The West Coast Eagles have had their hearts broken by the Essendon Bombers, with the home side snatching victory in the final seconds of the game to win by five points on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Windy Hill.
Both sides brought plenty of pressure and traded goals in the final quarter but struggled to capitalise on their opportunities, with Essendon ultimately winning the arm wrestle 4.7 (31) to 4.2 (26).
West Coast’s game was characterised by its clever run and carry, led by Ella Roberts (21 disposals and eight tackles) with confidence and composure.
First-year Eagle Kayla Dalgleish converted her first goal of her career, finishing with two majors in an impressive performance by the teenager.
Co-captain Charlie Thomas was strong in the backline for West Coast, finishing with a game-high eight marks, while Emma Swanson (20 disposals) and Ali Drennan (19, five marks, eight tackles) also stood tall.
The Eagles had the measure of the Bombers for large portions of the game, making the loss even tougher to swallow.
Sophie Alexander was the hero for Essendon, marking and going back to convert at the top of the goalsquare with the Bombers down by a single point.
Essendon co-captain Bonnie Toogood lifted her side with two goals, supported by a midfield led by Georgia Nanscawen (24 disposals, seven tackles) and Amy Gaylor (22 and six, 319 metres gained).
It was Essendon that got off to a quick start, with an early goal to Toogood after Van De Heuvel delivered it straight to her chest 40m out from goal.
West Coast responded with repeat forward 50 entries, leading nine to six inside 50s at quarter-time, but the combination of shallow entries and the Bombers’ defence meant the Eagles were unable to get reward for effort.
It was late in the quarter when a 50m penalty was awarded to West Coast’s Abbygail Bushby, which she converted.
The roles were reversed in the second quarter, with Essendon unable to capitalise on its opportunities inside 50 to make the distance to goal.
The Eagles looked much more composed, confident to chip the ball around with short kicks and create a slow build-up, taking 12 uncontested marks for the term.
This slow build-up was exemplified by the kick-mark combination of Roberts, Dalgleish and Mikayla Western, resulting in second-gamer Dalgleish’s first AFLW goal.
In the third quarter, Toogood missed two opportunities to put her side in front within minutes of each other – but in the closing stages of the quarter she made the toughest shot of the three attempts from the pocket to go in three points up at three-quarter time.
The ball moved swiftly from end to end in the last term, with Bomber Georgia Gee and Eagle Dalgleish trading goals, and an incredible team effort ending in Eagle Kellie Gibson running into an open goal, before Alexander’s final blow.
ESSENDON 1.0 1.2 2.5 4.7 (31)
WEST COAST 1.0 2.1 2.2 4.2 (26)
GOALS
Essendon: Toogood 2, Gee, Alexander
West Coast: Dalgleish 2, Bushby, Gibson
BEST
Essendon: Nanscawen, Gaylor, Prespakis, Toogood, Dyke
West Coast: Roberts, Drennan, Swanson, Thomas, McGrath
INJURIES
Essendon: Van De Heuvel (knee)
West Coast: Nil
Reports: Nil
Crowd: TBA at Windy Hill
