Essendon has cruised to a comprehensive 18.10 (118) to 10.8 (68) match simulation win over Richmond on Friday at the NEC Hangar.
After trailing by 14 points at quarter-time, the Bombers piled on 10 of the game’s next 11 goals to lead comfortably for the majority of the afternoon.
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Darcy Parish and Nate Caddy were among Essendon’s best performers, while Hussien El Achkar continues to stake his claim for a Round 1 debut.
Caddy booted a game-high four majors, Parish kicked two, and the Dons had 10 individual goalkickers.
El Achkar had a brilliant influence on the game as a high-pressure forward who also looked dangerous whenever he got possession inside forward 50, booting two of his own.
For the Tigers, who were completely quelled after quarter-time, Sam Lalor showed good early signs, while the coaching staff will be pleased with a handful of Sam Grlj moments across half-back.
Mykelti Lefau paced Richmond with three goals, while second-year tall Harry Armstrong added two, including a great pack mark in the third quarter.
THE 3-2-1 (what we learned) …
3. FORGOTTEN STAR ‘TOTALLY DOMINATES’ IN BOMBERS BLITZ
Darcy Parish is setting himself for a career rejuvenation.
After recent seasons were plagued by persistent injury — playing three games last year and 12 in 2024 — Parish, who finally appears on the right path, was best afield on Friday afternoon.
While stats weren’t officially kept, Parish gathered plenty of the footy and was influential in getting from inside to out, also pushing forward to impact the scoreboard with two majors.
Essendon football boss Daniel McPherson detailed Parish’s pre-season progress.
“I think people forget what a good player he is, and again, he’s been an outstanding contributor in the pre-season to this point,” he told the Kayo Sports broadcast.
“He’s been able to get a lot of continuity in his training, and it’s been outstanding for us.”
Repeated calf injuries last year were cause for a lot of frustration for the 28-year-old, but he looked like his old self against Richmond.
“He got very frustrated. He’s a fairly quiet, reserved kind of guy, so it was important that we kept checking in with how he’s actually travelling — because he’s not overly vocal — but he’s a very determined guy,” McPherson continued.
“As you can see by what he’s produced today, he’s so important to us … he was really frustrated, and we were all frustrated for him, but it’s just fantastic to see him back out there.”
Parish had his second goal of the game in the third quarter, capitalising with a crafty snap from a Hussien El Achkar handball.
“Darcy Parish is going to be one of the storylines of this game … he has totally dominated,” Kayo Sports commentator Adam White said.
Elsewhere in the midfield, the Bombers got a good look at former midseason draftee Lachie Blakiston as the first-choice ruck option.
“He’s probably got his nose in front,” McPherson said of Blakiston.
With Nick Bryan sidelined with injury, the agile Blakiston was more than serviceable on Friday, using his agility to his advantage with the new ruck rules that benefit athletic types.
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2. LALOR ACT A HIGHLIGHT AS DRAFTEE CATCHES EYE
Sam Lalor provided the Richmond faithful with exactly the sort of signs they were after in his first unofficial appearance of the season.
Donning his new No.4 guernsey, it was fitting that the second-year prodigy started in the guts before drifting forward to become a dangerous attacking option.
A particular highlight came just minutes into the contest, when Lalor rose high over Jayden Nguyen — crushing him in the process — for a terrific mark.
He couldn’t finish his work with his set shot, but the grab alone was worth its weight in gold.
The former No.1 pick, who played limited minutes after hamstring issues last year, was clean in possession and looked to be a physical force whenever he had it.
Meanwhile, top-10 draft pick Sam Grlj also had a handful of nice moments on Friday as he continues to press his case for a Round 1 debut.
His dash and decision-making off half-back were most notable against the Bombers, with a few moments in particular sticking out.
First, it was an accurate slicing kick into the corridor from defence that caught the eye, evading pressure before coolly lowering his eyes to find his teammate.
To cap the first quarter, Grlj, who’d gotten forward, centred a precise kick to a spot only fellow draftee Sam Cumming could mark it, with the young South Aussie kicking truly after the siren.
“He’s done some good things in the first hour,” Kayo Sports caller Adam White said in the first half.
Richmond’s spread from half-back was a highlight in this first quarter — quickly looking to move it by foot, using angles and space — but it was short-lived.
