Essendon has broken their duck, beating Melbourne at the MCG in a rollercoaster game of football by 18 points.
Both teams exchanged streaks of goals, with Essendon’s eight in a row in the third term the difference in the end.
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti was the star of the show, kicking four goals and lighting up the Demons with his pace and pressure.
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Lyon blasts “embarrassing” Melbourne third term
When Max Gawn kicked a goal late in the second quarter, the Dees led by 13, having kicked six goals in a row.
From there, the Bombers would go on to kick the next eight and lead by as much as 33 late in the third.
AFL Nation expert Garry Lyon believes the Dees got ahead of themselves and dropped their guard.
“It’s embarrassing what’s happened,” Lyon said.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Essendon, but I can’t help but think they went in at half-time Melbourne and patted themselves on the back.
“Angus Brayshaw gave the interview and said we can beat anyone when we play like that. They’ve come out here and had an insipid 25 minutes.
“You can’t help but think a very cocky Melbourne at half-time are thinking are we going to get smashed, we’re going to go 0-3, we’re not going to make finals.”
The Talking Point: Top four fancy Dees slump to 0-3
As good as the win was for Essendon, the story of the night is the fact that the premiership-fancied Demons are winless after three weeks of footy.
Only Sydney has made finals from this position in recent memory and the Dees have the Swans (away), Richmond, Hawthorn, West Coast (away) and GWS between now and Round 10.
Experts praised the Dees for their list build in this pre-season and proclaimed them ready to take on all comers.
It’s a steep hill to climb from here, however.
The Moment: Zac Clarke’s blunder
Taking a mark inside 50 and turning your back on what’s happening ahead of you is risky, especially when it turns out you have two players free, essentially in the goal square.
This happened to Essendon ruckman Zac Clarke, who marked 30 meters out directly in front after some great running from Darcy Parish.
He took the mark, turned his back on the goals and went back for the set shot. He missed.
SEN footy expert Garry Lyon shook his head.
“That is as unforgivable as you will get in footy,” Lyon told AFL Nation.
“You hold your breath because if you kick it, we’ll shut up, but what he did was as big a no-no as you’ll ever get.”
What’s next?
Melbourne face a six-day break before heading to the SCG to take on Sydney. All the pressure is now on the Dees to save their season and get a win over the Swans. Could they slump to 0-4?
The Bombers meanwhile face a confident Brisbane side at the MCG on Saturday afternoon. It should be a fast-paced game between two attacking sides.
Full Score
Melbourne: 3.1, 10.1, 12.3, 18.4. (112)
Essendon: 6.4, 8.6, 15.6, 20.10. (130)
GOALS
Melbourne: Hunt 3, Harmes 3, Melksham 2, Lockhart 2, Weideman 2, Gawn, Kolodjashnij, Neal-Bullen, Petracca, Wagner, Brayshaw
Essendon: McKernan 4, McDonald-Tipungwuti 4, Stringer 4, Fantasia 2, Smith 2, Parish, Baguley, McGrath, Zaharakis
BEST
Melbourne: Brayshaw, Gawn, Oliver, Harmes, Hunt, Fritsch
Essendon: McDonald-Tipungwuti, Heppell, McKernan, Shiel, Stringer, Zaharakis, Parish
Reports: Nil
Injuries: Mutch (hamstring)