A week after claiming its first ever win, Essendon came back to earth in round 10 with a narrow six-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.
The match went down to the wire with five lead changes before Bulldog forward Mickayla Ward put her side clear halfway through the final quarter at Henry Turner Reserve.
The Bombers had their chances to regain the lead but, try as they might, couldn’t break the half-forward line under mounting desperation in the final minutes and lost 4.5 (29) to 5.5 (35).
With Aysha Ward a late in for Chloe Laan, the Bombers hit the ground with all the vigour they displayed against Richmond as Val Moreau claimed advantage from a free kick to slot the first of the match with the wind.
The Bulldogs regained the lead in a high-scoring second quarter as Ellie Blackburn and Annabel Scott kicked back-to-back goals before Lauren Morecroft and Moreau replied to hold the half-time deficit to just five points.
Essendon struggled to break the game open with the wind in the third quarter, but the Bombers finally helped themselves to a stroke of luck when Tanya Hetherington received a free kick for an anti-density infringement in the shadows of the siren and slotted the set shot.
Although the Essendon backline repelled with growing maturity in the final quarter, the match boiled down to a single rebound play; ten minutes into the term, Morecroft’s set shot from the paint of 50 missed to the left-hand side and the Dogs slung the ball forward where Ward dribbled through her second.
Courtney Ugle and Jess Trend were prolific in the midfield. Down back, Kirby Hicks added former Melbourne AFLW forward Alyssa Mifsud to her season’s scalps, while Bec Neaves blanketed Western Bulldogs AFLW player Deanna Berry.
After spending much of the season as pillars in defence, Morecroft and Hetherington proved their versatility with their first goals in the red and black.
Although influential, Ellie Blackburn was never allowed easy possession as Alex Morcom kept the AFLW superstar honest in the first half.
Indeed, coach Brendan Major went so far as to say that his side had delivered a better four-quarter performance than in their round nine win over Richmond.
“Our midfielders were really strong around the contests, our defenders locked down hard, particularly around the half-back line,” Major said after the match.
“People expect a young side to take their time developing but you always want to be taking the next step forward rather than falling back, and we did that today.”
Essendon face reigning premiers Darebin at Bill Lawry Oval next Saturday from 12pm.
ESSENDON 1.3 3.3 4.4 4.5 (29)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 1.0 4.2 4.2 5.5 (35)
GOALS
Essendon – Moreau 2, Morecroft, Hetherington
Western Bulldogs – Ward 2, Blackburn, Berry, Scott
BEST
Neaves, Ugle, Morecroft, Trend, Collier, De Matteo
