- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
For the last few weeks, there has been a rumbling in the air around Victoria.
Everyone has sensed it, but most have been able to calmly put it on the backburner while keeping a wary eye on the horizon. They’ve started well before and faded out; they’ve been lucky in a few close games; their form is bound to run out; they haven’t put together a complete season in two decades.
All the while, as we mind our own business and go about our lives, the jungle drums have begun beating louder and louder: a spirited draw on a marquee day they usually leave with hearts broken, a workmanlike win on the road against a lesser opponent taking the fight to them; off-field stability, scandal-free, humming with a collective purpose and a steely look in the eye.
But now the noise is overpowering, and it’s not a rumble nor the beating of drums anymore: it’s an air raid siren, screaming at eardrum-shattering volume, with red and black klaxons blaring wherever you turn.
It’s time to batten down the hatches, my fellow Victorians: Essendon, for the first time in twenty years, are officially scary again.
It took a performance like Saturday afternoon’s to be sure of what their recent run of excellent form meant, but after overpowering and then dismantling a strong GWS outfit to which they’d given the jump to, what the Bombers are doing can no longer be laughed off, or explained away. This is a quality team playing quality, devastating football, and for now at least, they are the equal of any team in the league.
Without the ball, the once-flaky Dons are solid as a rock, applying frenetic pressure on the ball-carrier and with few leaks in a back six that hasn’t look this imposing since prime Dustin Fletcher was roaming the defensive 50.
And with it, they are sublime, moving the footy with pace and precision powerful enough to even drown out the famed Orange Tsunami. They ran the Giants off their feet at Marvel Stadium, and the clanger kicks that once exposed the Bombers so terribly going the other way are now a rare sight – and when they do come, the pressure that immediately engulfs whoever has the task of inflicting the turnover must endure is overwhelming.
Central to it all is Brad Scott: not only does the coach have his troops playing inspired footy with a style that is as clearly defined as it is dazzling to watch, but just about every single change he has made to the status quo since arriving at Windy Hill is coming up trumps.
Kyle Langford as a forward? It’s not just his latest haul of four goals that vindicates the move made at the start of 2023, but his leading patterns, one-on-one strength for his size and his exceptional tackling pressure without the ball in his hands are all traits the best forwards going around have – and very few can claim the complete set.
No one had more tackles inside 50 than Langford’s four on Saturday afternoon, while his five marks inside 50, all uncontested, showcased his ability to find space in attack as well as the Bombers’ desire to find him when moving forward. His beautiful kicking for goal makes him even more of a threat: it means he’s perfectly find leading to the boundary, or to the edge of 50, to win the ball, backing himself every time to find the big sticks – and usually delivering.
The Bombers are a long way ahead of every other team in the competition for marks on the lead – going into Round 9, they averaged 10.1 a game, with Brisbane second best at 8.9 – and Langford is a huge part of this, as the AFL’s number one-ranked player for them per game.
So good was he that the Giants sent their best one-on-one defender, Jack Buckley, to him to try and curb his influence – and it didn’t make a damn bit of difference.
Nic Martin off half-back? Check plus – the one time supplementary pick isn’t quite the cleanest ball-user going around, but his speed in finding space for outlet kicks as well as running around for handball receives are of immense value to a team that doesn’t need to be pinpoint all the time to find a way forward.
Slowly but surely, Martin has cut down on the cheap junk that so many half-backs use to fill their boots: nearly every touch is meaningful, and it’s rare to see the Dons actually go out of their way to give him the ball. And when he gets it, nearly ever pass takes the ball forward, and his occasional turnover is a small price to pay for an aggressive mindset that has made the Bombers one of this year’s most lethal teams at scoring from their defensive half.
Martin isn’t the only one in fine nick in defence: the Bombers are suddenly armed to the teeth for aggressively minded runners capable of fulfilling both their defensive and offensive responsibilities with aplomb. Andrew McGrath is having a career-best season as a safe ball-user coming out of the backline – he went at 95 per cent disposal efficiency from his 24 touches on Saturday – while also helping shut down many an opposition small; Mason Redman has had more lockdown responsibilities this season but was sensational against the Giants with 26 disposals and a trademark booming goal; and Nick Hind had probably his best game since 2021 to grasp his chance at nailing down a spot at half-back with both hands.
Sam Durham as a pure on-baller? The biggest win of all. Playing mostly on a wing in 2023, the one-time mid-season rookie started as a back-up in the midfield rotation in the earlier rounds, and likely only because first-choice mids Darcy Parish and Dylan Shiel were missing.
