Not to mention some dubious umpiring decisions…from our good friend….

Missing Dustin really hurt us and in the end has cost us the game.

The Bombers now sit 9th on the AFL ladder at the midway point of the season with a 5-6 record and face ladder leader and reigning AFL Premier Geelong at Jihad Stadium next Saturday night in AFL Round 12.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Brent Prismall (26 possessions) and Nathan Lovett-Murray (23) were the best for the Bombers, while Leroy Jetta kicked three goals continuing his good recent run of form.

In a match where the lead changed 16 times and the margin no larger than the final winning margin all game, it took until the final minute of the game to seal the contest with an Adam Goodes goal to give the Swans a 12.17 (89) to 12.8 (80) victory.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Our season looks being on the line very shortly…

Come on boys…

 RED SASH MEDAL 2010 - PROGRESSIVE TOTAL -

Watson 42, Fletcher 33, Pears 24, Hille 24, Stanton 24, Lovett Murray 24, Hooker 18, Ryder 22, Winderlich 20, Dempsey 19, Davey 18, Gumbleton 16, Monfries 16, Reimers 16, Hocking 23, Zaharakis 14,  Slattery 7, Jetta 6, Mcveigh 9, Prismall 5, Myers 2, Howlett 1

 Red Sash - Round 10 

Bombers sound warning...pressure, pressure, pressure

They were fast, quick, rapid, swift.......the impact was devastating.

David Myers where have you been? Great game best yet for the club...

Scott Gumbleton - dare I say it...this kid could be anything....there I said it, agile for such a big man and what a pair of hands...

While Essendon has sat on the fringe of the eight in the first two seasons under Knights, its frailties have been regularly exposed by elite rivals, sometimes brutally so.

ESSENDON last night posted arguably its most significant win under Matthew Knights by defeating the Western Bulldogs by nine points at Etihad Stadium, a margin that does not accurately reflect its dominance.

Critically, a victory in which the Bombers were never headed by their top-flight opponent was built as much on a sturdy defence as it was through the frenetic ball movement it is renowned for.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               Captain Jobe Watson set Essendon en route to its third-straight victory when winning a free-kick for his desperate attack on the ball four minutes into the match, a desire that set the tone for teammates including Jason Winderlich, Leroy Jetta and David Myers. The Bombers were crisper in possession of the ball, quicker and more daring when moving forward and calmer when pressured by a rival it had not beaten since 2004.

The final margin flattered the Bulldogs, who kicked the last four goals of the game. Aside from the final 15 minutes of the opening quarter - the Bulldogs kicked three successive goals to draw level at the first break - Essendon was clearly superior throughout.

But, if anything, the Bombers looked to have gone backwards given a half-fit Geelong finished over the top of them in the opening round before Collingwood avenged last year's Anzac Day heartbreak with a crushing 65-point victory.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        At that stage, Essendon had just one win from its opening five matches and Knights's tactics were heavily criticised. But in a glorious May, barring only a narrow loss to Port Adelaide, the Bombers have squared the ledger, stormed back into finals contention - they are in eighth spot ahead of today's matches - and, most importantly, proven themselves capable of matching and beating the elite teams in the competition.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  It claimed the scalp of St Kilda on the same ground three weeks ago, though that was not altogether surprising. The Saints, after all, were in a form slump and Essendon, under Knights, had shown a propensity to pull an occasional elite performance out of the box.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The Western Bulldogs, though, were expected to be a different proposition. The pre-season premiers had strung together three-straight wins to move into the top-four and seemed in ominous form. The Bombers, if they were to have any hope, needed to start well and duly filled that requirement by kicking the first three goals of the match. Watson's desperate effort was followed by goals to Heath Hocking and young talent Myers.

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Myers, the sixth pick in the 2007 draft, showed great dash from the middle to run away from his rivals before finding Hocking, who slotted a left-foot goal from outside 50m. He then showed a cool head when - after teammates around him had panicked with the ball - he paused to assess the play, pivoted and snapped a left-foot goal that put the Bombers 18 points in front after only 10 Minutes This poise was also evident for much of the night in a defence led admirably by Dustin Fletcher.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

There is also plenty encouraging about Essendon's attack, particularly when Paddy Ryder is resting forward. Not only does he present a marking option, his agility is sufficient to worry defenders when the ball spills and his skills and vision adept in setting up opportunities for other teammates. Perhaps most pleasing, though, was the performance of Scott Gumbleton, the injury-prone forward Essendon has waited so long for.

