Here are some of the key numbers from the Bombers loss to Richmond on Saturday night.

85,656

Essendon and Richmond broke the record for the biggest home-and-away crowd in VFL-AFL history on a Saturday night.

47

Essendon led the way with 49 hit outs, compared to Richmond’s 28. Tom Bellchambers had a game-high 40. This impacted the clearances with the Dons’ finishing with 38 to the Tigers 33.

71

Essendon’s defence was under pressure throughout the game, with 71 entries into the Bombers’ defensive 50. But the Dons were able to withstand the constant bombardment and conceded 11 goals.

100%

Conor McKenna had a 100 per cent efficiency disposal rate from his 18 touches (five kicks and 13 handballs). This is an increase from his already high-efficiency rate (88 per cent) against West Coast.

35

David Zaharakis had a game high of 35 disposals. That’s three consecutive games he’s passed the 30 mark.

4

Pressure in the forward 50 has been a hallmark of the Dons victories this season.
But against Richmond, Essendon only laid four tackles inside their forward 50. That’s well down on the 22 they laid against the Eagles the week before.

20

Essendon currently sits in 11th place on the ladder with 20 points from their five wins this season. The Dons are only one game out of the top four, sitting in a cluster of eight teams separated by just one game. The evenness of the season adds extra weight to the Bombers upcoming games against GWS and Port Adelaide ahead of the bye.