Match

Essendon vs Adelaide Crows

Commentary / 06 Jul 2023

Pre Game

00:00
Essendon has lost the time in forward half differential by five minutes and 27 seconds per game this season – ranked 16th.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:37
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Mason Redman)
00:49
A hot start from the Bombers with the first goal of the match going to Mason Redman, with the goal sourcing from a centre bounce. Essendon scores the second-most points from centre bounce on average - averaging 13.3 points each game this season.
02:10
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Peter Wright)
03:57
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Taylor Walker)
04:35
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
04:41
Adelaide's first score from Taylor Walker was generated from a forward 50 chain. Adelaide only launch a score from 16.6% of their chains in this zone - ranked second-last.
06:02
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
06:44
Kyle Langford converts the second goal of the match following his mark in the forward 50. Kyle Langford has taken 40 marks inside forward 50 and booted 29 goals this season – ranked seventh and 13th respectively in the competition.
07:19
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jye Menzie)
07:23
The Bombers have already scored two goals from centre bounce early today. Last week, it took them until late in the last quarter to score a goal from this source.
08:21
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Ben Keays)
08:24
Ben Keays slots Adelaide's first goal of the afternoon, with it coming from a centre bounce clearance. The Crows are the third-best team at scoring from this source - averaging 12.4 points per game.
11:01
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Zach Merrett)
12:45
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Nic Martin)
13:24
A goal-scoring fiesta at Marvel this afternoon, with Essendon kicking five goals in the first 13 minutes. Essendon usually averages 7.7 points in the first 10 minutes of the first quarter - ranking fifth in the competition.
15:08
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
16:02
The Bombers have been aggressive to start, scoring from 80% of their inside 50s. They normally average 38.7% - ranked second behind their opposition today in Adelaide (The Crows average 40.6%).
16:45
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
18:07
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Luke Pedlar)
18:49
Luke Pedlar's goal stops a run of five scores from the Bombers. This goal was Adelaide's first goal from a turnover today. The Crows outscore their opponent by nine points from this source on average - ranked fourth in the AFL.
19:31
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Peter Wright)
20:34
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Riley Thilthorpe)
20:45
After conceding six inside 50s in a row, the Crows have had three of the last five inside 50s. Essendon averages 5.7 fewer inside 50s than their opponent, whereas today they have had eight more than the Crows.
23:29
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
24:46
Essendon's ball movement has been a contributing factor to their dominance in this quarter. They have generated an inside 50 from 50% of their defensive 50 chains, whereas the Crows have only generated an inside 50 entry from 10% of their defensive 50 chains.
25:17
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Ned McHenry)
26:55
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Darcy Fogarty)
30:14
The Crows have scored four of the last five goals. In the last 10 minutes, they have scored from 75% of their inside 50s in comparison to the Bombers' 25%, as well as being able to be much more effective in their forward half, recording a disposal efficiency of 86% in comparison to Essendon's 65%.
30:55
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
31:55
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Matt Guelfi)
34:33
Essendon with a big first quarter to have them in front at the first break by 17 points. Their score of 7.6 (48) is their biggest score against Adelaide in the opening quarter since 1995. The Bombers' dominance was built off the back of centre bounces, being able to launch five scores from centre bounce - the second most by any team in a quarter this season.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
00:20
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Taylor Walker)
00:52
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
01:19
Kyle Langford becomes the first multiple-goal scorer today, with his goal coming from a defensive 50 chain. They average the most points from this source in the AFL this season - averaging 21.7 points a game.
02:03
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Archie Perkins)
03:35
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Taylor Walker)
05:07
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Peter Wright)
05:43
Adelaide has struggled to get their ball movement into motion. They have had 18 chains start in their defensive 50, but have only managed to convert one of those into an inside 50 (6%). In contrast, the Bombers have converted four of their seven defensive 50 chains into an inside 50 (57%).
07:23
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Ben Hobbs)
08:24
Ben Hobb kicks the first goal of the game that was launched from the forward 50 zone. Essendon averages 16.1 points from this zone - which is slightly below the AFL average of 16.5.
09:05
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Luke Pedlar)
11:54
Essendon has been relentless in locking the ball in their forward half as the game has spent 71% of the game in this zone. They have had 22 more contested possessions and nine more marks in this zone in comparison to the Crows.
13:06
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jake Kelly)
16:49
Essendon has restricted Adelaide's ball movement when exiting their defensive 50 as the Crows have only been able to register a rebound efficiency of 6%. Only the flip side, Essendon has been able to rebound effectively 50% of the time.
18:27
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
19:14
Peter Wright converts his second goal of the occasion. He has been the most targeted player on the ground when going inside 50, being targeted seven times (three more than the next most) for a return of 2.3 (15) on the scoreboard.
22:07
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jye Menzie)
23:32
Darcy Parish has had five of his six inside 50 kicks retained, the most of any player. Normally the Bombers register a score from 10.9% of his inside 50 kicks - the worst return from the top 10 Bombers with the most inside 50 kicks, but today his inside 50 kicks have resulted in a score of 3.1 (19) on the scoreboard.
27:41
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Matt Guelfi)
31:23
A disappointing opening half for the Crows as they had their worst inside 50 differential since 2020, having 22 fewer inside 50s in comparison to the Bombers. They have conceded 45 points from turnovers (the most they've conceded in a half this year) - with 19 of those points being generated from Essendon's attacking midfield zone.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:42
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Izak Rankine)
00:51
Izak Rankine with a much-needed goal for the Crows, with the goal coming from a stoppage. Adelaide has scored three fewer points from this zone today and averages three fewer than their opponent for the season - ranked third-last in the AFL.
03:26
Bombers Interchange - Jordan Ridley off due to an injury.
05:27
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Matt Guelfi)
06:06
Although Reilly O’Brien has had 11 more hit outs than Andrew Phillips when they have been rucking opponents, they have had the same amount of hit outs-to-advantage, as well as the Bombers having one more clearance and have scored 10 more points when they have been opposing ruckmen.
06:56
Bombers Interchange - Andrew Phillips off due to an injury.
07:17
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
07:33
Essendon has brought effort and pressure to the contest today as they register a pressure factor of 187 in comparison to Adelaide's 179. The Bombers rank second for pressure rating differential this season.
08:40
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
09:06
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Andrew McGrath)
10:02
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Rushed)
11:56
Adelaide are struggling to progress the ball and gain field position. 66% of the game has been spent in Essendon's forward half, as well as having 592 less metres gained from handball receives in comparison to the Bombers.
12:30
Bombers Interchange - Mason Redman off due to an injury.
14:05
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Chayce Jones)
19:49
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Darcy Fogarty)
19:57
Adelaide has had the last 10 inside 50s as well as four of the last five clearances but has not been able to make it count on the scoreboard as they have only scored 1.3 (9).
23:56
The Crows have been active at stoppages this afternoon, having 21 pre-clearance tackles in comparison to the Bombers' 12 - a huge effort considering Adelaide is the third-worst team for pre-clearance tackle differential.
25:56
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
27:10
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Peter Wright)
29:01
After fighting hard in the third quarter, Adelaide have nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. They had five more clearances and 11 more inside 50s, but their efficiency going inside 50 for the quarter was below par as they only retained the ball from 39% of their entries (compared to Essendon's 86%) and were only able to score from 28% of their entries (compared to Essendon's 86%).