After moving closer to the goal-mouth in the second term, Gumbleton proved a threat both on the lead and in marking contests and finished with three goals in his best match for Essendon.

So now the boys travel to Sydney and will regain Andrew Welsh, while Dyson & Reimers will come into consideration...

Red Sash Best Round 9 - Watson 8, Stanton 7, Winderlich 6, Dempsey 5, Ryder 4, Myers 3 Jetta 2, Davey 1 , 

 RED SASH MEDAL 2010 - PROGRESSIVE TOTAL -

Watson 36, Fletcher 33, Pears 24, Hille 24, Stanton 24, Lovett Murray 19, Hooker 18,

Ryder 22, Winderlich 20, Dempsey 19, Gumbleton 16, Monfries 16, Reimers 16, Hocking 16, Zaharakis 14

Davey 14, Slattery 7, Mcveigh 5, Jetta 5, Prismall 3,  Myers 2, Howlett 1

 Red Sash- Round 9 - Hille back to best as Bombers move within 1 game of 8 with a CHERRY on top!! 

                                                                                                                                                                                                            Essendon has moved to within four points of the AFL Top 8 following an easy 35 point victory – 19.16 (130) to 14.11 (95) – over Richmond at the MCG on Saturday night in their AFL Round 9 “Dreamtime at the ‘G” clash.

The Bombers setup the win with an unanswered seven goal run in first quarter with ruckman David Hille continuing with his good recent form with 26 possessions, 14 marks and 3 goals while Jobe Watson (28 disposals), Brent Prismall and Leroy Jetta were also among Essendon’s best.

It was vintage stuff in the stands as well with a fantastic view from our seats, the shame was the photographer didnt actually have his camera....I have a mortage on Bay 33 Row N seat 23. ..

Anyway the win lifts the Bombers to a 4-5 record and a matchup with the high-flying Western Bulldogs at Jihad Stadium next Friday night.

Unsurprisingly the Bombers dominated on the stat sheet having 64 uncontested possessions to 32 and 39 marks to 15 as the Tigers chipped in with the final two goals of the opening term to reduce the margin to 27 points at the first break.

Overall the win was good but we should have won by alot more to get our percentage up...

Riewoldt kicked the first two goals of the second term to reduce the margin to only 15 points with five minutes on the clock and suddenly the Bombers were in a contest once again. However, the Bombers kicked three of the next four goals to re-establish a healthy 29 point lead at the halftime break.

The Bombers extended their lead to 41 points with one quarter to go after a wayward 4.7 third term before the Tigers finished with a six goal final term to produce some sort of ‘respectability’ on the scoreboard with Riewoldt finishing with a game high six goals.

Once again I thought Fletch was excellent...35 last week and should sign fo at LEAST 1 more...2 would see him break Simon Maddens record of games played.

Gee...this weeks game is huge...Bulldogs we win we could be in the 8, Ron Kirwan back in the fray to draw the World Cup Sweep, Ted Bones back in the game after open heart...there is alot happening as our President extends his tenure for 1 more year - fully deserved and supported by all - well done Rob.

And nice to see Tiffany Cherry join us on Saturday..  . along with Cale Hooker and Henry "chatterbox" Slattery...

Stand by for the 2000 Premiership Reunion Function details to be held in the Crown Palladium in July...

Red Sash Best Round 9 - Hille 8, Watson 7 Ryder 6 Fletcher 5, Davey 4, Winderlich 3, Jetta 2, Prismall 1

 RED SASH MEDAL 2010 - PROGRESSIVE TOTAL -

Fletcher 33, Watson 28, Pears 24, Hille 24, Lovett Murray 19, Hooker 18, Stanton 17

Ryder 18, Gumbleton 16, Monfries 16, Reimers 16, Hocking 15, Dempsey 14, Zaharakis 14

Winderlich 14, Davey 12, Slattery 7, Mcveigh 5, Prismall 3, Jetta 2, Howlett 1