How Essendon nailed list moves for Peter Wright and mid-season draftee Sam Durham
The Bombers are one step closer to a return to finals no one saw coming. And the club’s recruiting department should be the toast of Tullamarine.
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The Essendon recruiting department should be the toast of Tullamarine.
In the space of 12 months, they have delivered almost as many big hits as Freddie Mercury’s Queen.
The recruitment of cut-priced speedster Nick Hind to replace the departed Adam Saad off a halfback flank has been well-documented this year.
So too the fact that the Bombers seemingly nailed their first two picks in last year’s draft.
Both Nik Cox (pick 8) and Archie Perkins (pick 9) have won NAB AFL Rising Star nominations this year.
Athletic wingman Cox has played every game and forward Archie Perkins has not missed a match since making his debut in Round 3.
Now Essendon fans are turning their attention to two other players shaping as recruiting masterstrokes – Peter Wright and Sam Durham.
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Wright was a wayward forward who fell out of favour with the Gold Coast Suns.
He didn’t play an AFL game last year and the Suns struggled to give him away.
Still having two years to run on a juicy contract worth about $500,000 a season, Wright was shopped around during last year’s trade period with little interest.
Essendon list boss Adrian Dodoro and his team ended up doing a deal to secure the 203cm big man in exchange for a measly future fourth-round draft pick.
In addition, they got the Suns to pay a significant portion of Wright’s remaining contract.
After 18 months in the AFL wilderness, Wright has played 16 of a possible 18 games in his new stripes this year, missing two games only due to a calf injury.
The 24-year-old might never be the player he was hyped to be after being selected by the Suns with pick 8 in the 2014 national draft.
But Wright is becoming a solid citizen for the Bombers and on Sunday played his best game for the club against North Melbourne.
He had 20 disposals, seven marks and kicked 3.1 primarily as a forward.
What Wright also provides is a strong back-up ruckman for No. 1 man Sam Draper.
He also logged 10 hit-outs in the contest to finish as the No. 1 ranked player on the ground with 139 KFC SuperCoach points.
It was Wright’s third-highest ranking points performance across his 81-game AFL career to date.
“I thought he was building some really nice form a while ago before he got injured and then he missed a couple and maybe lost a bit of that momentum,” Essendon coach Ben Rutten said of Wright’s year.
“He’s used the last couple of weeks to get back some more consistency around training and playing and I thought he had a really strong game.”
Wright has always been capable – it is the consistency that has been the problem.
But that seems to be ever improving and Wright has now kicked multiple goals in three of his past four matches.
That is everything Essendon could have hoped for — and more.
Bombers fans also got a glimpse of another potential recruiting steal for the first time on Sunday – Durham.
Selected with pick 9 in the Mid-Season rookie draft in June, the former Richmond VFL player put on show some run and dash on a wing and was a shining light with his pressure acts in a first half where most his teammates lacked intensity.
A missed set shot from 15m out directly in front after a strong contested mark in the first quarter wasn’t enough to take the shine off a positive performance.
Durham went on to redeem himself in the final term when he saved a potential North Melbourne goal with a desperate smother on Cam Zurhaar.
The 20-year-old ended the day with 11 disposals, five marks and four score involvements.
“I thought he played a really nice role and he looks nice and composed with the ball and works hard,” Rutten said of Durham.
“It’s exciting to see another one of our younger guys get another opportunity.”
Durham was Essendon’s seventh debutant this year.
Whether or not the Bombers squeeze into finals in 2021 remains to be seen.
However, the future beyond this year looks bright and a well-executed refresh of the playing list is a key reason why.
FINALS WINDOW OPEN FOR DONS BUT RUTTEN WANTS MORE
Essendon has soared into the top-eight for the first time this season, emerging as a finals bolter while other teams around it falter.
The Bombers overcame a flat first-half to score a second-straight win over North Melbourne on Sunday, which leaves their finals prospects in their own hands with five games to play.
Given a healthy percentage, Essendon looks like needing four more wins to lock in return to September.
It faces games against Greater Western Sydney, Sydney, Western Bulldogs, Gold Coast and Collingwood in the run home.
While there is still much work to do, particularly defensively, there is a view internally that anything is possible this season.
“It is good reward for some of the effort that we’ve been putting in throughout our whole season,” Essendon coach Ben Rutten said of the Bombers’ climb up the ladder.
