Truck rebuilding from the back

 

@TheSashPod

There are shoots of promise for the Essendon Football Club. But have we not been here before? No, this almost certainly feels different.

Over the past decade and a half we have played some exciting footy, however, upon reflection it never felt sustainable.

In recent years Essendon were known for a fast rebounding style, which really got the heart racing, but there was no beating come the final siren in significant games.

Our best years since our last finals win in 2004 through to the present reflect this.

In 2009, eighth place and a demoralising Week 1 defeat. Fast forward two years, again, 8th and again smashed in an elimination final. We move to 2014, an elimination final and a loss. Then came along 2017 and 2019 with it the same recurring theme – bottom of the eight and bundled out of the finals immediately.

Essendon’s average losing margin in their past five finals: 58 points.

More proof in the pudding, it wasn’t sustainable. In fact, it was worse than that. Saga aside, our great club had essentially found themselves mired in mediocrity. That dreaded place no footy fan wants their club to be in. 

Finally – and belatedly – the club accepted that a rebuild was necessary. However, some would say the trade requests of Joe Daniher, Adam Saad and Orazio Fantasia forced their hand. That’s a story for another day.

‘This almost certainly feels different’

More to the point, heading to the draft was the only way the Bombers could indeed ‘fly up’ once more. Not just into another glut of elimination finals, but to be victorious in finals, compete for premierships and ultimately deliver the club’s 17th flag.

It was a decision that perhaps went against the board’s sense of pride. Or the other viewpoint? The club’s rich history, fanatical supporter base and elite Tullamarine facility had blinded the head honchos – lulled them into a false perspective about where Essendon had ended up.

There’s no shame in doing a rebuild or as a President Paul Brasher labelled it a ‘development year’ in March. It’s an unforgiving, ultra competitive competition. It took Geelong and Bomber Thompson eight years to deliver the ultimate prize, with many lean years leading up to their glory.

The supporters had been crying out for this type of self reflection and subsequent action from head office and thankfully, they followed through.

And here we are, 13 matches into a new era and realistic optimism abounds.

The hope stems from Ben Rutten’s game plan of ‘blue collar footy’, in more professional terms it’s defence first. How to defend the ground in transition, the traditional part of the game to beat your man one-on-one, forward half pressure and tackling. It’s no coincidence to see this type of style implemented, given Truck’s coaching role with Richmond from 2015 to 2018. 

But finding the right mix defensively is tricky. Continuity is key but patience from the supporters is a non-negotiable – building a strong defensive unit takes longer than any other part of the game.

Our newly assembled group led by star Jordan Ridley is the basis for future success. 

A fortnight or so ago, despite the inflated scoreboard at the final siren, Essendon put in an admirable performance against Richmond. Upon reflection, one of the key takeaways on the night was the age and profile of the Tigers’ defence.

Taking into account a ‘back seven’ with one extra player rotating through the setup, see the graphic below: 

The average games played of our seven defensive players had roughly half the experience of Richmond’s unit. And it would be considerably less, if you only counted games played as defenders. Moreover, if you included the recently retired Alex Rance (finished his career on 200 games) for Noah Balta, you get an even better sense of just how vital building that long-term cohesion is for a backline. 

Final point on building stability – Stewart and Laverde are new to the role, while Heppell has spent the majority of his career in the midfield and off-season recruit Nick Hind spent his two years at the Saints playing as a forward. 

Melbourne are the league’s premier defence. They concede a goal only 19.04% of the time it enters their defensive 50 – average 67 points against per game. On the other hand, the Bombers concede a goal 25.18% of the time when the opposition gets the ball inside 50, which ranks 17th in the AFL. Averaging roughly 90 points against per game is far too high; even the media whipping boys of season 2021 in St Kilda, Collingwood and Gold Coast have restricted their opponents to smaller scores

It’s the one part of the game plan, which will take time to nurture. Even the average punter will understand it’s not purely about that ‘back seven’ outlined above. There’s two-way running and defensive duties to be drilled into the midfielders and forwards, too.

Of the previous 10 premiership sides, eight were in the top 4 teams for least points conceded in the home and away season. The only exception? Hawthorn in 2013 were fifth for points against and sixth in 2014, respectively. They did, however, rank 1st for points scored in those two successful campaigns – they gave up a little defensively to maximise scoring. 

In other areas of the ground Essendon are stacking up extremely well. Take one quick glance at points for and Essendon rank 2nd, only behind the prolific Bulldogs. More impressively, we are kicking a goal 26.13% of the time it enters the forward 50, making us the second most effective forward half team in the competition.

An important component of Rutten’s game plan is scoring from turnover, where we’re ranked handsomely in fifth and are fourth in scores from stoppages.

It’s an outstanding achievement, given the slightly concerning problem area of clearance (14th) and contested possessions (15th). A fit and firing Dylan Shiel and Andy McGrath can help address this in the future. What it clearly indicates, though, is the Bombers have proven to be clinical with their trademark rapid ball movement.

Heading into 2021 with the 15th youngest list and 17th most inexperienced for games played, you could understand the media’s pre-season bottom four predictions.

At 6-7, sitting 10th and the only side to have a positive percentage of the teams outside the eight, the red and black faithful should be most encouraged. And while some will point toward one point, two and three points losses against Hawthorn, GWS and Sydney as ‘games we should have won’ – which would dramatically improve ladder position – they should be viewed as timely reminders.

In all three matches the side had periods of control, but conceded goals in quick succession. In short, the defensive part of our game cost us.

While inch columns will be dedicated to Darcy Parish’s meteoric rise, Jake Stringer’s freakish talent or the exciting trio of Harrison Jones, Archie Perkins and Nick Cox, the real focus for Rutten is learning how to defend as team.

Scoring is not the issue. Negating is the next part of the Bombers’ evolution.

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