AFL Rd 10 - Essendon v North Melbourne
Sport by Ronny Lerner 23rd May 2021 7:27 PM | Updated: 7:44 PM
A first-half blast has propelled Essendon to a thumping 72-victory over North Melbourne on Sunday, bringing the Kangaroos back down to earth and handing the Bombers their biggest win over their local rivals since 2001.
Powered by their star midfield trio of Zach Merrett, Darcy Parish and Andrew McGrath, Essendon got off to an absolute flyer, booting six of the first seven goals to shoot out to a 32-point lead late in the first quarter.
And it didn’t get much better for David Noble’s side, as the relentless Bombers continued to put the pedal to the metal to open up a 50-point lead at main break – North’s biggest halftime deficit of the season – before outscoring the Kangaroos by another 22 points in the second half to score their bigges