Bombers celebrate as Saints despair

Essendon   119 defeated St Kilda   104

Essendon have shown they may still play a part in this year’s finals series with a comprehensive 15-point win against an over-matched St Kilda tonight at the Telstra Dome.

From a 15-point deficit halfway through the third term, the Bombers piled on five straight goals to three-quarter time and were never seriously threatened again as they displayed more desperation, intensity and skill to outplay the disappointing Saints.

The loss puts a severe dent in St Kilda’s hopes of a top four spot and casts doubt on their ability to even make the finals, as they slump to a 6-7 record this season.

In his 200th game, Matthew Lloyd led the way with four goals amongst 12 goal kickers, while James Hird, Justin Murphy and Brett Stanton were prolific possession winners around the ground. It was a consummate team effort from the Bombers, with all but three players gathering at least 10 disposals.

For the Saints, Robert Harvey, Lenny Hayes and Matt Maguire were the standouts, along with Nick Riewoldt with four goals and 12 marks. Despite a valiant effort, St Kilda had too few contributors and could not stay with Essendon over the 120 minutes.

As expected, Essendon suffered a huge blow before the game, losing full-back Dustin Fletcher to flu, which allowed 19-year-old South Australian Henry Slattery to make his debut.

Lloyd got off to the ideal start in his milestone game, judging a floating ball better than his opponent Max Hudghton, and converting accurately after just 90 seconds.

Essendon came out switched on and dominated the first 10 minutes, but struggled to put the score on the board, repeatedly squandering opportunities on goal.

It was only a matter of time before the Saints hit back and they did so with clinical efficiency, booting three goals in three minutes courtesy of Riewoldt, a running Maguire shot and Fraser Gehrig.

But the Bombers finished off the quarter the better side, a Scott Lucas’ snap and a Lloyd free kick and goal giving Essendon a deserved 7-point lead at the first change.

St Kilda regained the lead early in the second quarter as Riewoldt found space, but Essendon quickly imposing their will on the match, working harder and creating numbers at the contest.

They kicked the next four goals straight –including a classy snap from Slattery with his first kick in league football - to jump to a 23-point break at the 20-minute mark of the term.

The Saints were struggling to penetrate up forward with Essendon utilising a spare man in defence, but a clever back-heel goal from Riewoldt in the goal square enabled them to creep within 16 points of the lead at half-time.

Murphy was constructive for the Bombers with 17 touches across half-back as the loose man, while Stanton, Andrew Lovett and Hird were all providing great drive through the middle. Essendon shared the goals around well in the first half, with Lloyd the only multiple scorer with two majors.

The familiar names in the Saints’ midfield – Luke Ball, Hayes and Nick Dal Santo - were leading the way, together with captain Riewoldt, who was playing almost a lone hand up forward with three majors to the main break.

St Kilda came out from the change rooms for the third term a completely different team, and with Hird cooling his heels at full-forward, they proceeded to dominate the Bombers all over the ground. They began to win the clearances and with their midfielders running wild, the Saints managed to turn around the 16-point deficit in just 15 minutes.

Hayes and Ball both drifted forward to kick rare goals, Stephen Milne got in the action with a couple of majors and when Gehrig took advantage of poor Essendon defending on the goal line, St Kilda had slammed on five consecutive goals and jumped out to a 15-point lead.

Just as they looked they might be losing their grip on the match, the Bombers wrested back control, with Hird the catalyst. He moved into the midfield, inspired another fluctuation in the contest, and Essendon replied with five goals of their own to end the quarter and restore a 14-point break going into the last change.

With their top four hopes on the line, the Saints came out hard and Milne’s left foot goal early in the final stanza gave them hope that a comeback was not out of their grasp.

But the Bombers had all the answers, with the returning Dean Rioli twice using his bulk to set up teammates for important goals.

St Kilda never stopped trying, and they got the margin back to just eight points with five minutes remaining, but the enigmatic Damien Cupido sealed the game, his 45m shot off one step on his wrong foot ensured it a memorable milestone game for Lloyd.

St Kilda will try to regroup next Sunday at the MCG against the Western Bulldogs, while the Bombers will look to continue their climb up the AFL ladder with a clash against the in-form Kangaroos at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.

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