Match

Brisbane Lions vs Essendon

Commentary / 10 Jul 2022

Pre Game

00:00
Dylan Shiel has generated a total of 51 centre bounce clearances this season (ranked No.1 in the competition). However, Essendon has scored only nine points from these clearances which is the lowest strike rate (17.6) of any of the top-50 centre bounce clearance players.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:31
Zach Merrett kicked three goals last round after scoring just eight goals from his previous 50 games. Merrett has registered the first score of the game today for the Bombers.
00:36
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Zach Merrett)
01:44
The first score for the Lions came from a chain started with a kick-in. Brisbane has kicked a goal from a kick-in only once in its last ten games.
04:27
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Harrison Jones)
04:46
When these teams met in Round 2, Brisbane won by 22 points after trailing at quarter-time by 22 points. The Lions kicked 9.1.55 from set shots that day compared to the Bombers 5.9.39. Both teams have missed their first set shot at goal today.
06:09
Essendon has generated four of the first five inside 50 entries to start the game and had three shots at goal, but some errant kicking has prevented it from registering the first goal of the game.
08:28
Lions Interchange - Darcy Fort off due to an injury.
08:57
Carter Michael makes his debut today for Brisbane and has started the game with an early intercept mark. Michael has averaged 19 disposals, five intercepts, four rebound 50s and two spoils in his 12 VFL games this season.
09:12
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Joe Daniher)
10:28
Brisbane has recorded forward half kicking efficiency of 20 percent and Essendon just 42 percent to start the game, with this contributing to the lack of an early goal.
13:27
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Oscar McInerney)
13:42
Brisbane has already generated four inside 50 entries and two scores from its seven defensive 50 chains. The Bombers have conceded a score from 12.5 percent of such chains this season, which is ranked last defensively.
16:17
The first goal of the game to Sam Draper and the Bombers came from a chain started in the defensive 50 with a lot of end-to-end ball movement early in the match. Essendon averages 14.5 points per game from such chains.
18:37
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
20:32
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Mitch Robinson)
20:39
The first goal for the Lions also came from a chain started in the defensive 50. Three of the first four scores for Brisbane have come from such chains and it averages 4.2 scores per game from these chains.
22:04
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Ben Hobbs)
22:34
The goal to Ben Hobbs came from the first centre bounce clearance for Essendon and followed its fifth forward 50 mark. The Bombers have an early 5-1 lead in forward 50 marks and average 11..5 per game.
26:00
The Lions average 11.9 contested marks per game (ranked No.1) and the Bombers average only 9.5 such marks (ranked 16th). Essendon has an early 5-0 lead in this measure, with this responsible for the contested possession differential.
27:01
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Lincoln McCarthy)
27:07
Essendon was able to edge Brisbane in the opening quarter for clearances (10-7), forward half intercepts (5-2), and forward 50 marks (5-1), but a late forward 50 stoppage goal to the depleted Lions leveled the scores.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:57
The Bombers have taken a mark from 21.3 percent of their kicks into the forward 50 this season (ranked second). Essendon has found some early holes in the Brisbane defence and now leads 7-1 in forward 50 marks.
02:18
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
03:02
The goal to Kyle Langford again came from a chain started with an intercept in the Essendon defensive 50. The Bombers average 8.5 points per game from such chains and have already scored 13 points today from this source.
03:36
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Joe Daniher)
05:02
Joe Daniher has made a busy start against his old team with three score involvements from his three disposals including the last goal. Daniher polled one Brownlow vote last season and had a career-high 25 disposals in his first game against Essendon last season.
05:26
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
08:32
The goal to Oscar McInerney was the first of the game for either team to come from a forward half intercept. Brisbane averages 31.3 points per game from this source (ranked third).
10:22
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Eric Hipwood)
10:32
Brisbane averages 14.3 points per game from centre bounces (ranked third). Both teams have won four centre bounce clearances today and Essendon has a 12-1 lead in points scored from this source.
11:22
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Cam Rayner)
12:19
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Ben Hobbs)
12:47
The Lions have recorded the second-highest kick-to-handball ratio this season of 1.84. Today Brisbane has had 71 kicks and only 23 handballs for a ratio of 3.09.
15:29
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Ben Hobbs)
17:07
Essendon currently has a 23-14 lead in loose ball gets. The Bombers have won this count in only four games this season.
18:19
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
18:33
Kyle Langford has now kicked an equal career-high three goals for the Bombers. Langford has recorded a game-high seven forward 50 disposals and Essendon leads 35-11 in this measure.
20:25
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Dylan Shiel)
20:58
Essendon has now scored 3.2.20 from chains starting with an intercept in the defensive 50. Only once this season have the Bombers scored more from this source, and that was against the Saints in Round 14 when it scored 4.1.25.
21:33
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Nakia Cockatoo)
23:46
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Peter Wright)
23:57
Essendon has generated 9 of the last 11 inside 50 entries and scored 2.3.15 to 0.1.1 during this period of ascendancy.
24:40
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Rushed)
25:35
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
26:08
Essendon has recorded forward half kicking efficiency of 65 percent compared to Brisbane's 44 percent and leads 26-15 in forward half marks and 8-3 in forward 50 marks as a result.
28:47
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Zac Bailey)
29:53
Essendon had the better of the second term with a 37-24 advantage in contested possessions, kicking efficiency of 76 percent compared to 63 percent for Brisbane, and a major 80-32 lead in uncontested possessions.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:13
Brisbane has been the No.1 ranked team in the third quarter this season. The Lions have only lost this term on four occasions and have outscored their opposition by 128 points.
