AFL

Adelaide
22.11.143
Essendon
9.7.61
Full Time

Match Tracker

Adelaide
Essendon
Q1
5.2.32
2.3.15

    Adelaide Events

  • 2 mins - Goal, M.McGovern
  • 11 mins - Goal, E.Betts
  • 16 mins - Behind, M.McGovern
  • 17 mins - Goal, J.Lyons
  • 19 mins - Goal, R.Sloane
  • 26 mins - Behind, B.Smith
  • 30 mins - Goal, E.Betts

    Adelaide and Essendon Events

  • 3 mins - Behind, A.McDonald-Tipungwuti
  • 9 mins - Behind, A.Francis
  • 21 mins - Behind, J.Daniher
  • 22 mins - Goal, O.Fantasia
  • 28 mins - Goal, A.Cooney
Q2
11.7.73
4.4.28

    Adelaide Events

  • 2 mins - Goal, E.Betts
  • 3 mins - Behind, D.Mackay
  • 4 mins - Goal, M.McGovern
  • 5 mins - Behind, R.Sloane
  • 9 mins - Goal, C.Cameron
  • 18 mins - Behind, E.Betts
  • 20 mins - Goal, P.Seedsman
  • 22 mins - Goal, C.Cameron
  • 26 mins - Behind, J.Lyons
  • 27 mins - Behind, P.Seedsman
  • 29 mins - Goal, J.Jenkins

    Adelaide and Essendon Events

  • 13 mins - Goal, J.Daniher
  • 15 mins - Goal, J.Laverde
  • 24 mins - Behind, O.Fantasia
Q3
18.10.118
5.6.36

    Adelaide Events

  • 1 mins - Behind, C.Cameron
  • 3 mins - Goal, R.Douglas
  • 6 mins - Goal, E.Betts
  • 9 mins - Goal, C.Cameron
  • 13 mins - Goal, K.Hartigan
  • 20 mins - Goal, E.Betts
  • 21 mins - Goal, C.Cameron
  • 25 mins - Goal, M.McGovern
  • 28 mins - Behind, D.Mackay
  • 33 mins - Behind, B.Smith

    Adelaide and Essendon Events

  • 11 mins - Behind, O.Fantasia
  • 17 mins - Behind, C.McKenna
  • 30 mins - Goal, J.Daniher
Q4
22.11.143
9.7.61

    Adelaide Events

  • 9 mins - Goal, J.Jenkins
  • 11 mins - Behind, E.Betts
  • 14 mins - Goal, R.Douglas
  • 16 mins - Goal, M.McGovern
  • 22 mins - Goal, P.Seedsman

    Adelaide and Essendon Events

  • 19 mins - Goal, J.Daniher
  • 22 mins - Behind, J.Polkinghorne
  • 25 mins - Goal, K.Langford
  • 27 mins - Goal, J.Daniher
  • 29 mins - Goal, J.Laverde

Scorers

Adelaide
Essendon
Goal Scorers Adelaide Essendon
Goals and Behinds Betts (5.2), Cameron (4.1), McGovern (4.1), Seedsman (2.1), Douglas (2.0), Jenkins (2.0), Lyons (1.1), Sloane (1.1), Hartigan (1.0), Mackay (0.2), Smith (0.2) Daniher (4.1), Laverde (2.0), Fantasia (1.2), Cooney (1.0), Langford (1.0), Francis (0.1), McDonald-Tipungwuti (0.1), McKenna (0.1), Polkinghorne (0.1)

