Essendon

Essendon have edged out a gallant Adelaide 97-87 at Marvel Stadium to break the hoodoo and claim their first win of season 2022.

It was ruckman Sam Draper, though, that dealt the decisive blow and snapped through a goal with three minutes to go to put the Bombers out to a 10-point lead that eventuated to be too much for the Crows to overcome, despite a late goal from Lachlan Gollant. The 24-year-old, who came third in Essendon’s best and fairest last year, missed the first three rounds because of a calf strain and was returning for his first game of the year, but he only managed one half before the calf injury seemingly re-surfaced. The topsy-turvy affair was one both sides would have been confident they could walk away with a win, as the Bombers had faced three of the top four teams from last season in the lead-up, and the Crows defeated Port Adelaide in the showdown last week.

Essendon is finally on the board in 2022 after narrowly beating Adelaide.

He is a natural forward with tremendous goal sense, and he looks certain to cause plenty of headaches for opposition defenders and coaches. He followed that up with a goal and touches in round two, before kicking a goal and 10 possessions a week later. Having served his six-game sanction for racial abuse at a SANFL game in 2021, the former Crows skipper was somewhat of a surprise immediate inclusion. Snelling played 20 games in 2021, and has appeared 42 times for the Dons since being drafted at pick No.7 in the 2019 mid-season rookie draft from SANFL club West Adelaide. Walker dribbled through his second to cut the margin to two points. Wright was the star of the opening term, continuing his fine start to 2022.

Essendon won clearances 13-8 and centre clearances 6-2, with Parish, Andrew McGrath (25 touches) and Jye Caldwell (23 disposals and a goal) all busy. The teams ...

Walker dribbled through his second to cut the margin to two points. And the 2018 Crichton Medal winner had an immediate impact, shooting out a handball to Nic Martin, who snapped truly. Wright was the star of the opening term, continuing his fine start to 2022. Sam Draper (one goal) appeared to be the unlikely hero when he kicked just the fourth goal of his career, but Lachlan Gollant (one goal) gave the Crows a pulse. The teams traded goals early in the second quarter with Josh Rachele (three goals) adding his second after five minutes, before Mason Redman (19 touches and a goal) replied in quick succession. In one of the matches of the year, and with the game still up for grabs in the final minute, the Ben Rutten-less Bombers prevailed 15.13 (103) to 15.9 (99).

Essendon, conversely, looked settled and confident. The Bombers, who reviewed themselves after a dismal 2020 season, had responded well to the coaching change ...

The notion of “Richmond exceptionalism”, as a colleague described it, placed greater store in culture than talent. In fairness, the Blues didn’t rely solely on very high picks like Walsh, having also struck gold with moderate first round picks in 2015 when they drafted key forwards McKay (pick 10) and Curnow (12), in addition to grabbing a no-brainer choice in Weitering at pick No 1. As with Melbourne - which played finals once (2018) over a 15-year stretch - repeated failure and cultural deficits have brought an opportunity to bring in elite talent. Carlton has them, in part because the Blues have played finals only once since 2011 and have had more access to elite talent. I’d venture that the aforementioned Carlton quartet - their awesome foursome, if you like - are more valuable or influential than any Essendon player, Merrett included, and that the younger Curnow has a higher ceiling than Essendon’s cream. Essendon, minus Merrett and Stringer, is fielding a team that lacks for seasoned stars.

Follow the live scores, stats and results below. Gold Coast vs Carlton. Team stats. Match Stats ...

But the Crows reeled in the Bombers and Essendon led by eight at half-time, as Will Snelling (calf) was substituted off for Devon Smith. The Bombers led by seven at the first break and big goals to Wright and Caldwell gave them a 16-point lead midway through the second quarter He put two goals on the board from free kicks in the first two minutes after he was pushed in the back by Paton and then caught the Saints defender holding the ball. Ryder kicked two goals from 10 disposals but will attract scrutiny from the match review officer over a late bump on Will Day, who was substituted out of the match with a concussion. But the Hawks clash was a comparative Sunday stroll as St Kilda posted their highest score under Brett Ratten in the 22.10 (142) to 10.13 (73) win at the MCG. Earlier, Essendon got off the mark in 2022 with a narrow and tense win over Adelaide, while a red-hot St Kilda side wiped Hawthorn off the MCG.

Essendon have hung on against a surging Adelaide to claim a four-point victory and finally get their AFL season off the mark.

"Today a few of the players were cramping as well. "We will fight, we'll give it everything. "I was a bit excited this morning before the game, but once I got to the game it was business as usual," Caracella said. "It was a really great effort, for the boys to dig in late when it looked like it could go either way." We've had a bit of the flu go through the club as well and three or four of the players were a bit dicey on playing. "It gives the players a lot of confidence," Caracella said.

Essendon have registered their first win for the season, the Bombers breathing a sigh of relief at Marvel Stadium on Sunday afternoon when the siren sounded ...

The crowd found their voice and Essendon’s desperation was palpable, but Draper sealed the deal to audible relief from the red and black faithful. Essendon scrambled in their left forward pocket, eventually managing a major off the boot of livewire small Devon Smith. The No.6 pick from the 2021 AFL draft finished the day with three goals, 19 disposals and nine marks. The Crows replied through James Rowe and Walker respectively. And [it was the] same against Melbourne last week, we were 10 points down with seven minutes to go, so the competency is there” he said. Veteran Crow Taylor Walker made a four-goal return for the Crows after serving a six-week suspension for making racist remarks.

Essendon stand-in coach Blake Caracella said the team had been dealing with a number of off-field issues this week.

"He's done a load of work, to work on being a better person, as we all are. We just saw Essendon playing in a game of footy that they love to play in … fast, up and back, we allowed the corridor." "There was a few things we didn't get right in the first half … stoppage, they were hurting us, killing us out of there, spitting forward, and we didn't get that done well. you know, we played some good teams in the first three games, top four teams," he said. Three or four players were a bit dicey on playing. "It (the win) gives the players a lot of confidence, not to say we…