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Opinion
I love writing after a win.
And this was one hell of a win. Essendon comprehensively demolished the hapless North Melbourne Kangaroos to put them one win outside the eight with the best percentage of their cellar-dwelling peers.
Read on for my thoughts regarding the Essendon Bombers’ 72-point victory.
1. Livin’ Laverde Loca parte tres
This is the third component of what I decided to make a weekly thing because of a bad pun I made after the Anzac Day clash between Essendon and Collingwood. The Livin’ Laverde Loca award is my way of giving a little bit of love to players whose contributions may be going under the radar.
The recipient this week is Peter Wright. He played his best game for the Bombers in his short career. He currently leads the Bombers in the hit-out department, kicked his highest score (three goals, two behinds) when it should’ve probably been closer to five when Todd Goldstein punched him, and gathered the ball 16 times.
That performance sees him earn the coveted Livin’ Laverde Loca award this week, as I feel so much has been made of the Essendon youth and the early-season form of Darcy Parish plus Zach Merrett.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Other players that were considered were perennial Essendon whipping boy Kyle Langford playing his new striker role, and Alec Waterman with a couple of goals that exemplified the flexible forward line of the Bombers.
2. Bombers score their second highest score since 2014
The Bombers have a potent forward line with an array of weapons at their disposal. They were on full display on Sunday afternoon as the Bombers scored over 100 points for the fifth time. This is also the first time since Kevin Sheedy that the Bombers have had two 70-plus-point wins in a single season, let alone two in the first ten rounds.
This is new for the Bombers, whose forward line has been misfiring drastically since 2018 when they were criticised for allowing big scores too frequently. The best news for the Bombers’ faithful was the 13 different goal kickers, particularly Peter Wright, Harry Jones and Nik Cox.
This is extremely important when you consider the wider context of the past two years with the forward line being pillaged last year when Orazio Fantasia and Joe Daniher left the side for Port Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions respectively. It was expected that the Bombers would default to a dour and defensive style as they didn’t have the cattle to kick a winning score.
The Bombers currently have the second highest aggregate score across the league with 954, but they would be somewhat concerned about their defence as has been the theme throughout the year.
The point is the Bombers are eagerly playing with fast outside run to slice and dice many a side this year. If Essendon can tighten up their defence and win a few more games this year, they may be a finals smokey.
(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
3. The AFL Rising Star Award is a joke
Ever since Lewis Taylor won the award over Marcus Bontempelli in 2014, it has been clear that the deciders of the Rising Star Award do not have a feel for the game.
This isn’t to say that Cody Weightman is not deserving of the nomination this week. But the Rising Star Award is supposed to be based upon a body of work, and the fact that Essendon have not had a player picked in the first ten weeks is symbolic of the shambles with which the AFL Rising Star award is run.
While I am willing to admit that Harry Jones and Nik Cox need to get more of the ball, I do not want that to be at the cost of the other aspects of their performance.
I don’t want to pressure the Bombers’ young guns, but I am incredulous that their performances have not been deemed worthy of recognition.
Particularly when you consider statistical similarities between Weightman’s game and Cox’s game yet Cox uses the ball better, and he is the rare unicorn-style player where opposition clubs have no idea how to deal with him, and sometimes I get the feeling that Ben Rutten has no idea what to do with him either.
4. Bombers contract talks begin heating up
The Bombers have a massive 23 players out of contract at the end of this year, headlined by Darcy Parish, Zach Merrett and Jake Stringer.
The news surrounding Harry Jones and Devon Smith was positive as they each signed on for another two years. The Bombers’ administration would be keen to extend some more players before the end of the season while the club has the room to extend them.
Furthermore, the Bombers would also be keen to parlay the players that want out into suitable draft hauls. But the priority for Essendon is not the trade table but the contract negotiations as the Bombers need to extend several players.
5. Darcy Parish is a Brownlow smokey
Darcy Parish has the ability to win the Brownlow this year such is his reversal of fortunes. I would almost consider him a bigger threat on the ball than Zach Merrett, but he’s never had to break through a tag. If he does that, then he becomes a bigger priority to re-sign than Merrett.
(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Of particular note are his stats surround disposals (29.7), clearances (7.4), metres gained (443), and score involvements (7.5), which are all rated as elite across the game, while he is above average in contested possessions (12.7) and kicks (14.9).
His performances have been based off relentless effort, and having the license to break off the chain while he hits the ball at pace. I hope against hope that Ben Rutten doesn’t push him back to his old role as a forward-midfielder hybrid.
Best
1. Nik Cox (seven votes)
2. Kyle Langford (six votes)
3. Peter Wright (seven votes)
4. Nick Hind (17 votes)
5. Zach Merrett (29 votes)
6. Darcy Parish (28 votes)
Leaderboard
1. Zach Merrett (29)
2. Darcy Parish (28)
3. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Nick Hind (17)
Final thoughts
I was glad to see the Bombers put another side to the sword this year. It indicates that the Bombers are building something and they have a lot of buy-in from the players.
I eagerly await the introduction of players such as Zach Reid to play on the big monster forwards, Nick Bryan as a ruck-forward hybrid, and hopefully extending the young players that have shown very solid signs this year.
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