2025 AFL Round 20: Essendon v Greater Western Sydney
This is the match report for the match played on 17 July 2025 between Essendon and Greater Western Sydney during round 20 of the 2025 AFL season.
Essendon hosted Greater Western Sydney at Marvel Stadium.
Zach Merrett captained the hosts with Andrew McGrath as vice-captain.
Toby Greene captained the visitors.
The hosts were coached by Brad Scott and the visitors were coached by Adam Kingsley.
Essendon
Back:
A. McGrath (vice-capt.), J. Laverde, A. Roberts
Half-back:
M. Redman, J. Ridley, A. Clarke
Centre:
X. Duursma, Z. Merrett (capt.), L. Lual
Half-forward:
A. Perkins, P. Wright, L. Blakiston
Forward:
A. May, L. McMahon, I. Kako
Follower:
V. Visentini, M. Guelfi, S. Durham
Int.:
J. Gresham, J. Prior, D. Shiel, O. Smartt
Sub.:
Z. Johnson
Greater Western Sydney
Back:
C. Idun, J. Buckley, H. Himmelberg
Half-back:
L. Whitfield, L. Aleer, L. Ash
Centre:
R. Angwin, X. O'Halloran, T. McMullin
Half-forward:
T. Bedford, A. Cadman, D. Jones
Forward:
J. Stringer, J. Riccardi, T. Greene (capt.)
Follower:
K. Briggs, F. Callaghan, T. Green
Int.:
C. Brown, S. Coniglio, J. Fonti, M. Gruzewski
Sub.:
H. Rowston
Essendon (7.14.56) were defeated by Greater Western Sydney (16.8.104).
Goalkickers
Essendon: L. McMahon (2), P. Wright (2), X. Duursma, I. Kako, A. Perkins
Greater Western Sydney: J. Stringer (3), C. Brown (2), T. Greene (2), M. Gruzewski (2), J. Riccardi (2), K. Briggs, A. Cadman, T. Green, D. Jones, X. O'Halloran
As a result of this match, Essendon remained 14th on the ladder and Greater Western Sydney were then 4th on the ladder (up from 7th) by the end of the day.
Match Details
Season:
2025 AFL Season
Round:
Round 20
Teams:
Essendon
v
Greater Western Sydney
Date:
Thursday 17 July 2025
Time:
7:30 PM
Venue:
Marvel Stadium
Attendance:
20,347
Match Results
Outcome:
Essendon
def. by
Greater Western Sydney
Score:
7.14.56 - 16.8.104
Quarter Breakdown
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essendon | 0 | . | 5 | 1 | . | 8 | 5 | . | 10 | 7 | . | 14 | 7 | . | 14 | (56) |
| Greater Western Sydney | 2 | . | 0 | 8 | . | 3 | 13 | . | 5 | 16 | . | 8 | 16 | . | 8 | (104) |
| Margin | GWSY by 7 | GWSY by 37 | GWSY by 43 | GWSY by 48 | GWSY by 48 | |||||||||||
| Duration | 27:21 | 33:37 | 31:17 | 29:58 | 2:02:13 | |||||||||||
Honour Roll
Coaches:
Brad Scott
(Essendon),
Adam Kingsley
(Greater Western Sydney)
Captains:
Zach Merrett
(Essendon),
Toby Greene
(Greater Western Sydney)
Vice-Captains:
Andrew McGrath
(Essendon),
unknown
(Greater Western Sydney)
Brownlow Votes
| Player | Team | # | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finn Callaghan | GWSY | 17 | 3 |
| Tom Green | GWSY | 12 | 2 |
| Lachie Ash | GWSY | 7 | 1 |
Player Statistics
Essendon
| # | Player | Pos. | ToG% | GL | BH | DI | KI | HB | MK | HO | TA | CL | CR | FF | FA | RF | IF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Blakiston, Lachlan | HFFR | 100% | 0 | 0 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 36 | Clarke, Angus | HBFR | 88% | 0 | 1 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 22 | Durham, Sam | RO | 81% | 0 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 28 | Duursma, Xavier | WL | 90% | 1 | 0 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 11 | Gresham, Jade | INT | 76% | 0 | 0 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 35 | Guelfi, Matt | RR | 77% | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 40 | Johnson, Zak | SUB↑ | 25% | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | Kako, Isaac | FPR | 86% | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Laverde, Jayden | FB | 100% | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 34 | Lual, Luamon | WR | 83% | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | May, Archie | FPL | 75% | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | McGrath, Andrew (vc) | BPL | 83% | 0 | 0 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 48 | McMahon, Liam | FF | 80% | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Merrett, Zach (c) | C | 83% | 0 | 0 | 29 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 16 | Perkins, Archie | HFFL | 76% | 1 | 2 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | Prior, Jaxon | INT | 71% | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| 27 | Redman, Mason | HBFL | 80% | 0 | 0 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 14 | Ridley, Jordan | CHB | 83% | 0 | 1 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | Roberts, Archie | BPR | 93% | 0 | 0 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 9 | Shiel, Dylan | INT | 61% | 0 | 0 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 47 | Smartt, Oskar | INT | 66% | 0 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 | Visentini, Vigo | RU↓ | 57% | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 20 | Wright, Peter | CHF | 86% | 2 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Rushed | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total (23 players) | 7 | 14 | 324 | 188 | 136 | 76 | 25 | 49 | 31 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 36 | 57 | |||
