{"id":1180,"date":"2025-07-17T19:34:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T19:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/1180\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T19:34:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T19:34:10","slug":"the-silver-linings-for-battered-essendon-bombers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/1180\/","title":{"rendered":"The silver linings for battered Essendon Bombers"},"content":{"rendered":"

When he landed his first goal with a delightful kick, his family and friends in the stands were overjoyed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means everything,\u201d McMahon said in the rooms post-match. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see the footage after it [after the game]. I looked up on the big screen and I saw everyone carrying on. It made my heart skip a beat. That\u2019s what I wanted to play for.<\/p>\n

\"Liam<\/p>\n

Liam McMahon of the Bombers is embraced by family and friends after the match against the GWS Giants.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201c[It\u2019s] obviously for [my] fulfilment \u2026 to be able to say I can play AFL football. But yeah to see their faces and everything was just the best moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Essendon coach Brad Scott was not surprised that McMahon made an impact in front of goal.<\/p>\n

\u201dYeah, he\u2019s got a lot of really good attributes, Liam. Kicking is certainly one of them. He\u2019s a beautiful kick, accurate kick, penetrating kick,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a very strong suspicion that he\u2019d find a way to hit the scoreboard because he just has every level he\u2019s played at.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure there has ever been a player who\u2019s led the goalkeeping in the VFL for two separate clubs in the same season. You have to be doing something right to be able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

McMahon is content to \u201clive in the moment\u201d for the next 24 hours after finally getting his chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, definitely I thought it [my opportunity] wouldn\u2019t come. There were times after being delisted in Collingwood, you know, you can have the mindset of going back to suburban footy and just kind of cashing in there and getting a normal, stable job and just kind of like floating through the system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut no, I knew that I wanted to achieve my dream. It\u2019s something that I wanted for my friends and family, more than, more than me, to see them, you know, pre game as well. It was such a special moment. It\u2019s [been] a really tough journey, but I\u2019m grateful for being here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last round after Essendon lost to Richmond in a much-mocked clash at the MCG, Scott expanded on the difficulties of coaching Essendon with a list that has been brutally challenged. After the defeat to GWS, there was more of a hint however of the club embracing or in fact capitalising on the tough circumstances.<\/p>\n

\"Jake<\/p>\n

Jake Stringer of the Giants runs with the ball during the round 19 AFL match between Essendon Bombers and GWS Giants.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t really want to dwell on the challenges or the negatives,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe actually want to rise to the challenge and be a no-excuse football club. And the message is the same. We\u2019d like to have better availability, but we field 23 fit players every week. And we give opportunity to guys who deserve it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the guys who are coming in [have earned their opportunity]. Liam McMahon has earned his opportunity. It hasn\u2019t been gifted to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if there were \u201csilver linings\u201d to exposing new players to the system including the mid-season draftees, Scott said there was \u201cno doubt\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always trying to find ways to take steps forward and continue to get better as a team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of supporters [would] watch us play tonight and watch some of the players. I don\u2019t think anyone could fault their effort and intent and in their ability to compete. They certainly could question some of our execution, and we\u2019ll keep working with them on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlakiston is another one I\u2019d put in that category you know, we\u2019re asking a guy to come who drafted him as a ruck, to come in and play as a rough backup, and he\u2019s playing as a key defender and doing, I think, a pretty good job in the circumstances.<\/p>\n

Loading<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really keen to see him in the ruck.\u201d<\/p>\n

McMahon has waited nearly five years for his moment. He\u2019ll enjoy this weekend but maintains he won\u2019t immediately re-cast his AFL career aspirations<\/p>\n

\u201cLive in the moment for the next 24 hours,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to look too far ahead because I\u2019ve looked too far ahead in the past and hasn\u2019t gone my way. So I\u2019ll just take it one step at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When he landed his first goal with a delightful kick, his family and friends in the stands were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-1180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}