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Tenacious Bombers
Only errant finishing prevented Essendon from sewing up Friday night’s thriller against Adelaide with plenty of time to spare.
The Bombers made life tough for themselves but, ultimately, they owed their heart-stopping win to the heat they applied when it mattered.
Essendon’s midfield engine room of skipper Zach Merrett, Sam Durham and Jye Caldwell applied a combined 24 tackles.
Their endeavours were matched by the Bombers’ forward line, which applied pressure from the opening bounce.
Rankine repressed
After his breakout five-star show against Carlton six days ago, Izak Rankine came crashing back to reality against Essendon.
Rankine, predictably, started the match in the centre square, where he was greeted by giant-slaying Sam Durham, but the electric Crow could only muster two first-half disposals.
A frustrated Rankine began the third term by dump-tackling Caldwell – it is a tackle that will be looked at by the MRO. Caldwell’s head hit the ground, but he did have a hand free. It looked eerily similar to Charlie Cameron’s tackle last week on Jake Lever. Maybe Rankine will need to call on the “good bloke” tax to avoid a penalty.
Adelaide’s midfield breach was superbly filled, firstly by captain Jordan Dawson, then by emerging gun Jake Soligo.
Rankine rose out of his rut briefly in the fourth, producing a thrilling four-bounce run along the member’s wing and a magnificent snapped goal.
Frantic Finish
All 36 players were beavering away at the River End as Adelaide forged a series of repeat entries in the dying seconds.
Josh Rachele missed a go-ahead shot with 30 seconds left, moments after Taylor Walker appealed for high contact against Ben McKay.
Reilly O’Brien got the tap at a forward stoppage inside the last 10 seconds where Walker gained possession and tried desperately to free the footy.
A scrap for the footy finished with Sam Draper lunging on top of the pill, just in time for the full-time siren to sound, Walker making a bee-line for umpire Nathan Toner to appeal for a holding-the-ball decision against the big Bomber, to no avail.
The pain of defeat for Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks.Credit: Getty Images
