Essendon Bombers hit hard in opening round

 
Leigh Eustace Roar Rookie

By Leigh Eustace, 29 Mar 2011 Leigh Eustace is a Roar Rookie

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The message from the weekend’s AFL opening round is the same relayed to Gaddafi’s armed forces last week: “Gentlemen, the Bombers have arrived.”

Whilst many praise the efforts of prodigal son James Hird’s return to the club on their sudden revival, it’s clear that the entire football departmental turnaround has indeed turned the Dons from perennial chump to potential champs.

Make no mistake; the influence of Hird is there for all to see.

However, combined with the stamp of two-time premiership coach Mark Thompson, the underrated abilities of Simon Goodwin, fresh out of the game, as well as Sean Wellman and Brendan McCartney clearly offering an upgrade on those previous, Essendon has the tools to make the penultimate weekend of football this year no doubt.

One should never jump to drastic conclusions after Round 1, but the way the red and black disarmed the highly credentialed Western Bulldogs and then went about embarrassing them to the tune of 75 points, to the extent Rodney Eade was left simply bereft of options to stop them, justifies the hype.

And while the Dogs were missing Lake and Gilbee, you could argue that Essendon were missing four of the best 22 in Gumbleton, Slattery, Welsh and Pears.

That fact also adds another layer to the excitement, not only did they win, and win well, but they have good players on the sidelines, who may not be able to crack the senior side once fit.

Premiership sides, they win with depth, good players missing out. The Pies had that last year, they won the big dance, and the Bombers look to have a similar predicament in 2011.

Good signs at Bomberland.

On those Magpies, they must have a strong left leg – they spent two hours Saturday afternoon with the clutch pedal depressed, important because had they had lifted they would have definitely stalled – the reigning premier was idling.

Sure the Power offered resistance with a run on in the third quarter, but to win by 75 points without playing their best has to send shudders down the spines, especially the backbones of those who played Friday night.

We say ‘played’, but for three quarters the scoreboard attendants were hardly required, a sad night for the game. Sure a close game can be likened as a good game, but a good game it weren’t, and questions need to be asked of the two teams who barely participated.

One supposedly on the way down after two flags in three years followed by a demolishing by Collingwood in last year’s prelim, the other destined to fall so close with two grand final losses and a draw in three recent attempts.

The Cats have definitely lost that intimidation, they’re slower, and once you’re beatable, you’ll be quickly overtaken in this caper.

For the Saints, well they weren’t good enough to beat the 2011 Geelong, and whilst two big men down, it was in other areas, particularly north of the middle that they suffered, too Riewoldt-concsious and nowhere near creative enough.

Both teams look top four by default, not ability at this stage.

Adelaide, however, made a statement Saturday as someone to challenge the top four, they’ll win enough at home to make the eight, and offer enough raw talent that they’ll scare a few clubs on the eastern seaboard.

Hawthorn were disappointing, and where fans were hoping a return to the 2008 form would just be served up again on whim and a prayer, unfortunately, and evidently not surprisingly, it seems more of the same 2009, 2010 underachievement.

Just perhaps they really did steal that flag three years ago as opposed to peaking too early. Perhaps.

Melbourne has improved, their supporters can justifiably hold hope for a decent 2011, as can the Eagles fans, there is definite encouragement from the kids who have gotten those 20-30 games under the belt.

North Melbourne will rue injuries this year and 2011 might pass them by before they know it even started. Fremantle will be inconsistent again, that looks a certainty (although with the purple haze when is it any different?) and Richmond still looks a few key parts short.

Thursday night saw Carlton as the third of the big three Melbourne clubs to win on opening weekend, but whilst the Pies looked scarily good, and the Dons looked destined to challenge them, the Blues sadly again might disappoint after so many rewards for so much mediocrity last decade.

On paper, fully fit, this should be the time for those down at Royal Parade. But alas, one Taswegian Coleman medallist was able to lift his heavily underdeveloped team into a position where they could have snatched the four points.

Jack Riewoldt is a superstar of this league, but if the Blues want to be taken seriously, and if Brett Ratten wants to avoid the Centrelink queue in the next nine months, then this is the time they started serving something up, we’ve been smelling what they’ve been cooking for so long I’m concerned the food’s, and indeed their chances, been burnt.

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