quickly to Zaharakis at centre half back, who found Watson by hand, who himself found Carlisle. Carlisle chipped short to Chapman, who slipped at the 50m arc, but it worked out perfectly as Colyer zoomed past to receive the handball and kicked a low chip through the big sticks for a ripping goal.
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The Essendon home crowd could smell a win as the umpire waited to restart play. Jake Melksham cleared high and long to a huge pack inside the Bombers’ forward 50. The ball fell to Colyer, who handballed into space for Hooker to run onto. Hooker, with 7 career goals to his name at the time, caught up to the ball and snapped quickly. The ball wobbled through the air but right through the middle all the same. Scenes.
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Somehow there was still so much to unfold. Hawthorn went inside 50 soon after the restart. Hawk Jonathan Orourke had his snap at goal desperately smothered by Brent Stanton. The ball hung in the air, eventually landing in the lap of Hawthorn’s Brad Hill. Hill was immediately buried into the ground by Bomber Paddy Ambrose in what is surely one of the most iconic Essendon tackles of all time. Hill dropped the ball before he’d even hit the ground, but the umpire didn’t pay the free kick. Essendon cleared for a boundary throw-in. Hawthorn again were lucky not to give away a free kick, as the ball was dropped on the ground by a Hawthorn player while being tackled, before the ball was kicked along the ground out into space. Cyril Rioli kicked long to give Hawthorn one last roll of the dice. Luke Breust roved the marking contest perfectly, but the siren rang before he could win the game for the Hawks. Chef’s kiss.
Extra notes
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James Gwilt’s debut for Essendon.
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Essendon won the disposal count 435-376.
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Hawthorn won the clearances 49-29.
What happened next?
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Essendon’s season had already peaked. They floated around midtable until a horrific loss against Geelong in Round 10 seemed to be the straw that finally broke the camel’s back. The Bombers only won 2 games after the mid-season bye, and the losses were often very ugly. James Hird resigned as coach before the end of the season.
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Hawthorn won their 3rd consecutive flag.
Click here to go to best win #10.