“We were a fair bit off our best footy (on Sunday) and our challenge — and we’ve been talking about it for a few weeks — is to bridge that gap with our consistency and that’s what we’re going to need to do.
“We’ll be keen, like every team, to make the finals. But we want to get in and win them and compete really hard. So we just need to keep bridging that gap with our consistency and keep looking to evolve and add things to our game.”
A three-goal final quarter from Jake Stringer helped inspire the 18-point win over the Kangaroos at Metricon Stadium after North Melbourne had held sway for much of the first three quarters.
Stringer finished with four goals from 17 disposals for the match, spending significant time in the midfield.
“Jakey’s been working hard on his preparation during the week, his training and how he can play more consistent, well-rounded footy,” Rutten said.
“I think the last five or six weeks now he’s done that at a really high level. We’re really happy with how Jake’s been going and I think he’s really enjoyed that extra bit of responsibility.”
Injured Essendon midfielder Dylan Shiel (knee) has rejoined main training and could come into the selection mix as early as next weekend, while Kyle Langford (hamstring) is also inching closer to a return in what would be boosts to the September push.
Almost the entire Bombers squad travelled to Queensland last Thursday, with only Andrew Phillips and Patrick Ambrose staying behind in Melbourne.
The club is expecting an extended stay on the Gold Coast, with its next two opponents in Sydney and Greater Western Sydney now based in Queensland.
“Obviously our preference would be to get home but we understand the Giants and Sydney have been on the road for a long time as well,” Rutten said.
“There’s some broader considerations for the AFL on that, but we’ll do whatever we need to do.”
String and a prayer: Dons launch into top eight
A Jake Stringer-inspired Essendon have snuck into the top eight for the first time in 2021 but only after an unconvincing 18-point win over the last-placed North Melbourne at Metricon Stadium.
The Bombers led by 20 points early in the fourth term but the brave Kangaroos closed to within three points before Stringer gave Essendon some valuable breathing space with his third goal of the final term.
With his side under the pump from a fast-finishing Roos, Stringer calmly slotted the set shot to help the Bombers temporarily edge inside the top eight with their eighth win of the year.
Stringer finished with four goals and was a dominant force when he was moved into the middle of the ground with five clearances and 16 touches while Zach Merrett (39 disposals), Darcy Parish (34 disposals) and Dyson Heppell (27 disposals) were the prime movers for the Bombers.
After a listless first half, the Bombers kicked four goals to one in the third term with Peter Wright booting two to help Essendon surge to an eight-point lead at the last change.
Darcy Parish had 11 disposals for the Bombers for the term with the only goal for North coming from Tristan Xerri as the Kangaroos’ gutsy challenge wavered.
North Melbourne had a tumultuous week coming off their massive upset win over West Coast in Perth on Monday night, travelling back to Victoria on Tuesday then up to Queensland on Thursday as Covid uncertainty about this clash swirled around them.
The last time the two teams met was in Round 10 when Essendon smashed the Roos by 72 points but they were up for the fight this time around.
The Kangaroos led by 10 points at halftime when both sides had every right to be unhappy with themselves.
The Bombers butchered three very gettable shots at goal in the second quarter after being devoid of defensive pressure or any sort of intent to tackle.
Essendon looked flat at best, disinterested at worst across large sections of the first two quarters with a majority of North Melbourne’s scores coming from end-to-end sweeping movements from the backline.
A late hit from Xerri on Bombers captain Dyson Heppell seemed to spark Essendon in the second term when North Melbourne should have been further in front given their dominance around the ground.
The Kangaroos led by 10 points at quarter-time after booting the first two majors of the match but they were guilty of too many turnovers going forward which let the Bombers off the hook.
TIPPA’S DIRTY DAY
Essendon’s Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti was held to zero touches by quarter time and just two disposals at halftime by Kayne Turner.
He was sent to the goalsquare to try and break the tag and did not have his first touch until he took a high-flying mark on centre wing.
To add to the dirty old day, he copped a knock on his left arm when he went into another marking contest.
He also missed a shot at goal from point blank range in the third.
A nice pressure act set-up a goal in the final term when he came into the game briefly.
INCONSISTENCY HAUNTS JAIDYN
Jaidyn Stephenson frustrated Collingwood supporters when he was a Magpie with his inconsistent performances.
After 38 touches in a matchwinning effort against West Coast last week, Stephenson had an indifferent day.