Team Statistics

Adelaide
Essendon

Statistics

Adelaide Essendon
Goals 22 9
Behinds 11 7
Scoring shots 35 23
Goals/scoring shots 63 39
Disposals 457 363
AdelaideGoal Scorers
Players D K M H CP T FF FA HO CL
R.Atkins 26 7 2 19 7 0 0 3 0 1
E.Betts 16 12 5 4 10 2 1 2 0 1
L.Brown 22 12 6 10 8 5 3 1 0 0
C.Cameron 14 8 4 6 7 4 2 1 0 1
K.Cheney 13 8 7 5 2 1 0 0 0 0
B.Crouch 31 9 2 22 11 4 0 3 0 4
M.Crouch 33 11 4 22 10 4 1 0 0 3
R.Douglas 17 8 4 9 8 7 2 0 0 3
K.Hartigan 13 8 5 5 4 1 1 1 0 0
S.Jacobs 5 3 1 2 4 1 0 1 7 0
J.Jenkins 11 7 3 4 5 4 1 1 13 1
R.Laird 36 13 7 23 13 0 1 0 0 0
J.Lever 14 8 5 6 3 2 0 1 0 0
T.Lynch 18 10 6 8 6 4 2 0 1 0
J.Lyons 21 8 4 13 11 6 2 2 0 7
D.Mackay 24 11 2 13 11 4 2 1 0 4
M.McGovern 14 8 8 6 4 1 0 2 0 0
P.Seedsman 23 14 3 9 4 4 1 1 0 2
R.Sloane 33 17 5 16 11 4 2 0 5 4
B.Smith 24 13 3 11 4 2 0 0 0 0
D.Talia 20 9 7 11 4 3 0 0 0 0
S.Thompson 29 12 4 17 9 6 1 1 0 4
EssendonGoal Scorers
Players D K M H CP T FF FA HO CL
P.Ambrose 11 9 8 2 4 4 0 1 0 0
C.Bird 21 11 5 10 7 9 3 0 0 4
A.Cooney 23 16 7 7 8 3 1 1 3 5
J.Daniher 21 15 11 6 10 1 2 3 0 3
M.Dea 19 10 5 9 10 3 2 1 0 0
C.Dempsey 10 7 5 3 1 0 0 2 0 0
O.Fantasia 13 7 4 6 5 3 0 2 0 0
A.Francis 7 5 0 2 6 1 3 1 0 1
M.Gleeson 13 4 1 9 3 3 0 2 0 0
B.Goddard 29 18 7 11 5 1 1 0 1 2
W.Hams 17 9 6 8 6 1 2 0 0 3
M.Hartley 9 6 6 3 2 6 0 2 0 0
K.Langford 15 6 4 9 4 2 0 1 0 0
J.Laverde 17 7 5 10 6 1 0 0 0 2
M.Leuenberger 11 7 0 4 5 5 1 0 53 3
A.McDonald-Tipungwuti 14 3 1 11 7 3 0 3 0 0
C.McKenna 16 12 3 4 5 4 2 1 0 2
Z.Merrett 31 17 4 14 11 2 2 0 0 6
S.Michael 7 2 3 5 3 2 0 0 3 0
D.Parish 21 5 1 16 12 4 0 0 0 6
J.Polkinghorne 20 7 3 13 9 0 1 1 0 2
D.Zaharakis 18 8 2 10 7 4 1 1 0 1

Match Details

Adelaide
Essendon
START TIME
4:40PM
WEATHER
Rain developing
VENUE
Adelaide Oval
Umpires
Jacob Mollison, Luke Farmer, Jack Edwards

AFL season 2016: Adelaide crunch Essendon, boost percentage

ADELAIDE         5.2       11.7       18.10       22.11     (143)
ESSENDON       2.3        4.4          5.6           9.7       (61)

GOALS - Adelaide: Betts 5, Cameron 4, McGovern 4, Jenkins 2, Douglas 2, Seedsman 2, Lyons, Sloane, Hartigan.
Essendon:  Daniher 4, Laverde 2, Fantasia, Cooney, Langford.
BEST - Adelaide: Laird, Sloane, Betts, Smith, M Crouch, Thompson. 
Essendon: Daniher, Merrett, Leuenberger, Cooney, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Goddard.
INJURIES: Adelaide: Jacobs (ankle).
UMPIRES: Farmer, Edwards, Mollison.
CROWD: 44,264 at Adelaide Oval.

