By Marc McGowan
Essendon coach Brad Scott will embrace the selection headaches ahead after Jordan Ridley’s seamless return to the senior side and an impressive debut from prized draftee Nate Caddy.
The Bombers reclaimed second spot on Saturday night with a 12-point Dreamtime at the ’G victory over Richmond, who defied a league-worst injury list to still be in contention in the dying stages for what would have been a mighty upset in front of almost 80,000 fans.
Essendon defender Jordan Ridley was best on ground in his first game of the season.Credit: AFL Photos
Instead, Adem Yze’s second-from-bottom Tigers suffered their 10th defeat in 11 matches despite Dustin Martin turning back the clock in game No.298 with three goals among his 23 disposals.
The sole blemish for Essendon was Nik Cox’s hamstring injury, which caused him to be subbed out at quarter-time, with scans to confirm the extent of the damage.
Richmond star Shai Bolton (concussion) will miss next week’s clash with Geelong after copping a knee to the back of his head in an aerial contest, while defender Tylar Young suffered a suspected ACL rupture in the VFL.
A pre-season quad injury delayed Ridley’s start to the year before he aggravated it in April, so this was Scott’s first proper look at how off-season recruit Ben McKay’s arrival would help Essendon’s 2020 club champion.
Ridley’s first match of the season could hardly have gone better as he finished with game highs of 12 marks and 14 intercept possessions before accepting the Yiooken Trophy as the best player afield.
“The way he played tonight – you can see why we just need to make sure that he’s absolutely right … if we brought him back [too soon], and he got hurt, then I’d never forgive myself,” Scott said.
“[Our medical staff] cleared him to play, but I made him wait another two weeks. There are very few players who can have a long layoff and just look like they haven’t missed a beat, and he’s one of those.
“It was a key part of bringing Ben in that it would solidify our defence and give us different options around that, and outside tonight, they had played only half a practice game together. Zach Reid is another one who is edging closer – he’s available, really, but we’ve just got to be really careful, in terms of his return to play.
Caddy presented well throughout the night.Credit: Getty Images
“I thought [Jayden] Laverde was fantastic tonight for us as well, so our backline’s been functioning pretty well. McKay’s been an important part of that, and Ridley just adds to it.”
Harrison Jones’ one-week ban on a rough conduct charge gave fellow tall forward Caddy his senior opportunity, making him the final member of last year’s top 10 to make his AFL debut. The 2017 draft class is the only one where the first 10 selections played their first match sooner.
Caddy finished with 10 disposals, seven contested possessions, three free kicks and two behinds in a promising performance.
“I thought he looked like an AFL player,” Scott said of Caddy. “You have [some] guys come in and maybe get overawed – Dreamtime at the ‘G, it’s a big debut … it’s a big gap from VFL footy to Dreamtime at the ’G, but I just love his competitiveness [and] his athleticism.”
Scott stopped short of guaranteeing Caddy would keep his place when Jones returns next week, but was thrilled with the club’s new depth.
“It’s the same with Zach Reid down back and Sam Draper in the ruck – they’re really good problems to have, and problems we didn’t have last year,” he said.
Caddy told The Age post-match he battled jangling nerves throughout the week after earning his promotion but that it was a “surreal” experience, including the mountain of well-wishing text messages he received.
Caddy had two set shots but is still waiting for his first AFL goal.Credit: Getty Images
The Tigers did not take it easy on him, with Nick Vlastuin, Noah Balta and Nathan Broad all spending time on the Northern Knights product.
“I’ve dreamt of it my whole life, then you go out and play on one of the biggest days of the year. It was a close game all game, and I just tried to grit it out, but it was tough, and I enjoyed it,” Caddy said.
“I just tried to base my game on pressure, but hopefully, I can play some more games and get some continuity, and hopefully the goals will come after that.
“I felt the pressure [to play after everyone else in the top 10 had]. I tried to bide my time in the VFL and put a good body of work together. I didn’t want to get handed a game either, so hopefully I can keep my spot, but if not, I’ll keep chugging away and whatever happens, happens, but I’m happy to get the first one out of the way.”
Yze was more pleased with Richmond’s performance on Saturday night after they lost their past two games to Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs by a combined 210 points.
“We feel like our supporters would have been proud with the effort,“Yze said.
“That’s what we expect every week, but part of that is there’s an honesty around the way we’ll review the game, and there are still elements of our game that we’re not good enough. The main thing was around our spirit and energy and doing the jumper proud, and we expect to do that every week, so that’s the standard that we want.”
Martin’s season-best display followed a period of external scrutiny on his form, which Yze felt was too harsh, as speculation continues around his playing plans beyond this season.
“We’ve adjusted [his training program] a little bit, so he can have some energy,” Yze said.
“He was sore early in the year, and now he’s starting to get some continuity with his training, and it was just good to see him get some reward out on the field. He’s trying so hard. He’s trying to lead our younger forwards [because] we’ve got a really young forward line at the moment, so synergy can take a little bit of time.
“He’s used to playing with the same guys he has done for the last 10 years, and without having those guys around, it can be a little bit hard, so it’s just good to see him enjoying his footy.”
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