What a quarter for the Kangaroos!

They kick five goals to one to draw to within one point of the Bombers with a quarter to go.

Essendon looked completely shellshocked in that quarter as the Roos dominated the clinches and the territory.

They’ve got all the momentum going into the final quarter and the break probably comes at a good time for the Dons.

Tristan Xerri is absolutely manhandling the Bombers in the ruck.

He’s got 20 disposals, 30 hitouts and eight clearances and is giving North first use at the clearances which they lead 29-23.

Some more injury woes for Essendon here on the stroke of three-quarter time.

Harry Jones initially looks like he’s badly sprained his ankle in a contest on the wing and the physio has called for the stretcher.

He was going at great pace and then his foot basically turned at right angles, that doesn’t look good at all.

That looks very serious for the Bombers big man unfortunately.

WHAT A FINISH THIS IS FROM CAM ZURHAAR!

Oh my goodness, this is incredible!

Zurhaar pounces on the loose ball in the pocket and then shrugs off a tackle from Zach Reid and dribbles one home from a tight angle to perfection.

That ball seemed to speed up as it got closer to goal and it bounces past Kyle Langford on the goal line.

Nate Caddy with a massive goal for the Bombers as he toe pokes one through from close range!

It was a long kick towards a contest where Harry Jones was manned by two defenders, and the defenders can’t quite kill the footy and Caddy plays the role of the rover to perfection!

A big goal for the Bombers that!

Jy Simpkin drills another one for the Kangaroos and they are within ONE point of Essendon now!

The Bombers have completely ground to a halt in this quarter and the Roos are all over them.

They’ve had 14 inside 50s in this quarter after halving a total of 16 in the first half.

Simpkin turns to the crowd and silences them after that one sails through.

I wonder that silencer was aimed at Cornes.

Nick Larkey slams through his second of the quarter and the Kangaroos are PUMPED!

Larkey got bowled over in the goalsquare by Jaxon Prior and that was a clear free kick.

The Kangaroos fans baying for blood in the goalsquare after a few free kicks went uncalled for.

That was very clumsy stuff from Prior, who just took Larkey out of the contest for absolutely no reason.

The Kangaroos are alive folks!

Nick Larkey drills a set shot from an acute angle and trims this margin to 14 points.

It was a lovely defensive chain from the Kangaroos which started after Luke Davies-Uniacke won a hard contested ball on halfback.

A lovely kick inside 50 from Jacob Konstanty found Larkey on the lead in the pocket.

The Kangaroos have asked the question of the Dons, what will the response be?

Colby McKercher with the big first goal of the third quarter!

Once again the Kangaroos win a contest on the wing as the ball gets out the back of a pack and McKercher snaps it up, runs into 50 and drills it on the run.

The Kangaroos not out of this by any stretch. Essendon just haven’t put them away.

That was a lovely finish on the run from Colby. Can the Roos string a few together here?

The teams are out and we’re ready to go in the second half!

It’s a big third quarter coming up which could well decide this match.

Essendon has extended its quarter-time lead to take a 25-point buffer into the main break.

Just one goal apiece in that quarter as the Kangaroos clamped up their defence all over the ground.

Despite their improved defence, the Kangaroos haven’t been able to damage the Dons going the other way with Essendon’s defence set up brilliantly so far tonight.

That Ridley injury is a major dampener for the Bombers, and was one of two hamstring injuries in that quarter, with Jackson Archer limping off earlier.

Still anyone’s game at the moment, but you’d much rather be the Bombers.

This is not good news for the Bombers, as Jordan Ridley has been subbed out of the game.

Ridley limped off earlier in the quarter and it’s been confirmed to be a hamstring injury.

Horrible luck continues for Essendon’s star defender, who just cannot take a trick.

Ridley missed a significant chunk of the pre-season with a hamstring injury, and then missed time at the start of the season due to a concussion as well.

He’s had a history of bad hamstring issues, and Essendon will be praying that this is on the minor end.

Jye Menzie will be his replacement.

Archie Perkins drills a set shot from 45m out for his third of the night, but this goal is Ben McKay’s!

The Kangaroos looked like they were about to strike on the counter, but McKay sensed the danger and came up and laid a brutal tackle on Cam Zurhaar, forcing the turnover.

The Bombers are PUMPED after that, a bunch of them ran to McKay to celebrate. Great stuff that, given how much pressure McKay has been under.

Not good news on the injury front for the Kangaroos as Jackson Archer comes off the ground clutching his left hamstring.

Archer looks like he might have strained that while being tackled by Mason Redman in the middle of the ground.

He’s gone straight into the rooms and North’s sub Bailey Scott is warming up.

Meanwhile, this game has devolved into a bit of a stalemate.

Both teams are set up pretty well behind the ball and are finding it hard to break through.

Simpkin’s goal is the only major of the quarter so far.

Excellent finish from Kangaroos skipper Jy Simpkin, who drills one on the run from outside 50!

Disappointing defence from the Bombers on the wing there as Zach Reid and Ben McKay allowed the ball to get out the back of a big pack.

McKay’s allowed that a number of times tonight, he’s just got to be better.

Ben Hobbs briefly thinks he’s kicked his second goal of the night, but it’s given as touched!

Replays show that a despairing dive from Harry Sheezel allowed him to get a finger on that ball.

That didn’t look like ‘Sheezey Ball’ to me. Excellent stuff from Harry.

We’re off and running in the second quarter as the Kangaroos look to bounce back.

They’ve dodged an early bullet with Peter Wright kicking a set shot on the full from outside 50.

Zane Duursma misses a very easy set shot from 25m out on the siren and that just about sums up the Kangaroos’ quarter.

Essendon were incredibly slick with the footy and are operating with a disposal efficiency of over 80 per cent, well above its season average.

The Bombers’ ball movement has been excellent so far with 75 per cent of their defensive chains resulting in an inside 50 entry.

The Bombers have kicked 5.1 from set shots, while the Kangaroos have missed three very gettable ones.

They’re not fully out of this, but they’ll want to clean up their ball use quick smart.

Zach Merrett and Luke Davies-Uniacke are the two leading ball-winners on the ground with eight touches apiece.

This is champagne footy from the Bombers at the moment!

There’s a stoppage on the wing and the Dons completely rip through the corridor and Isaac Kako finds Nate Caddy isolated in the forward 50.

The ball hits the turf and Caddy shows the agility that makes him so special at his size by snapping truly on the right boot.

North’s million-dollar man, Luke Davies-Uniacke is having a bit of a nightmare here.

He has a handball intercepted by Essendon skipper Zach Merrett, and the Dons string together a lovely chain of handballs which ends in another excellent short kick inside 50 which finds Ben Hobbs leading.

Hobbs makes no mistake on the set shot from directly in front.