BRAYDEN Ham has stepped up as the unlikely hero as Essendon clinched a nail-biting seven-point AFL victory over Fremantle.
Ham seized his moment with six minutes left at Marvel Stadium on Sunday, snapping what proved to be the final goal of the game under pressure from 45 metres.
The error-riddled contest went right down to the wire, with both sides wasting further chances to take control.
The 10.8 (68) to 8.13 (61) result came after the Bombers lost three games by margins of less than a goal earlier in the season.
Darcy Parish continued his fine form with 39 disposals and 10 clearances for Essendon, with Andrew McGrath also busy in the midfield.
A largely scrappy affair got spiteful at times with Caleb Serong the chief agitator as he shadowed Zach Merrett.
Adam Cerra and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti both caught opponents with late bumps that sparked reactions from their respective targets’ teammates.
But the play itself never reached any great heights.
It was a costly defeat for Fremantle in their finals pursuit and they only had themselves to blame as inaccuracy in front of goal cruelled their chances.
Matt Taberner kicked 4.3 as the most dangerous key forward on the ground but could have put the Dockers in control before Essendon kicked three goals to one in the final term to run over the top.
Andrew Brayshaw, Nat Fyfe and Cerra worked tirelessly for the visitors.
Essendon jumped out of the blocks and had three goals on the board in the opening eight minutes, with Harrison Jones converting a pair of set shots.
The Dockers fixed their defensive set-up and got general play on their terms for long periods of the first half, but failed to capitalise on their territorial dominance.
Despite a 26-16 advantage in inside-50s – including 16-7 in the second term – they trailed by two points at half-time.
Goals to Michael Walters and Taberner after the restart gave the Dockers the lead but the margin never got beyond 11 points in a third-quarter arm wrestle, with both sides guilty of simple skill errors.
Parish converted a free-kick right in front of goal to put the Bombers back within a straight kick at the final change.
Scores were level with six minutes left to play when Ham seized his moment.
Fremantle hosts Sydney at Optus Stadium on Saturday night, while Essendon takes on Marvel Stadium co-tenants North Melbourne on Sunday.
(C) AAP 2021
ESSENDON 3.2 5.2 7.6 10.8 (68)
FREMANTLE 2.2 4.6 7.9 8.13 (61)
Goals: Essendon: A McDonald-Tipungwuti 2 H Jones 2 A Phillips B Ham D Parish K Langford M Redman P Wright. Fremantle: M Taberner 4 A Cerra D Mundy M Walters R Lobb.
Umpires: Matt Stevic, Jacob Mollison, Alex Whetton.
Official Crowd: 26,357 at Marvel Stadium.
