Mark Robinson: Essendon coach-in-waiting Ben Rutten needs to explain new slow-play Dons game plan
Mark Robinson says Essendon ws “mesmerisingly dull” in its defeat to St Kilda, which all but consigned the club to finals spectators this year. And where was Ben Rutten to explain what went wrong?
Mark Robinson
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Football’s about winning and losing and with it comes responsibility and accountability.
At Essendon, it’s time for Ben Rutten to explain himself.
Not in a club-produced interview. In the hot seat post-match. Like, on Saturday and explain to Essendon fans what he tried to do, why they played laboriously slow in the backline after halftime and why HIS team can have more disposals, more inside 50s and still be beaten by 35 points.
Forget the margin, it seemed like it was 65 points.
They are an inoffensive and unthreatening football team, the Bombers.
And they are boring in lockdown Melbourne, as the angst grows among Essendon fans.
You are allowed to lose with honour.
Fremantle and a decimated North Melbourne were two examples of that at the weekend.
Show fight. A want to move the ball.
Have a hunger for the contest and not a hunger – or is that a directive from Rutten and Blake Caracella – to win a short uncontested ball.
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What’s happened to the team which wiped out Collingwood with a ferocious attitude in Round 5? It wasn’t a terrible list then.
This is Rutten’s team. It is also Caracella’s team.
They were installed by chief executive Xavier Campbell as coach and as the ball movement specialist and Rutten was given a three-year deal, which was a Campbell appointment without, it must be said, a process of interviewing other prospective coaches.
Still, Rutten and Caracella need time to assess, plan and deliver.
A knee-jerk reaction would be to say it’s failing. It’s not. It’s a work in progress which, of course, demands patience – again.
What would that do to improve performance? Not a lot, if anything, but at least it would bring fans into his confidence, his ideals, his plans.
Worsfold is departing Essendon. Outgoing Essendon chairman Lindsay Tanner recently labelled him an Essendon hero.
Clearly, that’s for his steerage through rough seas, which was enormous, and not for success on the field.
Carlton great Mark Maclure says the Bombers have “embarrassed’’ Worsfold this year, plonking him on the bench while Rutten and Caracella plot from above, although Rutten has joined Worsfold on the bench in recent weeks.
“If Caracella and Rutten can run the thing on their own, why do they need John?” Maclure said on AFL360.
Ben needs to face the questions
It seems this club has asked for patience and understanding for a decade now.
John Worsfold remains coach. His duties clearly centre on the day-to-day activities, and Rutten largely assumes the match-day role.
Why, then, doesn’t Rutten speak to the media and fans?
Built for speed, playing for safety
The heat comes on the Bombers after a mind-numbing performance against St Kilda.
It’s a list built for speed – which has its failings – but the general feeling was Rutten and Caracella would inject a “Richmond-type’’ defence and ball movement.
It’s not happening, notwithstanding the bevy of injuries.
The pair have instilled a role mentality and are trying to train it. It takes time. It appears they have traded speed through the corridor for safe football, Geelong style, while maintaining speed in the team.
On Sunday, Adam Saad had a stopping role on Dan Butler.
Connor McKenna started forward when he’s clearly a player who needs the ball in front of him.
The overhaul has lost players, or found out players.
Mason Redman has hit the wall, Aaron Francis has stalled, Orazio Fantasia was an injury-prone small forward with capabilities and now he’s an injury-prone nothing.
He looks like a beaten footballer.
The veteran, Michael Hurley, looks like a beaten-down footballer.
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti looks unfit. He’s 27. Charlie Dixon and Tom Hawkins are into their 30s and stripped the weight. And Christian Petracca realised he had to dedicate himself more. Look at the results those three are delivering.
McDonald-Tipungwuti needs to follow suit or he could, as Leigh Montagna suggested on Fox Footy on Sunday, be a trade option.
Ageing list needs a shake-up
The fact is Hurley is old. Cale Hooker is old. Tom Bellchambers is old. And David Zaharakis is old. And the forward line desperately needs verve. And absolutely, this is a team which needs another injection of players, via draft or trades.
The Saints defeat was mesmerisingly dull. Those who don’t support Essendon would’ve turned off. Those who do, probably wish they did turn off.
They trailed by six goals at the half and bored everyone to death in the second half.
St Kilda may have employed an impenetrable all-ground defence, but gee whiz, this was death by misadventure.
In the second half, Essendon had +12 inside 50s, +34 uncontested possessions and didn’t annoy the margin.
One sequence of play was symbolic of the slow-play Bombers.
In the third quarter, in these shortened quarters, when goals were needed, the Bombers had the ball in McDonald-Tipungwuti’s hands at halfback.
He kicked backwards to Jordan Ridley, who kicked short to Tom Cutler, who kicked back to Marty Gleeson, who went backwards to Saad, who handballed to Hurley, who kicked short to Dylan Clarke, who kicked backwards to Hurley, who kicked backwards to Ridley, who kicked short to Saad, who gave the handball to Hurley, who kicked short to Brandon Zerk-Thatcher … do we go on? … who kicked short to Andy McGrath, who handballed backwards to Saad, who kicked backwards to Hurley, who kicked short to Darcy Parish, who finally kicked down the line, where it was … marked unopposed by St Kilda’s Patrick Ryder.
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That happened, save for Ryder’s mark, in Essendon’s defensive half.
From afar, they plainly couldn’t move the ball, which was considered Essendon’s one-wood, or maybe they had lost confidence in their forward teammates.
Or just maybe they are a confused football team.
What say you, Ben Rutten?