Essendon have slumped to the bottom of the AFL ladder after a 12-point loss to Richmond on Friday night in which the Bombers copped several nasty injury blows.
The Dreamtime at the ‘G clash began with turnovers galore but the Tigers played with more energy and kept the Bombers at arm’s length to claim a 10.14 (74) to 7.14 (56) victory.
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Essendon had just two players on the interchange bench in the second half after Sam Durham (concussion) Andrew McGrath (broken jaw) and Matt Guelfi (hamstring) were all ruled out early.
Darcy Parish (40 disposals) was awarded the Yiooken Trophy as best on ground but Essendon struggled to hit the scoreboard with only four different goalkickers for the game.
Essendon forward Archer May hobbled off in the final term with a suspected rib injury and midfielder Jye Caldwell was also assessed with a leg issue as Essendon’s injury toll mounted.
Richmond had 18 players unavailable on their injury but Essendon couldn’t get the win against a seriously undermanned Tigers outfit.
Brad Johnson said on Kayo Sports: “The first quarter when it was on, they were beaten in pressure and they couldn’t get themselves out of the back half of the ground.
“We always look at the first quarter and first 10 minutes. Who’s bringing the most pressure, and Essendon didn’t do that tonight.
“They didn’t have the same fight and vigour the Tigers did to start this game that they had more experience in.
“The side they played tonight, internally the Bombers should have been thinking, ‘This is a tick for us. We’ve got the players and we’ve got the senior experience to take care of a side that can barely put players on the park. They let themselves down.
“Ultimately there’s not enough there from pressure and total commitment to change the needle for their footy club at the moment.”
The defeat means the Bombers now sit bottom of the ladder with just one win from 11 games this season.
Garry Lyon questioned on Kayo Sports whether Essendon’s form slump would be “terminal” for coach Brad Scott.
Essendon have won just one game from their past 25 matches and pressure will continue to mount on Scott to turn his team’s form around.
Scott is contracted until the end of 2027 but can’t afford too many more losses if he is to keep his job.
Sports reporter Ronny Lerner wrote: “This is rock bottom (again) for Essendon. Beaten by the bottom side who had half their list unavailable and held to just 7 goals by them in perfect conditions. It doesn’t get much lower than that.
“I would be stunned if Brad Scott is the Bombers coach for much longer.”
Originally published as Essendon slump to bottom of AFL ladder, pressure mounting on coach