Essendon coach Brad Scott has slammed his players for their poor defending after the Bombers conceded a cricket score in their thumping loss to Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday, 25.11 (161) to 15.10 (100).
The rampant Crows treated Scott’s men with disdain, piling on 25 goals in a 61-point hammering where they were able to sub out prime mover Izak Rankine midway in the third quarter with the result already beyond doubt.
Brad Scott and his Bombers had a nightmare day at the MCG.Credit: AFL Photos
Not many in the partisan crowd of 46,688 would have come to the ground expecting a red and black victory, though they would have expected the Bombers to muster better fight against a side that has lived in the same lower reaches of the ladder but now appears ready to spike.
That they fielded the youngest 23 this round, and the second-least experienced, was not an excuse for their optional approach to defending.
The Crows’ total of 161 is the highest score by a non-Victorian club at the MCG since 2013 and the most the Bombers have given up since round 19, 2011 when Collingwood amassed 166. It comes a week after they leaked 17 goals against Hawthorn in a game where the Bombers won most key statistical areas.
Damningly, they laid 12 fewer tackles, despite having less of the ball, and allowed the Crows – who celebrated their first victory at the MCG since their grand final year in 2017 – to take 70 more marks.
“For me, until they can find a way to be above average on the pressure side of things, they will never take that next step,” Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend Jason Dunstall said on Fox Footy.
In Scott’s first years at Essendon, Bombers fans spent much of the season teased by the prospect of a finals appearance. In his third, they should be under no such illusion.
Deep down, most Dons fans would see 2025 as the year their club must take a step back to go two forward, but they would have preferred the step back not to be so large.
Izak Rankine was subbed out early for the Crows, with the result already beyond doubt.Credit: AFL Photos
Key defender Ben McKay copped the wrath from irate Bombers fans, though he was part of a backline that was constantly under the pump due to the lack of pressure on the ball up the field.
The number of times the Crows were able to ferry the ball through the middle of the ground and have greater numbers in their forward 50 while kicking easy goals was alarming.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve conceded uncontested marks and lost pressure differential by as much as we did today,” Scott said. “That part of the game was really foundational for us.
“The way the game unfolded, we’d lose a critical mark inside 50 and they’d find an uncontested mark quickly and bounce us from that.
“That makes it really hard to build any pressure, to play your style. [It] put our last line defenders under enormous pressure. That part of the game was disappointing for us.”
The 161-100 scoreline was a throwback to the 1990s when defensive systems lacked sophistication. But even back then coaches would have been fuming if their charges had shown the lack of application to defence of the Bombers.
Dylan Shiel is tackled by Crow Josh Rachele.Credit: Getty Images
“We scored enough, we scored 25 times from our entries at over 50 per cent, but what’s inexcusable is our ability to defend after that,” Scott said.
The Bombers have an uncomfortable call to make on veteran Dylan Shiel, a former star on-baller who is struggling in his new position at half-back. Analyst David King said Shiel had been “jittery at the contest at best” and “disrespectful” of the opposition in rolling back for a possession, rather than guarding his opponent.
“The first thing that goes when you get to 32 years of age, and you’ve played a lot of footy, is [that] you get jittery in a contest. To me, that’s alarm bells,” King said.
“I am not sure you can roll forward with this guy at half-back
“And they moved Jake Stringer on to shift the standards at this footy club. Well, if you are going to shift the standards, you have to do something about this back-six group – because they are not having a crack.”
Zach Merrett was again excellent, booting four goals in his 36 disposals, but not enough are following their captain’s lead.
Bombers fans cheered loudest for livewire forward Isaac Kako, who was lively with two goals, and there was enthusiasm around Elijah Tsatas’ work in the midfield, while former school teacher Tom Edwards booted three majors on debut.
Crows coach Matthew Nicks said Rankine was not injured but subbed out to safeguard against a repeat of the hamstring strain he suffered late in last year’s game against Collingwood at this ground.
“We were in a unique position there where we could make a decision around where the game’s at, and Izak’s history on the MCG is one that sits in the back of your mind as a coach,” Nicks said.
“If we get an opportunity to manage a player when it comes to their loads we do that.”
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