Essendon has hung on to claim a thrilling eight-point win over Sydney in a rollercoaster match at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
The Bombers had blitzed the Swans from the opening bounce, kicking their first three goals from 50-metre penalties.
FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every AFL match this Saturday LIVE. Catch all the action in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
But their 39-point half time lead was whittled away by a brave Sydney outfit that refused to die wondering before falling to an 11.5 (71) to 8.15 (63) loss.
IMAGINE WHAT YOU COULD BE BUYING INSTEAD. Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
The Swans proved their own worst enemy as inaccuracy plagued the side, including Aaron Francis’ shocker from the goal square.
“Sydney will rue their missed opportunities,” Jonathan Brown said.
Defender Nick Blakey failed to see out the match after copping a blow to the face from Bombers skipper Zach Merrett.
“I thought I tapped all ball – I was about to kick the goal,” Merrett said of the moment post-match on Fox Footy.
“I haven’t seen it, but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”
For Essendon, debutant Lewis Hayes was also ruled out after suffering a knee injury in the third term.
THE 3-2-1 (what we learned) via Jack Jovanovski and Will Faulkner …
3. ‘SENSATIONAL’ FORMER TOP PICK DELIVERS AS DONS SURVIVE
Zach Reid was everywhere for the Bombers, particularly in the first half of proceedings.
The key defender helped Essendon rule the airways in its back half, but he also found plenty of the footy himself.
The No.10 pick in 2021, Reid finished with a career-high 27 disposals, 14 marks and eight intercepts to aid the Bombers in limiting the Swans to just eight goals.
Essendon’s 39-point half-time lead was its biggest since Round 10, 2021; illustrating its dominance as it owned uncontested ball.
“Sensational first half in a lot of aspects of the game … they’ve been able to get that extra number behind the play,” Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown said.
“Not only individually, but as a team system, they’ve done that really well behind the ball.”
But Brown and four-time premiership winner Jordan Lewis couldn’t help but praise the 23-year-old’s efforts.
“Zach Reid was sensational, wasn’t he?” Brown began. “Behind the ball, along with Ben McKay as well. He had three intercept marks in the first quarter.”
Lewis added: “I think he’s built into the early part of his career really nicely. He’s a player that reads the play really well.
“I think he understands when to go quick and when to go slow, and certainly with the defenders down there at the moment, underneath McKay, (who) would be educating this young kid.
“They’ve been solid in defence as a group, he’s certainly been a standout.”
The Bombers had to stave off a surging Sydney outfit to claim their fifth win of the season from eight games, with the Super Saturday Live panel discussing Reid’s impact in the aftermath.
“Questions were being asked about Zach Reid — ‘where does he sit?’ — well, he is the prototype for a centre-half back; 200 centimetres plus, can mark it in the air, can use it.
“Darcy Moore’s probably the first one that comes to mind out of that sort of mould of someone who impacts in the air, but (also) with their all use can hurt you the other way.”
David King: “They were really disappointing against the Adelaide Crows when they coughed up 160 points, but you have a look at them since — and I think this is why this guy is such a big piece — they’ve given up 60, 57, 75, there’s a 107 against Collingwood in there, then 62 last week, 63 today.
“They’re numbers you can compete with, with anyone in the competition. That’s a huge shift — we’ve never talked about the Bombers in terms of being defensively stable.”
2. ‘BLOODS CULTURE’ QUESTIONED IN LOSS AS RESPONSE COMES TOO LATE
It was really ugly first-half viewing for Sydney as an AFL great challenged ‘Bloods culture’ at the main break.
And while it responded by finishing with a wet sail and challenging the Bombers, the response came far too late into the game as the Swans’ list demographic now comes into question at 3-6.
At half-time, trailing by 39 points, the Swans had recorded 78 fewer disposals than Essendon, 82 fewer uncontested possessions, 20 fewer marks and 13 fewer tackles.
“This is what Sydney are doing (defensively) — they’re retreating, and they’re dying,” Jonathan Brown said of the Swans’ failing structure.
