![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n
Darcy Parish and Nate Caddy were among Essendon\u2019s best performers, while Hussien El Achkar continues to stake his claim for a Round 1 debut. <\/p>\n
Caddy booted a game-high four majors, Parish kicked two, and the Dons had 10 individual goalkickers. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Mykelti Lefau paced Richmond with three goals, while second-year tall Harry Armstrong added two, including a great pack mark in the third quarter. <\/p>\n
THE 3-2-1 (what we learned) …<\/p>\n
3. FORGOTTEN STAR \u2018TOTALLY DOMINATES\u2019 IN BOMBERS BLITZ<\/p>\n
Darcy Parish is setting himself for a career rejuvenation. <\/p>\n
After recent seasons were plagued by persistent injury \u2014 playing three games last year and 12 in 2024 \u2014 Parish, who finally appears on the right path, was best afield on Friday afternoon. <\/p>\n
While stats weren\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n
Essendon football boss Daniel McPherson detailed Parish\u2019s pre-season progress. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think people forget what a good player he is, and again, he\u2019s been an outstanding contributor in the pre-season to this point,\u201d he told the Kayo Sports broadcast. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been able to get a lot of continuity in his training, and it\u2019s been outstanding for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe got very frustrated. He\u2019s a fairly quiet, reserved kind of guy, so it was important that we kept checking in with how he\u2019s actually travelling \u2014 because he\u2019s not overly vocal \u2014 but he\u2019s a very determined guy,\u201d McPherson continued. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs you can see by what he\u2019s produced today, he\u2019s so important to us \u2026 he was really frustrated, and we were all frustrated for him, but it\u2019s just fantastic to see him back out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parish had his second goal of the game in the third quarter, capitalising with a crafty snap from a Hussien El Achkar handball. <\/p>\n
\u201cDarcy Parish is going to be one of the storylines of this game \u2026 he has totally dominated,\u201d Kayo Sports commentator Adam White said. <\/p>\n
Elsewhere in the midfield, the Bombers got a good look at former midseason draftee Lachie Blakiston as the first-choice ruck option. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s probably got his nose in front,\u201d McPherson said of Blakiston.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Oliver sizzles in impressive debut | 10:03<\/p>\n
2. LALOR ACT A HIGHLIGHT AS DRAFTEE CATCHES EYE<\/p>\n
Sam Lalor provided the Richmond faithful with exactly the sort of signs they were after in his first unofficial appearance of the season. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
A particular highlight came just minutes into the contest, when Lalor rose high over Jayden Nguyen \u2014 crushing him in the process \u2014 for a terrific mark. <\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t finish his work with his set shot, but the grab alone was worth its weight in gold. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
His dash and decision-making off half-back were most notable against the Bombers, with a few moments in particular sticking out. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
To cap the first quarter, Grlj, who\u2019d 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s done some good things in the first hour,\u201d Kayo Sports caller Adam White said in the first half. <\/p>\n
Richmond\u2019s spread from half-back was a highlight in this first quarter \u2014 quickly looking to move it by foot, using angles and space \u2014 but it was short-lived. <\/p>\n
Essendon adjusted its team defence after quarter-time, completely quelling the visitors\u2019 ball movement fluency from that point on. <\/p>\n
Suns v Saints: Full Match Highlights | 12:34<\/p>\n
1. \u2018ELECTRIC\u2019 FORWARDS SPARK DONS<\/p>\n
Hussien El Achkar was the sparkplug, and Nate Caddy was the dominant force. <\/p>\n
Throughout the afternoon, and particularly in a dominant second quarter, it was hard not to notice the duo\u2019s yin-yang effect \u2014 with Caddy controlling the airways and El Achkar mopping up at ground level. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Essendon\u2019s link-up play was impressive in the second quarter, where it kicked seven goals to Richmond\u2019s one, using their hands to cut through the Tigers and build a comfortable 26-point lead by the main change. <\/p>\n
