Essendon coach Brad Scott calls out poor conversion as key area for Bombers to address after Carlton loss

The raw numbers painted a concerning picture for Essendon coach Brad Scott as his team heads into the bye after back-to-back losses.

A post-bye injection of up to five players will give Essendon the best chance to build on the “foundation” his team has set in a surprising push towards finals, but coach Brad Scott says “really poor converting” remains his team’s achilles heel after Sunday’s loss to Carlton.

The Bombers lost second place on the ladder, dropping to third, after kicking only nine goals from 60 forward 50 entries, with set-shot misses leading to 16 behinds, while the Blues kicked 15 majors from just 40 entries.

Scott was perplexed by the pure numbers and suggested he had never seen figures like them and that he and his players would have to go to work to rectify that issue to ensure they can make the most of their eight wins from the opening 12 rounds when they return from their mid-season bye.

“We certainly dominated parts without converting on the scoreboard,” he said.

“You don’t need me to reel off all the stats, you can look at those yourself, but some of those numbers I have never seen in a loss.

“That’s on us, it’s two weeks in a row we’ve been really poor converting our opportunities forward of centre.

The Bombers were dejected after the Carlton loss. Picture: Josh Chadwick/Getty Images

“We’ve got a lot of work to do on that but I sit here at roughly the midpoint of the season thinking the foundation of what we’re doing is something to build on.”

Despite the loss, the Bombers remain third and Scott said he would use increased expectations on his team to get everyone at the club to “lift”.

“We’ve just got to knuckle down and get to work because we’ve created a platform for us and an opportunity, but that doesn’t guarantee a thing,” Scott said.

“We’ve got to go to work and tidy up these parts of our game so we don’t come in and say, ‘It was a good effort’.

“Everyone’s expectations, both supporters but also internally, are going to lift – and so they should.”

Scott said several of his players would also be better for playing in front of the 88,510 crowd – the second-highest attendance for a home-and-away contest between the two old enemies – who were at the MCG.

“It’s great practice to play in those games to be able to see how your system holds up, how your personnel hold up under pressure,” Scott said.

“We’re laying a foundation and we’re exposing our players to those sorts of situations.

“You’d like to think you’d only get better from those experiences.”

Essendon have concerns over Will Setterfield, who was substituted out of the Carlton loss after re-injuring his troublesome knee, but should get defender Mason Redman (hamstring) and others back for the next clash with West Coast at Marvel Stadium on June 23.

Originally published as Essendon coach Brad Scott calls out poor conversion as key area for Bombers to address after Carlton loss