Essendon late burst away late to down Hawthorn but Zac Reid suffers another injury setback

Roger Vaughan
AAP
Zach Merrett of the Bombers high fives fans after winning round one.
Zach Merrett of the Bombers high fives fans after winning round one. Credit: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Essendon have burned off a fierce Hawthorn challenge in warm conditions to win their round-one AFL clash by 24 points.

But the 17.5 (107) to 11.17 (83) season-opening success on Saturday at the MCG might have come at a high price for the Bombers, with highly-rated youngster Zach Reid injured again.

The key defender, considered a big part of Essendon’s future, missed all of last season because of hamstring problems.

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He was subbed out of the game at half time because of left hamstring tightness.

With the temperature in the high 20s, plenty of players were cramping through the second half.

The Bombers pulled clear in the last term, kicking five goals to two .

But the spirited young Hawks lost no friends and big questions remain about Essendon’s defensive game.

Goalkicking accuracy was a big difference - Essendon scored 11.1 from their set shots and the Hawks sprayed 7.9.

High-profile Essendon recruits Todd Goldstein, Ben McKay and Jade Gresham all had encouraging starts at their new club.

Star forward Jake Stringer kicked four goals and Matt Guelfi shut down Hawks captain James Sicily, while half-back Andrew McGrath was best afield and midfielder Archie Perkins also impressed.

Pre-game, Essendon honoured their drought-breaking 1984 premiership team with a motorcade that featured club greats such as coach Kevin Sheedy, Tim Watson and Simon Madden.

The Bombers beat Hawthorn in the ‘84 grand final, another chapter in the fierce rivalry between these two clubs.

Sicily looked ready to relive those brutal 1980s clashes when he gave away the first goal of the game with a free kick to Guelfi and then tangled with several Essendon players.

Jade Gresham
Jade Gresham (top) made a promising start with his new club Essendon as they downed Hawthorn. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP

Hawthorn butchered several gettable chances in the first term as Stringer kicked two goals, including a 50m bomb.

Essendon led by seven points at the first change, but the Hawks were right in the game and they hit the lead in the second term.

Star Hawthorn recruit Jack Ginnivan kicked two first-half goals and looked dangerous after a lot of work in the off-season.

Essendon kicked the last two goals of the half to lead by four points at the main break and the two teams went goal-for-goal in the third.

The Bombers also kicked the last two goals of the third term - making it eight lead changes in the game - to take a seven-point advantage into the final term.

Zach Reid went down with hamstring issues.
Zach Reid went down with hamstring issues. Credit: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images

With the game in the balance, Hawks youngster Josh Weddle tried to bounce the ball when he should have dished it off and Jye Caldwell caught him in a tackle.

That set up Stringer for his fourth goal and, after Hawthorn kicked two goals to stay in touch, the Bombers snapped the rubber band with three goals.

Midfielder Massimo D’Ambrosio was Hawthorn’s best with a polished 30-possession game.

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