More Sport Videos

AFL: Adelaide crunch Essendon

As expected, Adelaide crunched Essendon at Adelaide Oval grabbing much-needed percentage.

As expected, Adelaide crunched Essendon at Adelaide Oval last night to grab much-needed percentage, but there were few celebrations as they pondered life without Sam Jacobs in ruck in the run to the finals.

He damaged the lateral side of his left ankle landing from an uncontested mark just 42 seconds into the second quarter. Early assessment suggested he may miss one or two matches.

Up and under: Richard Douglas enjoys some hang time after a bump by Bomber David Zaharakis.
Up and under: Richard Douglas enjoys some hang time after a bump by Bomber David Zaharakis. Photo: Scott Barbour

With Taylor Walker ruled out with an ankle injury, Adelaide coach Don Pyke was forced to keep Josh Jenkins in ruck leaving a relatively "pint-sized" forward structure headed by Eddie Betts, who once again delighted the home-town fans with his brilliance.

As they say, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and the Crows must surely lament not giving either 201cm Reilly O'Brien or 197cm forward/ruckman Harry Dear their first AFL game in place of Walker in the event of Jacobs being injured.

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This was a great opportunity missed to plan or experiment for the Jacobs scenario. Adelaide were always going to win this contest, and it was very much about improving their lagging percentage compared with the other top-four hopefuls.

With Matthew Leuenberger continuing his excellent performance in ruck even before Jacobs was injured, and Essendon coach John Worsfold setting his men a one-on-one task, the Bombers made the task more difficult for Adelaide than perhaps many expected.

Eddie everywhere: Crows forward Betts celebrates after kicking a goal.
Eddie everywhere: Crows forward Betts celebrates after kicking a goal. Photo: Scott Barbour

The Crows were more subdued in the first half, content to be patient rather than repeatedly going for the "slingshot" play – often kicking backwards and sideways to create a contrived shot at goal. It frustrated the fans, but it was vital in their finals preparation given the way Geelong smothered their style the previous week. Again, it would have been a far better fact-finding mission had the Crows been able to use this ploy with Jenkins playing his normal forward pocket role.

After half-time, it was a goal-fest with the Crows breaking the 100-point barrier 19 minutes into the third quarter with Essendon having scored just four goals.

Sam I am:  Essendon's Michael and Adelaide's Jacobs contest possession.
Sam I am: Essendon's Michael and Adelaide's Jacobs contest possession. Photo: Scott Barbour

There was so much to like about Adelaide, including the ever-progressive Mitch McGovern, who was given Walker's vacant full forward spot. The energy and excitement he continues to give this side has had a huge impact.

Beyond Betts, who dominated the scoreboard with five goals before three-quarter time and surpassed 450 career goals, were the usual brilliant performers headed by midfielder Rory Sloane and resilient defenders Rory Laird and Brodie Smith. Brad Crouch, who is so important to this side, worked hard to get the ball but many of his disposals were off-target.

Yet again, no one could question the Bombers' desperation, but their deficiency was nothing new – getting hammered outside of the stoppages and unable to stop their opponent's charge. As the game wore on, the cracks in their defence widened, and Adelaide went further on the rampage. With percentage crucial, their attack on the ball became relentless.

There were some magical goals too from McGovern, Betts and Essendon's Jayden Laverde in just his 14th game, but none earned more acknowledgement than the Kyle Hartigan's goal from 35 metres – thanks to a 50-metre penalty – his first goal in 45 AFL games and reinforced the belief that Adelaide's scoring potential runs incredibly deep.

The Crows next play the other two bottom sides – Brisbane Lions, again at home, and Fremantle at Domain Stadium. The run into the finals ends with Port Adelaide and West Coast Eagles at home.

Meanwhile, the Bombers play Geelong this week.