In a classic contest between the two bitter rivals, West Coast looked gone early as Essendon kicked the opening eight goals and All-Australian ruckman Michael Gardiner limped off with an injured PCL. The Eagles worked their way back into the game to set up a gripping last quarter in which the lead changed hands numerous times before Bombers captain James Hird capped off one of the games of his career by kicking the winner from the boundary in the final minute. Essendon spearhead Matthew Lloyd kicked 8 goals after escaping suspension at the Appeals Board during the week, while West Coast were well served by star midfielders Daniel Kerr, Chris Judd and Ben Cousins.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essendon | 8.0.48 | 10.1.61 | 16.3.99 | 22.5.137 | ||||
| West Coast | 3.0.18 | 7.5.47 | 15.8.98 | 20.11.131 |
Goals: Cousins, Matera, McDougall, Sampi 3, Adkins, Kerr 2, Braun, Chick, Fletcher, Jakovich
Best: Kerr, Cousins, Judd, Cox, Sampi, Lynch
Injuries: Gardiner (knee), Cox (leg), Judd (leg)
Milestones: Waters AFL debut
Named sides[]
| West Coast | Essendon | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B: | 44.Wirrpanda | 39.Hunter | 46.Carroll | B: | 12.Welsh | 31.Fletcher | 3.Henneman |
| HB: | 22.Waters | 21.Lynch | 5.Morrison | HB: | 2.Mercuri | 25.Lucas | 33.McPhee |
| C: | 10.Braun | 4.Kerr | 32.Embley | C: | 7.Solomon | 43.Rioli | 36.Dyson |
| HF: | 28.Sampi | 27.Jakovich | 17.Chick | HF: | 20.Richards | 23.Bolton | 5.Hird |
| F: | 33.Matera | 2.McDougall | 9.Cousins | F: | 9.Ramanauskas | 18.Lloyd | 29.Reynolds |
| R: | 1.Gardiner | 3.Judd | 7.Fletcher | R: | 19.Hille | 11.Peverill | 28.Murphy |
| I: | 18.R.Jones | 20.Cox | 16.Adkins | I: | 37.Bullen | 24.Misiti | 27.Allan |
| 35.Green | 42.Lovett-Murray | ||||||
| E: | 41.Staker | 14.Seaby | 31.Nicoski | E: | 34.Stanton | 15.Alvey | 16.Bradley |
In: Hunter, Waters
Out: Staker, Humm
New: Beau Waters (West Adelaide/Happy Valley JFC)
From the papers[]
The Sunday Age[]
"Leading and marking with customary power, Lloyd confounded the best intentions - and close attention - of Trent Carroll, kicking three first-quarter goals to capitalise on the Bombers' midfield ascendancy.
But it was his three goals in the third quarter that were most critical, keeping Essendon in the match as the Eagles counterpunched with renewed and dangerous vigour. His goal in the final term, after a mighty pack mark, levelled the scores for Hird to seal the victory.
But for that final moment, this more exciting of matches could have gone either way, and a win to the Eagles would have been particularly worthy given they lost key big man Michael Gardiner midway through the first quarter with what appeared to be an aggravation of his posterior cruciate problem. When Dean Cox, who had shouldered the ruck duties almost unrelieved as a result, was forced off limping in the final quarter, it might easily have nullified one of the game's most damaging midfields. But Daniel Kerr, Ben Cousins, Chad Fletcher and Chris Judd are too classy to be stopped entirely, and might have swayed the ledger had the Eagles had a target up forward."
Players in the WAFL[]
Round 4 (10-12 April)
West Perth (Chambers, Seaby) vs Perth (Butler). Glass played reserves
Swan Districts (Munro, Johnson, Edwards) vs Peel
South Fremantle vs Subiaco. Gaspar played reserves
East Perth (Humm, Selwood, McConnell) vs East Fremantle (Staker)
Bye: Claremont
Injury list[]
In the lead-up to the round the following players were listed as injured:
| Player | Injury | Expected duration | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banfield | Knee | 8 weeks | ||||
| Wooden | Collarbone | 4 weeks | ||||
| Hansen | Shoulder | 3 weeks | (On LTI list, replaced by Graham) |
Links[]
http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2004/051820040410.html
Mark Fuller and Melissa Ryan, The Sunday Age (11 April 2004), "Game Eagles can't keep good man down": http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=age&kw=matera+and+sampi+and+mercuri&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=nrm&clsPage=1&docID=SAG0404110HJ010MGRQE
Dan Oakes, The Age (6 April 2004), "Your club": http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=age&kw=drew+banfield+knee&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=nrm&clsPage=1&docID=AGE040406BRMM87EA3DJ
| 2004 season |
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<--2003-04 offseason | 2004-05 offseason--> |