Essendon captain Dyson Heppell defends Bombers’ post-loss interaction with opposition as sportsmanship

Under-fire Essendon was slammed for socialising with the Dockers after their weekend beating, but the Bombers’ captain has fired back, saying win or lose, he refuses to be a “bad sport”.

The Bombers were woeful against the Dockers. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

Essendon captain Dyson Heppell has declared his embattled club can emulate last year’s climb from 1-4 into the top eight despite transforming into the AFL’s worst contested and defensive team this season.

The Bombers have not played in consecutive finals series since their golden run from 1998-2004 a generation ago.

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They enter Anzac Day ranked last for points against (average 108), clearance differential (average -7.4), contested ball differential (-17.8) and pressure.

“They’re two very important parts of the game (pressure and clearances),” Heppell said at the MCG on Wednesday.

“If you want to play the game in your forward half (then) clearances go a long way to doing that.

“I think we try to stand for just a blue-collar, hardworking team. That’s the foundation of what Essendon within itself is built off.

“The word ‘effort’ has been thrown out there. No one goes out there not to try.”

The Bombers were woeful against the Dockers. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

Best-and-fairest winner Devon Smith is again under selection pressure while ruckman Andrew Phillips (hamstring) will join Zach Merrett (syndesmosis), Jake Stringer (hamstring), Anthony McDonald-Tipingwuti (fitness), Kyle Langford (hamstring), Will Snelling (calf), James Stewart (calf) and Michael Hurley (hip) on the sidelines.

Heppell said his team “went so far away from our style of footy” in Sunday’s second half against as Fremantle booted 10 consecutive goals to post its biggest ever win again Essendon in Victoria.

But he denied the Bombers were in for a season of disappointment.

“We’ve put in a body of work, it just hasn’t shown up on game day through results,” Heppell said.

“We review this really hard. The brand we managed to produce last year, we had a real identity around our pressure and our speed and our ability to hunt ground balls and hunt the opposition and build momentum and win the ball back in our forward half.

“They’re a lot of the key pillars that stood up in our game.

“I’ve no doubt that it won’t take a month or six-week period – we can turn it around really quickly.”

Dyson Heppell has fired back at criticism of the Bombers Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

Footy pundit Kane Cornes lashed the Bombers for socialising with their opponents post-siren on Sunday.

While Heppell had not heard that criticism, he fired back with: “It’s sportsmanship … I’m not going to cry and sulk the whole time and be a bad sport”.

The Bombers have conceded 90 or more points 13 times since coach Ben Rutten took over – the fourth most of any side.

Only Adelaide (14 times), North Melbourne and Carlton (15) have recorded more.

Heppell said the leaky backline had been addressed this week.

“We’ve had a good, hard look at that. Absolutely,” he said.

The Bombers destroyed the Magpies by 38 points just six games ago and Wednesday’s Anzac Day match press conference between the clubs was dominated by hard questions directed at Heppell.

The Bombers have some soul searching to do before Anzac Day. Picture: Getty Images

But he was resolute that a response was imminent.

“You take things to heart at times, but internally you’ve got to try and steady the ship,” the skipper said.

“Guys have handled things really, really well. They’ve taken ownership of the way we’re performing and we’re not shying away from that.”

He said the Bombers would not dial up their training in desperate search for an immediate fix.

“You’ve got to keep things consistent,” he said.

“You’ve got to review it properly – like we have, and will continue to do over the coming days – and train with real intent and purpose.

“That’s the way we’ve been approaching it week-in, week out.”

Robbo: Bombers look confused, stagnant and paralysed

—Mark Robinson

In its 150th year celebration, Essendon wasn’t anticipating a 1-4 start to the year and a growing disquiet about coach Ben Rutten’s game style.

The Bombers have been labelled the easybeats — neither tough enough in the contest nor ambitious enough in their shootout style, which held them in good stead in 2021.

They look to be a confused, stagnant and paralysed footy team. Rutten is in the infancy of his coaching career and is said to focus heavily around structures and process.

The Bombers have been one of the big disappointments of the season thus far.

From afar, they look to be over coached to the point where the players’ instincts are subdued.

Sometimes, knowing where to stand and cover at stoppages, where and when to run and spread and how to defend space can override the basic tenement of footy: Going after the ball.

If you win the contest, it’s amazing how much the game falls in your favour.

Essendon is ranked 18th for contested possession, 17th for clearances, 18th for ground ball gets and 17th for pressure.

What’s that style?

It’s not a style. It’s a muck around kick with your mates and hoping no one gets hurt approach.

The Bombers want to be offensive, and that’s OK, but that’s not working either.

Their ball movement is … urge.

They are 16th for going coast-to-coast. Where’s the overlap and the aggression from halfback?

So, they can’t defend well. They can’t attack well. And they are ranked 18th for contest at the source. It’s alarming.

A poor start has put the heat on Bombers coach Ben Rutten.

How long before it alarms the high-end decision makers at the club?

They will back Rutten because injuries have hit this season and at times on game day, such as Sunday against Fremantle, they have lost key players.

But, still, something is not right.

Is it the connection on the ground? Is it the connection between coach and players?

Because after five weeks, the game style is poor and individuals have fallen away.

Best-and-fairest Jordan Ridley has regressed, Nick Hind has lost impact, Dylan Shiel the same, Dyson Heppell was better against Fremantle but he once was a warrior and now is a halfback who mops up, and their kids — Archie Perkins and Nik Cox — are supposed to be better in their second year, aren’t they?

Andy McGrath has plateaued and ruckman Sam Draper burst on to the scene with bash and crash but is not the same player in 2022. Neither is Jayden Laverde.

And why would Devon Smith demand the ball from Sam Durham 20m out on Sunday and try to kick the goal on his non-preferred foot? He should have given the kid a crack at the goal.

If you watch Essendon games and then read the stats, it’s startling to see how many players get 25-plus disposals. Seriously, what are they doing with the ball?

The footy world is zeroing in on their poor performances.

What’s up with Jordan Ridley?

“They just don’t defend and sides know they can get them,” premiership captain Tony Shaw told 3AW on Sunday.

“Under pressure from the opposition it’s breaking down … they can’t cope with the pressure.’’

Fox Footy’s David King said: “I know there’s no (Jake) Stringer, I know there’s no (Zach) Merrett – but there’s players out of every team.

“Post-clearance contest is as much to do with structure as it is guys being able to win their own ball.

“So I look to Ben Rutten and I say: ‘What are you doing with this group? You’ve been there long enough now, you’ve had enough training hours to get better returns than that’.’’

Port Adelaide has a mountain of injuries and on Sunday at halftime a mountain of problems, yet they ran the Blues to a single kick after being 50 points down.

What is in the fabric of Port which is not evident in Essendon.

Clearly, the Bombers needs to get aggressive on the field — which has been said many times in recent years — and maybe needs to get aggressive off it.

If Jordan De Goey is gettable, go and get him.

If a key forward is gettable — and they are scarce — then get him.

Dylan Shiel hasn’t had the impact the Bombers desire.

If 38-year-old Rutten and the coaching group needs an old head such as a Neil Balme, Mark Williams or Brendan McCartney, then go find one.

It’s a longshot, but why not ask Damien Hardwick if he’s tired of coaching and would like a director of coaching role. At his old club. Why not ask Alastair Clarkson?

The immediate positives are that Essendon will get players back over the coming weeks, which will settle an unsettled line-up.

Rutten also identified the on-field issues at his post-match press conference on Sunday.

So now it’s about fixing those issues and saving their season, and for sure there will be no hiding on Anzac Day.