AFL round 2: Glenn McFarlane analyses Essendon’s loss to Adelaide

Adelaide hadn’t won at the MCG for eight years. The Crows did more than that, destroying a hapless Essendon. These are the stats which reveal just how badly the Bombers are going.

It was the reality check slap in the face Bombers supporters weren’t particularly expecting, but privately feared.

Most had assumed their team was on a similar upward ladder trajectory as Adelaide, given both teams have been bobbing around similar spots on the lower to mid reaches of the ladder in recent seasons.

Even more so when you consider the Crows were four places lower on the ladder and won three fewer games than the Bombers last year.

How wrong they were!

The chasm in class and competitive edge difference between these two teams was on stark display at the MCG on Saturday, as the potent Crows went on a goal-kicking feast for the second week in a row while squeezing the life out of an ineffective, dour Bombers outfit.

Zach Merrett leads his side off after fighting a lone hand against the Crows.

“We put a whole summer in and you feel like you are making inroads (on team defence and trying to defend the ball) and to not see that (improvement) after two weeks is disappointing,” Bombers defender Mason Redman said.

“Obviously, it wasn’t an area of the game we were good at last year … we’re two weeks in and we haven’t seen much improvement.

“It’s disappointing but we are not going to throw the toys out of the cot.

“It’s a long year … we’re only two weeks in. I feel like Hawthorn and Adelaide are going to be two of the better teams this year, but that’s no excuse.”

On a fortnight’s worth of evidence – admittedly a small sample but still admissible evidence – this 2025 Adelaide team has an almost box-office sense of theatre about them – flashy, attacking, versatile, and armed with a sense of dare and class that makes them compelling viewing.

Their real test will come against much better sides than the Bombers.

In contrast, at least on the face of Saturday’s 61-point shocker at the MCG, Essendon resembled an off Broadway cheap and nasty show, which looked more like a pre-season audition than an in-season performance.

It even brought some Bronx jeers from the frustrated red and black fans at stages.

Nathan Buckley put the acid test on Essendon’s team defensive structures in Saturday’s Herald Sun, insisting this was a whole-ground problem that needed addressing.

Jordan Dawson climbs above Ben McKay to mark.

Frustratingly for Essendon fans, and coach Brad Scott, the Bombers flunked that test.

Every line needs to tighten up as the game vision will show in what will be an uncomfortable review at The Hangar this week.

Now they must regroup within five days to take on Port Adelaide – a team sensing some blood in the water – at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.

The stats sheet on Saturday read like a horror movie.

Here are some of the numbers that damned the Dons on a day where any early-season optimism was buried in a mass of mistakes, missed opportunities, a lack of pressure and maybe even some confusion.

“It was very frustrating to go inside 50 and lose critical contests,” Scott said.

“We need to get better in that space because the way the game unfolded, we’d lose a critical mark inside 50 and they’d find an uncontested mark really quickly and then it bounces from that.

“That makes it really hard to build any pressure, to play your style, it puts our last line of defenders under enormous pressure, so that part of the game was disappointing for us.”

Adelaide has feasted on St Kilda and Essendon in back-to-back games, and take on North Melbourne at home next week, having injected some versatile and experienced personnel into the side

How has it come to this?

The easy answer is that Essendon looked as if it sat on its hands during last year’s trade period, other than shunting Jake Stringer to GWS, believing improvement was going to come from within.

It hasn’t. Not yet at least.

Redman said the onus had to come back to every single player in terms of their commitment to team defence and pressure.

“It’s on all of us,” he said. “If a team kicks 150 (Adelaide kicked 161 points), it’s not one area (of the ground), it’s all areas.”

Xavier Duursma tries to slip clear of Dan Curtin. Picture: Michael Klein

He said the quick turnaround to the Port Adelaide game meant the Bombers will swiftly look to redeem themselves.

“We have to bring the energy during the week,” he said. “I think team defence is an energy thing, it is an attitude thing. We need to double down in those areas.

“One good thing about footy is that you can back it up quickly. We have a five-day turnaround against Port Adelaide.

“We need to bounce back.

“‘Junior’s (Zach Merrett) energy in the middle was awesome, Tom Edwards’ energy in his first game was high and (Isaac) Kako as well.

“But we just need more people pulling in the same direction.”

The Crows went out and got busy … landing deals that saw Alex Neal-Bullen return home while also attracting James Peatling and Isaac Cumming.

That has freed up some of the other star Crows, who have thrived, with the club having 12 goalkickers on the day, including four each from Ben Keays and Josh Rachele and multiple goals to Riley Thilthorpe (three), Jake Soligo (two), Izak Rankine (two) and Neal-Bullen (two).

Essendon had seven goalkickers, with Tom Edwards kicking three on debut, Sam Draper kicking three around the corner goals from dead in front and Kako slotting through two.

Brad Scott lamented the lack of pressure across all three lines in the post-game press conference. He would have been even more damning behind closed doors.