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Essendon fans would be grimacing at the prospect of their team repeating last year’s mid-season capitulation, but they’re dangerously close to doing so.
Comfortably beaten by Sydney on Saturday by 44 points, the Bombers’ season has commenced a mini tailspin after a promising start. It’s a sight which is all too familiar with the Bombers after the team fell apart around this time last year.
In 2012, they started the first nine rounds with eight wins and one loss. That loss was by the smallest of margins, one point against Collingwood who went on to the preliminary final.
From there, they won just three of their next thirteen games. They ended the season with just one win in their final nine games to create a mirror image of their start to the season.
Last year’s downward spiral was put down to injuries which were caused by a bad training program. It led to the sacking of the team’s high performance manager at the end of the season after they failed to appear in the finals.
They had squandered their excellent start to the season due to a few management issues despite putting together what they believed to be an all-star coaching team.
Fast track to the current season.
Essendon were the talk of the country during the offseason for their involvement in the supplement scandal. The club was believed to be in disarray with ex-insiders going rogue and turning on the club.
All the big names at Windy Hill had their names tainted by the scandal. Word coming out of AFL headquarters was that the club would be punished to the full extent of the law if rules had been breached.
As more and more information came out, Essendon appeared to be more and more in the wrong. It eventually led to the resignation of CEO Ian Robson who declared the buck stopped with him. The move was applauded by those who mattered but it did not leave the club in any less disarray.
On the field, Essendon began this year with gusto. Winning their opening six games of the season, the Bombers found themselves at the top of the ladder entering Round 7.
In the last four weeks however, the Bombers have lost against Geelong, Brisbane and Sydney. By no means is it an embarrassment to be losing to Geelong or Sydney – two genuine premiership contenders, but the Bombers are lacking the aggression they had in the opening six rounds.
The doping scandal has taken scalps among the clubs administrators but something has to be made of the timing of Essendon’s decline in form.
The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) commenced their interviews with Essendon players on May 6 – the week leading up to their loss to Geelong. They concluded last week in their lead up to their loss against Sydney and lasting four weeks.
Essendon players have been reported to have been interviewed for roughly three hours each.
A fortnight ago, Jake Melksham was interviewed on Channel 9’s Sunday Footy Show and admitted that the entire process was taking its toll mentally on the players. He was eagerly waiting for the process to end.
Taking a realistic perspective, there are eleven teams fighting it out for eight positions in the ladder to make September appearances.
While Essendon may find themselves comfortably in the top eight at present, they end the season with the toughest draw in the competition. They will play Collingwood, West Coast, North Melbourne, Carlton and Richmond in their final five games of the season.
At the start of the season, the doping scandal threatened to derail the Bombers’ entire season. Key figures around the club, including coach James Hird have changed their stories regarding their involvement in the scandal.
Inspiring images were shown in Round 3 when Essendon came from behind to defeat Fremantle after a tumultuous week of scandal revelations. Those images of the team embracing their besieged coach affirmed the club’s message they scandal would not derail their season.
But now, with so much on the minds of James Hird and the playing group as ASADA prepares to release their findings and make recommendations to the AFL, the distractions now legitimately threaten Essendon’s season.
Last year, the Bombers went too hard too early in the season and it cost them towards the end. This year is looking ominously similar. Throw in the distractions which are affecting their performance and their difficult fixture and they have a problem.
Suddenly the Bombers are the most vulnerable team in the eight.
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