00:23
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
00:44
Brisbane has won the last nine regular-season games at the Gabba when it has trailed at half time.
01:41
A great start to the third quarter for the Lions with an early goal from a forward half stoppage. Brisbane has scored two goals today from three such clearances and averages 19.8 points per game from this source (ranked second).
03:14
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Oscar McInerney)
03:45
Brisbane has a 7-4 lead in contested possessions to start the quarter and has scored two goals from two inside 50 entries.
04:42
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Peter Wright)
05:22
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Rushed)
06:53
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Dyson Heppell)
07:20
The goal to Dyson Heppel was the first score of the game to the Bombers to come from a forward half stoppage. Essendon has averaged only 13.1 points per game from this source (ranked 15th).
08:42
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
08:50
While Brisbane has an 8-7 edge in centre bounce clearances, Essendon now leads 19-2 in points scored from this source.
09:38
Brisbane has averaged a pressure rating of 1.82 in 2022 with a season-low of 1.71. Today, the Lions have recorded a pressure rating of only 1.58.
10:02
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Lincoln McCarthy)
11:41
Hugh McCluggage has been involved in three scores this quarter providing two assists. Oscar Mcinerney has recorded a game-high eight score involvements for the Lions, which is approaching his career-high of 10.
17:26
Bombers Interchange - Massimo D'Ambrosio off due to an injury.
18:07
Essendon had 67 more uncontested possessions in the first half. Only once this season has there been a larger differential at half time (GWS had 78 more than NM in Round 13). Brisbane is matching Essendon in this count during the third quarter.
19:47
Essendon has generated the last six inside 50 entries of the game but failed to score from the previous five before the goal to Peter Wright.
23:27
Essendon has won only 25.7 percent of its one-on-one contests this season (ranked last). Today, the Bombers lead 8-4 in one-on-one contest wins.
24:17
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Lincoln McCarthy)
24:36
Lincoln McCarthy continues to cause Essendon problems with his third goal of the game. This gives the Lions an 18-6 lead in points scored from forward half stoppages.
24:56
Bombers Interchange - Jayden Laverde off due to an injury.
26:12
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
26:33
Brisbane has allowed its opponents to take only 82.9 marks per game this season, which is the second-fewest conceded by any team. Essendon has already taken 89 marks today.
29:28
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Mitch Robinson)
30:46
The opportunistic snap from Mitch Robinson gives the Lions a return of 5.2.32 from such shots compared to 2.3.15 for the Bombers from their snaps.
31:08
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
31:18
Bombers Interchange - Massimo D'Ambrosio off due to an injury.
34:43
Brisbane was again able to win a third quarter, scoring five goals from just ten inside 50 entries. Essendon led 18-10 for inside 50 entries and 6-1 in forward 50 marks but still lost the quarter by four points.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
01:05
The Bombers currently lead 15-4 in forward 50 marks. Only once this season has Essendon taken more such marks (20 v Hawthorn in Round 8).
02:20
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
02:31
The final quarter starts with Kyle Langford kicking his fourth goal (a career-high) following an assist from Zach Merrett (his fourth, which equals a career-high).
04:34
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
05:25
Essendon has a major 17-8 lead in forward half intercepts but has not been able to convert this onto the scoreboard with only a 16-13 edge in points scored from this source.
07:41
Brisbane has now generated 14 inside 50 entries and scored 3.2.20 from 21 intercepts in the defensive midfield. Essendon has only generated three inside 50 entries and scored 1.1.7 from 18 such intercepts.
11:29
Lincoln McCarthy has recorded a shot at goal accuracy of 65.7 percent this season, which is ranked sixth of the top 50 goalkickers. McCarthy has kicked three goals today from five shots with two attempts failing to score.
12:11
An excellent first AFL goal for Carter Michael penalises another defensive 50 turnover by the Bombers. Brisbane has generated the last six inside 50 entries and had the last four shots at goal in this game.
14:16
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
15:04
Essendon now leads 13-11 in centre bounce clearances and 32-8 in points scored from this source following the goal to Peter Wright. The Bombers average 11 points per game from this source and its previous best return in 2022 was only 19 points.
17:03
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Hugh McCluggage)
19:01
Across the last two rounds, Brisbane has lost the contested possession count by a total of 45 and the clearance count by 24 (both ranked last in that time). Essendon has a minor lead in clearances today and leads the contested possession count by 15.
19:54
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Oscar McInerney)
20:05
Brisbane has now scored 4.6.30 from its set shots at goal while Essendon has a return of 9.5.59 following the latest miss from the Lions.
21:48
In the final quarter, the Lions lead in contested possessions (25-19), inside 50 entries (12-6) and clearances (8-3), with the Bombers struggling.
23:02
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jye Caldwell)
23:11
Another answering centre bounce goal for the Bombers (their sixth) with Jye Caldwell capping a terrific game with his first goal. Caldwell has recorded career-highs for disposals (25)and metres gained (496) opposed primarily to Lachie Neale.
23:13
Bombers Interchange - Sam Durham off due to an injury.
25:38
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Cam Rayner)
26:07
Three of the four final quarter goals for the Lions have come from defensive half chains. Brisbane now leads 42-34 in points scored from such chains with Essendon struggling to defend ball movement.
27:44
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Lachie Neale)
29:13
Brisbane has dominated contested possession 35-23 in the final quarter, including 7-3 in contested marks after Essendon was on top in these measures for the first three quarters.
30:12
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Matt Guelfi)
30:17
Essendon has managed to hang on for a ten-point win against a depleted Brisbane team who had won 33 of its last 34 regular-season games at the Gabba. The Bombers had more contested possessions (137-126), forward 50 marks (18-9), and points scored from centre bounces (38-8).