Match

Essendon vs Sydney Swans

Commentary / 16 Aug 2024

Pre Game

00:00
Essendon have won the inside 50 count by an average of 6.3 per game in 2024, which is the fourth-best margin in this category of any side. Last year they lost this count by an average of 5.5 per game, which was the third-worst in the league in 2023.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
04:54
Essendon have been able to turn all four of their clearances early in this match into inside 50 entries. Only Essendon and the Gold Coast Suns rank in the top four teams for inside 50 conversion rate when clearing a stoppage by both handball and kick in 2024.
07:36
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Caiden Cleary)
09:59
With his third disposal of the match, Nick Blakey has recorded his 2000th career disposal, making him the 1187th player to do so since 1965.
10:32
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Nic Martin)
10:38
Nic Martin gets Essendon on the board with the first goal of the game, which came from an intercept possession. The Swans have been outscored by their opponents by 24 points per game from this source over the last five weeks which is the worst margin of any side.
12:41
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jye Caldwell)
14:20
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Nic Martin)
15:27
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Caiden Cleary)
16:00
Sydney turn their first centre clearance of the match, and just their third total clearance, into a goal. The Swans have outscored their opponents by over 10 points per game from clearance chains in 2024, the best margin of any side from this source.
20:03
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Sam Draper)
20:06
Essendon have spent 60 per cent of time elapsed in the first term in their forward half, off the back of leading contested possessions by almost double (32-17). However 60 per cent of their kicks into their forward 50 zone have resulted in a turnover.
23:57
Sydney (306) are the only team in the AFL in 2024 to outgain their combined opponents by an average of over 300 metres per game. However to this point of the first term, the Bombers have outgained the Swans by 336 metres.
25:03
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Braeden Campbell)
27:33
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Logan McDonald)
28:44
Despite generating half the inside 50's of their opponents (10-20) in the first term, The Swans find themselves just five points down at the first interval. However it is another slow start with just two first term goals. Only West Coast (48) have fewer first term goals than Sydney (52) in 2024.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
02:44
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
02:50
After being well held by Dane Rampe in the first term who held him to just two disposals, Jake Stringer opens the scoring with his third touch. The Bombers have continued on the momentum from the first term, registering the first four inside 50's and first five marks of the quarter.
06:04
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Luke Parker)
07:16
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jade Gresham)
09:23
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Nate Caddy)
12:07
The Swans have recorded just 12 tackles in the match to this point. Their lowest tally in any match this season was 41 against St Kilda in Round 17, but they're on track to go under that at this rate.
12:52
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Isaac Heeney)
12:54
Like Jake Stringer had been well held in the first term, so to had Isaac Heeney, who was kept to just the one disposal by Jye Caldwell. However Heeney gets the Swans on the board in the second term with his fourth touch of the match.
12:59
Despite Brodie Grundy winning the hitout from 10 of his 19 ruck contests in tonight's match, the Swans midfield has only been able to generate five inside 50's from their 10 clearances won. Essendon however, with just six hitouts total, have generated 11 inside 50's from 11 clearances.
13:59
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
16:43
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Sam Draper)
18:54
Essendon are leading the free kick count 11-3 in tonight's match. The Bombers have won the free kick count in 15 of their 21 matches in 2024, which is the most by any side, and accordingly have the highest free-kick differential of any side (plus 60).
20:47
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Braeden Campbell)
26:54
Both teams have struggled with accuracy from set shots in tonight's match, with Essendon kicking 1.3 (9) and Sydney 2.3 (15) from this shot type. This is unusual for both sides who sit in the top 8 teams in 2024 for accuracy from set shots, as Essendon sit sixth at 55.2% and Sydney seventh at 54.8%.
28:06
Dylan Shiel has would back the clock in the first half with a game-high 20 disposals. Shiel has not recorded 20 or more disposals in a first half since 2019 when he notched up 21 in the first half against Collingwood in Round 6.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
01:39
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Rushed)
02:15
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Rushed)
03:37
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Luke Parker)
04:03
Luke Parker kicks the first goal of the second half to get the Swans off to the perfect start with a long bomb from outside 50, their second of the night. Sydney have scored 41 goals from shots taken outside the 50 metre arc in 2024, 11 more than Essendon who are the next best team in the AFL from this distance.
