KFC SuperFooty TV: Lauren Wood, Jay Clark and Will Hogan look at the big issues in the AFL

Essendon made the worst possible start to its 2022 season, and it could get worse from here. The KFC SuperFooty TV panel reveal the simple stat Dons fans don’t want to see.

Essendon’s 2022 fate could be decided in the next nine days.

The Bombers opened their campaign hoping to repeat last year’s surprise finals appearance in disastrous fashion, losing to Geelong by 66 points in round 1.

And the road doesn’t get any easier.

“They’ve got Brisbane and Melbourne next,” Herald Sun reporter Jay Clark said on KFC SuperFooty TV. “They could be zero and three.”

After the Lions clash on Saturday the Bombers have to face the reigning premier the following Friday night.

Co-host Will Hogan said two losses “would be panic stations”.

“Zero and three, it’s hard to get back from there.”

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF KFC SUPERFOOTY TV ABOVE

Clark said the Bombers would benefit from the return of Jake Stringer, but their levels of physical desire had to improve dramatically.

“They’ve been hyped a lot over the summer. Ross Lyon said that can seep into your subconscious and we did see on the field a lot of players took shortcuts.

“There wasn’t that desperate effort to get over and cut across Dangerfield or Selwood.

Dyson Heppell tries to stop a charging Shaun Higgins. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“(Dyson) Heppell was highlighted, (Zach) Merrett was highlighted, and when that comes from your top tier it’s a worrying standard to set.”

But he said it would be a mistake for the Bombers to write it off as one bad game and only look forward.

“I reckon you get it up on the white board, you show the vision and say ‘This is absolutely unacceptable’.

“Show edits of what we want to see, how they played last year ... I don’t think it’s ‘forget about that’, it’s like ‘let’s go to work on these problems and let’s see it out on the training track’.”

The panel also discussed Willie Rioli’s surprise tribunal verdict, the rise of Carlton and gave their tips for every round 2 game.

Originally published as KFC SuperFooty TV: Lauren Wood, Jay Clark and Will Hogan look at the big issues in the AFL