Round 21 2023

Essendon v West Coast
Round 21, 2023

Yeo tries to spoil. Photo: aflphotos.com.au

Date

Sat, 5 August 2023 (1.45pm EST)

Venue

Docklands

Attendance

30,742

Result

Lost by 1

Score

ESS 10.13.73 - 11.6.72 WCE

Brownlow

Ladder

18th

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West Coast lost a heartbreaker, going down to Essendon by a solitary point after threatening to upset the Bombers' fight for a finals spot. The Eagles bucked their recent trend of slow starts away to lead at the first change but a six-goal second term saw Essendon go into half-time with a solid lead. West Coast chipped away at that lead, with a goal to Ryan Maric putting them up with less than two minutes to play only for the Bombers to re-take the lead for good shortly afterwards. Liam Duggan had 29 touches and five clearances in a midfield role and Alex Witherden tallied 22 possessions in his 100th AFL game.

Summary[]

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Essendon		1.6.12		7.8.50		8.10.58		10.13.73
West Coast		2.2.14		4.3.27		6.5.41		11.6.72

Goals: Allen, Cripps, Darling, Maric 2, Hewett, Petruccelle, J.Williams

Best: Kelly, Hunt, Duggan, Witherden

Injuries: Nil

Reports: B.Williams for rough conduct on M.Redman

Substitutes: (WCE) Clark for Cripps in the fourth term; (ESS) A.Davey for Caldwell at three-quarter time

Milestones: Witherden 100th AFL game

Jumper: Away, white shorts

Named sides[]

	West Coast				Essendon
B:	23.Witherden	20.McGovern	14.Duggan	B:	19.Hind	30.Zerk-Thatcher	29.Kelly
HB:	19.Hough	6.Yeo	28.Cole	HB:	27.Redman	15.Laverde	1.McGrath
C:	3.Gaff	11.Kelly	18.Chesser	C:	22.Durham	6.Caldwell	37.Martin
HF:	15.Cripps	27.Darling	16.L.Edwards	HF:	5.Tsatas	20.Wright	13.Cox
F:	44.Long	12.Allen	41.Maric	F:	16.Perkins	4.Langford	8.Hobbs
R:	32.B.Williams	24.O'Neill	8.Hewett	R:	34.Phillips	3.Parish	7.Merrett
I:	5.Hunt	21.Petruccelle	35.Rotham	I:	21.Heppell	24.Bryan	35.Guelfi
	34.J.Williams				47.Menzie
E:	22.Winder	29.Foley	39.Clark	E:	10.Weideman	11.Snelling	26.Baldwin
	40.Jamieson				33.A.Davey

In: McGovern, Rotham, Yeo (sub)

Out: Sheed (foot), Hurn (managed), Bazzo (managed)

Quarter by quarter[]

Both sides went in as named, with Greg Clark and Alwyn Davey junior starting as subs.

From the coach[]

From the papers[]

The Age[]

"Down by 30 points early in the third quarter at Marvel Stadium, the Eagles dominated the second half and hit the lead with 100 seconds left through a Ryan Maric goal.

But Langford, who kicked four goals in the second quarter, was able to sneak out the back and run in to slot his fifth major and put Essendon immediately back in front.

West Coast threatened again, winning the next centre clearance, but Bombers defender Brandon Zerk-Thatcher took a game-saving contested mark in the Eagles’ forward 50.

The last-gasp win keeps Essendon’s finals dream alive, giving them a 10-10 record. The Bombers could be only half-a-game out of the top-eight by the end of the round."^[1]

Reserves[]

Round 17 (5 August)

West Coast's WAFL side were thrashed by Peel in Mandurah, narrowly avoiding a triple-figure loss. Luke Foley had 20 touches and a goal to be one of his side's best.

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Peel Thunder		6.7.43		12.13.85		15.15.105		19.18.132
West Coast		1.1.7		3.1.19		3.1.19		5.4.34

Goals: Burke, Dewar, Foley, Levien, Nitschke

Best: Browne, Hansen, Kemp, Foley

Injuries: tbc

Named side:

	West Coast
B:	64.Mercer	68.Watson	56.Creasey
HB:	63.Hansen	81.Mouritz	38.Baker
C:	61.McCarthy	48.Nelson	80.Sambo
HF:	43.Dewar	57.Burke	59.Nitschke
F:	51.Garlett	73.J.Edwards	52.Kemp
R:	30.Barnett	60.Deegan	54.Browne
I:	58.Levien	76.Lloyd	70.Lucassen
	72.Pobjoy
E:	66.Collins	74.Frost	53.Henderson
	67.O'Sullivan

In: Mouritz, Sambo, Garlett, J.Edwards, Levien, Lloyd, Pobjoy

Out: Rotham, L.Edwards, Winder, Jamieson, Clark (AFL), Trew (groin), Sumich (hamstring)

Late changes: Foley, Jamieson for Garlett, Lloyd

Injury list[]

In the leadup to the round the following players were listed as injured or unavailable:

Player	Injury	Expected return
Culley	Knee	Season	(On inactive list 30/5/23)
Naitanui	Achilles	Season
Ryan	Hamstring	Season
H.Edwards	Groin	Season
Ginbey	Hamstring	Season
Barrass	Back	Season
Waterman	Illness	Indefinite
West	Knee	3 weeks
Burgiel	Hamstring	3 weeks
Shuey	Hamstring	1 week
Jones	Ankle	1 week
Petrevski-Seton	Suspension	1 week
McGovern	Concussion	Test
Trew	Groin	Test