ESSENDON has broken West Coast hearts, snatching victory in the final seconds of the game to win by five points on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Windy Hill.

Both sides brought plenty of pressure and traded goals in the final quarter but struggled to capitalise on their opportunities, with Essendon ultimately winning the arm wrestle 4.7 (31) to 4.2 (26).

BOMBERS v EAGLES Full match coverage and stats

Veteran and life-long Bombers fan Sophie Alexander was the hero of the day, marking and going back to convert at the top of the goalsquare with the Bombers down by a single point.

Essendon co-captain Bonnie Toogood lifted her side with two important goals, supported by a midfield led by Georgia Nanscawen (24 disposals, seven tackles) and young gun Amy Gaylor (22 and six, 319 metres gained).

The side dominated clearances, winning 30 to 13, with stoppage clearances a particular strength.

In worrying signs though, experienced defender Sophie Van De Heuvel was caught up awkwardly in a tackle in the second quarter and was in the hands of trainers clutching her left knee, after starting well.

Coach Natalie Wood said post-game that it was the same knee Van De Heuvel had injured last year missing the second half of the season, and will await scans.

West Coast's game was characterised by its clever run and carry and physicality, led by Ella Roberts (21 disposals and eight tackles) with confidence and composure. 

The Eagles had the measure of the Bombers for large portions of the game, making the loss a heartbreak. 

It was Essendon that got off to a quick start, with an early goal to Toogood after Van De Heuvel delivered it straight to her chest 40m out from goal.

The game tightened up though. West Coast had repeat forward 50 entries, leading nine to six inside 50s at quarter-time, but the combination of shallow entries and the Bombers’ defence meant the Eagles were unable to get reward for effort. 

It was late in the quarter when a 50m penalty was awarded to West Coast’s Abbygail Bushby, which she converted.  

The roles were reversed in the second quarter, with Essendon unable to capitalise on its opportunities inside 50 to make the distance to goal. 

The Eagles looked much more composed, confident to chip the ball around with short kicks and create a slow build-up, taking 12 uncontested marks for the term. 

This slow build-up was exemplified by the kick-mark combination of Ella Roberts, Mikayla Western and Kayla Dalgleish, resulting in second-gamer Dalgleish’s first AFLW goal.

In the third quarter, Toogood missed two opportunities to put her side in front within minutes of each other – but in the closing stages of the quarter she made the toughest shot of the three attempts from the pocket to go in three points up at three-quarter time.

The ball moved swiftly from end to end in the last term, with Bomber Georgia Gee and Eagle Dalgleish trading goals, and an incredible team effort ending in Eagle Kellie Gibson running into an open goal, before Alexander’s final blow.

How the coaches saw it
Post-game, Eagles coach Daisy Pearce praised her young side’s ability to take the game up to the Bombers and match their physicality.

"They've got some seasoned, hard-working midfielders through there – Nanscawen, Prespakis and Cain," she acknowledged. "So for our young midfield group to… create opportunities to be in the game right down to the wire [I was pleased]."

Bombers coach Natalie Wood highlighted the exciting youth for both sides, and noted that her side didn't make the best decisions with the ball in hand in the first half.

"When we spoke at half-time and also at three-quarter time, particularly around the ball, we were getting the things we were after in terms of structure," she said.

"But we were just really finding that our ball use [was] off the back of the Eagles' pressure, their defensive set-up and how quickly they slide over to support each other as well."

A debut close to home
The opening rounds of this AFLW season have been characterised by exciting debuts. One of the many young talents to take the field was Eagle debutant Kayley Kavanagh. Taken with pick 14 in the 2023 AFLW Draft, the inside mid waited 615 days to take the field after sadly suffering an ACL injury during her first pre-season. Kavanagh made her debut just minutes away from her community club Strathmore. Finishing up with seven disposals and two tackles, she lined up against former teammate in breakout Bombers midfielder Gaylor. Post-game, Pearce noted Kavanagh had some promising moments on debut, acknowledging her strong contested work and pressure. "I'm sure she'll take away lots of learnings in terms of some of the positioning and pattern stuff," Pearce said. "You don’t get that until you play the game at this speed!"

Up next
Essendon heads up to Darwin to open Indigenous Round with the Dreamtime game against Richmond at TIO Stadium on Friday night. Meanwhile, the Eagles are staying in Melbourne for the week before they take on St Kilda at RSEA Park on Saturday at 3.05pm AEST. 

ESSENDON       1.0       1.2       2.5       4.7 (31)
WEST COAST    1.0       2.1       2.2       4.2 (26)
 
GOALS
Essendon: Toogood 2, Gee, Alexander
West Coast: Dalgleish 2, Bushby, Gibson
 
BEST 
Essendon: Nanscawen, Gaylor, Prespakis, Toogood, Dyke
West Coast: Roberts, Drennan, Swanson, Thomas, McGrath
 
INJURIES 
Essendon: Van De Heuvel (knee)
West Coast: Nil

Reports: Nil
 
Crowd: 2,635 at Windy Hill