From the Archives, 2011: Dons proud of Suns’ slaughter

First published in The Age on May 2, 2011

Dons proud of Suns’ slaughter

ESSENDON was on the end of five 10-goal-plus hidings last season so the Bombers were never going to miss when they got a chance to dish out a thrashing of their own yesterday, coach James Hird said.

Kyle Reimers celebrates one of his goals.Credit:Mal Fairclough

The Bombers were unmerciful during their 139-point crushing, 31.11 (197) to 8.10 (58), of an undermanned Gold Coast at Etihad Stadium, recording the highest first-quarter score in VFL-AFL history and the equal second biggest single-quarter score ever, 15.4 to 0.1. The end scoreline was also the third highest in club history and only the third time the Bombers kicked more than 30 goals in a game, prompting Hird to praise his players’ killer instincts.

“If you were at Essendon last year, we had a 100-point loss and we may have had a couple of other big losses,” Hird said. “You saw the psyche of the guys when they smelt that they could win by a lot. That they’ve been on the other end of this last year and that they wanted to actually hand one out.

“Whether it’s mental or whether it’s physical, I’m not sure, but the really pleasing thing from our point of view is that they smelt it and wanted to put the shoe on the other foot.”

Angus Monfries evades Suns tacklers.Credit:Mal Fairclough

Lively small forward Kyle Reimers made the most of his hard-earned opportunity at senior level with a career-best eight goals, becoming the first Bomber, apart from Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas, since Darren Bewick in 1996 to boot more than six goals in a match.

Showing no signs of an Anzac Day hangover, the Bombers completely dominated the first term yesterday, averaging just under a goal every two minutes and amassing 127 possessions to the Suns’ 52.

Hird conceded his team “probably got ahead of themselves” in the second quarter, which the Suns won 5.2 to 3.0, but was pleased with how the players refocused after half-time, finishing with 13 goals to three.

“We didn’t play that well in the second quarter but human psychology is very hard when you have a quarter like we did in the first quarter,” he said.

Paddy Ryder copped a heavy knock during a marking contest in the final minutes yesterday but Hird said the ruckman escaped the collision with just a bruised hip.

Hird also said veteran Dustin Fletcher would definitely play against West Coast next week, after being a late withdrawal yesterday.

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