Assistant coach Mark Harvey said Lloyd created headaches for the Western Bulldogs defence from the opening bounce. “Matthew’s marking was a real credit to him today. The quality and types of marks he was taking was a lot different to what we have seen in the past. He will certainly take a lot of confidence out of his performance,” Harvey said.
At quarter time it appeared as though the record would be broken in the second term, however Lloyd was kept goalless. It was early in the third term when Lloyd kicked his seventh goal of the match to equal Madden’s record of 575 goals. His opportunity to surpass Madden’s record came later in the quarter when rookie Ben Haynes stabbed a pass to Lloyd. Lloyd lined up from a tight angle in the forward pocket and made no mistake. The crowd rose to their feet and applauded the Essendon champion for achieving the goal-kicking milestone.
“It is a tremendous effort by Matthew to become the club’s greatest goal-kicker of all time. I think Simon’s record has always been in the back of Matthew’s mind, so to come out here and kick 11 goals and break the record is an amazing accomplishment. Even though Matthew is not a player out for individual awards I think it is a fantastic achievement for him,” Harvey said.
It was a record breaking day for Lloyd. Not only did the spearhead become the club’s greatest ever goal-kicker he also finished with 11 goals. A feat he has only managed twice in his eight-year career. The last time Lloyd booted a bag of 10 goals or more was in Round 6 2001, against West Coast. The final goal came on the final siren – a fitting end to a memorable match for the 25-year-old.
Lloyd’s performance capped off a fantastic win for the Bombers. With only three games remaining until the finals, the 67-point win will give Essendon a great deal of confidence heading into the business end of the season.
