A see-sawing and enthralling Dreamtime clash has seen Richmond walk away with a 39-point victory, however footy was the real winner on a fantastic night for the game.
The only negative on the night came as the umpires consistently missed obvious holding the ball free kicks, somewhat of a let down from the fantastic spectacle.
Two neutral teams sold out a game 3,500 kilometres away, and the best team of the competition of the last four years proved why they have that mantle, delivering a huge response when initially overrun in the last quarter.
In a nutshell, The Tigers had most of the game on their terms, yet Essendon were never too far gone from making a comeback.
They proved that in the last quarter, bursting out of the blocks to kick the first four goals and take the lead.
But when challenged, it was the cool heads of the Tigers who found a way, going from down and out to huge winners in the space of twenty minutes.
However, even with the enormity of the game and its ramifications, the failure of the umpires to call holding the ball in clear contrast to the rules was one of the biggest talking points from the match.
There were five or six memorable moments from the clash where even the players had stopped, yet the men in green called ‘play on'.
As blatant a free kick as you’ll see was somehow missed by the standing umpire when Essendon defender Jordan Ridley had Tiger Jake Aarts dead to rights, the ball spilling free after Aarts had ample time to dish it off.
The players around the ball genuinely stopped, setting up for an Essendon free kick. However, there was no whistle, sending Bombers fans into a tailspin.
This wasn't paid holding the ball. 🧐#AFLDonsTigers pic.twitter.com/7ksSFP8Duu
— SEN 1116 (@1116sen) June 5, 2021
Chuck it, drop it, go your hardest fellas. #playon
— Andy Maher (@AndyMaherDFA) June 5, 2021
Now this is getting ridiculous- just pay what we all expect to be a free kick.
— David King (@davidking34) June 5, 2021
Recap an incredible last quarter, and a Bomber proved he had his mate’s back with an incredible performance.
Here’s everything you need to know!
A ridiculous last quarter:
The Bombers left their three-quarter time huddle 22 points down, not much hope against the reigning premiers. However, an early goal to Cale Hooker got the ball rolling, and when a downfield free kick saw Hooker have two in five minutes, the Bombers were a chance.
The fourth quarter was full of huge individual efforts, and McDonald-Tipungwuti’s effort to weave out of trouble and hit Langford on the chest with his first kick of the game was breathtaking.
Langford would goal, and Alec Waterman - a last name famous in the west - would put the Bombers in front to the loudest cheer you’ll ever here for a team away from home at Optus Stadium.
The Bombers had all the momentum, and seemed set to run away with the game, until some big names stepped in.
Jason Castagna kicked his third to put the Tigers back infront, before Shai Bolton weaved some magic close to goal and put Richmond two kicks up.
The moment of the last quarter belonged to Dustin Martin, who’d had a big game but a quiet last quarter. He would mark 52 metres out with less than ten minutes to play and launch a bomb from 55 metres that was never going to miss.
Bolton would provide one last highlight, spinning out of trouble twice to kick the sealer.
It capped an incredible game of football, one where Richmond were just that touch too classy when it mattered.
McGrath out early sees Parish stand up and break Essendon disposal record:
Young guns Andy McGrath and Darcy Parish have a bit of a bromance going on, but they showed the extent of it on Saturday evening.
Playing together in the midfield all season, former number one draft pick McGrath went down early with a knee injury that saw him end the game in a brace.
However, that just opened the door for Parish to go bonkers, and go bonkers he did. The young gun had 25 disposals at half-time to finish up with 44 possessions and 11 clearances in a clear best on ground performance.
It was also the most disposals by an Essendon player ever, and a performance that won him the Yiooken Award for the best on ground.
Hopefully for Bombers fans McGrath won’t be out too long, but either way they’ll rest assured they’ve got one of the in-form midfielders of the competition.
And that’s without mentioning Zach Merrett, who was also huge with 32 disposals.
What’s next?
The Tigers moved two games clear inside the eight with Saturday night’s win, solidifying their spot in the eight for now.
They’ve got one more game before the bye, against the Eagles next Sunday night in a game that was rescheduled on Saturday.
Win that and they’ll be knocking on the door of the top four, but lose and give up the security of staying in the eight week to week.
The Bombers may now head into their upcoming bye two games out of the eight if the Eagles win on Sunday, and will likely need to win seven of their last ten games if they are to play finals.
It was a gallant performance against the reigning premiers, but Bombers’ fans now realise honourable losses won’t do much come the end of the season.
FULL SCORE
Essendon: 1.2, 5.4, 8.10, 12.12. (84)
Richmond: 4.3, 8.7, 12.8, 19.9 (123)
GOALS
Essendon: Hooker 3, Ham 3, Waterman 2, Langford, Cox, Phillips, Stringer
Richmond: Martin 3, Castanga 3, Bolton 3, Riewoldt 2, Coleman-Jones 2, Graham 2, Balta, Caddy, McIntosh, Rioli
BEST
Essendon: Parish, Merrett, Langford, Cox, Hooker
Richmond: Bolton, Martin, Graham, Castanga, Riewoldt
INJURIES
Essendon: McGrath (knee)
Richmond: Dion Prestia (hamstring tightness)
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