He had 10 touches in the first half that included a botched kick at goal when he opted to dribble kick instead of drop punt. He finished with 18 disposals.
ZURHAAR SHINES WITH SPECKY
Cameron Zurhaar added to his status as a cult hero for the North Melbourne faithful with a spectacular grab in the first quarter.
The trademark locks were flowing in the breeze as he used James Stewart as a stepladder on centre wing.
He got so high that his body turned sideways but Zurhaar managed to hang onto the Sherrin. Despite copping a shoulder injury, he kicked a vital goal late in the match to keep the Shinboners in it.
SLOW OUT OF THE GATES
The Bombers may still be in the hunt for a top eight berth but they will be September spectators if they repeat the first half against the Roos when they lacked any sort of urgency. Their pressure and intensity was awful, there was no appetite to tackle and the skill execution was poor. They will be cannon fodder for the better teams if they serve that up again.
SCOREBOARD
BOMBERS: 3.0 4.6 8.10 13.14 (92)
KANGAROOS: 4.4 6.4 7.8 11.8 (74)
GOALS
Bombers: Stringer 4, Wright 3, Guelfi, Perkins, Heppell, Smith, Ham, Hooker
Kangaroos: Larkey 3, Taylor 2, Scott, Thomas, Lazzaro, Mahony, Xerri, Zurhaar
GREG DAVIS’ BEST
Bombers: Stringer, Merrett, Parish, Heppell, Wright, Hooker
Kangaroos: Simpkin, Turner, Thomas, Larkey, McDonald, Hall
INJURIES
Kangaroos: Zurhaar (shoulder), Mahony (shoulder)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
GREG DAVIS’ VOTES
3: Jake Stringer
2: Zach Merrett
1: Darcy Parish
Noble upbeat about future despite result going against Kangas
North Melbourne senior coach David Noble says the Kangaroos can bound into 2022 with “some real momentum” if they continue building on their late season surge.
The Kangaroos pushed top eight contender Essendon all the way at Metricon Stadium on Sunday with Jake Stringer’s three last quarter goals proving decisive in the Bombers’ 18-point victory.
North held sway for most of the first half but could only turn their dominance into a 10-point buffer at the main break and they closed to within three points of the Bombers late in the final term before Stringer snuffed out their brave challenge.
Noble said “in some ways, it probably was” a chance gone begging for the 18th-placed Roos to add to their three wins and a draw in 2021.
But he feels like the Kangaroos are on an upward swing with the gutsy performance coming less than a week after the boilover win against West Coast in Perth.
“We just want to continue to learn, we want to continue to take out some of those areas (turnovers, defensive lapses) … and we’ll finish the year really strong,’’ he said.
“We’ll be able to go out there and perform with anyone we play in the next four or five weeks, give ourselves a chance to win games the way we are actually playing.
“That would be the exciting thing for our fans to continue to see us finishing the year strongly, knowing that we can step into pre-season with some real momentum under our belts.’’
Noble said the Kangaroos created plenty of chances against the Bombers.
“I felt we had capacity to put more scoreboard pressure on. I think our ball movement was really sharp at times and it was quite damaging but we just couldn’t put enough scoreboard pressure on that first half,’’ he said.
“I thought our defence was probably not at the standard in the second half.”
He said the performance of his young midfielders such as Charlie Lazzaro, Will Phillips, Tarryn Thomas and Curtis Taylor along with Jye Simpkin was a standout as they “stuck to the task” of battling “hardened warriors” such as Zach Merrett and Darcy Parish.
Nick Larkey’s three goals was also a positive.
“He’s learning. He’s working behind the scenes. He’s been really impressive. He’s had a really good five or six weeks now and he continues to really shine through as a target we can go to with confidence,’’ Noble said.
Jack Mahony (shoulder) will have scans in the coming days after being subbed out of the game with an AC joint issue.
Meanwhile, Noble said the Kangaroos had “embraced the challenge” of the game moving from Melbourne to the Gold Coast and the club saw it as an “opportunity” for the young list to bond.
He said the club would continue to deal with whatever blows Covid delivers to the fixture which has the Kangas drawn to play Carlton at Marvel Stadium next weekend.
“Who knows what changes as the week unfolds. We haven’t heard anything different. We’ll just have to roll with the punches as we have all year,’’ Noble said.
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