When Jake Melksham kicked his second goal of the match, it gave the Bombers a 25-point advantage with 12 minutes remaining in the final quarter. It seemed that Essendon had the game in the bag until the Kangaroos mounted a comeback of their own; in a seven-minute span, the Kangaroos scored four consecutive goals to trim Essendon’s lead to four at 104 to 100.
North Melbourne ruckman Hamish McIntosh took a mark 40 metres from goal with eleven seconds remaining, paving the way for a kick after the siren. Unfortunately, for the Kangaroos, McIntosh’s kick sailed to the right for a behind, giving Essendon a two-point win over North Melbourne. The final score: Essendon 14.20 (104) North Melbourne 15.12 (102).
Essendon coach James Hird, however, was not very happy with how his team won the game. “It’s not a nice experience. We need to get better at handling when a team comes at us. We didn’t handle the defensive side of the game well in that last quarter. It’s a learning experience and luckily we got away with the four points, and we can move on.
“But that game will be really important for us to go back and show our players what we did well, but what we didn’t do well in that last quarter.”
Essendon were also victorious in the last AFL match that was decided after the siren; last year, Sydney’s Adam Goodes marked with 14 seconds left when the Swans were down 100 to 98. Goodes’ kick after the siren hooked to the left, giving the Bombers a one-point win in Round 20.
