That's it from us tonight.
Great job as always from Kate Salemme on the blog. Thanks for following along for the Bombers' big win tonight.
Essendon coach John Worsfold says struggling Bombers have begun turning things around with win over Melbourne
Essendon coach John Worsfold believes his charges may have believed their own hype after a solid preseason, leading to an 0-2 start, but he saw signs they were turning things around in last night's win over Melbourne, the club's first of the season.
The reality of the season-proper might have served as a shock to Essendon, coach John Worsfold has admitted.
The Bombers notched their first win of the season on Friday night, over Melbourne at the MCG.
RECAP ALL THE ACTION FROM THE MCG IN OUR BLOG BELOW
MATCH CENTRE: SUPERCOACH SCORES FROM DEMONS V BOMBERS
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EXCLUSIVE: TOP-SECRET DOCUMENTS EXPOSE FOOTY'S BIG COVER-UP
It was a much “freer” performance by his players, Worsfold said, after a disastrous opening fortnight to the season in which he conceded his players may have been satisfied after a promising preseason.
“There’s no doubt the players looked a bit freer in terms of their mindset to not worry about making mistakes and work hard,” he said.
“It’s not something (that was said or changed) that’s really that tangible.
“I had a slight feeling that the players thought they’d had a really good preseason and that they’d turn up and play and ‘we’ll be right’, and just forgot how tough the game is and how hard they have to work on all the little things.
“I think we started seeing that tonight.”
Worsfold credited skipper Dyson Heppell after “working his backside off” in the first two games of the season, and said the players had lifted to “a better intensity across every minute of the game”.
He said the shift in performance – after dropping the first two matches at a combined total of 83 points – and particularly the team’s eight unanswered goals in the third term was simply a culmination of effort.
“Things don’t just happen,” he said.
“You train hard, you practice a lot and you’ve got to beat the opposition who are going to stop you doing that. You have periods of games where things work really well like that, so you take them while they’re there.”
But he refuted the suggestion that it was a release of pressure on the game plan.
“It’s not my job to answer questions of people not involved in our footy club,” he said.
“I answer the questions to the players, the coaching staff, our club. We’re all on the same page with what we’re doing, so everyone’s been very clear with what we’re working on and what we want to get to. We’ve all been disappointed in the start to the season, but it didn’t mean we didn’t believe in what we’re doing.”
Kobe Mutch was the only casualty for Essendon, felled with a hamstring injury early in the first quarter.
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SIMON Goodwin says he feels the pain of Melbourne’s long-suffering supporters, adamant he is trying to rectify the Demons’ issues before their finals chances suffer a mortal blow.
The Demons plunged to 0-3 with an 18-point loss against Essendon, with Sydney the only team of the 30 to start the year with three losses to play finals since 2010.
Once again Melbourne’s glaring issue was its inability to stop inside-50s from being converted into goals, conceding 30 scoring shots from 53 inside-50s.
The Demons take on Sydney off a six-day break next Thursday at the SCG, with Goodwin saying he wasn’t even considering the club’s finals chances given the winless start.
Instead the entire team needs to buy into team defence after another frustrating night where more inside 50s didn’t convert into a valuable win.
“I feel for the (fans). I am hurting as a coach for where we sit at 0-3, our players are hurting, our staff are hurting and I know our supporters are hurting,” he said.
“My message is we will keep going and keep improving and try to find ourselves in some really good form. Nothing will turn that around but hard work and looking at how we can get better. It’s pretty simple.”
“I think elements of our game get better every week but we need to connect better and do it for longer. We are inconsistent in all phases of our game, we need to do it for sustained periods of all time, not 10 minutes here and 20 minutes there.”
Tom McDonald returned to the field after a nasty ankle injury and will have to be assessed with a short break but has kicked only one goal all year.
Veteran defender Jordan Lewis will miss another week and likely return in Round 5 against St Kilda.
“There are parts of our game that are unacceptable at the moment,” Goodwin said.
