The result marks the first time the Bombers have won at AAMI Stadium since round 16, 2000.
Wayne Carey put in his best game for Adelaide with a dominant six-goal effort, while Essendon’s Justin Murphy and Jason Johnson were prominent with 25 and 23 disposals respectively.
Mark Ricciuto led by example all evening to finish with 28 disposals, while Andrew McLeod, James Begley and Brett Burton had their moments. But overall, the Crows were down on the intensity that served them so well in Showdown XV.
The Bombers set the tone early, kicking the first four goals of the match to set up a 24-point lead.
The Essendon players ran hard with confidence while the Crows appeared tentative and weren’t afforded any time when in possession.
Tyson Edwards got the ball rolling for Adelaide with a goal from an excellent juggled mark but the Essendon onslaught continued unabated with majors to Damian Cupido and Murphy setting up a 30-point quarter-time lead.
The only negative in a superb opening term for the Bombers was the loss of inspirational skipper James Hird, who copped a stray finger in the eye in a marking contest.
McLeod kicked one of the ugliest goals of his career to even things up after Dean Solomon goaled soon after the restart, but while Adelaide managed to stem the tide it wasn’t able to reel in the Bomber lead.
Carey was easily the Crows’ most potent forward throughout the game and he added two goals in the second to keep Adelaide within striking distance at half time.
The Bombers were in front by 33 points but it was their turn to absorb some pressure.
Carey slotted his fourth and Adelaide had the momentum but failed to make it count on the scoreboard – scoring six consecutive points before Matthew Lloyd stepped in to break the game wide open for Essendon.
Well held by Nathan Bassett during the first half, Lloyd exploded into action with three goals in six minutes late in the term to extend the Bombers’ lead to 41 points at the last break.
Essendon was within reach of breaking its AAMI Stadium hoodoo but had to withstand a late charge by the Crows to get over the line.
Adelaide slammed through four unanswered goals in the first eight minutes of the last quarter including an inspirational bullocking Carey major that had the crowd on its feet.
The margin closed to 17 points before Adam McPhee steadied the ship for the Bombers with his first and goals to Dean Solomon and Scott Lucas soon after ended the Crows revival.
A disappointed Gary Ayres said his players are still a long way from achieving the consistency he demands of them.
“The pressure that Essendon put on us – both mentally and physically – I just didn’t think we handled that all (and) we had too many passengers tonight.”
“We just showed no resolve to hang in there right ‘til the end and lost in a pretty average way, I thought.”
“We’re not building any consistency and we’re not building any momentum. Talk is cheap. You can talk the talk but you’ve got to walk the walk and we certainly didn’t walk the walk tonight.”
Adelaide: 2.4, 5.6, 7.12, 12.12 (84)
Essendon: 7.4, 10.9, 14.11, 20.15 (135)
Goals: Adelaide: Carey 6, Bock, Hentschel, Burton, McLeod, Edwards, McGregor
Essendon: Lloyd 4, Lucas 3, Hille 2, M Johnson 2, Solomon 2, McPhee 2, Lovett-Murray, J Johnson, Murphy, Bolton, Cupido
Best: Adelaide: Carey, Ricciuto, McLeod, Begley, Clarke
Essendon: J Johnson, Murphy, Allan, Lucas, M Johnson, Solomon, Welsh
Injuries: Adelaide: Nil
Essendon: Hird (eye), Rioli (ankle)
Changes: Adelaide: Welsh (virus) replaced in selected side by S.Stevens
Essendon: Haynes (quad) replaced in selected side by Bullen
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Avon, McInerney, Goldspink
Crowd: 46,309 at AAMI Stadium
