There is a malaise at the Essendon Football Club that is becoming increasingly concerning.
In watching their capitulation to Hawthorn on Friday night, it became apparent that there was something wrong with the effort from a large number of Bombers.
Either they couldn’t make the effort to go with the Hawks…
… or they didn’t want to.
I go back to the comments made by Brad Scott after his first season at the helm of the club. They ring both true and loud right about now.
“There’s a difference between training hard – and I think everyone trains hard – to what an AFL lifestyle looks like, so that’s an area I’m more concerned about and need to address.”
This was glossed over at the time by a lazy AFL Media, but it was as honest as a coach ever gets about the collective fitness and attitude of his team. IN short, it was nowhere near good enough, and the new coach knew it.
He went on to speak about standards, and responded by bringing in his former ruckman at North Melbourne, Todd Goldstein, who was renowned for doing the work at training. He wanted to change the culture, but based on what we saw against the Hawks, that has not changed.
Not much, anyway.
What did you see when you watched the game against the Hawks?
Did you see the midfielders trailing their Hawthorn counterparts?
Did you see the half forwards failing to work back hard into the back half to help their defence out, to then surge forward in waves?
Did you see a defence under siege as those further up the field simply gave up on their duties, and allowed the Hawks complete access to the corridor?
If you missed them, how did that happen? It was so apparent that it was best summed up by a message I received from an Essendon supporter who had simply had enough.
“Zach Merrett was onto something. I want to leave the club as well.”
This, from a 30+ year member.
When you have a team where half the team play like they couldn’t give a rat’s ass about what happens once the footy is out of their area, it creates a culture of failure and a culture of laziness. It’s catching, and it’s insidious at footy club level.
Whilst many will point to the coach, the administration, or the recruiters, effort is something only the players can manufacture, and there was a concerning lack of it when the ball turned over.
Kyle Langford barely left the 50 metre arc.
Jaxon Prior was a stranger to his back six, despite spending most of the game playing on the next line as a winger.
Archie Perkins only started to play footy when the game was dusted.
Brayden Fiorini, elevated immediately into the leadership group, slowed considerably when the Hawks had the footy and he was required to get ack and help out inside defensive 50.
And even Zach Merrett, who is consistently lauded for his insane work rate, threw up his hands and looked to feed off the work of others, as he hovered around half-back and through the guts. Rarely was he sighted in defence, helping out.
With Zach Reid being hammered by just about every Hawthorn forward he encountered, it was painfully apparent he needed help from those listed above. When the help didn’t arrive, the Hawks smelled blood, and they tore into the Bombers through the middle of the game.
By the time the last quarter rolled around, and Essndon started to “show some spirit”, they did it against a Hawthorn team that well and truly had the cue in the rack.
That was not showing spirit.
That was receiving bloody charity!
It has been two and a half years since Brad Scott basically called out the Bombers’ reluctance to live the “AFL Lifestyle” and if we go by what we saw on Friday night, the penny still hasn’t dropped for many players.
Maybe, to them, the AFL Lifestyle is all about having a kick, getting paid, and going home. Maybe it’s just a job.
It’s a damn shame that the club and the sport mean so much more to so many others.
You can teach skills.
You can teach tactics.
But you can’t teach effort. And until Essendon players take responsibility for the poor showing they made in Round One, this club is going to hoever around the middle of the ladder as a best-case scenario.
I’m not even a Bomber fan and it pisses me off. I can’t imagine how it must feel for you guys.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
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