Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nThe Bombers finally got their first win on the board in 2026 after intense scrutiny has come on the club and Scott this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnjoy this, if you\u2019re an Essendon fan,\u201d Melbourne great Garry Lyon said on Fox Footy post-match.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one takes any joy out of a team when you lose 17 in a row. Footy can be pretty tough and you can go to some pretty dark places when you go on a losing streak like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut today makes it all worthwhile. They have comprehensively belted Melbourne off the park.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott speaks on snapping losing-streak | 10:26<\/p>\n
Archie Roberts led the way with a career-high 40 disposals, 14 marks and a goal off half-back as the Bombers\u2019 high-possession brand completely nullified Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Merrett registered 31 touches \u2014 and that brilliant goal \u2014 and Essendon\u2019s raft of youngsters shone across the board including second-gamer Jacob Farrow (22 disposals, 12 marks). <\/p>\n
Essendon goalkickers: Kako, Edwards, May, Duursma, Wright 2, Tsatas, Durham, Day-Wicks, Roberts, Caddy, Gresham, Merrett<\/p>\n
Melbourne goalkickers: K.Pickett 2, Fritsch, L.Pickett, Sharp, Gawn, Sparrow, Chandler, Mihocek, Langford<\/p>\n
The 3-2-1… (via Will Faulkner from Adelaide Oval)<\/p>\n
Dons break 17-game losing streak! | 02:56<\/p>\n
3. \u2018BEST I\u2019VE SEEN\u2019: DONS\u2019 SECOND-HALF AVALANCHE ENDS 17-GAME LOSING STREAK WITH GRACE<\/p>\n
Essendon\u2019s youth has been a perennial talking point across the last half a decade, but Saturday afternoon\u2019s slog against Melbourne was certainly the cohort\u2019s best outing of 2026.<\/p>\n
Trailing by just one goal at the main break \u2014 and having registered four more scoring shots \u2014 Brad Scott\u2019s side had every right to feel like they should\u2019ve been leading.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe younger players here are having a say in proceedings,\u201d Melbourne great Garry Lyon said at the start of the second quarter, before expanding on the cusp of half time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBombers fans, you\u2019ll be getting a little bit excited. Tsatas has had a half, Kako\u2019s starting to play some of his best footy for the year. Farrow and Robey have debuted and look like they\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome good signs for the Bombers \u2026 he\u2019s had a big say, Kako.\u201d<\/p>\n
Off half-back, the 20-year-old Roberts accrued 16 disposals and six intercepts to provide plenty of bounce, while Kako had an impressive 12 touches to go alongside his one goal. <\/p>\n
Elijah Tsatas had 15 touches and a goal of his own at the main break in his first senior match since Round 18 last year, while second-gamer Jacob Farrow was entrusted with plenty of responsibility with ball-in-hand. <\/p>\n
Down back in the form of a more senior figure, key defender Ben McKay and utility Kyle Langford were as solid as a rock, with the exception of one crude turnover from the former in the opening term.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really pleased with how Essendon are playing. It\u2019s been a while since we said they\u2019ve been as effective as this. Twelve intercept marks in the first quarter is the most in any quarter under Brad Scott at Essendon \u2014 that\u2019s a huge number,\u201d David King said at half time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they can play like this with this sort of defensive positioning and aggression, they\u2019ll be in the game deep.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the best quarter defensively that I\u2019ve seen from Essendon for a long time. It doesn\u2019t necessarily guarantee them a win today, but it keeps them in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201c43 intercepts for a half of football is terrific \u2026 It\u2019s been a long time since we talked about Essendon without the footy. Ben McKay has led the way, and Roberts has been really good in that facet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Western Bulldogs great Brad Johnson added on the cusp of the final siren: \u201cThat\u2019s another move Langford back that\u2019s really worked. We know how important he was as a forward who led their goalkicking, and kicked multiple goals each week. But, he\u2019s really steady in the back half of the ground.\u201d <\/p>\n
From there, it was a 6.1 third term in front of goal that skyrocketed the Bombers into the box seat for their first win in 18 AFL matches \u2014 narrowly avoiding an outright all-time record for the most consecutive losses at the club.<\/p>\n
Roberts was again among the best in the third term, racking up 14 more disposals in the premiership quarter.<\/p>\n
Pickett praised for epic first half | 01:37<\/p>\n
2. \u2018TOP THREE\u2019: DEES\u2019 SAME OLD \u2018AMAZING\u2019 SPARK GETS HOT DESPITE CLOSE ATTENTION<\/p>\n