Speaking about Caddy on Kayo Sports, Bombers footy boss Dan McPherson said: \u201cI think the sky\u2019s the limit for him. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s certainly someone with enormous ability, and he\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an enormous opportunity for us to build a forward line around him.\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t get on the goalkickers\u2019 list until later in match simulation \u2014 in what was a deserved reward for effort \u2014 but Hussien El Achkar continues to press his Round 1 case up forward for the Dons.<\/p>\n
El Achkar, out of the Calder Cannons, was last year\u2019s Pick 53, but his defensive attitude in addition to his attacking ability turned heads at the Hangar. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think I do (have a new favourite player). His electricity \u2026 he\u2019s getting to all the right spots, his work rate when the ball turns over,\u201d Kayo Sports analyst Jordyn Allen said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think (for) Essendon fans out there, he\u2019s one to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even if Isaac Kako wasn\u2019t under an injury cloud, the man they call \u2018Huss\u2019 is surely in Round 1 calculations. <\/p>\n
Curnow puts on a show in Swans debut | 01:11<\/p>\n
Re-live Foxfooty.com.au\u2019s coverage of the match simulation in the blog below!<\/p>\n
ESSENDON SQUAD<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
RICHMOND SQUAD<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Essendon has cruised to a comprehensive 18.10 (118) to 10.8 (68) match simulation win over Richmond on Friday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[233553,638,36846,41156,51242,69039,64,63,689,55,639,29651,27764,35799,51247,248319,17988,11231,2105,9130,14439,69022,248321,3231,9021,3417,9014,27737,14369,36888,14423,100214,77699,14372,25540,248316,45721,1811,49801,36877,218846,12107,24778,647,14426,3032,68970,17985,233523,248320,677,248317,12174,248134,244612,28008,30397,248322,672,14376,3519,25862,3469,248318,14400,248049,85,1122,248051,9022,17992,164630,69012,12120,660,25581,29649,14422],"class_list":{"0":"post-491570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-aami-community-series-live","9":"tag-afl","10":"tag-andrew-mcgrath","11":"tag-angus-clarke","12":"tag-archie-perkins","13":"tag-archie-roberts","14":"tag-au","15":"tag-australia","16":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","17":"tag-australian-football-league","18":"tag-australianfootballleague","19":"tag-ben-mckay","20":"tag-ben-miller","21":"tag-brayden-fiorini","22":"tag-darcy-parish","23":"tag-day-wicks","24":"tag-dion-prestia","25":"tag-essendon-bombers","26":"tag-getty-images-inc","27":"tag-gold-coast-suns","28":"tag-harry-armstrong","29":"tag-harry-jones","30":"tag-issac-kako","31":"tag-jack-jovanovski","32":"tag-jack-ross","33":"tag-jacob-farrow","34":"tag-jacob-hopper","35":"tag-james-trezise","36":"tag-jasper-alger","37":"tag-jayden-nguyen","38":"tag-josh-smillie","39":"tag-jye-caldwell","40":"tag-kaleb-smith","41":"tag-kane-mcauliffe","42":"tag-kyle-langford","43":"tag-lachie-blakiston","44":"tag-lewis-hayes","45":"tag-liam-mcmahon","46":"tag-luke-trainor","47":"tag-mason-redman","48":"tag-match-simulation","49":"tag-matt-guelfi","50":"tag-maurice-rioli","51":"tag-melbourne","52":"tag-nate-caddy","53":"tag-nic-martin","54":"tag-nick-bryan","55":"tag-nick-vlastuin","56":"tag-nik-cox","57":"tag-noah-robert-thomson","58":"tag-oceania","59":"tag-oliver-hayes-brown","60":"tag-peter-wright","61":"tag-pre-season-hitout","62":"tag-pre-season-match-sims","63":"tag-quinn-rooney","64":"tag-rhyan-mansell","65":"tag-rhys-unwin","66":"tag-richmond-tigers","67":"tag-saad-el-hawli","68":"tag-sam-cumming","69":"tag-sam-durham","70":"tag-sam-lalor","71":"tag-samson-ryan","72":"tag-seth-campbell","73":"tag-sim-highlights","74":"tag-sports","75":"tag-st-kilda","76":"tag-suns-v","77":"tag-tim-taranto","78":"tag-toby-nankervis","79":"tag-tom-brown","80":"tag-tom-edwards","81":"tag-tom-lynch","82":"tag-victoria","83":"tag-zach-merrett","84":"tag-zach-reid","85":"tag-zak-johnson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}