Despite the absence of several stars and carrying two debutants onto a soaked SCG, Essendon have hit back just as hard and as efficient as ever with a 47 point victory over Sydney tonight.
The critics that salivated during the week for an Essendon slide after unexpectedly going down to Carlton last Friday, were retreating in their droves as the Bombers mastered the difficult conditions and outplayed their opponents in an ominous performance.
As much as the Bombers were superb, the top of the ladder Swans were downright terrible, not registering a major score for almost two quarters while the visitors landed eleven goals.
Dustin Fletcher cut up the Sydney forwards playing loose in defence while captain James Hird’s slick skill set left many of the 40,000 plus crowd in awe with superb handling and balance on the wet surface.
The Swans had several opportunities to stay in the match, but from the moment Andrew Schauble goaled early in the second term to put his team just one goal in arrears, it was an Essendon procession.
On-baller Blake Caracella was another Bomber stand out, kicking three goals and collecting over twenty possessions.
But Dean Wallis’ return from suspension was less impressive, again opting to play the man in his cameo appearances.
Coach Kevin Sheedy likened first gamer Justin Peverill to former Bomber captain Gary O’Donnell after the young midfielder contributed significantly in the first half.
Starting the match in the centre, Peverill overshadowed opponent Wayne Schwass, kicking a goal and collecting several important possessions.
Hird described the win as one of the ‘best’ he’s been involved in which gives the Bombers a 45-4 win/loss ratio.
Michael O’Loughlin was easily the Swans’ best, playing across half-forward and presenting himself continually despite being outnumbered on many occasions.
But poor kicking and constant handling errors ensured Sydney were never going to challenge Essendon.
Adam Goodes (2 goals) was another who tried hard but his seven behinds tainted what could have been a match winning performance along with O’Loughlin who managed just one goal from five attempts.
Sydney’s early progress was stagnated by injuries to Rowan Warfe (shoulder), Leo Barry (ankle) and Daryn Creswell (elbow), while Greg Stafford played little part in the second half with rookie Stephen Doyle shouldered the rucking responsibilities.
But the class of Mark Mercuri (2 goals) and Mark McViegh (2 goals) up front and Adam Ramanskaus in the midfield was too much for the Swans and many of the pro-home crowd who left early.
The Swans still have several players to return including captain Paul Kelly, Brad Seymour, Dale Lewis and Jason Ball who was a late withdrawal from the selected side.
The Bombers can look forward to the return of Danny Jacobs, Justin Blumfield, Lloyd and Gary Moorecroft (suspension) next week, however Misiti will spend at least another eight weeks recovering from a knee injury.
ESSENDON 3.3 8.6 14.8 15.12 (102)
SYDNEY 1.5 2.6 4.13 6.19 (55)
Goals: Essendon: B Caracella 4 J Hird 2 M Mercuri 2 S Wellman M McVeigh D Hardwick P Barnard S Lucas D Peverill M Bolton.
Sydney: R Ahmat 2 T Luff A Schauble A Goodes M O'Loughlin
