Essendon coach John Worsfold questions whether break between JLT Series and Round 1 contributed to GWS Giants loss

Essendon coach John Worsfold has questioned whether the Bombers’ extended 16-day break contributed to their Round 1 capitulation.

A dejected Dylan Shiel after the Bombers’ heavy loss to his former club GWS. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Essendon coach John Worsfold has questioned whether the Bombers’ extended 16-day break contributed to their Round 1 capitulation.

Worsfold said the lack of urgency and intensity at the contest was the major area of concern from the 72-point drubbing from Greater Western Sydney on Sunday.

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It has put early pressure on one of the most-hyped teams of the off-season to bounce back strongly against an injury-hit St Kilda at Docklands on Saturday.

Worsfold said slick midfielder Zach Merrett was “poor” but was not on his own on Sunday, while forward Jake Stringer was expected to overcome a bruised foot.

The Bombers’ boss said the club would assess if they could have managed the two-and-a-half week break between the final JLT loss and Sunday’s season-opener better.

“We were aware last week was a long build-up,” Worsfold said.

“We have all seen it before at various times — there is that possibility that mentally they can have what we say is ‘played the game too early’.

“They were so excited (for the game) during the week, but they certainly didn’t show that excitement in their energy on the field.”

Essendon's Dylan Shiel shows his disappointment after Essendon’s loss to GWS Giants. Picture. Phil Hillyard

The Bombers have made tweaks to their defensive system over the summer as part of plans to win their first finals game in 15 years this season.

While they failed miserably to execute against the Giants, Worsfold said the Bombers were desperate to lift their intensity against the Saints.

“The way we want to move the ball and the way we want to defend does not account for some of our effort in the game, that was probably the bigger area the players have been disappointed about,” Worsfold said.

“The intensity at the contest.

“There are several measures you can use (to assess that), and some of it is just by eye — watching the game — and there are obviously GPS numbers which obviously indicate if players are working as hard as they can.

“They all have bands that we know that they can hit.”

Jeremy Cameron celebrates a goal during GWS Giants’ rout of Essendon. Mark Metcalfe.

He said the players would look to show more resilience and fight to help turn the momentum when they were down in games.

The Bombers were accused of “giving up” in the second half as the Giants ran away with an easy win despite missing some superstar midfielders.

“How you deal with frustration is a good learning curve for the players I think,” Worsfold said.

“We had reasonable opportunities in the first quarter and didn’t take them, whereas GWS took theirs.

“It seemed like it took some wind out of their sails, which we need to be better at.”

Worsfold said Merrett, who had 16 possessions amid a tight tag from Matt De Boer and was highlighted for a poor tackling effort in the first term, was one of a few players who were down on the day.

Dejected Essendon players trudge off Giants Stadium after their heavy Round 1 defeat.

“Zach had a poor game, I think. He didn’t really impact in anywhere near the level that we know he can,” he said.

“In fairness to Zach, I think if you extended out any period of play you would see several other players also not playing with the intensity that we needed to play at. That was across the board.

“Whether it’s Zach, as our vice-captain, Dyson [Heppell], or our younger players, there’s plenty of examples there across the board where we didn’t put the effort in that’s required at this level.”