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The Roar

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Opinion

The Bombers' big problem? Their midfield is too small and too soft

3rd May, 2022
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3rd May, 2022
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Poor Essendon, said no one ever.

The Bombers played the victim all the way through the arrogance and hubris of the ASADA drugs saga, and have been run over by the karma bus several times since.

Their last finals win was in 2004, they’ve been thumped in the odd final a few times since, and neither of those things are going to be happening this year.

The disappointment for Essendon fans right now is that this season’s meagre returns follow on from a fast finish to 2021 that promised much. They haven’t really fired a shot in most games they’ve played, or have popped off a few bullets but given up too easily.

Now, they’ve played a strong suite of opponents – Geelong, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs. These teams are either the best teams in the comp, vastly experienced, or improving amid great form.

As it turns out, the Bombers just aren’t as good as any of those sides. That’s fair. But why?

The main problem is their midfield is too small and too soft.

Dylan Shiel

(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

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Zach Merrett, Darcy Parish, Andy McGrath, Dylan Shiel. They are all really nice players. Really nice players. Too nice. Lovely people. Well spoken. No hint of power. Easy to play against.

If you want blokes to run around and get you 30 or 35 touches, chip the ball sideways 20 metres, and run past for a cheap one-two, these are the guys for you.

And they’re small, especially in the age of the bigger gun midfielder.

Shiel is the tallest at 182 centimetres. Merrett, Parish and McGrath are all 179 or 180. Picture them on the field and the way they play. It’s a thousand cuts, but they don’t deliver death too often. They rely on quantity over game-breaking quality.

Now cast your mind to the likes of Clayton Oliver (187 centimetres), Christian Petracca (186), Patrick Cripps (195), Marcus Bontempelli (193), Nat Fyfe (192), Patrick Dangerfield (189), Dustin Martin (187), Jack Steele (187) and Ollie Wines (190).

Big men winning big clearances and creating big moments. They’re not even playing the same sport.

There are plenty of smaller guns too though – Lachie Neale, Luke Parker, Touk Miller and Luke Shuey are the pick of the crop here. Each one of them is completely uncompromising in the way they play. The Essendon four are anything but.

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Darcy Parish

(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Perhaps it’s just that the Bombers have too much of the same thing. It’s why Jake Stringer was deployed as a centre-square starter to awesome effect in the second half of last season.

He averaged six clearances, ten contested possessions and two and a half goals a game post-bye last year, driving Essendon’s surge to the finals.

Stringer’s superiority only highlighted the inadequacies of his teammates. He’s had in an interrupted 2022 so far, and is still searching for his most explosive form. He’s now done a hamstring and is about to miss more football.

Essendon has a back line full of jobbers too.

Not many forward lines are having sleepless nights wondering how they’re going to get the best of Jayden Laverde, Jordan Ridley, Mason Redman, Jake Kelly and co. Again, they have an undersized feel to them.

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Peter Wright is a footballer that does have some size about him, and in the last 12 months has worked out how to use it. He’s still not the finished product, but is proving to be someone a forward line can be built around.

It’s easy to surmise that the Bombers could have a significant blip this year, yet still be on track overall under Ben Rutten. Progress is rarely linear in the AFL.

But the heat can be fierce, and it can destabilise a club. Players out of contract start looking elsewhere. Everyone starts looking out for themselves, and this can never lead to improved performances.

Essendon need to start winning, and right quick. It’s the only thing that can quieten down the outside noise.

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