Z. Johnson replaced V. Visentini.
Greater Western Sydney
| # | Player | Pos. | ToG% | GL | BH | DI | KI | HB | MK | HO | TA | CL | CR | FF | FA | RF | IF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Aleer, Leek | CHB | 93% | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | Angwin, Ryan | WL | 79% | 0 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | Ash, Lachie | HBFR | 82% | 0 | 0 | 27 | 23 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 14 | Bedford, Toby | HFFL | 83% | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | Briggs, Kieren | RU | 58% | 1 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 46 | Brown, Callum | INT | 83% | 2 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 44 | Buckley, Jack | FB↓ | 61% | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | Cadman, Aaron | CHF | 85% | 1 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 | Callaghan, Finn | RR | 81% | 0 | 0 | 33 | 19 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 3 | Coniglio, Stephen | INT | 77% | 0 | 0 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 37 | Fonti, Joe | INT | 85% | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 12 | Green, Tom | RO | 79% | 1 | 0 | 30 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | Greene, Toby (c) | FPR | 89% | 2 | 1 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 35 | Gruzewski, Max | INT | 73% | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Himmelberg, Harry | BPR | 92% | 0 | 0 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 39 | Idun, Connor | BPL | 85% | 0 | 0 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 2 | Jones, Darcy | HFFR | 83% | 1 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 31 | McMullin, Toby | WR | 83% | 0 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 33 | O'Halloran, Xavier | C | 87% | 1 | 1 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 26 | Riccardi, Jake | FF | 79% | 2 | 1 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Rowston, Harry | SUB↑ | 22% | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | Stringer, Jake | FPL | 78% | 3 | 1 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Whitfield, Lachie | HBFL | 83% | 0 | 0 | 29 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| Rushed | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total (23 players) | 16 | 8 | 378 | 245 | 133 | 115 | 42 | 41 | 41 | 77 | 11 | 25 | 48 | 53 | |||
H. Rowston replaced J. Buckley.
Legend
ToG%: Time-on-Ground Percentage, GL: Goals, BH: Behinds, DI: Disposals, KI: Kicks, HB: Handballs, MK: Marks, HO: Hitouts, TA: Tackles, CL: Clearances, CR: Clangers, FF: Free Kicks For, FA: Free Kicks Against, RF: Rebounds Inside 50, IF: Inside 50sPlayer Line-Up
| Essendon | Coach: Brad Scott | ||||||||||||||
| BACK | FOLLOWER | INTERCHANGE | |||||||||||||
| 39 | C. Idun | 44 | J. Buckley | 27 | H. Himmelberg | 39 | V. Visentini | 11 | J. Gresham | ||||||
| 10 | I. Kako | 48 | L. McMahon | 26 | A. May | 35 | M. Guelfi | 25 | J. Prior | ||||||
| FORWARD | 22 | S. Durham | 9 | D. Shiel | |||||||||||
| HALF-BACK |
|
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47 | O. Smartt | |||||||||||
| 6 | L. Whitfield | 21 | L. Aleer | 7 | L. Ash |
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40 | Z. Johnson | ||||||
| 46 | L. Blakiston | 20 | P. Wright | 16 | A. Perkins |
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| HALF-FORWARD |
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| CENTRE |
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| 9 | R. Angwin | 33 | X. O'Halloran | 31 | T. McMullin |
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| 34 | L. Lual | 7 | Z. Merrett (c) | 28 | X. Duursma | FOLLOWER | INTERCHANGE | ||||||||
