Round Six
Sunday, April 29, 1.10pm
Essendon v Melbourne, Etihad Stadium
First quarter: Essendon 2.3 (15) to Melbourne 1.3 (9)
Goals were hard to come by in the opening term.
Three behinds were registered, before Essendon’s Devon Smith landed the first at the 11-minute mark.
It took 18 minutes before Melbourne got on the board, after Mitch Hannan snapped close to goal.
Bomber Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti added the only other major for the term, while Angus Brayshaw had the chance to kick truly after the quarter-time siren, but his shot instead became Melbourne’s third behind.
At the first change, the Dons led by six points.
Second quarter: Essendon 5.7 (37) to Melbourne 4.7 (31)
The game lifted in intensity early in the second term.
First-gamer Charlie Spargo produced a moment he’ll never forget, when he kicked his first AFL goal – a beautiful, crumbing snap.
His major at the three-minute mark put Melbourne in front for the first time, but when the Bombers hit back with three in a row, they regained the lead and a 16-point advantage.
However, when Spargo bobbed up with his second and Hannan posted his second in time-on, Melbourne cut the margin back to six points at half-time.
Christian Salem had 16 disposals by the long change, while Don Andrew McGrath had the most for the first half with 19 touches.
Third quarter: Melbourne 11.10 (76) to Essendon 6.9 (45)
Melbourne looked like a different side in the third term, when it slammed seven goals to one.
The Demons booted four goals in the opening nine minutes, and by three-quarter time claimed a 31-point lead.
Jesse Hogan got the ball rolling, when he kicked truly a minute in, and when Tom McDonald, Max Gawn and Bayley Fritsch followed up, the red and blue jumped out to a three-goal lead.
But a scare went through the Melbourne camp when Hogan hobbled from the ground, after landing awkwardly on his right ankle. After heading to the rooms, he remarkably re-emerged later in the term, when he initially looked in serious trouble.
Fritsch added his second midway through the quarter, while Gawn managed a couple of banana goals from the pocket and Jake Melksham got on the board.
Final quarter: Melbourne 16.12 (108) d Essendon 10.12 (72)
Any thought of an Essendon comeback was quickly thwarted when Melbourne booted the first three goals of the final term.
Hannan opened the quarter with his third, while Hogan added his second and T.McDonald made it a couple.
The Demons led by 48 points, before McDonald-Tipungwuti added his second – and Essendon’s first of the last stanza.
Melksham snapped his second just before time-on, becoming the seventh Demon to kick two goals or more for the day. And although the Bombers added three in a row in time-on, when Fritsch registered his third just before the final siren, Melbourne won convincingly by 36 points.
Salem finished with a team-high 27 disposals, while Michael Hibberd and Nathan Jones had 24 touches each. Zach Merrett had a game-high 29 possessions.
