It's the new black, more rad than an armful of tattoos - it's the mullet with the lot. For the uninitiated, take a peek at Freo's Jesse Crichton next time you get the chance. It is the full beard, full mullet. Up-size for an extra $1.
2. Run Forrest, run
Life is indeed like a box of chocolates, as Stewart Crameri showed with his blistering run late in the second quarter. After receiving a handpass just behind the centre circle, Crameri saw no-one between him and the goals and took off, with former junior sprint star Luke McPharlin chasing. Three bounces later and Crameri had burnt McPharlin off and slammed through the major from the goalsquare to give Essendon a handy 14-point half-time lead.
3. Hille ascends the mountain
David Hille's stuttering season is finally back on track. Hille last played AFL in round two against Port Adelaide when he went down with a calf injury. He only returned to the VFL three games ago, and climbed into the seniors this week to replace Tom Bellchambers, whose form tailed off in recent weeks. He battled to find the pace early but the Bombers would have been satisfied with his return by the end of the match.
4. Happy at home?
Ben Howlett hails from Donnybrook, the home of the big apple south of Perth and had a feast in his 50th game for the Bombers. With playmakers Jobe Watson and Brent Stanton struggling early, Howlett and David Myers took it on themselves to do the grunt work in the middle that kept the Bombers flying. Luke McPharlin's 200th game for Freo wasn't quite as memorable.
5. No Sandi, no Freo?
Aaron Sandilands was injured early in Freo's last-start win over Richmond at the MCG and was missing against the Bombers with turf toe. Jon Griffin and Zac Clarke were drafted into the side to try and replace the goliath but despite a solid game from Clarke, they couldn't drag the Dockers over the line. In the other games Sandilands missed this year, Freo lost to Carlton at home and scraped past Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
