AFL 2023: Essendon’s alarming forward woes exposed as Patrick Voss pushes for debut

The Bombers won their first two games, but were dragged back to earth by the Saints last week, and the stats show they have some serious issues at one end of the ground.

Some concerning forward stats have exposed a Peter Wright-sized hole.

Essendon’s faltering forward set up is expected to create selection pressure on key targets Harry Jones and Sam Weideman as impressive rookie Patrick Voss continues to kick bags of VFL goals.

The Bombers targeted Weideman and Jake Stringer inside 50m a combined 11 times on Saturday night – but failed to retain possession on any of those occasions.

Compounding matters, the Bombers have been the easiest team to move the ball against in the first three rounds – taking the footy from defensive 50 to the forward 50 – and have generated the fewest amount of front-half intercepts.

In round 3 the impassable Callum Wilkie (St Kilda) scored eight coaches’ votes for his seven intercept marks, four of which were taken in the first quarter alone.

While the 2-1 Bombers have been one of the most impressive outfits early in the season, they have been playing with a Peter Wright-sized hole in front of the ball.

The reigning best-and-fairest winner’s shoulder injury has forced new coach Brad Scott to get creative, with Archie Perkins (round 1) and utility Kyle Langford (round 2) plugging holes.

The Bombers booted a remarkable 35 goals in the first two games as those players stood tall.

But Jones has been substituted out in rounds 1 and 3 while an underdone Stringer had only five kicks in his first AFL game for the season against the Saints.

Jake Stringer is still building to full fitness after playing his first AFL game against the Saints last Saturday. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Weideman’s retention rate when targeted inside 50m is ranked the worst in the AFL (among the top 50 targets), with the Bombers keeping possession from just 15 per cent of entries aimed at the former Demon.

They have turned only 8 per cent of Weideman entries into goals, which is the sixth-worst conversion rate in the AFL.

Jones’ numbers have been similarly deflating. The Bombers have retained possession from 29 per cent of his targets (seventh-worst in the AFL) and have converted 7 per cent of those entries into goals (fifth-worst in the AFL).

Admittedly, the sample size is small – but those numbers would be alarming for Scott.

Conversely, in round 2 the Bombers retained possession 86 per cent of the time they kicked it to Langford in attack and scored goals 43 per cent of the time.

But Langford returned to halfback for the first three quarters in round 3 as Stringer and Weideman slotted back into the forward line from injuries.

The wildcard appears to be Voss, should Scott be prepared to continue to throw the magnets around.

Sam Weideman’s retention rate when targeted inside 50m is ranked the worst in the AFL Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Could Patrick Voss make his debut? Picture: Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

The teenager from Wagga Wagga has booted nine goals in two VFL outings. On Sunday, Voss clunked three contested marks, took four marks inside 50m and laid five of his six tackles inside 50m.

He registered eight score involvements and kicked 4.2 while the previous week he kicked 5.0 and had 100 per cent kicking efficiency.

Voss was part of Greater Western Sydney’s talent academy in 2021 although he attended Wesley College in Melbourne and played for Oakleigh Chargers.

While Jones relies more on clean entry, 194cm target Voss is seen as a more combative forward who can crash packs as a tough physical presence.

Voss was also in Canberra Raiders’ academy in his junior years before ditching league to focus on Australian rules.