Essendon v. Western Bulldogs

It's been a mixed start to the season for Essendon.  After the first three rounds we had two wins and a close loss to the reigning Premiers.  Everyone was very optimistic for our prospects this year.  However, we have lost the last three games and have not been playing consistently, so it was very important to get a win tonight against the Western Bulldogs.  As Belinda is a Bulldogs fan she joined me at Etihad Stadium for the match. 

It was a scrappy game from the start with the Bulldogs going into half time with a 14 point lead as we had another disaster second quarter for the second week in a row and did not score a goal.  After watching Darth Vader and some Stormtroopers walking along the boundary at half time (there was some strange Star Wars cross-promotion going on) I was hoping the force would be with Essendon in the second half.  Thankfully a few minutes into the third quarter the boys started to show some life and kick goals again, and we went into the fourth quarter with a 13 point lead.  The last quarter was tense as the Bulldogs got within a goal, but we managed to hold on for a gritty win as our senior players stood up.  Dustin Fletcher had an amazing game but we are still having issues with the forward line.  Hopefully the team can start putting together a full four quarter effort and play better in the coming weeks.

Final Score
Essendon: 10.13 (73)
Western Bulldogs: 9.11 (65)

Essendon v. Western Bulldogs

It's been an embarrassingly long time since I was last at an Essendon match so I dusted off my Bombers scarf and headed down to Etihad Stadium this afternoon to see us play the Western Bulldogs. While Essendon are having a great season and currently sit third on the ladder there is a dark cloud that has been hanging over the club since the start of the year around the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) investigation into the supplement program last year and whether or not players were injected with performance enhancing drugs.  Their report is due next month and depending on the results we may be facing some severe sanctions.

Today's game was a bit frustrating as we would get a comfortable lead only to let the Bulldogs kick themselves back into contention.  I think the team was missing captain Jobe Watson, who is out for the next 4 weeks with a broken collarbone.  There were some amazing goals, including one by Jason Winderlich which could be in contention for goal of the year.  And Tash came along to the match to see her cousin Nick O'Brien play his first senior game of the year (It's the only time she will be caught supporting Essendon!) as he came off the bench in the third quarter as our sub.  Thankfully we won comfortably in the end.

Final Score
Essendon: 18.13 (121)
Western Bulldogs: 14.6 (90)

Here's the Winderlich goal:

Essendon v. Western Bulldogs

Last night a group of us headed to the Telstra Dome to watch Essendon play the third ranked Western Bulldogs. I knew we wouldn't win, but was hoping it would have been a bit closer than a 46 point loss. We did lead early into the second quarter but then the Bulldogs started playing much better and dominated the rest of the match. We had at least four kicks hit the post, which was frustrating. It was good to see Paddy Ryder and Mal Michaels playing up forward and Mal even got two goals. There is one more game left in the regular season, and considering the amount players on the injured list for Essendon that's probably a good thing. We definitely have a lot of young talent which will serve the team well in the future.

After the game it was time for what Danny likes to call "dirty Asian" food. We headed to the Nam Loong Chinese restaurant on Russell Street and had a very tasty late dinner. We shared six or so dishes amongst the group and then everyone headed for home around midnight.