Essendon must be wondering what could have been after suffering an agonising one-point loss to Gold Coast on Saturday night. Six days after breathing new life into their team, AFL However, the Bombers’ hopes of reaching the final with a win over Fremantle were dashed on Saturday with an error-ridden 13.9 (87) to 12.14 (86) defeat at Marvel Stadium.
The Bombers scored 1.9 points in the final quarter to give up what seemed to be a win before Suns star Mac Andrew scored in the dying seconds and kicked a goal after the final whistle, all but ending Essendon’s hopes of reaching the finals.
Andrew’s goal means Essendon have lost by a goal after the siren for the third consecutive year, adding to the losing streak of 2022 (Collingwood’s Jamie Elliott) and 2023 (Port Adelaide’s Dan Houston). The Bombers are only the second club in history to lose by a goal after the siren in three consecutive years. The only other club to suffer this fate was Carlton between 2000 and 2002.
Gold Coast protests against racist abuse against star on the internet
Andrew’s game-winning goal came after the defender was involved in a fight during half-time. After that incident, every time he touched the ball, a chorus of boos rang out around the stadium. And after kicking the game-winning goal that gave the Suns their first away win of the season, he silenced the Essendon crowd.
However, those celebrations and the fact he ended Bombers fans’ dream of reaching the finals led to a handful of social media trolls attacking him online with racist abuse, prompting the Suns to call on their fans on the social media site to celebrate the stars of the game, not abuse them. “If you’re a racist, you’re not welcome in our game,” the Suns wrote on X after several racist posts were directed at the Gold Coast defender. “Let’s celebrate the stars.”
Essendon shared the post on social media, adding: “There is no place for racism of any kind in society.”
It is not the first time the Suns star has been the victim of racist abuse. Last year, verbal abuse directed at Andrew, who was born in Egypt to South Sudanese parents, was exposed on social media by a concerned member of the Brisbane Lions, who called out another member for the racist comments.
Although Andrew was unaware of the abuse during the game, he was reportedly upset after the inappropriate behaviour was pointed out to him. And following another incident, the Suns and wider AFL community were quick to support the Gold Coast defender and condemn the unacceptable behaviour of certain fans online.
As an Essendon fan I would like to reiterate that there is no place for racism. And Mac Andrew was a champion, cool and composed under enormous pressure and achieved what we could not. I look forward to seeing more of him in the future.
— RedTwo006 (@RTwo006) 11 August 2024
As an Essendon fan I couldn’t be prouder of this player. He stood his ground in key moments, handled pressure well and never backed down. Great talent and potential for the future of GCS
— Anthony Peluso (@AnthonyPeluso_) 11 August 2024
As an Essendon fan I would like to reiterate that there is no place for racism. And Mac Andrew was a champion, cool and composed under enormous pressure and achieved what we could not. I look forward to seeing more of him in the future.
— RedTwo006 (@RTwo006) 11 August 2024
It wasn’t the booing. Check out the social media comment an Essendon supporter posted about him! 🤦
— Nick Prochilo (@NickProchilo) 11 August 2024
It’s not about the boos, but about disgusting racist comments on social media that were posted after the game…
— David Bulman (@DavidBulman12) 11 August 2024
Mac Andrew could be in trouble because of halftime turmoil
Andrew could come under scrutiny from match stewards after throwing a number of jumper tackles during a half-time break, including one that appeared to hit Bomber Archie Roberts in the head. Talking about the incident after the game Suns coach Damien Hardwick said he needed to work on his temper.
“I don’t want to say he’s an unpredictable character, but he’s assertive, he’s aggressive, he loves that side of the game and he’s responded well, which is great,” Hardwick said. “So for me personally, it’s a great learning curve of what Mac can do and how he tolerates things, but also for Mac to control himself and educate himself on that.”
with AAP
