Despite a tenacious effort that saw Essendon close the margin to 21 points in the final term, coach Brad Scott was proud of his undermanned side’s gallant effort against Geelong. The Bombers showed grit and determination to fight back from a 37-point half-time deficit, but ultimately couldn’t overcome the Cats’ dominance, leaving Scott with plenty to dissect as his team looks to bounce back against St Kilda on Friday night at Marvel Stadium.
Scott on… the defeat to Geelong
A real focus of ours heading into the match was making sure they couldn’t intercept the ball, which clearly didn’t work early. I thought there was a real lesson in some of our players who have played a fair bit of VFL footy, our forwards who led into really good VFL spots and got intercepted by AFL elite defenders. I think that was probably as much Geelong’s good play as our poor play. I’ve touched on it before, we have a real challenge at the moment with our inside 50 connection when our key forwards were taken in the mid-season draft, so there hasn’t been a lot of time to be able to work on that connection, and it’s still clearly not at the level that we need it to be.
But the hardest thing is probably getting the supply. And I think we edged in front in the inside 50 count in the last quarter. Geelong arrested that every time we pressed. To get within roughly 20 points, Geelong responded, as good teams do, but, but I think overall we competed really well and were beaten by a better side. The reality is that they more than doubled the number of scoring shots we had, so they were probably a bit more inaccurate than they usually are and they still transitioned the ball really well. So we were outplayed, but I didn’t think we let ourselves down in the contest.
Scott on… coaching challenge against Geelong
Geelong’s record speaks for itself. We’re going through a real coaching challenge. I’m really enthusiastic about the challenge, although, in a somewhat of a morbid way, it’s not what you want. But this is huge challenge for us at the moment. I think what stands out about the Geelong Football Club is that they’ve just have always been a very strong club in the modern era. They’ve rejuvenated their list year after year and you look at players like Gryan Myers, Brad Close and Tom Atkins, guys who come in and now I would regard as elite players in the competition who were overlooked by almost all of us. And so that speaks more to system and coaching than it does just purely to talent. The real art of it is being able to improve players regardless of where they come from in the draft, and Geelong just found a way. So that builds something pretty special and something that we aspire to emulate.
Scott on… Essendon taking steps forward this season
It’s only really judging the fullness of time. So you can be taking steps forward without it being noticeable. I’ve been absolutely wrapped with the job that our assistant coaches have done this year. But, I mean, I’ve been really reluctant to say that, because there’s a scoreboard, and people would say, how can you say they’ve done a great job? Well, they have done a great job with the circumstances that they’ve been working in. And when it comes to culture, it’s largely intangible because measuring culture really only comes from wins and losses over time. We’re working extremely hard in that space. I’m firm in the belief that we’re taking good strides forward in that area, but you won’t be able to see it until it’s in the rear-view mirror and it’s the fullness of time is the frustrating thing, because you want to want it to happen tomorrow. But the reality is, it takes some time.
Scott on… Isaac Kako centre bounce exposure
We’re really encouraged by that. We think Isaac is just about as good there is with the ball below his knees. I think Nick Watson at Hawthorn displayed some really good strength, and ability to hold his feet, and run at speed when the ball’s below his knees, and Isaac’s got the same capability. We’ve crashed-coursed him in centre bounce work over the last two weeks, and we were ready to get him in there tonight. I thought he showed some really good signs in there. It’s a win for us. I think we’ve got a lot to get out of the last few games, I’ve said that repeatedly. And that’s one thing – getting him in there, he’s bodying up against Max Holmes and Bailey Smith. He didn’t look out of place, and he did some really good things. We know what he can do forward of the ball, but to be able to develop him in the last few rounds as a centre-bounce midfielder as well. It’ll be a real bonus going into next year.
Scott on… Archie Roberts
He’s been huge this season. I imagine he’d be pretty high up in a rising star voting. He’s played some really good footy, and that’s pleasing, but I think that the thing that we’re encouraged by even more is that he’s already, you know, in his second year, he says he’s a leader of our team. He’s an extremely coachable young man, and talk about culture. He’s a cultural driver for us, and something that the characteristics we’re looking for in players and people, he personifies most of those.
Scott on… Liam McMahon after a career-high four goals
There’s a lot to like about Liam. One of the main things is that he makes the most of his opportunities. He’s a beautiful set shot kick, and he keeps presenting really well. I think both, both Archer May and Liam McMahon were very good for us tonight, and Peter Wright had had one of his better games.
