Essendon cruised to victory over the Western Bulldogs in the first unofficial practice match of the AFL pre-season, and an SSP hopeful was one of the obvious standouts.
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Fuelled by a five-goal-to-one second quarter and a four-goal second half from SSP chance Tom Edwards, the Bombers surged past the Bulldogs 11.11 (77) to 8.10 (58) at Whitten Oval.
A nimble Sam Draper snapped impressively from the pocket to give the Bombers their first goal of the afternoon.
“Great athleticism from the big man to pick it up and snap a goal … Brilliant stuff,” Fox Footy caller Ben Waterworth said.
Former Essendon captain and 253-gamer Dyson Heppell added: “He’s got plenty of tricks, you certainly don’t know what he’s going to do. Sometimes they come off, and that’s an absolute pearler from ‘Drapes’, very nice.”
Bombers supporters were also licking their lips having been treated to the play of prized first-round draft pick Isaac Kako, who provided plenty of forward-half pressure in the early going, laying a pair of punishing tackles.
After kicking the Dogs’ second of the afternoon, burgeoning key forward Sam Darcy followed up with a stellar contested mark in the forward pocket.
He couldn’t capitalise with the left-footed snap, nor with a more straightforward set shot later in the quarter, but the early signs of involvement were encouraging as he prepares to lead the Dogs’ forward-line alongside Aaron Naughton.
Later, speedy midfielder Ed Richards snapped from stoppage to extend the Dogs’ first-quarter lead to 12 points near quarter-time.
Rain absolutely bucketed down to start the second stanza, and while it was short-lived, it made for a soapy Sherrin as the Dons started to take control of the contest.
Playing a forward-half role with a Jake Stringer-sized void to fill this season, Archie Perkins marked and goaled as Essendon crept to within five points halfway through the second quarter.
An opportunistic Perkins later swung a boot at a loose ball inside 50 to add his second major of the term, giving the Dons a slender lead.
Livewire Kako kicked his first goal in Essendon colours in the second term, getting on the end of a handball to bend home a crafty snap.
“That is the class and skill of Isaac Kako on display,” Waterworth noted.
Heppell added: “Very nice couple of bits of play from the boy. That was outstanding.”
Fellow excitement machine Nate Caddy followed up his great mate’s work with a booming set shot goal on the half-time siren, capping a dominant second quarter from the Bombers, who took a 12-point lead into the main change.
And on the topic of the Bombers’ forward brigade, another point of contention will be the trajectory of key-position target Peter Wright, who managed just 19 goals from 14 games last year.
Heppell said: “He’s had a massive pre-season; his body is in terrific nick. If he gets himself an opportunity, I’ve got no doubt he can get back to that 50-goal-a-season form.
“The best thing about it (is) the competition for spots is elite, but Pete’s going to do everything he can to get himself a look-in, and even if it’s not early, he’ll get himself an opportunity, and I have no doubt he’ll be ready to go.
“I think Pete will have a massive year, to be honest.”
It was a goal apiece in a slow-moving third quarter until an exciting passage of play resulted in a Caleb Poulter major streaming into an open goal.
The Bulldogs, still trailing by five points with a few minutes left in the third, failed to truly capitalise on an evident breeze favouring the left end of the ground.
Supplemental Selection Period (SSP) hopeful Tom Edwards kicked his second goal of the third quarter, this time with a set shot, after earlier snapping from congestion.
Waterworth said Edwards was “really putting his hand up” in his fight for an AFL list spot, later adding he was “the story of that third quarter”.
Heppell said: “(He) was lively, and they know what he can do in front of goal. I think the attribute they really like is his aerobic capacity as well, so I feel like he’ll have the potential to play up the ground if need be, too.”
The Bombers jumped back out to an 11-point lead on the eve of three-quarter-time.
Four minutes into the final quarter, Edwards got involved again, stretching to mark the ball at its highest point before going back and booting his third with a set shot.
“Outstanding dukes, far out! Great stretch,” Heppell said in reaction.
“This is some second-half audition from him,” Waterworth added.
But the best was arguably yet to come, with the Swan Districts product nailing his fourth of the second half (!), throwing the ball onto his left boot for a tidy snapping finish from distance.
Edwards’ game-high fourth major made it a game-high 29-point lead for the Bombers in the final period, and it was all elementary from that point on.
Third-year midfielder Elijah Tsatas was among the impressive Bombers on Saturday, while the burst of veteran Dylan Shiel and disposal of skipper Zach Merrett were also highlights.
Further, and arguably most importantly, there were no injuries of concern from either side.
Re-live foxfooty.com.au’s coverage of Bulldogs-Bombers below:
The Bulldogs named a 35-man squad to host the Bombers, who brought 28 players to Whitten Oval on Saturday.
Ex-Carlton midfielder Matthew Kennedy ran out in the red, white and blue, while Dom Brew and Brayden Crossley — who remain in contention for a list spot via the supplemental selection period — also featured, as did mature-age draftee Sam Davidson.
On the other hand, however, Adam Treloar and Liam Jones (injury) and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (personal) are among the key Dogs who remain sidelined, while rebounder Bailey Dale also sat out.
For Essendon, key absent troops included Sam Durham (ribs), Darcy Parish (back), Jordan Ridley (hamstring), Ben McKay (ankle) and Matt Guelfi (hamstring).
But the Bombers’ faithful got a look at the Caddy-Kako duo in attack, as well as new recruit Jaxon Prior and uncapped speedster Saad El-Hawli.
See below the full squads for Saturday afternoon’s bout.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
3. Cody Weightman
4. Marcus Bontempelli
5. Jedd Busslinger
6. Cooper Hynes
7. Rory Lobb
8. Matt Kennedy
9. Ryley Sanders
10. Sam Darcy
12. Harvey Gallagher
13. Oskar Baker
14. Rhylee West
15. Taylor Duryea
16. Jordan Croft
18. James O’Donnell
20. Ed Richards
21. Tom Liberatore
22. James Harmes
23. Laith Vandermeer
24. Buku Khamis
25. Caleb Poulter
26. Josh Dolan
27. Joel Freijah
29. Lachlan Bramble
30. Lachie McNeil
32. Arthur Jones
33. Aaron Naughton
34. Bailey Williams
35. Luke Kennedy
36. Luke Cleary
37. Dom Brew (SSP train-on)
38. Riley Garcia
41. Brayden Crossley (SSP train-on)
42. Sam Davidson
43. Ryan Gardner
44. Tim English
ESSENDON
1. Andrew McGrath
2. Sam Draper
4. Kyle Langford
5. Elijah Tsatas
6. Jye Caldwell
7. Zach Merrett
8. Ben Hobbs
9. Dylan Shiel
10. Isaac Kako
12. Will Setterfield
14. Tom Edwards (SSP train-on)
16. Archie Perkins
18. Lewis Hayes
20. Peter Wright
21. Archie Roberts
23. Harrison Jones
24. Nick Bryan
25. Jaxon Prior
26. Kaine Baldwin (SSP train-on)
27. Mason Redman
28. Xavier Duursma
29. Jye Menzie
30. Nate Caddy
31. Zach Reid
36. Angus Clarke
37. Nic Martin
38. Rhys Unwin
41. Saad El-Hawli
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