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
01:20
Zach Merrett is having a day out with game-highs of 32 disposals, 10 contested possessions, 606 metres gained as well as chipping in with a goal.
01:47
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
03:33
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Rushed)
04:20
Only the eight disposals for Izak Rankine but has been able to impose his pressure in the game with an equal season-high five tackles and an equal game-high 21 pressure acts, as well as pitching in with a goal.
04:46
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Brodie Smith)
08:06
Essendon currently leads the contested possession count by 17. Last week, they won the contested possession count by 19 last round – their second-best result this season.
09:26
Adelaide has allowed Essendon to take 15 marks inside 50 tonight. The Crows normally allow their opposition to take just 8.7 marks inside the forward 50 per game this season – ranked No.1 defensively.
13:11
There has been a clear disconnect between Adelaide's lines as the Crows have only found a mark from 3% of their inside 50 kicks. This season, they have found a mark from an inside 50 kick 21.5% of the time - ranked third.
13:19
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Ben Keays)
14:28
SCORE BEHIND - Crows (Izak Rankine)
17:06
Despite only having nine disposals inside their forward 50 for the quarter, Adelaide has had five scoring shots for a return of 3.2 (20) on the scoreboard to keep their hopes alive in this game.
18:42
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
19:16
A quick response goal from Kyle Langford to stretch the margin back out to 30 points. Langford has kicked three goals in back-to-back games - making it the second time in his career he has kicked three or more goals in back-to-back games.
21:53
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Nic Martin)
23:26
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Taylor Walker)
25:37
The Bombers have won 50% of their 1v1 marking contests in this game - well above their average for the season of 27.3% where they rank sixth-last in the AFL.
29:21
Rory Sloane scores on the back of Jordan Dawson's inside 50. Jordan Dawson has had the most inside 50 kicks for Adelaide with six, retaining his entries at 67% and Adelaide scoring three goals from his entries. Of the 25 players with the most inside 50 kicks in the AFL, Dawson ranks fourth for inside 50 kick retention.
30:41
SCORE GOAL - Crows (Lachlan Murphy)
33:53
Adelaide was able to keep themselves in the contest due to their accuracy, kicking eight goals straight from set shots as well as scoring from 60% of their entries in the first quarter, but ultimately was unable to sustain their accuracy as they only retained 42% of their entries in comparison to Essendon's 67%.