DEFINING THE DONS
It’s been a curious few weeks for the Bombers …
Commentary around the club has certainly been mixed to say the least, with many in the media declaring the side to be something of an illusion or the second coming itself!
For those who are declaring the latter, they will take comfort that the Dons still sit pretty in second place on the ladder after the weekend’s footy. But for those in the other camp (including many Dons fans themselves) there’s a sense that the fall is inevitable. The loss to the Gold Coast Suns on Sunday certainly didn’t help things, but it wasn’t the disaster many had expected and there were still plenty of reasons to be positive.
Zach Merrett lead powerfully again with 33 disposals, Jye Caldwell gave himself a hell of a chance for votes this week with his performance, highlighted by a goal and a whopping 10 tackles! Nick Hind continued his rich vein of form and showed just how important effort really is in impacting the game. Jordan Ridley was silky again and Nik Cox was a surprise packet in front of goal with three straight, and a disposal efficiency of 100% across 11 touches.
Sure, the bads aren’t great either – especially the amount of players rocking nothing but multiple behinds! Merrett (0.3), Kyle Langford (0.2), Nic Martin (0.2) and Jake Stringer (0.2) all had a chance to impact the scoreboard more potently and failed. It’s an issue that has been growing at Tullamarine for several weeks now. It’s remarkable how at the beginning of the season, Essendon was being lauded for its accuracy – now it’s become one of the team’s biggest hindrances.
The defensive core is doing their utmost to limit scores at the other end, allowing a total of over-100 just twice this year. Gold Coast’s tally of 14 goals over the weekend is the highest the club has allowed since the infamous Port Adelaide debacle. However at the other end, the forward group has kicked over-100 just three times in 12 rounds of footy, with two of those times coming in the opening two rounds – the remainder coming against the lowly Kangaroos, which doesn’t really say much.
Nick Hind has impressed in recent weeks, reviving his form and shocking many of the Dons faithful.
But look, overall Essendon fought hard against the Suns – arguably, the team played better in the loss interstate than either of the last two lacklustre victories in Melbourne. The boys kept in the contest throughout the four quarters, but just weren’t able to get the W. Something no one has been able to accomplish at People’s First Stadium in 2024. Blame for the loss can be spread across the spectrum. The Suns played their fortress well, umpires were … well, their frustrating selves at times and as mentioned above, the Bombers miss plenty of chances to get ahead.
However, as much as we may wish to dwell on some of the finer points of the loss up in Queensland (certain performances and questionable final minute free kicks come to mind), I think it’s probably best we move on – and fast. I doubt the club will spend much time fixating on the loss too, as a huge marquee clash awaits on Sunday night against the arch-rivals.
The Filth.
The Carlton Football Club.
Sweet lord, I could barely type the letters required to spell out their name I despise them that much. This game sits as one of those big moments that come around every season, though you never really know when it’s going to hit. And though it may only be round 13, you’ve got to think that this Sunday could well be a season-defining moment for the Essendon Football Club.
As it stands, the club sits with a record of 8-3-1. An honourable record, and sure, 8-4-1 isn’t doomsday either … but it may not remain like that for long.
Though the BYE awaits in the following week, the club then faces a month of games against West Coast, Geelong, Collingwood and Melbourne. Aside from the Eagles, there won’t be another game that the club will enter as favourite. Prior to the Suns, the club sat 8-2-1. After the match against the Dees in round 18, the Dons could easily be sitting 9-7-1. Any bozo with an itchy ladder-predicting finger can tell you that puts the club smack bang in the guts of the pack yet again. All the hard work from the previous 12 weeks of the season, a long-forgotten memory.
Ben McKay and his evil doppelgänger have become the centrepiece of the weekend’s match-up.
It makes this weekend’s matchup against the Devil’s anus all the more important. A win can settle the club, not just the coaches and players as they head into a well-earned week off … but the fanbase too. The greatest knock on the Bombers so far in 2024, is the suggestion that the club hasn’t passed any great test yet. Now, we can throw that back and forth for donkeys if we wanted to, after all, a draw on ANZAC Day showed the team’s capacity to dig in and go the whole way against last season’s premiers. The victory over GWS proved that the list stands up against a side, brimming with talent. Hell, for three quarters the boys pushed Sydney hard all the way back in round two!
But that was then and if footy teaches us anything, it’s that you’re only as good as your last win. And ours was a two goal win against the 1-11 Tigers. So, whether we like it or not the fraud tag won’t go away until the team takes another big scalp. And there’s no time like the present, or should I say, 7.20pm on Sunday night.
Carlton are surging and it’s starting to look like no one can slow their run for a seventeenth premiership down. They have heavy-hitters up and down the ground – it hurts me to say it, but the Blues look scary.
But that’s all the more reason that a win on Sunday has the power to shape Essendon’s season.
To get back on the winners’ list.
To go into the bye with energy high.
To set a platform for the rest of the season.
And as we all hope … to put the club in the right position to end the drought and begin our own run at our seventeenth flag.
Despite declarations during the pre-season that kept expectations to a minimum, the tone has changed somewhat to round 12 for the club. Media pundits and even some of those at Tullamarine have told us that this is a different Dons outfit from years gone by. That the players have changed – that the team has changed – that the club has changed. It’s easy to be sceptical. Fans have been fed this line before and seen it all disintegrate into oblivion.
Well, the time for talk is over and any notion that the fans will suddenly revert to the lowly expectations of summer are fanciful. Fans have been shown what this side can produce and no one who bleeds red and black will take anything less than a finals victory come September ’24.
Essendon are different they say …
Come the final siren on Sunday night at the MCG, I think we’ll all know if that really is true.
Go Planes.