Western Bulldogs vs Essendon - Etihad Stadium - Saturday Night
Western Bulldogs -4th - 13-8-124.82%
Essendon - 14th - 7-14 - 80.70%
Will this be the last time Matthew Knights coaches the Bombers? And are the Bulldogs done in 2010?
These two questions are the main focus points in another week both of these clubs would rather forget.
For Essendon, one last chance at pride presents itself this saturday night when they take on the Western Bulldogs whilst for the Dogs it is a chance to desperately find some form before a monumental assignment in week one of the finals.
Down at Windy Hill, scrutiny has once again been placed on Matthew Knights on the back of another dissapointing loss, this time to a Brisbane side that has struggled for most of the year.
Supporters have been hammering talkback radio calling for Knights head, and some extending that anger towards the board as well.
Say what you like about Essendon, the situation at present is probably untenable even if elements of the criticism are unfair.
Matthew Lloyd made the point in regards to defence in that to be a very good side you need to develop a strong defensive component to your game and sadly for the Bombers they have been unable to do so under Knights duration as coach.
In 2008 they conceeded more points then any other side, last year they conceeded the fifth most, and this season they are back to the most conceeded and this is an area you would want to see some improvement in.
Essendon conceed more inside fifties then anyone else, a higher percentage of marks once inside fifty then any one, the most effective disposals and the most points directly from stoppages.
This indicates that it probably isn't the fault of actual defence, but more a by product of the side's horrendous ability to apply pressure and restrict opposition ball carriers.
Too often teams get easy ball against Essendon and can execute under little pressure going forward.
The Bombers desperately need more clearance support for Jobe Watson who flies the flag in there, and it's pleasing that Mark McVeigh has signed on for a further two years to add some experience, even if he is likely to play out time in defence.
The question needs to be asked though, is it Knight's coaching? Or does he simply not have the cattle to execute a more defensive style of footy?
I think it is probably a combination of both but my main issue is the Bombers fans are destroying their own club due to a misguided sense of expectation.
Essendon fans through no fault of their own had been spoon fed success for nearly two and a half decades under Kevin Sheedy and there tends to be a total lack of tolerance to the work required in a rebuild.
Matthew Knights has been there three years. Some see that as long enough to turn them back into a force, but when you consider how appaling the list was when he took over surely people can cut him a degree of slack?
On the field the positives this year have been Carlisle, Hardingham, Gumbleton, Colyer, Melksham, Howlett, Hooker and probably Ryder.
Essendon's list has improved a lot in recent years and they should be optimistic going forward over the next few years whether Knights is coach or not.
Their opponents the Bulldogs have endured a week from hell with several big names succumbing to injury and a second straight belting on the eve of the finals.
Dale Morris and Adam Cooney will miss the remainder of the season, Brad Johnson could conceivably never play again and Shaun Higgins remains a source of frustration as he battles ongoing calf/illness issues.
On field they were trounced by the Swans and some key stat areas were particularly concerning.
The Bulldogs conceeded 104 more disposals and 82 more uncontested posessions to Sydney their worst differential in each stat for the entire season.
One of the strengths of Rodney Eade's men is their ability to win first posession at stoppages but in the past fortnight they have been destroyed in these areas and that's where their own lack of pressure can hurt them.
They rank last for tackles this season and have also caught opposition sides holding the ball just 61 times this season, the worst of any team in the comp.
If the Bulldogs are beaten in the clearances you can invaraibly say good night very quickly.
The good news is they play one of the worst stoppage teams in the league on Saturday night and it provides them with the chance for some much needed confidence leading into September.
It is nearly impossible to see this team winning a flag without Cooney and Morris plus possibly one or two others, but they do have some solid depth and they will carry a top four finish into September which always gives you a chance.
If they can somehow beat Collingwood in that first final, somehow, they will earn a week off, freshen a few blokes up and host a preliminary final and you just never know.
I strongly doubt they can still win the flag, and they may not have been able too anyway, but they aren't going to finish top four based on what they have done in the past fortnight, they will do it based on the previous six weeks of excellence.
Eagleton, Moles, Hill etc are going to have to step up and assume the responsibility left behind by these guys and it poses unwanted headaches for the coaching staff.
Rodney Eade will be aware of the fact Essendon got hold of them last time and the strange enigma with the Dons is that five of their seven wins have come against top eight teams this year which would suggest to you that they can play.
Consistency for both of these teams is probably the big issue, but the Bulldogs boast more depth and a greater spread of options at both ends of the ground.
In particular though it's ther numbers through the middle, even without Cooney that should have too much for the tired Bombers.
In what could be the end of the road for Knights, there will be no fairytale, and for the Bulldogs a bit of hope before it all really hots up!
Bulldogs by 27 points
No comments:
Post a Comment