Match

Essendon vs Port Adelaide

Commentary / 10 Jun 2017

Pre Game

59:30
Welcome to Etihad Stadium for the Essendon v Port Adelaide Round 12 clash.
59:33
Outs for Bombers: B.Stanton
59:34
Ins for Bombers: J.Kelly
59:35
Outs for Power: A.Young
59:36
Ins for Power: C.Wingard
59:40
Don't forget to enter your tips for this match, you have until the bounce to make your selection.
00:00
Port Adelaide has used just the 28 players this year, the equal-fewest in the competition along with their state counterparts Adelaide. 13 of their players have played in every match this season, also an equal league-high statistic.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:36
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Josh Green)
03:29
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Cale Hooker)
04:52
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (James Stewart)
04:59
Essendon has started the match full of running, with 13 of their 23 disposals coming from handball receives. Essendon has only had nine kicks, yet have already booted through two goals.
05:07
Power Interchange - Hamish Hartlett off due to an injury.
06:22
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
06:31
The first four inside 50s for Essendon have all resulted in a score. Essendon is ranked second in the league for scores per inside 50, averaging a score from 51 per cent of their entries.
07:49
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
08:30
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti)
09:19
It has been a frantic start for the Bombers. They have registered the first six scoring shots for the match from their seven inside 50s. 40 per cent of the quarter has been played in their forward 50.
09:53
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Jackson Trengove)
13:11
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti)
14:21
Essendon has kicked the first four goals of the match with all of these goals being sourced from a turnover. Three of these goal scoring chains have originated in their defensive half of the ground.
15:26
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Cale Hooker)
16:59
Essendon has now kicked an amazing six goals to none in the first half of the opening quarter and lead by 39 points. Port Adelaide has only recorded 36 disposals, compared to 81 for the Bombers.
19:54
Essendon winger Travis Colyer has enjoyed a prolific first quarter. He has collected a game-high eight disposals, four of these contested. He has also won three intercept possessions, all of which has resulted in a score for his side.
20:12
SCORE GOAL - Power (Robbie Gray)
21:57
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Sam Gray)
22:40
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Cale Hooker)
23:34
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Justin Westhoff)
26:38
100 per cent of the possession chains for the Bombers originating in their defensive midfield zone have resulted in an inside 50. In comparison, Port Adelaide has only recorded one inside 50 from a possession chain originating in the same zone.
27:51
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Cale Hooker)
28:25
Cale Hooker has booted through three goals in the opening term to give the Bombers their highest ever opening quarter score against Port Adelaide. Their previous highest opening term was 46 points back in 2001 at the same venue.
28:56
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Zach Merrett)
30:21
The siren has sounded to end Q1.
30:31
A dominant opening term for the Bombers comes to an end. They dominated possession, leading the disposal count by 43 and winning eight more contested possessions. They laid the same amount of tackles as the Power with 13 apiece.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
00:31
SCORE GOAL - Power (Jackson Trengove)
02:03
SCORE GOAL - Power (Robbie Gray)
02:13
Port Adelaide has started the second term like the Bombers started the first, booting two quick goals from just 11 disposals. They have won the first three centre clearances for the quarter, and have the first three inside 50s.
05:08
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Charlie Dixon)
06:03
Power Interchange - Paddy Ryder off due to the blood rule.
06:49
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
08:18
Port Adelaide is getting on top at the stoppages, leading the clearances this quarter six to one. All three of their goals have been sourced from stoppages, whereas Essendon have only kicked two behinds from the same source.
10:10
SCORE GOAL - Power (Robbie Gray)
12:25
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Josh Green)
13:27
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
13:48
Port Adelaide is ranked first for inside 50s this season averaging 62.4 per match, whilst Essendon is ranked 16th averaging 46.7. Tonight however contradicts these averages, with Essendon recording five more than their opponents.
14:20
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Cale Hooker)
17:34
Cale Hooker has reached a personal best for goals in a single match with his four goals in this first half. His previous best haul in a match was three, which he has kicked six times in his career. He has now booted 22 goals for the season.
17:48
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Zach Merrett)
19:25
Power Interchange - Ollie Wines off due to an injury.
19:40
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Cale Hooker)
21:59
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Joe Daniher)
22:09
After the Power kicked the first three goals of the quarter, the Bombers have responded with four consecutive goals to take the margin to a game-high 47 points. All 11 of the Bombers goals have been sourced from turnovers.
26:26
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Joe Daniher)
26:54
Essendon have nine of the last 10 inside 50s, and have booted four goals from these nine entries. Their conversion going inside 50 has been monumental, recording 21 scoring shots from their 35 forward 50 entries.
29:29
This is the highest first half score for Essendon against Port Adelaide and their highest scoring first half for the season. Port Adelaide has only trailed three times going into half time this season.
31:55
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Ollie Wines)
33:08
The siren has sounded to end Q2.
33:18
39 inside 50s for Essendon to half-time is their highest total this season surpassing their 31 they registered in their win against West Coast. Conor McKenna has five inside 50s, the most in the first half for Essendon by an individual player this season