But since breaking out with a dominant dual role as ball-winner and Marcus Bontempelli-clamper against the Bulldogs a few weeks ago, Durham has added an extra dimension to the Bombers’ midfield that they’ve lacked for years. Only Zach Merrett this year has averaged more contested possessions per game at the club this year, and that might not last for long, because his younger teammate’s emergence is allowing the captain to stay further outside the heat of the stoppage to put his brilliant foot skills to good effect.
The list goes on: Matt Guelfi not only made Lachie Whitfield all but a non-factor as a defensive forward, but bobbed up for three goals when given the chance to impact the scoreboard. Archie Perkins bringing more class and composure to the midfield group to go with Durham’s fire and ferocity.
Nik Cox as a hard-running defensive wingman whose height and wiry frame are being used far more effectively in this role than he was when used as a key defender; Jake Stringer as a primary midfielder with plenty of time still spent in attack but with the explosive speed and self-confidence to match.
The recruits have likewise changed the game: Ben McKay has some flaws as a backman, but with Jordan Ridley out his intercepting work has given them almost a like-for-like replacement for the injured star. He had five to half time on Saturday, and while he found dealing with Jesse Hogan a handful, the Bombers taking control took plenty of pressure off him.
Todd Goldstein has been a fascinating watch this year: comfortably the better player in his ruck duo with Sam Draper that Scott has insisted upon all season, the latter’s injury saw him take on far more of the load, though Peter Wright chipped in plenty.
Even at his age, there are few tap ruckmen in the business better than Goldstein: giving his midfielders exceptional service all evening, he’d finish with a whopping 14 hitouts to advantage. His opponent, Kieren Briggs, had only five.
Support your AFL team in style – check out The Oodie! They’ve got Adult Oodies for all 18 teams as well as Kids Oodies and even Dog Oodies available in selected teams. Made from the softest, premium fabrics they are the comfiest memorabilia you’ll ever wear! #GetYourOodieOn
For years the Bombers have struggled with shaking a stereotype of how they play: as flashy, outside, one-way runners who wilt under pressure, don’t work hard enough defensively and were regularly punished by good teams as a result.
Those days are gone: forget the much talked about ‘Essendon Edge’, this is a steely mob that seems sick of being the AFL’s resident joke for the length of time since their last finals win, and through a combination of shrewd coaching, an aggressive gameplan and players skilled enough to follow through on the style, is fast establishing itself as not just a finals contender, but a premiership one as well.
There are still areas of improvement for the Bombers – McKay, Cox and Jake Kelly all sit in the bottom 12 for losing contested one-on-ones inside defensive 50, and the backline did look vulnerable when GWS moved forward – one in every four inside 50s resulted in a mark, and they sit behind only North Melbourne, West Coast and Richmond for conceding said marks.
But they are now more than covered by their strengths, strengths which are good enough to block off those weaknesses in and of themselves. It doesn’t matter than your backs aren’t great one out when the other team is barely getting a look in, and when your midfielders are busting a gut to work back and help out.
The Giants sat fifth in the league heading into Saturday’s match for average inside 50s, with over 55 per game: the 40 the Bombers held them to is their lowest under Adam Kingsley, while they’d go into attack 57 times themselves. All despite losing both the contested possession and clearance counts.
The answer is simple: pressure. The Bombers put on as much as any team in the business, and as of yet, no one has worked out how to hunt them in return. Then, when a turnover is forced, there’s no hesitation in how quickly they snap into gear, and the first you’ll know about it is when the excited expectations of a swathe of supporters rises to a crescendo.
It’s that pressure alone that creates magical goals like this one from Alwyn Davey, a goal manufactured from nothing in a way the Bombers just never really used to pull off.
The Bombers now sit pretty in the top three, and from here, it would be a surprise to see them fall out of the eight.
But Essendon have bigger plans on their minds. Not since 2002 have they so much as had a home final, which any spot inside the top six will afford them.
This is the Bombers’ most white-hot start since 2013 – the doom that followed that should serve to ensure fans don’t get too far ahead of themselves, but also remind them just how much is at stake for the club for the rest of the season.
The Dons have a foothold in season 2024. It’s the strongest one they’ve had for two decades, and if they can’t break their September drought now, with this kind of footy, with these kinds of weapons?
They’ve earned the chance now upon them to end the laughter and make someone else the butt of the joke: first, though, they’ve got another 14 rounds to prove that this new Essendon isn’t just another flash in the pan, but something repeatable, sustainable.
Something real.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.