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Both clubs made mass changes at selection on Friday afternoon to field very different teams to the round before, though the visitors were able to replace their outgoing seasoned campaigner with relative success.<\/p>\n
Matthew Nicks\u2019 side had 10 individual goalkickers for the evening, spearheaded by usual suspects Riley Thilthorpe (four goals) and Izak Rankine (three) in the front half.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve done the job today, that\u2019s all you could ask of them,\u201d 322-game AFL great Nick Dal Santo said of the Crows on Fox Footy halfway through the final quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenge is, can you do it in the coming weeks against the really good teams consistently?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s proven that they can do it, they have a method and a system to be able to achieve it \u2014 it just comes down to execution.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the fourth time in his 167-game AFL career, Essendon key forward Peter Wright kicked a bag of six or more to comfortably finish as the host\u2019s best afield.<\/p>\n
In an unfortunate blow for Dean Solomon\u2019s side, Angus Clarke (concussion) didn\u2019t take to the field after half time, while in-form Adelaide defender James Borlase was in a similar boat with what the club says is hamstring awareness. <\/p>\n
Essendon goalkickers: Wright 6, El Achkar 2, Clarke, Jones, Caddy<\/p>\n
Adelaide goalkickers: Thilthorpe 5, Rankine, Dowling, Keays 3, Walker, Ah Chee, Rachele 2, Hall-Kahan, Ryan, Ludowyke<\/p>\n
THE 3-2-1…<\/p>\n
3. CROWS PECK ON TOP FOUR DOOR WITH PERCENTAGE-BOOSTING WIN<\/p>\n
Through a mixture of injuries and omissions, Matthew Nicks rolled out a different-looking 23 under the roof on Sunday evening. Fortunately for them, it had very little impact on the final result as they surged back into the top four.<\/p>\n
After slipping up against Collingwood last Thursday night on their home turf, the Crows did their best to return to normal service with a comfortable 72-point win over Essendon <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a fantastic start to the game by the Bombers with a couple of early goals, but then after that, it was all about the Crows,\u201d 322-game great Nick Dal Santo told Fox Footy at quarter time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn particular, it was their stoppage work. 17-9, so plus eight in regards to the pure clearances. But, it was their scoring capacity off the back of that,\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThats a really good effort by the Crows to get that first quarter in control through the contest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dal Santo added at three-quarter time: \u201cMatty Nicks must be thrilled with what he\u2019s seen in those first three quarters \u2014 already up to 97 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir ability score from defensive 50 has been a concern over the last three or four weeks, but as you can see today, five goals from D50.\u201d<\/p>\n
A whopping 32 of the Crows\u2019 44 points in the first term came from clearance, before eventually putting up their highest score of 2026 come the final siren.<\/p>\n
Adelaide fans were treated to the debuts of Oscar Ryan and Archie Ludowyke on Sunday evening, while young midfielder Billy Dowling made the absolute most of a rare senior game.<\/p>\n
Both debutants managed to jag a maiden goal at senior level, while mid-season draftee Hugo Hall-Kahan also bagged his first AFL major in his eighth game.<\/p>\n
Dowling, in his 12th AFL match, finished the evening with 18 disposals and 3.2 while Ryan had 19 touches of his own.<\/p>\n
Their captain Jordan Dawson was given close attention from the Bombers throughout the first half by defender Mason Redman, but still managed to have a big say at the contest to collect 30 disposals and nine clearances.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a great match-up, it really has. We thought Redman was going to be a dead-set, lock away tag, but it hasn\u2019t worked out that way,\u201d Western Bulldogs great Brad Johnson said at half time.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s gone and found some footy as well, which I\u2019ve liked. Dawson was able to build into that (first) half .. he\u2019s probably had a few more critical moments, Dawson, that have resulted in scores.\u201d<\/p>\n
2. PROMISING START FADES QUICKLY AS BOMBERS FOLD UNDER PRESSURE<\/p>\n
It was a different kind of pressure the Bombers folded under on Sunday evening, after what looked to be such a promising start.<\/p>\n
For the first time in over a year, Essendon managed to kick the first two goals of the game and put the Crows on notice early.<\/p>\n
However, the visitors went on to pick up their pressure rating and return serve to Dean Solomon\u2019s side \u2014 kicking six of the next second goals to put them behind by 25 points by the first break.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was excellent. They dominated with the pressure, and their tackle numbers were high. They were +11 in clearances to start the game as well, so they had everything on their terms,\u201d Brad Johnson said at half time.<\/p>\n
\u201cOff the back of it, they started to get some ball movement and results for it as well \u2026 208 in the first quarter for pressure, Adelaide 194.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, that\u2019s the challenge, isn\u2019t it? In the second quarter, they went to 165 and Adelaide maintained (192).\u201d <\/p>\n
The Bombers conceded far, far too many contested marks across the contest, finishing -14 in the metric with a final reading of 3-17.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the Crows were able to pile on the points after the 20th-minute of each quarter, kicking 67 points in \u2018red time\u2019 compared to the Dons\u2019 20.<\/p>\n
1. YOUNG DON DOWNED AFTER INTERRUPTED 2026\u2026 TWICE<\/p>\n
After an already rough run with injury in 2026, second-year Bomber Angus Clarke was unfortunately at the centre of the wars on Sunday evening at Marvel Stadium.<\/p>\n
Taking to the field in his fourth AFL game of the year, the South Australian was dealt his first niggle of the day in the second quarter, where he came from the field to get a leg niggle treated by physios. <\/p>\n
While concerns were initially more worrying, Clarke returned to the field soon after \u2014 only to them find himself back in the firing line of a teammate as half time loomed.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, it was Angus Clarke twice (injured)!\u201d 322-game great Nick Dal Santo told Fox Footy at half time.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went off in the 14th-minute mark, with what looked to maybe be a serious knee injury. To his credit, he was able to get that strapped and then come back onto the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a syndesmosis earlier in the year and missed a chunk of football, as we know is normally the case. <\/p>\n
\u201cThen, he comes back onto the ground. Pretty much his next impact on the game was unfortunately the impact on a teammate on Kako.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clarke played Essendon\u2019s last 14 games in his debut season at Tullamarine, proving one of the club\u2019s few shining lights in a year otherwise flooded with injuries.<\/p>\n