“Essendon have been able to move the ball from D50 to goal three times in that first half, which would be disappointing (for senior coach Dean Cox).
“So often we see the really good teams defensively come forward to defend, and it just hasn’t been good enough as a team system.”
Jordan Lewis broke down Sydney’s back-half shortfalls to a further degree.
“I think one of the tells when you’re looking at a side that’s defending is where’s their chest facing?” he began.
“If the chest is facing away from their own goal they’re not set properly, they’ve been turned around, and the opposition have been able to get the ball in motion and be really aggressive.
“I think they (the Swans) have got issues all over the park at the moment, so it’s about what Dean Cox wants to focus on to come into this second half.
“I think the contest has been huge. Essendon’s pressure around the ball has been first class.”
Brown took it even further on Fox Footy, questioning the ‘Bloods culture’ well-documented throughout the Swans’ history.
“Talk about ‘Bloods culture’ — (we) haven’t seen enough of that today,” Brown said.
“You pride yourself on a culture that’s been built up over (many) years … there’s been none of that today.”
Along with poor discipline — with the Swans giving away three 50-metre penalties in the first quarter alone and seven for the match — at half-time, there were 11 Sydney players without a tackle to their name.
“I would expect that to be on the board at half-time by Dean Cox, and he’d need to really rev these players up,” Lewis said.
“There’s a bit of pride on the line now against Essendon in this second half.”
Sydney trailed by 30 points at the last change and kicked three unanswered final-quarter goals to send a shiver up Essendon’s spine, but the turnaround came too little too late.
“They’re not playing finals. Losses like this … and they salvaged the margin, but it was still, in my opinion, a heavy loss,” dual flag-winner David King said post-game.
“(For) three quarters they didn’t look in the game. They played 15 minutes of footy, really, that gave them a sniff. But you start discussing the list when you have a run like this.
“We know there’s a couple out (with injury) … but when you’re (putting out) a team that only has four players under the age of 23, you’ve got a pretty settled core line-up.
“You need better performances than this, otherwise you start looking at (Dane) Rampe, nearly 35, (Jake) Lloyd, 32, (Brodie) Grundy we know is 31. Isaac Heeney’s 29; that’s sneaking up on us a little bit.
“Where’s their window? Is it still with this group? If it’s not, then you have to change your strategy and your list build.”
1. YOUNG DON DEALT CRUEL DEBUT BLOW AMID MRO QUESTION FOR MERRETT
In the biggest sour note of the evening for a victorious Bombers outfit, debutant Lewis Hayes went down at the end of the third quarter with what sadly appears to be a serious knee injury.
The 20-year-old key defender started his AFL career brightly on Saturday evening, collecting 16 disposals from just 67 per cent game time as Essendon played the ultimate uncontested possession game in its back half.
But as the three-quarter time siren loomed, Hayes landed awkwardly on his left knee going up for a marking contest against Sydney star Isaac Heeney.
It saw play halted to allow the Lysterfield product time to leave the field of play, accompanied by a trainer on either side of him for support.
His injury looms as the cruellest of blows for Hayes, who had been magnificent in the reserves before his maiden AFL call-up — with Brad Scott saying in his post-game press conference the Bombers were “almost certain” it was an ACL rupture.
The 199-centimetre tall averaged a tick over 22 disposals and just under 12 marks a game across his four VFL games in 2025, having replaced gun defender Jordan Ridley who went down with a hamstring injury the previous week.
Rival defender Nick Blakey was also taken off late in the match for a HIA assessment, after being clipped by Bombers skipper Zach Merrett inside the Swans’ defensive 50 while contested a loose ball mid-air.
Speaking to Fox Footy immediately after the final siren, the winning captain commented briefly on the incident.
“I thought I tapped all ball — I was about to kick the goal. I haven’t seen it, but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” Merrett said.
The 29-year-old again led from the front, albeit with a slightly less-full stat line, kicking two crucial goals from 19 disposals and six inside-50s.
Re-live our coverage of Essendon vs. Sydney in the blog below!