| CENTRE | 32 | K. Briggs | 46 | C. Brown | |||||||||||
| HALF-FORWARD | 17 | F. Callaghan | 3 | S. Coniglio | |||||||||||
| 14 | T. Bedford | 5 | A. Cadman | 2 | D. Jones | 12 | T. Green | 37 | J. Fonti | ||||||
| 36 | A. Clarke | 14 | J. Ridley | 27 | M. Redman |
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35 | M. Gruzewski | ||||||
| HALF-BACK |
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24 | H. Rowston | |||||||||||
| FORWARD |
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| 20 | J. Stringer | 26 | J. Riccardi | 4 | T. Greene (c) |
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| 21 | A. Roberts | 15 | J. Laverde | 1 | A. McGrath (vc) |
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| BACK |
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| Greater Western Sydney | Coach: Adam Kingsley | ||||||||||||||
Score Timeline
| Quarter | Team | Scoring Event | Score | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | ESSE | Angus Clarke behind | 0.1.1 | - | 0.0.0 | 01:32 |
| ESSE | Rushed behind | 0.2.2 | - | 0.0.0 | 09:01 | |
| GWSY | Toby Greene goal | 0.2.2 | - | 1.0.6 | 11:35 | |
| ESSE | Oskar Smartt behind | 0.3.3 | - | 1.0.6 | 13:53 | |
| GWSY | Aaron Cadman goal | 0.3.3 | - | 2.0.12 | 18:34 | |
| ESSE | Matt Guelfi behind | 0.4.4 | - | 2.0.12 | 21:30 | |
| ESSE | Peter Wright behind | 0.5.5 | - | 2.0.12 | 27:17 | |
| Q2 | GWSY | Jake Riccardi goal | 0.5.5 | - | 3.0.18 | 01:28 |
| ESSE | Peter Wright behind | 0.6.6 | - | 3.0.18 | 06:33 | |
| ESSE | Sam Durham behind | 0.7.7 | - | 3.0.18 | 10:11 | |
| ESSE | Jordan Ridley behind | 0.8.8 | - | 3.0.18 | 11:35 | |
| GWSY | Max Gruzewski goal | 0.8.8 | - | 4.0.24 | 12:47 | |
| GWSY | Max Gruzewski goal | 0.8.8 | - | 5.0.30 | 15:33 | |
| GWSY | Jake Stringer goal | 0.8.8 | - | 6.0.36 | 17:22 | |
| GWSY | Jake Riccardi goal | 0.8.8 | - | 7.0.42 | 19:53 | |
| GWSY | Toby Greene behind | 0.8.8 | - | 7.1.43 | 21:52 | |
| GWSY | Kieren Briggs goal | 0.8.8 | - | 8.1.49 | 24:03 | |
| ESSE | Liam McMahon goal | 1.8.14 | - | 8.1.49 | 25:45 | |
| GWSY | Aaron Cadman behind | 1.8.14 | - | 8.2.50 | 27:24 | |
| GWSY | Jake Riccardi behind | 1.8.14 | - | 8.3.51 | 33:31 | |
| Q3 | ESSE | Liam McMahon goal | 2.8.20 | - | 8.3.51 | 01:11 |
| GWSY | Tom Green goal | 2.8.20 | - | 9.3.57 | 03:54 | |
| GWSY | Callum Brown behind | 2.8.20 | - | 9.4.58 | 06:20 | |
| ESSE | Isaac Kako goal | 3.8.26 | - | 9.4.58 | 07:42 | |
| GWSY | Jake Stringer goal | 3.8.26 | - | 10.4.64 | 11:03 | |
| GWSY | Callum Brown goal | 3.8.26 | - | 11.4.70 | 13:30 | |
| ESSE | Archie May behind | 3.9.27 | - | 11.4.70 | 15:25 | |
| ESSE | Archie Perkins behind | 3.10.28 | - | 11.4.70 | 16:44 | |
| GWSY | Jake Stringer behind | 3.10.28 | - | 11.5.71 | 18:33 | |
| ESSE | Archie Perkins goal | 4.10.34 | - | 11.5.71 | 19:15 | |
| GWSY | Callum Brown goal | 4.10.34 | - | 12.5.77 | 24:35 | |
| GWSY | Jake Stringer goal | 4.10.34 | - | 13.5.83 | 27:49 | |
| ESSE | Peter Wright goal | 5.10.40 | - | 13.5.83 | 30:09 | |
| Q4 | GWSY | Xavier O'Halloran goal | 5.10.40 | - | 14.5.89 | 06:12 |
| ESSE | Xavier Duursma goal | 6.10.46 | - | 14.5.89 | 08:35 | |
| GWSY | Toby Greene goal | 6.10.46 | - | 15.5.95 | 09:52 | |
| ESSE | Peter Wright goal | 7.10.52 | - | 15.5.95 | 12:19 | |
| ESSE | Peter Wright behind | 7.11.53 | - | 15.5.95 | 17:05 | |
| GWSY | Xavier O'Halloran behind | 7.11.53 | - | 15.6.96 | 19:26 | |
| ESSE | Oskar Smartt behind | 7.12.54 | - | 15.6.96 | 20:36 | |
| GWSY | Rushed behind | 7.12.54 | - | 15.7.97 | 22:01 | |
| ESSE | Oskar Smartt behind | 7.13.55 | - | 15.7.97 | 23:00 | |
| GWSY | Toby Bedford behind | 7.13.55 | - | 15.8.98 | 24:56 | |
| ESSE | Archie Perkins behind | 7.14.56 | - | 15.8.98 | 26:49 | |
| GWSY | Darcy Jones goal | 7.14.56 | - | 16.8.104 | 28:23 | |