Match

Essendon vs St Kilda

Commentary / 30 Mar 2024

Pre Game

00:00
Callum Wilkie plays his 112th consecutive game in a row since his debut in 2019, moving him to equal-sixth all-time in this regard alongside former Lion and Eagle Jack Redden.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
01:05
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Anthony Caminiti)
02:02
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
02:21
Early warning signs for the Bombers, with the Saints winning the first two clearances of the match and generating a score from both of these clearances, including the goal to Jack Higgins. The Bombers have outscored their opponents by three goals per game from clearances so far this season, ranked third in the AFL.
04:07
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Sinclair)
09:57
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Harrison Jones)
10:49
Harrison Jones gets his first goal of the season and the Bombers first of this match. For his career, he has kicked a goal from 70.6 per cent of his scoring shots, the 12th most accurate scoring record in VFL/AFL since 1965.
11:47
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Riley Bonner)
12:53
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
13:38
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Mattaes Phillipou)
15:40
Both teams in today's match rank in the bottom-half of the league for Pressure factor applied (St Kilda equal 11th at 177, Essendon equal 13th at 176), however the gap between the two in the early stages of today's match quite stark, with Essendon leading 201-177. The AFL average this season is 178.
19:14
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Dan Butler)
21:40
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Anthony Caminiti)
22:50
Three of the Saints four goals, including their last through Anthony Caminiti, have come from shots at goal in General Play. The Saints have scored 48 per cent of their goals in 2024 from General Play, ranked equal fourth in the AFL alongside today's opponents.
22:52
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Xavier Duursma)
24:56
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
26:02
Back-to-back goals for the Bombers brings the margin back under 10 points. Each team has now scored one goal from a forward-half intercept possession in the first quarter. Only West Coast (30) has recorded fewer forward-half intercept possessions in 2024 than both the Bombers and Saints (36 each).
29:40
Essendon won the free kick-count 5-0 in the first term. The Saints have won the free-kick count by a league-high average of nine per game in 2024.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:36
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
03:17
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mitch Owens)
03:20
Mitchito Owens kicks his first goal of the 2024 season, and the Saints first of the term, from his fourth mark inside 50 for the season, ranking him equal second at the Saints for marks inside 50. Owens broke out last season with 26 goals to rank fourth in this regard at the Saints.
04:42
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
08:50
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Harrison Jones)
08:59
Harrison Jones kicks the first goal of the term for the Bombers for the second consecutive quarter. This equals his goal tally from the entire 2023 season which was derailed by a serious ankle injury.
10:29
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
10:44
Kyle Langford kicks a goal for the 19th consecutive match. Only Charlie Curnow (50) and Nick Larkey (22) have longer streaks of games with at least one goal than Langford.
12:19
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Cooper Sharman)
14:58
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Cooper Sharman)
17:38
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
17:39
The Saints have surpassed their first term record of four marks inside 50, however with Jack Higgins missing from their fifth mark inside 50 this term, they have only scored 1.3 (9) from the ensuing shots at goal. The Saints 43 per cent scoring accuracy from shots at goal following a mark ranks 16th in the AFL in 2024.
23:54
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Darcy Parish)
24:36
Nic Martin just recorded his 15th disposal of the quarter which equals the record for the 2024 season to this point, after Andrew Brayshaw and James Sicily did so in Round 1 and 2 respectively.
25:09
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
26:57
After completing just over half of their tackle attempts in the first term (12 of 23), the Saints have completed 15 of their 16 tackle attempts in the second term. Their season average of 63.3 per cent tackling efficiency ranks them equal-ninth.
28:18
Essendon have averaged 81.5 marks per game over their first two matches in 2024, ranking them 16th in the AFL. They ranked second in this regard in 2023, taking 101 per game. However in today's match, they are closer to their 2023 form, leading the marking tally 55-38.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:47
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Darcy Wilson)
01:13
After recording just nine disposals in the first half, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has added three inside the first minute of the third term and it leads to the first score of the term. Jye Menzie is largely responsible for quelling Wanganeen-Milera in the first half, holding him to one disposal from 20 minutes of time matched-up on the Saints emerging star.
02:14
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
02:23