07:04
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Braeden Campbell)
09:34
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Isaac Heeney)
09:48
The Swans take the lead for the first time since kicking the opening behind of the match with the first three goals of the second half. After kicking just one goal in the first half from intercept possessions, all three in this term have come from this source.
10:04
With his third disposal of the match, Errol Gulden follows his teammate Nick Blakey by recording his 2000th career disposal, making him the 1188th player to do so since 1965.
14:13
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Isaac Heeney)
15:27
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
16:14
After taking six marks inside 50 in the first half, the Bombers have been held without one to this point of the third term from just four inside 50 entries. The Swans have conceded 12.6 marks inside 50 epr game over the last five weeks, the fifth most of any side.
16:47
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Harrison Jones)
16:58
The Bombers get their first goal of the term through their first mark inside 50 of the term. That was just their second goal launched from their defensive half for the match. Sydney, by comparison, have launched four of their six goals out of their back half.
19:26
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Zach Merrett)
21:51
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Luke Parker)
23:04
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Will Hayward)
24:20
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Oliver Florent)
24:36
Another three goal run for Sydney and the Bombers season is hanging by a thread. The last two have come from centre bounces, which has been a weak spot for the Bombers in recent weeks. They have conceded 13.6 points per game from centre bounces over the last five weeks, the equal third-most of any side.
27:44
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Oliver Florent)
29:29
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
31:10
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
31:13
After generating 16 inside 60's from 19 clearances in the first half, the Bombers struggled mightily in this area in the third term, generating just one inside 50 from four total clearances for the term. This was the Bombers equal second-lowest tally of clearances in a quarter in 2024.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
01:20
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jye Caldwell)
01:48
The Bombers get exactly the start they wanted through Jye Caldwell. Caldwell is doing his best to drag Essendon over the line, amassing game-high figures for disposals (25), clearances (four) and tackles (four).
04:26
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Luke Parker)
04:58
Luke Parker kicks his third goal, all in the second half, and their sixth set shot goal to make it very difficult for Essendon to keep their finals chances alive. Parker hasn't kicked this many goals in a match, let alone one half of a match, since he kicked five against GWS in Round 1, 2022.
10:40
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Isaac Heeney)
10:59
When the game has been in the balance, Sydney have met the challenge, lifting their pressure rating to the highest it's been in the match at 200. Since Round 16, the Swans average applied pressure rating of 176 is ranked as the fourth-lowest of any side.
11:54
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Kyle Langford)
12:07
A goal from Kyle Langford, his 40th of the season, gives the Bombers a spark of hope. He gets back to equal with Jake Stringer for the clubhouse lead in the Essendon goal tally, while becoming the first Bomber since Joe Daniher in 2016-17 with back-to-back 40 goal seasons.
13:36
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Joel Amartey)
17:24
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Joel Amartey)
18:00
Joel Amartey makes it four goals from six inside 50's in the final term for Sydney and they have all but wrapped up top spot on the ladder and snuffed out Essendon's slim finals hopes. Sydney have kicked a goal from 26 per cent of their inside 50's in 2024, ranked third in the AFL.
18:43
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Rushed)
20:18
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Will Hayward)
23:25
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Will Hayward)
23:54
Another two goals to Sydney, this time via Will Hayward, has them sprinting to the finish line. When entering their forward line through the corridor in the final term, the Swans have kicked 4.1 (25) from five entries in a dominant display.
25:01
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Ben Hobbs)
27:44
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Nic Martin)
27:46
Nic Martin gets his third goal from his 30th disposal, both team-high figures for Essendon tonight, in a tough loss that has all but ended their season. He will overtake Zach Merrett as the number one player at Essendon for Disposals in 2024 at the end of tonight's match, making them the ninth and 10th players in the AFL past the 600 disposal mark for the season.
30:54
Sydney run out 39 point winners after a frenzied second half in which they kicked 12 goals to four to all but claim the minor premiership for the 10th time in the club's history. Four goals to one in Sydney's favour from 13 centre clearances each proved the decisive factor.