Bulldogs vs Bombers review

The Winner is always part of the answer. The Loser is always part of the problem. The Winner always has a program.

The Loser always has an excuse.

The Winner says, "Let me do it for you”

The Loser says, "That's not my job”

The Winner sees an answer for every problem.

The Loser sees a problem for every answer.

The Winner sees a green near every sand trap

The Loser sees two or three sand traps near every green.

The Winner says, "It may be difficult but it's possible”

The Loser says, "It might be possible but it's too difficult”

Be a Winner.

-Vince Lombardi

Essendon's victory marks the first time they have won all four quarters since defeating the Eagles last year in Round 11, and only the 6th time since the beginning of 2021. It brings relief to now review all four quarters instead of comparing one strong quarter against three poor ones from last week.

This performance exhibited steady improvement every 20 minutes, reaching its peak at the start of the final 20.

One particularly satisfying aspect to highlight is the shift in game style that Essendon struggled to execute last week against Port Adelaide.

There were some intriguing setup changes right from the first bounce. Cox, who had been assigned a key defensive role since Reid's injury during round one, began this game in the forward half, and there were good reasons for it. Last week, Essendon faced significant challenges in moving the ball forward during transitions and lacked tall targets with sufficient mobility to compete in the air.

The question arose though: who would match up against Ugle Hagan, Naughton, and Darcy? While Laverde and McKay seemed like obvious choices, the matchup of Redman against Darcy would be an interesting one to see play out.

As the defenders handled their matchups, the midfielders faced a daunting task. Durham squared off against Bontempelli, while Caldwell tackled the challenge of Liberatore.

Durham's emergence as a standout player for the future started here.

His exceptional performance extended beyond offense, showcasing prowess in defense as well, a point I'll delve into shortly.

Out of his 21 disposals, 80% were effective for the team, with 12 coming from contested situations, securing him the top spot in the Bombers' rankings. Notably, he won seven of these contested possessions at ground level, with two occurring inside the forward 50, including a pivotal goal in the final quarter.

Among his six score involvements, three directly followed his possession out of the centre square. Furthermore, he played a pivotal role in Essendon's 16 to 10 centre clearances, accounting for six of those 16 himself.

The final quarter illustrated the fruits of his preseason training and fitness regime. Of his 12 contested possessions, six were earnt in this period, with four of those leading to clearances.

Beyond his offensive contributions, Durham also effectively nullified the influence of Bontempelli, widely regarded as the standout player of the past decade.

Using AFL Player Ratings, a measurement system used to assess a player's impact on the game, Bontempelli’s rating of 10.9 was his lowest since the 2021 Grand Final. This match also marked just the fifth occasion since 2021 where he had 17 or fewer disposals and only the second time with just two inside 50s. Additionally, he has only recorded less than 180 meters gained in a game nine times throughout his career, with this occurring just once since round five of 2020.

After the debacle of centre clearances last week, Goldstein and Draper displayed their true form in connecting with the midfield brigade.

Last week against the Power, only five of their 34 hitouts were to advantage, resulting in dismal percentages of 20% and 7.1%, respectively. In contrast, Soldo saw over half of his 23 hitouts advantage Port Adelaide.

This week, Goldstein and Draper delivered a much improved performance.

Goldstein's 22 hitouts saw over 30% of them advantage his teammates, while Draper achieved over 38% of his 13 hitouts to advantage.

Their improved performance allowed them to effectively connect with Durham, Parish, Stringer, and Caldwell in the centre square, as well as Gresham in the forward half, and Martin and Cox in the defensive half.

The midfield, disappointed with their overall impact last week, emerged as a proud unit this time.

Merrett, Parish, Caldwell, and Durham led Essendon's defensive pressure acts, with the captain once again shining with 18 of his 27 disposals being effective.

In my preview of this game, I highlighted the Bulldogs historical midfield dominance.

For years, they boasted impressive clearance differentials of +4.9, +7.9, and +5.2, ranking in the top two for the past three seasons.

Last season, the Dogs' clearance differential of +4.9 only translated into a points differential of 1.95 per game, this week they paid a hefty price.

Essendon outperformed the Bulldogs in overall clearances, winning 35 to 28.

This resulted in nine shots at goal, yielding 44 points, culminating in a +22 point differential.

After four games, the Bulldogs topped the table for intercepting in the air, averaging 20.8 intercepts per game. Jones ranked equal third in the competition with 5.3 intercepts, followed closely by Dureya and Khamis with 3.5 each. Meanwhile, Essendon's opponents averaged 14.3 intercepts in the same period.

In this match, the Bulldogs managed only seven intercepts in total, with Jones unable to make an impact, notably losing 50% of his four direct one-on-one contests, a rise from his season average of 8.3%. Essendon achieved this by holding the Bulldogs accountable in the air, with Draper and Goldstein spending time forward when not in the ruck. Stringer and Langford competed fiercely even when outnumbered, and Jones elevated his performance to new heights.

Stringer, Langford, and Jones combined to take nine marks inside 50, including six on the lead, with their teammates honouring their efforts by positioning themselves in front of their matchups when the ball entered the area.

With the support of six other players winning ground balls alongside them and eight different players contributing tackles inside the forward 50, the Bulldogs' rebounding half-backs, known for their run and carry abilities, found themselves under significant pressure.

This season, Richards, Johannisen, and Bramble have averaged 5.8, 4.6, and 4.2 rebound 50s respectively. Only Bramble exceeded his average in this match, with Richards and Johannisen providing only three each. Furthermore, over Richards' career, he has averaged only 2.8 turnovers per game. However, due to the pressure applied in his zone, he registered a game-high seven turnovers.

Much will be said about Essendon's last quarter performance, and rightfully so; scoring five goals in an 11-minute period was undeniably impressive and sealed the victory. However, the groundwork was laid in the third quarter.

The Bombers' dominance in winning inside 50s, leading 15 to 11, was pivotal, fueled by their advantage in contested possessions, 32 to 25, and clearances, eight to four. Equally crucial was the team's collective defensive effort.

Until halftime, the Bulldogs initiated 48 possession chains, with over 52% penetrating their forward 50, a figure exceeding the Bombers' season average, which ranks poorly in the league, at 17th place.

However, in the third quarter, the Bombers were able to deny those entries, with the Bulldogs only managing to convert just over 40% of these chains into their forward third.

That ranking would be over 6% better than the current AFL average and second best in the league.

Add to that, Essendon developed over 53% of their possession chains into forward 50 entries in that quarter, exceeding the Bulldogs' opposition average by over 7% and surpassing their own season average by over 11%. Although the reward wasn't fully reflected on the scoreboard, with only two goals and three behinds, it set the stage for what was to unfold after the final break.

The momentum from the last quarter against St. Kilda spilled over into the first quarter against Port Adelaide the following week, offering hope for a continued strong performance, gained from the victory over the Western Bulldogs, into the upcoming game against Adelaide and laying the groundwork for success throughout the season.

There are evident flashes and indications of a system change that is steadily improving and showing the signs that this change is long term viable for success.

However, it’s crucial for this evolution to persist and extend for longer durations during games.