Mick McGuane: Essendon has been too nice for too long and that needs to change, fast
Where’s the accountability at Essendon? Peter Wright needs to wake up but so, too, do some of his midfield teammates, writes Mick McGuane.
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In his letter to Essendon members last November, new Bombers president Paul Brasher promised a more ruthless club after a post-season review.
Brasher said there would be “uncompromising demands on standards and accountabilities” under new coach Ben Rutten and players would have “no doubt about the standards required”.
But Essendon will be judged by its actions rather than its words this year and its actions from an almost unlosable position against Hawthorn in Round 1 were not good enough.
The Bombers showed the football world how good they can be for 30 minutes as they established a 40-point lead early in the third quarter.
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But they also showed how fragile they can be as they coughed up that huge advantage to suffer a one-point loss.
The inconsistencies over 60 minutes of football are aligned to a view that this Essendon group has been too nice, for too long.
When Tom Mitchell compiled 17 disposals (15 uncontested) and Dylan Moore kicked three goals and had seven score involvements from his 14 disposals in the third quarter alone, my immediate thoughts gravitated to ‘here we go again’.
What were the coaches doing? Why did they not respond?
And where was the midfield leadership from players like Zach Merrett, Dylan Shiel and Andrew McGrath to sacrifice their own game for a period in order to stabilise the influence of Mitchell or Moore?
Where were the “accountabilities”?
Granted, it was Peter Wright’s first game for Essendon.
But the key forward must have missed the memo about the “uncompromising demands on standards”, too.
The Gold Coast Suns recruit must realise Essendon has given him a second chance – most likely his last – and must treat not only every game but every contest as such.
When ‘Two-Metre Peter’ gets tired, his competitiveness wanes and is clearly not to an AFL standard.
There were a couple of questionable efforts from Wright in last week’s game and if strong coaching really is taking place at Essendon this season, I’d expect an immediate response from a competitive standpoint.
If he wants a lesson in how to compete, Wright needs to look no further than to Charlie Dixon at the other end of the ground when the Bombers face Port Adelaide on Saturday.
Wright has a great opportunity to become Essendon’s Dixon.
But if he keeps delivering what he did against Hawthorn, he quickly becomes a teammate you’d struggle to trust or to play with.
Is that the reason why he didn’t play a single game for Gold Coast in 2020?
There’s a fair chance he might not have the support of Cale Hooker up forward this week, either, who may be needed to help cover Charlie Dixon, Todd Marshall and Peter Ladhams in defence.
So wake up, Peter. The alarm bells are ringing.
On the road against one of the premiership fancies in Port Adelaide this weekend, Essendon might just need a trigger to rediscover “uncompromising” football.
If I were Ben Rutten, I’d clearly be putting Orazio Fantasia ‘in the gun’.
Collingwood missed its opportunity last week with Adam Treloar.
Surely the mind games within the game still exist?
The psychology of the game shouldn’t be underestimated.
Fantasia turned his back on the club and the leadership group to join Port Adelaide at a time that Essendon was void of leadership.
Essendon, as a group, need to physically and mentally test him and see if he can absorb the heat that’s coming.
Don McKenzie, Ronnie Andrews, Roger Merrett, Mark Harvey and Billy Duckworth would love to revisit this opportunity.
They all played during an era where Essendon were feared and ruthless.
The Bombers must bring an emotional investment matched with a strong physical approach to the contest.
Nothing outside the rules by any means, but for two hours Fantasia needs to know he is in for a long night.
As Leigh Matthews always said, “Show controlled aggression, but winning the footy is the primary objective”.
Adelaide showed last week against Geelong that you don’t need to be experienced to play desperate.
Competitive attitude and 100 per cent effort is a non-negotiable.
The Crows had 25 tackles in the opening quarter and set the tone for the game on their way to an upset win.
Port Adelaide is the best momentum side in the competition, so Essendon needs to set a similar tone early – and maintain it – if it is to be any chance of scoring an upset.
Whether the Bombers truly have embraced a new ruthless culture or not, we’ll find in their response against the Power.
The football world has had enough of the lip service coming out of Tullamarine and the time for niceties is over.
POWERFUL TEAM
I had Port Adelaide as my top-seed entering this season and their position certainly hasn’t changed after Round 1.
The Power were one key defender short of a premiership push last year, but the recruitment of Aliir Aliir is a masterstroke.
You can be critical of North Melbourne’s ball use against the Power last week, but it’s not a coincidence many of the turnovers ended up in the arms of Aliir.
You’ve got to give credit to his ability to read the cues of where the Kangaroos were kicking – so he could get there and impact.
Port Adelaide is not far behind Richmond in its ability to absorb pressure and then strike back, as it showed after quarter-time against North Melbourne last week.
Where the Power will stretch Essendon this week is in attack.
The trio of talls in Charlie Dixon, Todd Marshall and Peter Ladhams are well complimented by smalls Orazio Fantasia, Zak Butters and Robbie Gray, who are all creative and competitive.
If Essendon doesn’t excel in and around the contest and allows Port Adelaide to gain territory, the floodgates might open.
The Bombers must also put time into Travis Boak, who remains Port Adelaide’s best transition runner and a key cog in the midfield.
MICK’S WHACK 1
Dayne Zorko, you’re the captain of your footy club.
The ill-discipline at Brisbane needs to end and it starts with you.
Zorko gave away five free kicks against Sydney in Round 1 – one sixth of his team’s total of 30.
Only two other teams gave away more free kicks in the opening round.
Ten of the Lions’ free kicks against were for high tackles. That’s poor technique.
Tackle correctly, earn a reward and get 70m territory for your team.
Smarten up, Dayne.
MICK’S WHACK 2
Everyone is talking about the issue of set-shot goalkicking from 40-60m, where players are running around the man on the mark to gain a few extra metres.
Is the below the solution?
Let’s use two of the three umpires in this instance.
One umpire positions himself side-on to see if the player goes over the mark or retreats once he is called to ‘stand’.
The other umpire positions himself directly behind the kicker, therefore becoming the controlling umpire so he can quickly call ‘play on’ when the player moves off his line.
The other advantage is the player standing the mark will have both the kicker and umpire in his line of sight, so his reaction time will be quicker in an attempt to take away any advantage the kicker may gain.
At the moment it’s like a farmer keeping a gate open and allowing his sheep to just walk through it.
Please, it’s laughable.
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