Essendon has held on to a thrilling six-point win over West Coast, with skipper Zach Merrett leading the way with a brilliant three-goal display in Perth.
The Bombers survived an Eagles fightback in the final term to come away with a 11.11 (77) to 11.5 (71) victory at Optus Stadium.
But it was a case of what could have been for West Coast after coughing up three goals directly from horror brain fades – the biggest coming from veteran Jamie Cripps in the final term.
With Jake Waterman lining up for goal, Cripps was “sucked in” to the push and shove by Bomber Nic Martin that saw the shot on goal overturned.
To add insult to the result, star Eagle Elliot Yeo suffered another groin injury and didn’t see out the match while Noah Long was subbed out with a leg injury.
QUARTER BY QUARTER MATCH REPORT
The Eagles were forced to make a late change with veteran Dom Sheed given a reprieve when Ryan Maric was ruled out of the contest through illness.
Neither side could find an early avenue to goal amid some “sloppy” skills as the two teams deployed a loose man down back.
“You can’t go quick in this instance – otherwise you are kicking to their spare. That’s why it’s a bit of an arm-wrestle right now,” commentator Will Schofield said.