“Two weeks in a row we conceded 50 entries against and conceded 130 points. It’s a phase of our game when done well enables you to hang in for longer. We are getting scored against way too easily and it’s an issue for the last two or three weeks. In the end that was the game.”
Essendon secure their first win of the season while premiership fancies Melbourne remain winless and are on the bottom of the ladder! Wow.
Analysis from Jon Ralph:
No point racking up a score if you are powerless to stop the goals at the other end. The Demons racked up half a dozen final-term goals but watched on as Essendon scored five of their own, including an Orazio Fantasia exclamation mark as the siren sounded. In the end the 18-point final margin flattered Melbourne, suffering all the same issues of the previous two weeks.
The Bombers sing the song for the first time in season 2019!
It was a tough week for @EssendonFC and they showed up in a big way. 💪#AFLDeesDons pic.twitter.com/CxER7y3ZBF
— 7AFL (@7AFL) April 5, 2019
Essendon captain Dyson Heppell has helped lead his team to its first win of the season after two weeks of pressure and scrutiny was heaped on the club.
The Bombers were 0-2 leading into tonight's clash against fellow winless team Melbourne but found a way to win a see-sawing contest at the MCG.
"You've got to love footy," Heppell said.
"The training within the four walls, great energy, great attitude, we knew we would be able to turn it around.
"Massive credit to the boys tonight. It was awesome."
Heppell said he took on a lot of the criticism as captain but lauded his teammates for stepping up.
"I am sore as buggery. Battered and bruised," he told Channel 7.
"As skipper, you do wear it quite hard. I'm a very proud person and I think the help I've had from the rest of this playing group really standing up as leaders has been super."
'GOT TO LOVE FOOTY': HEPPELL BATTERED BUT PROUD
Essendon captain Dyson Heppell has helped lead his team to its first win of the season after two weeks of pressure and scrutiny was heaped on the club.
The Bombers were 0-2 leading into tonight's clash against fellow winless team Melbourne but found a way to win a see-sawing contest at the MCG.
"You've got to love footy," Heppell said.
"The training within the four walls, great energy, great attitude, we knew we would be able to turn it around.
"Massive credit to the boys tonight. It was awesome."
Heppell said he took on a lot of the criticism as captain but lauded his teammates for stepping up.
"I am sore as buggery. Battered and bruised," he told Channel 7.
"As skipper, you do wear it quite hard. I'm a very proud person and I think the help I've had from the rest of this playing group really standing up as leaders has been super."
GAME OVER! DEMONS 18.4 (112) BOMBERS 20.10 (130)
Essendon secure their first win of the season while premiership fancies Melbourne remain winless and are on the bottom of the ladder! Wow.
Analysis from Jon Ralph:
No point racking up a score if you are powerless to stop the goals at the other end. The Demons racked up half a dozen final-term goals but watched on as Essendon scored five of their own, including an Orazio Fantasia exclamation mark as the siren sounded. In the end the 18-point final margin flattered Melbourne, suffering all the same issues of the previous two weeks.
DEMONS 94 BOMBERS 118
James Harmes goals for Melbourne but a free kick against Max Gawn in the next centre bounce gifts Essendon a forward entry and Darcy Parish surely kicks the sealer.
4.28 to play.
HUGE tackle from Devon Smith on Clayton Oliver in the middle forces a turnover that results in a goal to Andy McGrath.
Is that enough for Essendon now?
6.20 to play.
Ice in his veins! ❄️
— AFL (@AFL) April 5, 2019
Andrew McGrath extends Essendon's lead.#AFLDeesDons pic.twitter.com/NRO8DgguIb
DEMONS 88 BOMBERS 112
HUGE tackle from Devon Smith on Clayton Oliver in the middle forces a turnover that results in a goal to Andy McGrath.
Is that enough for Essendon now?
6.20 to play.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsIce in his veins! ❄️
— AFL (@AFL) April 5, 2019
Andrew McGrath extends Essendon's lead.#AFLDeesDons pic.twitter.com/NRO8DgguIb
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