World Footy News

In a strange gamble rookie Essendon coach Matthew Knights made a late decision to drop his only recognised ruckman for the Elimination Final against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium last night. With his best quality tall men either injured or suspended, Knights made the call to go with a smaller running side, opening the way for first year Irish player Michael Quinn to be brought up from the emergency list.

Although having the willingness to make such a dramatic decision has to be respected, the reality is it was a disastrous outcome for the Bombers. Adelaide dominated the ruck like rarely seen in the AFL, with Ivan Maric and James Sellar running amok, their side registering 64 hit outs to 18. It wasn't just the number, but the decisiveness of the taps, meaning the Crows could set up their midfield knowing they had first use of the ball. Although a big win was always likely, there's no doubt the ruck situation contributed to the 96 point margin, Essendon's biggest ever loss in a final in their 102 year VFL/AFL history.

For his part Quinn had a very mixed game. It must be emphasised he was not selected as a replacement ruckman, instead playing through the midfield and sneaking forward. He marked early on uncontested but his set shot from about 25 metres out on a 45 degree angle was extremely poor with bad timing off the boot and only just registered a point. He atoned for that later in the quarter with another uncontested mark and goal from in front. One can only imagine the huge pressure on that second shot at goal, playing in his first final in his first year of Australian football with 50,000 spectators making a lot of noise.

During the match he applied good pressure at times but also dropped a mark he should have taken. Given the complete rout his team was suffering his performance was probably reasonable, up until late in the game when he received a handball in the goal square. From less than a metre out he rushed the kick under no actual pressure other than perceived, missing the ball and having it roll over for a behind, much to the amusement of the crowd with several replays shown.

It was an unfortunate end to the game for the Irishman but he showed glimpses of potential and it's interesting to contrast what was being asked of him in his first year with that of Adelaide's Brian Donnelly, who has played the season in Glenelg's reserves in the SANFL, that is not just one level lower at state league but in their reserves, basically the third tier of Aussie Rules. No doubt if Quinn can put the mistakes behind him the experience of finals footy will be invaluable going into his second year.