Live: Essendon overwhelmed by early Port pressure as struggles continue

This is absolutely top draw from Jason Horne-Francis!

He takes another mark inside 50, this time deep in the pocket on the wrong side for a right-footer.

Horne-Francis gets a little bit of advice from the fans sitting near the boundary line and takes it all on apparently, as he drills it from the impossible angle!

Alarm bells ringing for Essendon already!

Jason Horne-Francis finds himself somehow in acres of space inside 50 and takes a good mark despite a late arrival from Andy McGrath.

He goes back and drills the set shot from around 35m out on a tough angle.

Essendon’s defensive application questionable at best once again. Port now up to nine inside 50s to two.

This is a brilliant finish from the big man!

There’s a ball-up inside Port’s attacking 50 and Jordon Sweet flings Lachie Blakiston out of the way and grabs the ball out of the ruck and snaps it through from 40m out.

Port all over Essendon like a rash right now. Their pressure has been terrific all around the ground.

Of course Georgiades kicks THIS one!

Port finally gets its first goal of the afternoon courtesy of some brilliant forward 50 pressure.

Georgiades lays a tackle on Zach Reid, forcing Reid’s kick to go out on the full in the pocket.

He then calmly snaps the ball through for Port’s first. Seven inside 50s to one so far, worrying signs for the Dons.

Mitch Georgiades is letting Essendon off the hook big-time here!

He has another set shot virtually directly in front but sprays it badly as the ball sails out of bounds on the full.

Zak Butters already up to four disposals out there, and he had way too much time and space to send the ball inside 50 for Georgiades there.

One inside 50, one goal for Essendon!

The Bombers transition well out of defence courtesy of some excellent work on the wing from Dyson Sharp who manages to dish off a handball under all sorts of pressure.

Zak Johnson eventually sends one inside 50 and Nate Caddy spills the mark but Peter Wright crumbs well and hands off to Brayden Fiorini, who snaps through the first goal of the afternoon on his left boot.

Port Adelaide on top so far in the opening minutes with the first two inside 50s of the game.

Mitch Georgiades took a good mark on a lead but misses an early set shot from a tricky angle.

Essendon struggling to find the footy so far, just as they did last week against Hawthorn.

We’ve had Port’s Never Tear Us Apart blared through the speakers around the ground and we’re ready to go.

Sam Durham matched up with Zak Butters to start this one. A fascinating match-up that one!

Jordon Sweet and Lachie Blakiston in the ruck first up for the two teams.

Aliir Aliir matched up on Nate Caddy while Mitch Georgiades is being manned by Zach Reid at the other end of the ground.

We’re not far away from the first bounce now at the Adelaide Oval.

Both Essendon and Port Adelaide have run through their banners and the players are going through their final warm-ups.

Essendon has lost its last 14 games, stretching back to midway through last season.

The Bombers’ last win came during last year’s Dreamtime clash against Richmond back in May 2025.

Can they get on the board this afternoon? Will their losing streak last a full 12 months?

There’s going to be absolutely no excuses for the players out there this afternoon.

Adelaide Oval is currently bathed in sunshine with the temperature a warm 28 degrees.

I do wonder how these players will fare running out the game in that level of heat.

This has got to be so surreal for Ken Hinkley.

The long-time Port coach is back at the Adelaide Oval this afternoon and he’s interviewing his former understudy Josh Carr on the sidelines.

Life truly does continue to move on doesn’t it?

Ken seems like he’s more nervous than Carr ahead of this interview on Fox Footy.

Carr says talk about his pre-match chat last weekend was “probably blown out of proportion” after he’d mentioned that he’d gotten that wrong ahead of last weekend’s match.

One of the spicier subplots from Fremantle’s win over Melbourne came when Dockers forward Pat Voss mocked Dees big man Harry Petty.

Voss referenced Petty crying on-field a few years ago, and it’s sparked up a conversation over whether taunting needs to be outlawed in the AFL or not.

Interested to hear your thoughts!

Both Port Adelaide and Essendon will line up as originally selected this afternoon.

Here’s how the two team line-ups look.

Here’s how the last five meetings between these two teams have gone:

Round 3, 2025: Essendon 9.18 (72) def. Port Adelaide 8.12 (60) @ Docklands Stadium

Round 4, 2024: Port Adelaide 17.9 (111) def. Essendon 6.6 (42) @ Adelaide Oval

Round 16, 2023: Port Adelaide 11.12 (78) def. Essendon 10.14 (74) @ MCG

Round 8, 2023: Port Adelaide 12.20 (92) def. Essendon 13.9 (87) @ Adelaide Oval

Round 22, 2022: Port Adelaide 23.8 (146) def. Essendon 9.8 (62)

Good afternoon and welcome to ABC Sport’s live AFL coverage!

We wrap up round two today with a double-header spanning from South Australia to Western Australia.

The action begins at 3:15pm when Port Adelaide hosts Essendon at the Adelaide Oval, before West Coast hosts North Melbourne at Perth Stadium from 6:10pm (all times AEDT).

Three out of the four teams in action lost badly last weekend in their season-openers, so expect them to be fired up.