The Essendon Bombers took their second win of the AFL season on Saturday, knocking over the Gold Coast Suns by a goal at Etihad Stadium.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Essendon Bombers 11.9.75
Gold Coast Suns 9.15.69
The Essendon Bombers are looking for just their second win of the season when they face the Gold Coast Suns at Etihad Stadium. Join us on The Roar from 1:10pm (AEST) to follow all the action.
2016 has played out as many expected for the depleted Bombers.
In his first year in charge, John Worsfold has done well to keep his mixture of rookies and veteran top-up players interested, despite constant losses.
The Dons sit on the bottom of the ladder and look set to get the next number one draft pick, barring a couple of upset wins.
Despite the tough circumstances, Essendon will likely benefit in the long run, as they have been able to get plenty of game time into the likes of Darcy Parish, Orazio Fantasia and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, who all look promising.
The Suns looked a force to be reckoned with early in the season, but things took a turn as injuries and suspensions piled up, ultimately ruining any chance Rodney Eade’s men had of playing finals.
Like the Bombers, the Gold Coast have got plenty of game time into youngsters this season, as they look to avoid the dreaded rebuild so early in the club’s history.
One shining light has been the form of spearhead Tom Lynch, who looks to be the cornerstone they can build a forward line around in the years to come.
A key battle that will help decide the result of this game is Joe Daniher against Steven May, as the in-form key forward takes on the Suns’ number one defender.
Down the other end of the field, the Bombers need to contain Lynch and Peter Wright.
The recent record won’t mean much in this game, as both teams are just looking for the season to be over, so it will ultimately come down to whoever has the most petrol left in the tank.
Prediction
While they are still without a number of their stars due to injury, the Suns should get the chocolates.
Suns by 25 points.
Join us on The Roar from 1:10pm (AEST).
Darce
Guest
What a great win !!! "Long to Daniher" - pretty good. But what were the Umpires thinking? They did their best to stuff up our chances. We had a lot more of the ball in all areas. but the Maggots said 10 extra frees to the Suns! Lift your game Umps!
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» Click here to read the full match report 3 David Zaharakis David Zaharakis was best on ground with this game with 40 disposals, six tackles, four marks, four clearances and six inside 50s. 2 Touk Miller Touk Miller did everything he could for the Suns on his way to 39 disposals, one goal, eight score involvements, seven marks, four tackles, four clearances and 11 inside 50s. 1 Patrick Ambrose This vote could have gone to any member of the Bombers defence but I have given it to Paddy Ambrose for his job on Tom Lynch and the fact he racked up 17 disposals, three marks, three tackles and five rebound 50s in a gutsy performance.
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Thanks for joining me today folks! Stay tuned for my match summary and votes. Also there are plenty of blogs on The Roar today to get involved in.
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FULL TIME The Bombers hold their nerve to win! BOMBER 75 SUNS 69
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GOAL SUNS Tom Lynch gets a free kick and drills it. 14 secs to go Q4 Bombers 75 Suns 69
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BEHIND SUNS Peter Wright has a snap under pressure and misses. BEHIND SUNS The Bombers punch two in a row through. 1:05 to go Q4 Bombers 75 Suns 63
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BEHIND BOMBERS Cooney has a shot on his left but it dribbles through for a point. 2:20 to go Q4 Bombers 75 Suns 60
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BEHIND SUNS Tom Lynch wins a free kick in a marking contest. From 25 out on a slight angle he drags it to the left. 4:06 to go Q4 Bombers 74 Suns 60
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BEHIND SUNS Lynch has a shot from 50 out on the run but misses to the right. 5:58 to go Q4 Bombers 74 Suns 59
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RUSHED BEHIND SUNS The Bombers rush it over. Some weeks that's deliberate, sometimes its not. 7:20 to go Q4 Bombers 74 Suns 58
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GOAL BOMBERS Craig Bird marks a wobbling ball that comes inside 50. The veteran goes back and drills the set shot. 8:18 to go Q4 Bombers 74 Suns 57
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RUSHD BEHIND SUNS The Suns go forward but the Bombers rush it over. 11:00 to go Q4 Bombers 68 Suns 57
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BEHIND BOMBERS Rosa turns it over to Stokes who finds Jake Long with the pass inside 50. The debutant goes close but it is touched on the line. 11:25 to go Q4 Bombers 68 Suns 56
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GOAL BOMBERS Daniher finds Fantasia on the lead with a smart pass from the middle of the ground. Fantasia makes no mistake with the set shot. 14:18 to go Q4 Bombers 67 Suns 56
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GOAL BOMBERS Joe Daniher almost pulls down a hue pack mark and is now in the hands of the trainers. Most likely winded. Jackson Merrett dribbles a snap through on the run. 15:54 to go Q4 Bombers 61 Suns 56
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GOAL BOMBERS Laverde finds Brown who marks on 50. He goes back and goes bang! 18:08 to go Q4 Bombers 55 Suns 56
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The final stanza is underway at Etihad! Who wins it from here?
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THREE QUARTER TIME Another scrappy term by both sides. Gold Coast were the better side but they couldn't kick away to any sort of lead. The Bombers defence led by Mitch Brown and James Kelly were great that term. This game is still well and truly up for grabs as both teams look for a rare win. What did you think of that half? Bombers 49 Suns 56 Touk Miller has moved to 32 touches, while David Zaharakis has 30 after a quitter quarter. Mitch Brown leads the way with 9 marks. Craig Bird is leading with 6 tackles.
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GOAL BOMBERS McKenna wins a free kick and gets a sizeable 50 metre penalty. He flushes it from 50. 3:32 to go Q3 Bombers 49 Suns 56
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BEHIND SUNS Rosa gets away a rushed snap that bounces through for a point. 6:00 to go Q3 Bombers 43 Suns 56