Best Win Since 2000 No. 8
Elimination Final 2004 vs Melbourne
| Melbourne | 5.2.32 | 6.5.41 | 13.6.84 | 15.9.99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essendon | 5.2.32 | 11.6.72 | 11.10.76 | 15.14.104 |
Context
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Essendon scraped into the finals in unconvincing fashion, winning 2 of their last 4 Home & Away season matches - the 2 wins coming against sides that finished in the bottom 4.
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Melbourne were outright ladder leaders after Round 18. A hefty loss to eventual premiers, Port Adelaide, started a collapse down the ladder, as they lost 4 on the trot to finish 5th.
Why it’s on the list / key moments
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The Bombers found a bit of magic when it mattered to win an unpredictable and exciting game of football.
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Early in the game, Melbourne’s Aaron Davey steamed in to the 50m arc from the bench-side wing and unleashed a kick towards the goalsquare. It looked like it was sailing through for a goal, but Dustin Fletcher glided across to mark on the goal line. Fletcher immediately kicked a trademark 55m drop punt to kick off an Essendon counter-attack along the opposite wing. Before you knew it, the ball was kicked deep inside forward 50 and found its way into James Hird’s lap, who floated through his set shot for a goal.
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Throughout the 1st quarter, Essendon made effective use of the width of the MCG, frequently switching the play as they brought the ball out of defense and backing themselves to win the 50-50s in space. They rushed to a 31-7 lead before Melbourne kicked 4 in a row to level the scores at QT.
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After Adam Yze kicked the opener for Melbourne in the 2nd quarter, the Bombers went on a 6-goal run. Matthew Lloyd appeared to be hungry for another 100 goal season tally, as he kicked 4 up to HT, including a 60m bomb to put Essendon back in front.
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Mark McVeigh kicked a neat snap to put Essendon 19 points up after the Bombers went to coast-to-coast after some desperate defending. Minutes later, Hird squeezed a dribble kick under the outreached arms of Demon Jared Rivers. By the time Hird delivered a perfect pass to Lloyd, who then converted from 45m out, it was hard to imagine Essendon could find a way to lose.
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Melbourne came out firing after HT, kicking 6.1 to 0.4 in the 3rd quarter. Almost an hour passed before the Bombers finally kicked their next goal through David Hille, who took a strong contested mark before levelling the scores at 84-84. Lloyd had gone cold, kicking 4 consecutive behinds. The Bombers needed some other big men to step up.
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The Dees again took the lead, only for Hird to set up Scott Lucas who chipped in with a goal to level the scores once more. Hille was in the thick of the action. His tap from a stoppage just inside 50 found Hird, who gave it back to Hille after holding off his Dees opponent, the late Troy Broadbridge. Hille squeezed a handball out to a teammate before chasing a high hack kick by Dean Solomon and marking despite being far out of position. The big ruckman squeezed through the set shot from a tight angle to put Essendon back in front by 5 points.
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At 97-97 on the scoreboard, Jason Johnson drilled a low kick inside 50 towards Hille in a 1-on-1 in the goalsquare. Hille gave a slight nudge to his opponent, Alistair Nicolson, before swivelling to kick the bobbling ball off the ground and through for a brilliantly improvised goal to put Essendon up by 6.
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A rushed behind with seconds on the clock meant the Bombers had a kickout with only a 5-point lead. Fletcher chipped short to Sean Wellman, who saw no easy options and did what most of us would probably have done too - kick it to Hird. Hird read the ball and used his body superbly to take a clutch one-handed mark while holding off Troy Broadbridge. The siren soon rang with the ball in Hird’s hands. Hird tossed the ball into the air in relief. Somehow the Bombers had made it to at least the 2nd week of the finals for the 6th year in a row.
Extra notes
- Melbourne’s Troy Broadbridge’s last match of AFL football. Broadbridge tragically passed away during a tsunami the following summer while on his honeymoon in Thailand.
What happened next?
- Essendon faced Geelong at the MCG in the Semi-Finals. The up-and-coming Geelong side had a comprehensive 42-point lead late in the 3rd quarter. The Bombers only mustered 2 goals in over an hour of play until Jason Johnson kicked 2 of his own before 3QT. A quick burst from the Bombers, including a genius checkside by Hird from the boundary, reduced the margin to 15 points with just over 5 minutes remaining, but it was too little too late, despite Hird doing everything in his power to will the side over the line.
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