A second goal now for Kyle Langford who kicks the first goal of the second half. Langford scored or assisted the score of 459 points for the Bombers in 2023. Nic Martin ranked second in this regard at Essendon last season, 211 points behind Langford.
03:23
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Nic Martin)
06:06
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
06:16
Jack Higgins becomes the 60th player to score 100 goals for St Kilda in the club's history. Ironically, the 59th St Kilda player to reach this milestone was Jade Gresham, who lines up against them for the first time in today's match.
08:13
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
08:32
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Andrew McGrath)
09:51
Essendon have won six of the first seven clearances of the term, including all four centre clearances, three of which have generated a forward 50 entry. The Bombers generate an inside 50 from 88 per cent of their centre clearances in 2024 making them the second-most efficient side in the AFL in this regard.
11:04
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Tim Membrey)
12:49
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Sebastian Ross)
13:40
St Kilda score a goal from their 19th mark of the term. By comparison, the Bombers have recorded three marks in the third quarter.
15:00
Bombers Interchange - Sam Durham and is possibly out for the game.
16:45
St Kilda were held to playing on immediately from just 11 per cent of their marks in the first half by Essendon, who played on from a quarter of their 55 marks by comparison. However since the main break, it has been St Kilda leading this metric 42-33 per cent. The Saints rank second in 2024 with a 26 per cent mark play on rate.
19:47
Sam Durham (shoulder) has been replaced by the medical substitute Nick Hind.
20:52
With his 21st disposal in today's match, Dyson Heppell moves past Simon Goodwin with his 5744th disposal of his career. This places Dyson Heppell in the top 100 VFL/AFL players since 1965 for career disposals.
21:53
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera)
22:53
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Anthony Caminiti)
24:11
Seb Ross is turning back the clock for St Kilda, with a team-high 25 disposals from a game-high 11 contested possessions, including 11 disposals involved in a St Kilda scoring chain, also a game-high.
27:27
Nic Martin has set a new career-high for disposals with 38 to this point in today's match. This surpasses his 32 disposal performance against North Melbourne in Round 22 last year. His 26 kicks is also a season record across the AFL, improving on Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera's 25 last week against Collingwood.
30:48
Essendon dominated the stoppages in the third term, and as a result of beaten the Saints on the scoreboard for the first time in any quarter so far in today's match. They won the clearance count 11-7, including 6-0 at the centre bounce, and generated six inside 50's while only conceding one from this source for the term.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:52
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
02:04
Cooper Sharman has been replaced by the tactical substitute Angus Hastie, who makes his AFL debut.
04:20
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Anthony Caminiti)
04:40
Anthony Caminiti gets the first goal of the final term for St. Kilda from their 13th mark inside 50. This goal is just their fourth from a set shot for the match from 12 shots at goal of this kind.
08:24
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
08:40
Essendon answer back with their second goal from a forward 50 stoppage clearance. They have outscored their opponents by four points per game from forward 50 clearance chains in 2024, which places them equal-fifth for scoring margin from this source.
11:55
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Nick Hind)
13:29
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Archie Perkins)
14:55
St Kilda won the time in forward half battle in each of the first three terms, but only marginally (between 52-54 per cent time in forward half in each quarter). However it's a very different story in the final term, with Essendon surging forward for 63 per cent of the time elapsed so far.
17:08
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jye Menzie)
17:37
Saints Interchange - Anthony Caminiti off due to an injury.
20:09
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
20:36
Essendon take the lead for the first time in the match with a long bomb from outside 50 by Jake Stringer, the first to be kicked from outside 50 for the match. Essendon have scored more goals from shots at goal outside the 50 metre arc than any side this season (nine).
21:42
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jade Gresham)
23:40
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
24:14
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
25:05
Bombers Interchange - Xavier Duursma off due to an injury.
25:46
From a team-high 31 disposals, Riley Bonner has gained a game-high 960 metres of territory in today's match. This is a new season record, surpassing Luke Ryan's 819 metres gained in Round 1. However Bonner's 17 turnovers in today's match are the most in any game since 2012.
27:24
Nic Martin has equalled Essendon's club record with 44 disposals in today's match, after Darcy Parish did so on two separate occasions.
29:25
Essendon led today's match for just over nine minutes total, but it was the nine minutes that mattered. It was the stoppage unit that pushed them over the line, winning the clearance count 23-10 in the second half, including 9-1 at the centre bounce.