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
01:13
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Chad Wingard)
02:55
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Cale Hooker)
04:15
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jobe Watson)
04:35
A positive tonight for Port Adelaide has been the continued dominance of Paddy Ryder and his ruckwork. He has won 24 hit-outs, with nine of these to advantage. The Power are leading the clearance count 23-18 due to his dominance.
06:53
SCORE GOAL - Power (Sam Gray)
07:50
SCORE GOAL - Power (Sam Powell-Pepper)
10:11
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti)
11:15
The run and carry style play of Essendon has troubled Port Adelaide all night, with the Bombers recording 36 more handball receives. Essendon has a kick-to-handball ratio of 1.18, much lower than the 1.45 for Port Adelaide.
11:44
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Chad Wingard)
13:52
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Brendon Goddard)
14:03
Essendon captain Dyson Heppell has amassed the most disposals of any player with 26 at 77 per cent efficiency. He has an equal game-high five inside 50s, and has eight score involvements.
16:16
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Josh Green)
20:35
The rebounding from the Essendon defenders has been first-class, with 14 of their 26 scoring shots coming from possession chains originating in their defensive half. In contrast, Port Adelaide have only scored three behinds from the same zone.
23:16
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (David Zaharakis)
25:42
Essendon has amassed 90 more disposals than the Power tonight, yet are also beating their opponents in tackles by one. Essendon are ranked 15th for tackles averaging 64.9 per match. Tonight they are already up to 55 effective tackles.
28:10
SCORE GOAL - Power (Brendon Ah Chee)
29:25
The siren has sounded to end Q3.
29:35
Port Adelaide managed to win the third quarter by four points despite having two less inside 50s. They won the contested possession count by four, won two more clearances and grabbed three more intercept marks.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:47
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jobe Watson)
02:14
The Bombers have only ever defeated the Power by more than 50 points once in the 27 encounters between the two sides. The lowest score for Port Adelaide this season was in round 10 against Geelong when they scored 79 points.
03:16
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Travis Colyer)
06:35
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti)
07:38
SCORE GOAL - Power (Justin Westhoff)
09:24
Essendon has kicked a remarkable 16 goals from turnovers tonight, a season-high for the club. This is only the third time this season that Essendon has kicked 10 or more goals from turnovers this season.
10:01
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Joe Daniher)
11:32
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Jarman Impey)
12:43
Four goals to Joe Daniher takes his tally for the year to 34 and elevates him to second place in the Coleman Medal, just one goal behind the leader Lance Franklin. He is well on track to beat his previous highest season haul of 43 from last year.
16:34
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (James Stewart)
17:01
Justin Westhoff has been a consistent force for the Power throughout the match. He tops his sides disposal tally with 30, a career-high, and has won 15 contested possessions along with seven intercepts.
19:42
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Conor McKenna)
21:25
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Rushed)
22:58
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Dyson Heppell)
23:36
This is the ninth time that Zach Merrett has recorded 35 or more disposals in a match in his 71st career game. Coming into tonights match, Merrett was ranked fourth in the competition for disposals per match averaging 31.8.
24:38
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Cale Hooker)
25:20
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti)
26:51
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Rushed)
27:31
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Justin Westhoff)
28:01
This is the highest score for Essendon since round 8, 2015. This is also the highest winning margin for Essendon since round 3, 2014 when they defeated Carlton by 81 points.
29:10
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Sam Gray)
30:38
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Sam Gray)
31:00
The siren has sounded to end Q4.
31:10
It was an absolute domination from the beginning by Essendon, who ended up winning by 70 points, their second highest ever winning margin against Port Adelaide. They had 16 more inside 50s, their highest differential this season.