Kysaiah Pickett\u2019s 28-disposal, eight-tackle, two-goal game unfortunately still wasn\u2019t enough to will the Demons over the line in Adelaide, but the South and Western Australian product still reminded the competition why he\u2019s right now a \u201ctop two to three\u201d player in the game.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old was paid close attention by Essendon captain Andrew McGrath throughout the match, but still managed to find plenty of the footy to help spur Melbourne on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen players get tagged out of games at the start of this season \u2026 but when you\u2019re getting tagged like a player like Andrew McGrath, you can turn up and do things (defensively),\u201d three-time Richmond premiership player Jack Riewoldt told Fox Footy at half time on Super Saturday Live.<\/p>\n
Two-time premiership Roo David King added: \u201cHe\u2019s an amazing player, Kozzy. I think he\u2019s fast becoming one of the most watchable players in the competition right now. He may even be in the top 2-3 right now as we speak.<\/p>\n
Well-known for his burst and offensive running patterns, Pickett\u2019s defensive efforts were also on display in front of a loud, 38,006-person Adelaide Oval crowd.<\/p>\n
Kysaiah Pickett of the Demons is congratulated by Latrelle Pickett after kicking a goal during the Round 5 AFL match between Essendon Bombers and Melbourne Demons at Adelaide Oval, on April 11, 2026, in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney\/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
An epic mow-down tackle on Isaac Kako running towards 50 in the second stanza was unlucky to not be given holding-the-ball, before running on fumes to get on the end of a match inside forward 50 nearly 100 metres up the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things for Kozzy that he needs to work on, is that he doesn\u2019t run defensively. But to see that and the determination to get back and save his team (is excellent),\u201d small forward legend Eddie Betts said in the Melbourne changerooms at half time on Super Saturday Live.<\/p>\n
David King added: \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been a once-off this year; we\u2019ve seen him do this countless times, and he\u2019s really embraced the role.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pickett\u2019s two-way running allowed the Demons to get the ball from end-to-end in the second term in the same manner they\u2019ve done successfully to start season 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the first quarter, they couldn\u2019t transition from their back half. This (second) quarter, 12 times they\u2019ve left it and four times they\u2019ve been able to go the full length of the ground,\u201d Garry Lyon said.<\/p>\n
In a sour blow for the Demons, defender Christian Salem was ruled out of the final quarter with an ankle injury.<\/p>\n
King rips ‘lethargic’ Dees after defeat | 06:51<\/p>\n
1. LOCAL WEATHER CAUSES EARLY \u2018TURNOVER FEST\u2019 FOR BOTH SIDES<\/p>\n
For the third straight match at Adelaide Oval this Gather Round, a sharp burst of heavy rain impacted the skill levels of both sides early. <\/p>\n
During the first 35 minutes in particular, it was Melbourne who were particularly rueing their execution in slippery conditions.<\/p>\n
For context, the league\u2019s average number of clanger kicks across a full match is 22, with the Demons already up to 15 just four minutes into the second quarter.<\/p>\n
By extension in the same time period, the Demons had just one mark inside 50 from 15 entries.<\/p>\n
Crucial mistakes went both ways though, with Bombers key defender Ben McKay \u2014 who had an excellent first half \u2014 making an unfortunate turnover trying to switch through the middle of the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a turnover fest at the moment. The McKay kick at the other end, ends up as a goal, and it was Koltyn Tholstrup then who was coming out of the back 50 and turned it straight over,\u201d Garry Lyon said during the first term.<\/p>\n
Re-live our coverage of Essendon vs Melbourne in our blog below! Can\u2019t see the blog?Click here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Essendon\u2019s long, agonising 323-day wait is over. The Bombers have produced a stunning late charge to blow away…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":600215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[9126,638,292460,36846,64,63,55,639,99170,696,3239,292624,11231,2105,292625,681,122335,70801,17282,7804,14426,85,79260,257037,292626],"class_list":{"0":"post-600214","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-adelaide-crows","9":"tag-afl","10":"tag-all-time-losing","11":"tag-andrew-mcgrath","12":"tag-au","13":"tag-australia","14":"tag-australian-football-league","15":"tag-australianfootballleague","16":"tag-bayley-fritsch","17":"tag-brad-scott","18":"tag-carlton-blues","19":"tag-dubious-calls","20":"tag-essendon-bombers","21":"tag-getty-images-inc","22":"tag-highly-touted-draftee","23":"tag-jon-ralph","24":"tag-key-figures","25":"tag-kysaiah-pickett","26":"tag-live-coverage","27":"tag-melbourne-demons","28":"tag-nate-caddy","29":"tag-sports","30":"tag-steven-king","31":"tag-straight-loss","32":"tag-third-straight-win"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600214","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=600214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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