Friday night, Essendon versus Hawthorn. It’s big stage and emotions will be running high between two fierce rivals who share a history of epic battles.
Their most jarring match this century was the brutal 2004 contest that became known as Hawthorn’s “line in the sand game”.
It’s time for Essendon coach Brad Scott to get tough with his team.Credit: Artwork: Matt Davidson
That game was time warp; a reminder of an era when all-in brawls were as common as big forwards kicking swags of goals. It also might have been a turning point for both clubs; just look at what Hawks have achieved since then and what the Bombers haven’t.
Twenty-one years on, it’s time for Essendon to draw their own line in the sand.
I’m not saying they need to go out and incite a donnybrook for the ages with the Hawks. In fact, the commitment I’m calling for has nothing to do with the opposition. It’s all about the Bombers showing their commitment to each other.
In 2004, Dermott Brereton – then a director at Hawthorn – looked his players in the eye and demanded they stand for something.
Tempers fray between the Bombers and Hawks in the infamous “line in the sand game” of 2004.Credit: Sebastian Costanzo
Essendon coach Scott was, like Brereton, a famously uncompromising player, and I expect he will do something similar with his charges at the MCG on Friday.
All the talk from the Hangar over the summer was about stability and rebuilding. Scott’s contract extension this week was further proof the club is conditioning its supporters and the footy public to understand it has an eye on its long-term future.
The other message we have been hearing from anyone at Essendon who’s had a microphone thrust in front of them is that standards at the club have changed.
Scott’s job is to hold his players to those new standards throughout the season and be uncompromising about it.
We’ve heard this talk from Essendon before, but there were too many games late last season – and in the years before – when players let games drift and conceded defeat. Quite frankly, some Bombers players would be embarrassed if they watched their efforts again.
Of course, it’s tough to battle through when a game is lost, but the Bombers need to understand that every moment in footy is an investment in a future moment.
I still remember my former teammate Matthew Scarlett taking charge of a review session at Geelong when we were struggling to produce our best football.
“Scarlo” compiled countless video clips of opposition players getting an easy mark from a short pass coming out of our forward line. On face value, it didn’t seem like a big deal. After all, how much damage can be done when the ball is still 100 metres from their goal?
But Scarlo proceeded to show us how the lack of pressure we were applying on that cheap 20m kick was easing pressure on the opposition and forcing teammates up the ground to scramble. Every small lapse in effort or concentration meant our defence had to work overtime, so when the ball eventually did find its way inside the opposition’s forward 50m our defenders were under the pump.
It was a vicious cycle. Tired defenders had less energy and inclination to be proactive and attack and that transferred pressure onto the mids and forwards.
The lesson was clear: every moment has an impact, every small effort matters, and they all need to valued because it’s those seemingly small and “unsexy” contributions that lead to the passages of play that catch the eye and result in goals. In other words, from little things big things grow.
These “small” acts are also how you, as a player, build a reputation as someone who is reliable and will never yield. And when your teammates and opposition view you that way, then special things can happen.
When a team completely buys into this attitude you can tell because they start to celebrate these selfless efforts, no matter who delivers them.
I remember seeing this click at Richmond in 2017 right before the Tigers went on their premiership run. It was round 20, and the Tigers were up against the Hawks. I was on the ground in my media role as the Tigers made their way to their quarter-time huddle with a 25-point lead.
Richmond’s stars – Trent Cotchin, Alex Rance, Dustin Martin – were sending all their energy towards guys who were seen, at the time, as role players in the team. Dan Butler, Jason Castagna, Daniel Rioli (repeat, at the time) were being hailed for their relentless chasing and pressure.
All the great sides of recent times that have won multiple premierships have been unrelenting in delivering these so-called small acts. But it’s not just in AFL. All of sport’s great coaches – think Bill Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, or Melbourne Storm’s super coach Craig Bellamy – embrace the fundamentals of the game. Do your job properly and always.
Bill Belichick and Craig Bellamy are hard-nosed coaches who set uncompromising standards with their players when it comes to doing the fundamentals of their sport. Credit: AP/Paul Rovere
They might sound like boring and mundane tasks to some, but the fact is they lead to exciting football, and I can tell you from personal experience it is a fun way to play. No one ever accused the Brisbane Lions of the early 2000s, Geelong of 2007-11 or those Hawks or Tigers teams I mentioned above of being unattractive teams to watch.
Essendon’s two years under Scott have both ended with 11 wins after meek fadeouts.
They have jettisoned players off their list who they don’t think are capable of delivering this all-the-time approach, and now need to follow through with the same approach at the selection table, no matter the reputation of the player in question.
Their time for excuses has passed. It’s time to show the football world they are uncompromising.
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