This week we witnessed the planting of a seed of potential growth, with hopes for its maturity throughout the year and eventual fruition by season’s end. Essendon demonstrated their intent both verbally and through action, setting the stage for a rematch at home in round 23, and in front of the army that will be there to back it up.
While familiar flaws surfaced during the game, I'll delve into those shortly, I'd like to begin by highlighting the shift in attitude leading up to the match and then discuss the performances of individual players.
Quotes from Tom Papley shed light on this shift:
“They were pretty good early, their pressure is good. They’re getting after us a bit, but we’ll keep going hard at the ball,” “They’re trying to get after us, it’s all off the ball. We’re just worried about the ball, we’ll keep being hard in the contest and get the job done. “They really gave it to us, Brad Scott came out and said they wanted to have that Essendon edge ..."
The significance of Papley's observations lies in the change from his previous experiences with Essendon, it signaled a departure from the norm. The Bombers' commitment and determination to hunt down the Swans and make them earn their points not just on the scoreboard, but also in the contest, set a precedent for the future.
"I can do this all day." - Captain America
Up forward, down back, inside, and outside, Zach Merrett continues to carry the mantle of Captain with unwavering dedication, showcasing his versatility, leadership, and undeniable impact on the field.
With 32 disposals, 69% of which worked back in the defensive half to support his teammates, he laid four tackles and had three intercept possessions, contributing to his 12 defensive half pressure acts.
This week, he found the right balance between attack and defense, influencing the team's score. 26 of his 32 disposals were effective, including five inside 50s, 10 score involvements, two of which were first possessions in a chain that led to a score, and two direct goal assists to complement his own two goals.
As always, he is not afraid to win his own ball, with 13 of his possessions earned via contest, seven of which were won at ground level, showcasing his consistent performance every week.
There was a lot of hard work on Saturday night, but few stood out as much as Setterfield.
His 29 disposals were a great example of this, with 17 of them won at contests, 15 of those at ground level, including two inside the forward 50, an area that Essendon improved on this week.
Five of his 29 disposals were from stoppage clearances, while four were intercepting the ball from Sydney. 19 effective disposals included seven inside 50 entries and seven score involvements, with three of those starting a possession chain that led to a score.
He didn't just have a say in scoring, he worked hard defending with seven tackles and three rebound 50s as well.
Gresham's prowess within the forward half continues to show, particularly evident in his exceptional groundball work, a facet of the game where Essendon has historically struggled.
Saturday's performance highlighted a major improvement, with the Bombers boasting a groundball rate per inside 50 opportunity higher than all but two occasions from last season, against GWS in round four, and against the West Coast Eagles in round 11.
A larger majority of the 25 forward 50 groundball gets was made up by Gresham securing seven, that was the highest of anyone for the round, only once last year did anyone gather more than seven.
However Gresham's impact extended beyond his groundball dominance. Nearly half of his possessions were earned through contests, showcasing his tenacity and willingness to fight for the ball. His defensive contributions equally notable, four tackles and five intercept possessions adding to his overall impact. Gresham's offensive ability to hit the scoreboard was evident, with three scores starting directly from his disposals, and 11 of his 23 contributing to team scores. Obviously we saw the three goals he scored, but three direct goal assists shouldn't have gone unnoticed also.
Big ticks to McGrath, who continues to generate run, overlap, and "bounce" from the defensive half.
Perkins was solid in backing up his elite performance of round one, and big Sammy Draper stepped straight back into his role at centre bounce and as the team's "fire starter."
Until halftime, Essendon matched Sydney's intensity.
In the first half, Sydney executed 56 possession chains, with 57 in the second half, while Essendon managed 70 possession chains in the first half, primarily due to dominance in stoppage clearances with eight more outside of center bounce. Essendon's possession chains dropped to 52 after halftime. This drop attributed to Sydney's improved contest intensity, and I suspect the effects of last week's high transition game in 30+ degrees being the first of the season.
Another area that round one may have played some part in was that Sydney had 21 shots at goal in "red time" that's the time on period after the 20-minute mark of each quarter, Essendon in comparison had seven.
There was a different look to the game, particularly in the first half, and it proved effective.
It looked by eye, and the numbers backed it up. The handball to kick ratio was notably high, with 57 kicks and 41 handballs by quarter time, increasing to 106 kicks to 95 by halftime. This translated to a kick percentage of 52.7%, the lowest recorded by Essendon at halftime in my records. For comparison, the AFL average in 2023 was 59.1%, with the lowest last season being Hawthorn at 54.4%.
It showed me that Essendon responded to Sydney's pressure by getting numbers to the source, and in the end, working their way out of the area with teammates.
At that point in the game, Essendon managed to force a turnover from Sydney every 5.2 disposals, not great overall, but certainly not poor, just better than the AFL average. However, despite these positive signs, there were lingering issues that remained unresolved.
While good work was being done to diffuse Sydney inside, the same cannot be said on the outside. After halftime, Essendon was only able to force turnovers every 6.48 Sydney disposals, comparing the 2023 AFL average again, that would have been clear last, again, a small part played by last week's first game of the season.
Now to get onto that dreaded transition ball movement that the Bombers once again couldn't defend.
What is a first down in the NFL?
A first down is earned when the offensive team successfully advances the ball by ten or more yards, securing them the right to continue their possession for another series of downs. With four downs available, the team aims to progress the ball 10 yards down the field.
Translation for AFL
A comparable achievement to a first down is when the offensive team gains a distance of 15 meters or more from a kick, enabling them to retain possession and continue their attack.
Translation for Essendon
A first down equivalent is when the opposition gains territory without Essendon interrupting, thereby opening up scoring opportunities for the opposing team.
This week, it was uncontested marks that relinquished the hard-earned territory gained by the team. With nine to two in stoppage clearances at quarter time and 16 to eight around the ground at halftime, with a remarkable +549 metres gained, Essendon had a great start to setting up field position.
However, as I wrote in the preview of this game, reflecting on last year's matchup, Essendon struggled defensively.
Sydney had eight shots out of 16 entries in the first quarter, which became 17 from 30 by halftime, an efficiency of 56% is far too high to engage in a shootout with.
The Swans secured 29 marks in the first quarter alone, including five inside 50, while Essendon had taken 33 marks up until halftime.
Moreover, Essendon managed only one forward half turnover compared to Sydney's seven at the same stage.
By three-quarter time, Essendon had registered a mere 29 tackles outside of its front third.
By the end of the game, Sydney had amassed 207 disposals between the arcs, with Essendon only winning it back 31 times.
With only seven intercept marks for the entire game, the 17.5% intercept marks to opposition kicks fell well below the AFL average of 31.5%.
In my preview last week, I emphasized that Essendon shouldn’t fear this opponent and should maintain an aggressive approach.
Twice now, Essendon has displayed resilience in contests and set up opportunities to challenge Sydney. If they can address the areas needing improvement and refine their strategies, do not be surprised to see them serve up what Sydney ultimately deserves.
Quote from Isaac Heeney:
"Not much love there.”
Isaac, don't expect much love in return come round 23.
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