Three weeks into the AFL season, Essendon are now the betting favourite for the wooden spoon following their 63-point loss to Port Adelaide.
The Dons were thrashed for the second week in a row, conceding 20 goals, and currently sit last on the ladder.
And it has put coach Brad Scott firmly on the hot seat, with the club now on a 15-game losing streak extending over 300 days.
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Andrew McGrath of the Bombers leads his team off after the loss to Port. Getty
The coach was fuming after the Power loss on Sunday, calling out the group’s lack of defensive intensity.
“We’re not hard-nosed enough in defence, full stop, and that’s just not defenders — that’s all over the ground,” Scott told reporters.
“I’m a coach who very rarely questions lack of effort, a lack of fight because you know these guys well enough that they’ll always give that, but there’s no doubt we’re demoralised, and that can appear to look like lack of effort, a lack of fight.
“Nate Caddy is a terrific young man, and he’s a great footballer, but you miss a goal from three metres out directly in front (and) your team’s demoralised.
“It’s my job as coach to keep them up and we’re working extremely hard at our club, we’ve done a hell of a lot of work.
“Probably on the surface, the way results have unfolded the first two weeks of the season … it appears we’ve taken at least a step back with the view to go forward, and we want to build a club and a culture that is based on team-first, and we can’t have selfishness from players who think about themselves.
“And we’ve done a lot of work to make sure we don’t have that. But when things are really hard and you get demoralised, human nature is to think about yourself.
“Our pressure was non-existent. We butchered the ball when we had it.
“We’ve got an enormous amount of work to do on our defence full stop. But when you’re turning the ball over in horrible parts of the ground … no one’s set up to defend that.”
Essendon coach Brad Scott speaks after the game. AFL
Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel can’t see Essendon sacking Scott mid-season, but says they have clearly gone backwards.
“Port completely dominated a hapless Bombers and there’s serious questions now about what they’re going to do this year,” Bartel told Nine’s Today.
“It’s going to be a long, long year for the Bombers if they keep playing like that.
“I think (Scott) maintains his role. They keep backing him in. They extended his contract not too long ago.
“There’s pressure on him and everyone at Essendon. When you go to their games, you can’t actually work out what they’re trying to do.
“They’ve had a lot of injuries in the last 18 months, but it’s a style and a brand of footy.
“Everyone accepts they’re going to lose games, but you can’t lose in the manner they lost on Sunday and last week.”
Scott is signed through to the end of the 2027 season, with his contract extended early in 2025.
Caddy, meanwhile, was one of the shining lights for Essendon, kicking four goals from seven shots at goal on Sunday, accounting for nearly half of their scoring shots.
Nate Caddy of the Bombers. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Scott’s decision to single the young key forward out for criticism in his press conference, after Caddy blew an easy shot for goal in the second quarter, frustrated North Melbourne champion David King.
“(Caddy) was the only one singled out (by Scott) in the press conference. ‘Demoralised us’. I thought mate, this kid tried his absolute tail off,” King told SEN.
Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes praised the 20-year-old for only signing a short term deal with the Dons, and not taking the first big contract offered to him.
Caddy is out of contract at the end of 2027, in line with Tasmania’s entry to the competition, with King warning “he’ll leave” if things don’t improve at Tullamarine.
The dual premiership Roo also cannot believe the Bombers still have the same defensive issues after multiple years stuck down the bottom of the ladder.
“They’ve been on a (15-game) losing streak and there doesn’t seem to have been much change (this year),” King said.
“(Scott) said the loss had nothing to do with structure, now I can’t have that. I just can’t have that.
Zach Merrett of the Bombers looks dejected after losing to the Hawks. Getty
“We showed three or four edits last night of defensive efforts that are just cold wrong. They’re neither pressing nor holding, no one turns their head at Essendon and says ‘who’s behind me’.
“It’s easy to talk about the kids and blame the kids. I’m not blaming the kids. This isn’t about how young Essendon is. They’ve got enough players with senior experience,” King said.
“And they just play every week. Who was the last senior player dropped at Essendon to set a standard? They’ve got to shift course of where they’re going.”
Essendon will face North Melbourne in round three, a team they have beaten 12 times in a row dating back to 2016.
The Roos are equally under pressure after blowing a five-goal lead to the struggling West Coast.