An inspired Essendon have consolidated their spot in the top eight, while simultaneously extinguishing West Coast’s hopes of a finals berth on the back of a thrilling three-point come-from-behind win.
West Coast looked to have the upper hand at the start of the second half and threatened to run away with the match, but Essendon were relentless, pegging the Eagles back to come away 11.11 (77) to 11.8 (74) victors at Etihad Stadium.
With both sides effectively playing for a position in the final eight, the match started with finals-like intensity and it carried forth throughout.
Jobe Watson made an immediate impact in his first game back from a serious hamstring injury, kicking a goal within the first 13 seconds of the opening bounce. But from then on, the Eagles did most of the scoring.
Essendon looked out on their feet early into the third quarter as West Coast piled on another goal to extend their lead to a sizeable 34 points at the nine-minute mark and they could almost sense a finals spot within their grasp. But the Bombers refused to give in, kicking the next five goals of the term within the space of 11 minutes to head into the last break 11 points in arrears.
As the last quarter kicked off, so did Essendon, who continued with the same run and momentum that they finished the third quarter with. They went on to kick two goals and take the lead, and it was enough in the end as they held the Eagles goalless.
Dyson Heppell was scintillating for Essendon after being well-held in the first half to just 10 disposals. But as has been a common theme this season, he stood up when the game was on the line, picking up 13 and 15 disposals in the third and fourth quarters respectively to finish with 38 disposals (14 contested) and 4 clearances.
Travis Colyer (24 disposals), David Zaharakis (31 disposals), Michael Hibberd (32 disposals) Jason Winderlich (3 second-half goals) were other key contributors for the Bombers.
For the Eagles, Shannon Hurn (23 disposals, 10 marks), Matt Priddis (25 disposals, 11 clearances) and Josh Kennedy (3 goals) were the stand-outs.
West Coast drop to eleventh spot on the ladder, and will play out their season against Melbourne and Gold Coast.
Meanwhile Essendon face fellow finals aspirants Gold Coast next week, and round out the home-and-away season against arch-rivals Carlton, who will be looking to extinguish the Bomber’s finals hopes for the second consecutive season.
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