Essendon adjusted its team defence after quarter-time, completely quelling the visitors’ ball movement fluency from that point on.
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1. ‘ELECTRIC’ FORWARDS SPARK DONS
Hussien El Achkar was the sparkplug, and Nate Caddy was the dominant force.
Throughout the afternoon, and particularly in a dominant second quarter, it was hard not to notice the duo’s yin-yang effect — with Caddy controlling the airways and El Achkar mopping up at ground level.
Caddy kicked two in the quarter and a game-high four for the game, while El Achkar got his two-goal reward late in proceedings.
Essendon’s link-up play was impressive in the second quarter, where it kicked seven goals to Richmond’s one, using their hands to cut through the Tigers and build a comfortable 26-point lead by the main change.
Speaking about Caddy on Kayo Sports, Bombers footy boss Dan McPherson said: “I think the sky’s the limit for him.
“He’s certainly someone with enormous ability, and he’s got the athletic capability to (Charlie) Curnow, who is one of those guys who has the ability to get up and down the ground, but his size allows him to compete really strongly in the air.
“It’s an enormous opportunity for us to build a forward line around him.”
He didn’t get on the goalkickers’ list until later in match simulation — in what was a deserved reward for effort — but Hussien El Achkar continues to press his Round 1 case up forward for the Dons.
El Achkar, out of the Calder Cannons, was last year’s Pick 53, but his defensive attitude in addition to his attacking ability turned heads at the Hangar.
“I think I do (have a new favourite player). His electricity … he’s getting to all the right spots, his work rate when the ball turns over,” Kayo Sports analyst Jordyn Allen said.
“I think (for) Essendon fans out there, he’s one to watch.”
Even if Isaac Kako wasn’t under an injury cloud, the man they call ‘Huss’ is surely in Round 1 calculations.
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Re-live Foxfooty.com.au’s coverage of the match simulation in the blog below!
ESSENDON SQUAD
1. Andrew McGrath, 2. Jacob Farrow, 3. Darcy Parish, 4. Kyle Langford, 6. Jye Caldwell, 8. Brayden Fiorini, 11. Jade Gresham, 15. Dyson Sharp, 19. Kayle Gerreyn, 20. Peter Wright, 21. Archie Roberts, 22. Sam Durham, 25. Jaxon Prior, 26. Archer May, 28. Xavier Duursma, 29. Max Kondogiannis, 30. Nate Caddy, 31. Zach Reid, 32. Ben McKay, 33. Hussien El Achkar, 35. Matt Guelfi, 36. Angus Clarke, 38. Rhys Unwin, 39. Vigo Visentini, 40. Zak Johnson, 41. Saad El-Hawli, 42. Jayden Nguyen, 44. Archer Day-Wicks, 46. Lachie Blakiston, 48. Liam McMahon
Missing: Zach Merrett*, Elijah Tsatas, Sullivan Robey, Issac Kako, Will Setterfield, Nik Cox, Jordan Ridley, Archie Perkins, Vigo Visentini, Lewis Hayes, Harry Jones, Nick Bryan, Mason Redman, Nic Martin, Tom Edwards
RICHMOND SQUAD
2. Jacob Hopper, 4. Sam Lalor, 5. Jack Ross, 7. Rhyan Mansell, 8. Jonty Faull, 10. Taj Hotton, 11. Luke Trainor, 12. Ben Miller, 13. Hugo Ralphsmith, 14. Tim Taranto, 15. Jayden Short, 18. Josh Gibcus, 22. Sam Cumming, 24. Sam Grlj, 25. Toby Nankervis, 26. Zane Peucker, 27. Noah Robert-Thomson, 28. Kane McAuliffe, 29. Jasper Alger, 30. Tom Brown, 33. Patrick Retschko, 34. Harry Armstrong, 36. James Trezise, 40. Tyler Sonsie, 42. Mykelti Lefau, 43. Liam Fawcett, 47. Oliver Hayes-Brown, 48. Steely Green, 49. Kaleb Smith, 50. Campbell Gray, 0. Marcus Krasnadamskis
Missing: Nick Vlastuin, Dion Prestia, Sam Banks, Josh Smillie, Maurice Rioli, Tom Lynch, Noah Balta, Judson Clarke, Samson Ryan, Nathan Broad*, Tom Sims, Seth Campbell