The Dons have already conceded a whopping 272 points in two games, the worst of any side. The Swans are the next worst, with 247 points against, but they have played an extra game.
“I focus on the facts as they are in front of us. And the facts, as they are in front of us is, we were horrendous in our ability to apply pressure to the opposition. We got badly beaten in critical contests at both ends of the ground and with that comes criticism. Fair enough,” Scott said.
The Bombers conceded 161 points (25 goals) to the Crows, including a whopping 17 goals from turnovers, and had a pressure rating of just 159 – one of the club’s worst efforts in recent years.
Scott said the lack of pressure was a combination of effort and technique, including how players positioned themselves.
“Sitting on the back foot and hoping, hoping that we would win contests, instead of getting across to support the contest. Players just off,” Scott said.
“When you are half a step off in this competition, you get exposed. To watch Adelaide march the ball up the ground from one end to the other, either uncontested marks or contested marks, is bitterly disappointing.”
Troubling times: Brad Scott and his Bombers have much to discuss heading into Thursday’s clash against Port Adelaide.Credit: AFL Photos
Scott said it was a whole-of-team issue.
“You can have this fancy, first-class system but if you don’t have pressure on the ball, I don’t think Glenn Jakovich or Bruce Doull combined are going to be able to defend against a complete lack of pressure on the ball,” Scott said.
Under Scott, the Bombers were ranked 15th for points against in each of the past two seasons. They are also last this season in allowing opponents to carry the ball from defensive 50 into attacking 50, and in allowing opponents to score from their defensive half.
Youth no excuse
Essendon was the youngest team in the competition in round one and the second-youngest in round two, behind only Richmond. While they were also the second-least experienced side last weekend, with an average of 72 games per player, Scott said this was not an excuse.
“It’s a copout. We are capable. The club talks about all the stuff it has done. My job is to coach the team. Whether you are dealing with injuries, you are dealing with youth, my job is to coach the team,” Scott said.
“I am not interested in even insinuating there is any excuse with youth. I think we have a capable team and we expect more.”
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On Sunday, Essendon great Matthew Lloyd took aim at the club’s drafting, pointing to Nik Cox, Zach Reid, Ben Hobbs, Archie Perkins, Harrison Jones and Elijah Tsatas as selections who had not reached their potential.
Defending McKay
The former North Melbourne defender, on a lucrative, long-term contract, has struggled in the first two games this season. Scott moved to defend McKay, who draws the wrath of Essendon supporters.
“Ben McKay, you look across his career, he has been under a fair bit of pressure, the teams he has played in. I have a lot of faith and confidence in Ben. I think he has got a lot of good attributes,” Scott said.
“We put our last-line defenders under a lot of pressure on the weekend. Criticism is part of this game and, on Saturday, we all deserved to get criticised, it’s just the price of admission in this industry, and Ben knows that. But he is a resilient character. There are plenty of critics – I am not one of them.”
No concern around Shiel
Now playing in a new role across half-back, the veteran playmaker has been put under the microscope by commentator David King, who said Shiel, 32, was jittery on Saturday, had shown signs of his age and should be axed. Shiel finished with 21 disposals and 338 metres gained.
“Some of the stuff he was criticised for is more a result of the team stuff than him individually. I have been around long enough to know that if you have a performance like that as a team, people will pluck out individuals, that is the nature of the industry. But it is not my concern,” Scott said.
Surgery for Tsatas amid ‘limited’ changes
Tsatas, who was one of the Bombers to impress with 25 touches, was hurt in the warm-up but played on. However, he will not play this week.
“This was a fairly innocuous one. He was able to play the game under some duress, but still perform well. It requires surgery,” Scott said.
Jordan Ridley (concussion) will return, while Scott said Jayden Laverde (hip) is close to resuming. Darcy Parish (back), having had a disrupted pre-season, may return in the VFL.
Uncapped Lewis Hayes, who has impressed in the VFL and was an emergency against the Crows, could debut.
“We may be a bit limited in terms of the changes that we make. My tendency is always to back the players in for a response,” Scott said.
Skipper takes a stand
Zach Merrett, desperate for success and having last year rejected overtures to join St Kilda, was superb with 36 touches and four goals against the Crows. But Scott said he had been just as impressed by how Merrett had handled the days since the heavy defeat.
“His on-field stuff speaks for itself. He has just grown so much off the field. I think, even in my early time here, he would be fairly insular in a situation like this, but he is leading as well off-field as he is on field. He is clearly doing a lot of work for us on field, but he knows, for the team to perform in the way he desperately wants it to perform, that he needs to drag them along off the field as well,” Scott said.
What’s to come?
After the Port Adelaide clash, the Bombers have a bye in round four, and then Melbourne (Adelaide Oval), West Coast (Optus Stadium) and Collingwood (MCG) await.
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