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An Essendon thread coming up, because I keep coming back to this ‘what if’ Joe Daniher was fit and healthy at the start of the season when their defensive setups were actually working, instead of … whatever the end of the season was supposed to be (1/11)
To ignore the early season results for a moment and instead focus on the process, Essendon’s work without the ball was clearly clicking. Here’s a couple of clips from the game against Collingwood; everything is in sync, working together (2/11)
But without any offensive system, Essendon had only moments, mistakes & accuracy to keep the scoreboard ticking. They outperformed their expected score (per Stats Insider) in each of their first four games & benefited from North brain fades in Round 6. So many brain fades (3/11)
Daniher’s absence prevented Essendon from having a marking forward which defences had to think about, at the very least a target from a dump kick to help straighten them up. Without him as the fulcrum, there’s no aerial presence opponents feel they have to pay attention to (4/11)
In theory, having the defensive part working well should have brought time to experiment and refine the offensive side. Fremantle are a great example of what could have happened. They hardly lit the scoreboard on fire, but you could see what they were working towards (5/11)
What ended up happening was Essendon having no answer to the remarkable, completely unforeseen circumstance when teams prepared for how to handle their pressure. The Bulldogs showed the blueprint, a mix of control and spread (6/11)
Most teams take their lick, go back and reassess with a goal of doing Plan A better. Essendon, for some reason, decided to lurch from one thing to another with little cohesion, sometimes even quarter to quarter. The GWS, Richmond and St Kilda games particularly notable (7/11)
So when Daniher did come back into the side, he wasn’t entering a settled outfit with a clear plan on how to play. In that first game against Hawthorn, Essendon comfortably set their season high for handballs while alternating between different defensive plans (8/11)
Essendon compromised their defensive integrity in search of … whatever it was, it didn’t materialise on-field. 100+ marks conceded in three of the last four weeks – without scoring more than 50 themselves – spoke to a side stuck with how to play (9/11)
With all the departures – both confirmed (delistings and retirements, trades and free agents) and assumed (Fantasia) – what’s left on the list looks very bits and pieces. Individuals have had impressive seasons but a strong younger core hasn’t presented – yet (10/11)
Of course having a consistent plan this year wouldn’t have made Essendon top four, but I wonder how much it might have papered over cracks. In the long run it might end up being beneficial because the exodus should mean there’s no illusion on where they’re at. Should... (11/11)
