Despite his side bouncing out of the bye with a solid win over West Coast to sit third on the ladder after 14 games, Essendon coach Brad Scott says it is too early in the season for the Bombers to take any notice of their ladder position.
He repeated his view that the competition is too tight to pencil in any results, and with games against Geelong, Collingwood and Melbourne in the next three weeks, the tests will only continue.
Sam Durham starred for the Bombers in their five-goal win over the Eagles at Marvel Stadium.Credit: AFL Photos
“[The ladder] will have relevance at some point, but right now it just does not have any relevance to us,” Scott said. “It is about how we can get better.”
Scott said they understood that they had laid a good foundation in the first half of the season to attack the remaining games with purpose, but they refused to be distracted from what lay immediately in front of them.
“We understand the platform that’s being laid and the opportunity that presents itself,” Scott said. “What we did today, and what we did in the first half of the year, guarantees nothing in the second half of the year.”
The Bombers rested Todd Goldstein to give Nate Caddy – who impressed in his second game – another chance up forward, but Scott said he expected they would take dual rucks into the game against the Cats at the MCG. Sam Draper was his usual bustling, unpredictable self but the calm head of Goldstein will be helpful in a huge match next Saturday night. The Cats have won their past six matches against the Bombers.
Brad Scott is smart enough to know that talking up finals chances after 14 games is a fool’s errand. Credit: AFL Photos
Scott said he could make a case for every opponent they faced in the run home, and playing a team lower on the ladder, as the Eagles were, meant little in terms of the likely result.
The Bombers set up their win at the end of the second quarter when they kicked clear of the Eagles, but they had to show resilience to keep their noses in front of West Coast, who drew within four points late in the third term.
Midfielder Sam Durham was best on ground, as he responded when the Bombers needed him most with several key clearances, and finished the game with a goal and a career-high 29 disposals.
Scott said the emerging star was yet to realise how good he could be, given his game is still developing. He admitted the match committee weren’t exactly sure what position to play him in, such is the depth of his talent.
“You want him pretty much wherever the ball is. I think even our players have said he is scratching the surface a bit with what he is capable of [doing],” Scott said of Durham. “He just keeps taking steps forward. He doesn’t realise right now what he is capable of, and I think a few other people are starting to get a glimpse as to what that might look like for him.”
West Coast coach Adam Simpson was pleased with the improvement his team has shown this season and their effort without key midfielders Tim Kelly, Harley Reid and Dom Sheed.
