1. The attacking flair and efficiency of the Eagles was outstanding, with constant pressure applied to the Essendon defence. An inside 50 advantage of 67-41 meant the Bombers felt the heat throughout and with Josh Kennedy imposing himself in the air – along with Jack Darling and Jake Waterman – the scoreboard steadily ticked over. Kennedy kicked four goals (and now sits on 599 majors for the club) and took six marks, five of which were inside the forward arc.
2. While Kennedy was an imposing figure in the air, Jamie Cripps was outstanding at ground level. As a forward, most people would look at the goal-kicking list to judge his output, but that is just one element of his game. He excelled in that aspect, kicking four goals, but it is other areas where he is so valuable. His pressure acts were off the scale with 23 and his season average is around 19, ranking him top among all forwards in the game. He works hard both ways and aside from his four goals, had 12 score involvements.
3. The development of young forward Jake Waterman continues to progress at an impressive rate, his commitment mirroring that of Cripps. He pushes high up the ground to assist the transition from defence and had 16 possessions and 10 marks in another quality display. Three of those marks were taken inside the forward 50 and he finished off his work with two goals – one of them extremely important in the third term when he won a one-on-one battle and after edging his opponent under the ball ran into the open goal. That moment deflated the Bombers when they were looking to build momentum.
4. Winning selection in the all-Australian team is a tough assignment, but Eagles defender Brad Sheppard must have been desperately unlucky to miss. He has enjoyed a stellar season and there was as strong argument for the half-back line to be entirely Eagles players – with Sheppard alongside Jeremy McGovern and Shannon Hurn. He’s a little old-fashioned in this rebound defence world, but he looks after his opponent first and then aims to attack from the back half. He kept Orazio Fantasia quiet last night, while also acquiring 19 possessions and 11 marks in another quality display in the back half.
5. Talking of players who were a bit stiff to miss the all-Australian cut, midfielder Andrew Gaff continues to rack up big numbers. Now mixing his role to be both an inside and outside midfielder he accumulated 34 possessions, eight of them contested, and gained 555 metres for his team with ball in hand. In conjunction with Jack Redden, who seems to relish finals football (29 possessions, 11 contested), Luke Shuey (34 disposals, 10 contested) and Elliot Yeo (23 possessions, 10 contested) he helped provide the Eagles with midfield ascendancy.
