Essendon has defeated North Melbourne by 17 points at Etihad Stadium in what was one of the most aesthetically pleasing and exciting games this season.
Both teams displayed a refined ability to counterattack and break down opposition defences, indicative by the 19.11 (125) to 16.12 scoreline.
As a result of the loss, North Melbourne sit just outside the top-eight through percentage.
The Roos started off the match in fine form, with the likes of Shaun Higgins, Ben Cunnington and Jack Ziebell dominating a hapless Bombers midfield.
Yet North failed to capitalise from their early dominance as Essendon forward Orazio Fantasia slotted the first goal of the game.
North Melbourne replied with five goals of their own, with prospect Mason Wood slotting two majors to lead by 20 points halfway through the first term.
The remainder of the quarter, however, belonged to the Bombers and Fantasia, with the mercurial forward kicking two excellent goals from either side of the pocket, as the Bombers trailed by six points after an action-packed quarter.
The second quarter picked up where the first left off, with Essendon forward Shaun McKernan sandwiching three successive North Melbourne goals with three of his own in a contest that could only be described as an end-to-end shootout of the highest calibre.
Star midfielder Zach Merrett (16 touches at 100% efficiency at half-time) and electric forward Devon Smith bucked the trend by slotting majors, followed immediately by polarising forward Jake Stringer showcasing his best with two 50m bombs.
The blistering play from Bombers ultimately gave them five majors in a row and a 20-point lead heading into the main interval.
Essendon continued proceedings in the same manner as they finished the first half, stretching their lead out to 32 points as they continued to dominate the outside game, with their ability to move the ball at speed coming to the fore.
North Melbourne, however, through goals to Ryan Clarke and Luke McDonald, responded stoically to provide some hope and bring the margin back to 19 points halfway through the term.
After a relative stalemate in the enthralling contest, in which both sides opted to play tempo footy as opposed to the constant counterattacking football seen in the match, North midfielder Paul Ahern capitalised on a costly Conor McKenna mistake to reduce the margin to 12 points, leaving Bombers’ fans looking over their shoulders nervously at the final break.
The seesawing nature of this contest between sides constantly at each other's throats continued well into the decisive term, with both sides going goal for goal until, with Essendon unable to break away from the Roos’ reach, and North Melbourne incapable of reeling in an elusive Bombers outfit.
With both sides at an impasse, the contest eventually petered out until a spiteful bump on Stringer by Ben Cunnington added further fuel to the fire, and with a North win impossible, the mercurial forward wound down the clock and slotted the goal after the 50m penalty to give the Bombers a 17-point victory over a resilient North Melbourne.
Essendon have set the stage perfectly for a huge clash between Collingwood next Sunday at the MCG, while North Melbourne will be at Etihad Stadium to play Gold Coast in a week’s time.
ESSENDON 6.2 13.6 15.8 19.11 (125)
NORTH MELBOURNE 7.2 10.4 13.8 16.12 (108)
BEST
Essendon: Fantasia, Myers, Merrett, Heppell, Goddard
North Melbourne: Wood, Goldstein, Higgins, Ziebell, Cunnington
GOALS
Essendon: Fantasia 4, McKernan 4, Stringer 3, Myers 2, Smith, Baguely, Bellchambers, Merrett, McDonald-Tipungwuti, McGrath
North Melbourne: Wood 3, Cunnington 2, Brown 2, McDonald 2, Hrovat, Ahern, Atley, Clarke, Turner, Ziebell
INJURIES
Essendon: Nil
North Melbourne: Nil
TALKING POINTS
1. Essendon the kings of uncontested footy?
A massive feature of the first half was the supreme counterattacking on display by the two sides, with the ball being moved from end-to-end at a rapid pace and resulting in goals aplenty for both sides.
North, however, blinked first in the tactical battle, and adopted a slower game plan aimed at preserving energy in a significantly older squad.
With the game relatively even in the contest with Essendon winning clearances and contested possessions by seven each, the Bombers began to dominate on the outside, particularly via rebounding defenders Andrew McGrath (25 touches, 5 rebounds), Adam Saad (16 touches, 10 running bounces) and Conor McKenna (16 touches, 4 score involvements).
With the Bombers winning the uncontested footy by +49, the Roos outfit simply could not match their pace.
2. Will Goldy miss a week for that hit?
On the stroke of half-time, key ruckman Todd Goldstein and Essendon star Zach Merrett were involved in a heavy collision on the wing in the middle of a contest.
With the Goldstein electing to bump Merrett after the ball had been cleared from the contest, and with contact to the head causing a major collision and a momentarily flattened Merrett, does ‘Goldy’ have a case to answer?
The impact could be classed as intentional and heavy to the head, and with the precedent the MRP have set this year considering contact to the head, Goldstein might have a reason to be worried.
3. Stringer looking like the 2015 Stringer?
A highlight for the Bombers today was the resurgence of the polarising figure that is Jake Stringer.
The forward finished with 15 touches, three goals, six marks and eight score involvements.
Particularly noticeable was the effect he had on his teammates during his spurt in the second quarter, where he slotted two significant majors from outside 50 to pile on the momentum for the Bombers.
When Stringer fires, his influence seems to make the Bombers walk a little taller.
The question is, can he maintain the display he showed today, considering his form has been AWOL for the last year and a half.
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