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AFL

Durham drama as Bombers win Dreamtime classic

2023-05-20T22:30+10:00

The Bombers have come from the clouds and won a Dreamtime classic in front of a packed and vocal MCG crowd.

Essendon’s Sam Durham wrote himself into football folklore after his match-winning goal put the Bombers in front with only a few seconds left in the match.

Heading into the game both sides were desperate for a win as the Bombers looked to break a four-game losing streak and the Tigers looked to remain in touch with the top eight after a tough start to the season.

Before the match Indigenous players from both sides came together as a sign of unison and celebration of Indigenous people, their culture and what they have done for the game of Australian rules football.

The Tigers started the match strong as the Bombers struggled to move the ball freely and quickly. Richmond youngster Rhyan Mansell drew first blood for the Tigers with a set shot goal, the first of his two goals for the quarter.

However, the game began to open up as Essendon key forward Sam Weideman kickstarted his side with two goals within a minute, before Alwyn Davey junior snapped truly to give the Bombers a 10-point lead with six minutes left in the first quarter.

Richmond ruck-forward Samson Ryan was awarded a contentious mark and kicked truly from 15 metres out directly in front to slow the Bombers momentum as the game’s intensity increased.

Bombers small forward Will Snelling, who was brought into the side as a late replacement for an injured Dylan Shiel, snapped a goal to give the Bombers a two-point lead at quarter time.

Essendon star Jake Stringer got off to a slow start with only one handball in the first quarter.

After a face paced start to the match, in the second quarter both sides scoring slowed with only one goal, thanks to Tigers star Tim Taranto, being kicked in the first 16 minutes.

The Bombers in particular missed some very gettable opportunities with Weideman kicking three behinds as the game lost a bit of its polish.

It took the class of Richmond champion Dustin Martin to kick the second goal of the quarter and give the Tigers a six-point lead before Essendon’s Jye Menzie returned serve with a goal of his own a few minutes later.

A costly turnover from Essendon’s Jye Caldwell led to a late goal from Richmond’s Jack Graham giving the Tigers a five-point lead at half-time.

Essendon skipper Zach Merrett was dominant in the first half collecting 23 touches while Richmond’s Daniel Rioli was electric of the half-back flank with 16 touches at 81 percent efficiency.

The start of the third was similar to the start of the second as both sides struggled to make the most of their opportunities in a scrappy affair.

In the first clean transition of play for the quarter Merrett found Essendon forward Kyle Langford 20-metres out directly in front who kicked his first and tied the scores at 44 apiece.

Richmond hit back quickly after a poor handball from Essendon vice-skipper Andy McGrath led to a Shai Bolton walk-in goal.

But if Bolton’s first goal was simple, his second was anything but as he kicked a mesmerizing dribble kick goal while in traffic, on the boundary to give the Tigers a 12-point lead.

The combination of it being a must-win match for both sides, a packed MCG and the high-intensity nature of the match appeared to have an effect on the game as players from both sides made strange decisions and fundamental errors.

Former Adelaide Crows key forward Josh Jenkins questioned some of the decision making on SEN’s AFL Nation.

“There’s been some strange handballs putting teammates under enormous amounts of pressure,” Jenkins told SEN’s AFL Nation.

“Both teams just look out on their feet.”

The Tigers started the fourth quarter in fast fashion with Martin (24 touches, two goals) kicking his second goal of the match to give his side an 18-point lead.

Although the Tigers appeared in control of the match 10 minutes into the final term, the Bombers kicked two goals, thanks to Durham and Stringer, in 30 seconds to bring the margin back to six-points.

Another defensive error from McGrath allowed the Tigers to bounce back as Richmond substitute Judson Clarke was able to soccer through a goal on the line while tussling with Essendon’s Mason Redman.

But then, with under a minute remaining, came the hero of the match as Durham took a mark in the goalsquare and kicked his second goal of the term to put his side in front by a point with only a few seconds left.

Up at the Gabba, Brisbane have gone to the top of the ladder after they defeated cross-town rivals Gold Coast by 43-points.

The Suns brought the margin back to within a goal at the start of the last quarter, but the fast-finishing Lions were too strong as they piled on the next six goals to win comfortably.

In a fiery clash Joe Daniher continued on his good form kicking four goals while midfield duo Hugh McCluggage and Will Ashcroft both finished the match with 30 touches and a goal.

For the Suns, their top-10 pick from last year’s draft Bailey Humphrey continued on from his performance last week, where he won the Rising Star nomination for the round, as he collected 26 touches and kicked one goal.

FULL SCORE

Essendon: 4.1, 5.7, 6.10, 10.11 (71)

Richmond: 3.5, 6.6, 8.10, 10.10 (70)

GOALS

Essendon: Weideman 2, Menzie 2, Durham 2, Davey Junior, Snelling, Langford, Stringer

Richmond: Mansell 2, Bolton 2, Martin 2, Taranto, Ryan, Graham, Clarke

BEST

Essendon: Merrett, Redman, Ridley, Durham, Caldwell, McGrath

Richmond: Bolton, Taranto, Rioli, Martin, Balta, Short

Yiooken Award (best on ground): Zach Merrett

INJURIES

Essendon: Dylan Shiel late out (replaced by Will Snelling), Massimo D'Ambrosio was subbed on for Andrew Phillips

Richmond: Judson Clarke subbed on for Thomson Dow

CROWD TBC

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