include the following from the Essendon coach<\/a>: \u201cProbably on the surface, the way results have unfolded the first two weeks of the season \u2026 it appears we\u2019ve 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\u2019t have selfishness from players who think about themselves.<\/p>\n\u201cAnd we\u2019ve done a lot of work to make sure we don\u2019t have that. But when things are really hard and you get demoralised, human nature is to think about yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Essendon\u2019s defensive woes extend well beyond the final scoreboard. Scott\u2019s side were only able to register 41 tackles at Adelaide Oval, despite the Power having significantly more of the ball than them.<\/p>\n
In addition, they allowed Port to register the most marks in a match across their club\u2019s history, conceding 165 only nine days after gifting Hawthorn 157 of their own.<\/p>\n
Brad Scott says ‘we’re demoralised’ | 09:03<\/p>\n
It, driven by the admission of selfish players, left King pleading for some sort of tangible change in their starting 23 for next Saturday night\u2019s duel with the Kangaroos.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve only got one way to go from there, and that\u2019s to omit the players that are playing selfish footy and keeping you on this path \u2014 the tram tracks of not making any alterations or visible changes,\u201d King continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re just words, they\u2019re always words. They talk about pressure rating\u2026 I had a look at them last week, 161 was their seventh-worst game for pressure in five years. I thought: \u2018It can\u2019t get any worse than that, going to play Port Adelaide\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201c149 today, their second-worst result on record \u2014 just unbelievable numbers. You would think that the one thing they could guarantee today, is an attitude and manic level of effort and desire to throw yourself across a boot if you have to.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end, you end up with another smacking, and I think the Essendon fans are getting a little bit sick of the same stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
King then shows behind the goals footage of Essendon\u2019s defensive structure that emphasised their \u201cstructural and communication issues\u201d.<\/p>\n
Power star Jason Horne-Francis was the early beneficiary of the Dons\u2019 defensive lapses highlighted in the vision, kicking three goals before quarter time. The 22-year-old finished as one of half a dozen players for Port who kicked two or more goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo apportion the blame somewhere else is what happens when losing takes hold of a footy club \u2026 in the end, everyone cops a whack and they chase tail,\u201d King continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at the point, and I keep saying it, where something\u2019s got to give \u2014 something has to give. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the leaders, I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s at selection. I don\u2019t see any massive statements at selection (coming).<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone has to pay a price at Essendon. They\u2019re too easy to play against, and it\u2019s been that way for too long \u2026 Right now, Essendon are in the cauldron. And I just don\u2019t know if handling it like this is the way through it, and the way forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll we get to judge are the two hours of a weekend, and it is well short of AFL standard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Injuries to the dashing Mason Redman (knee) and Dyson Sharp (ankle) rubbed salt into the wounds of the Bombers, with star defender Jordan Ridley still at least one more week away from a return after a calf injury.<\/p>\n
Caddy clanger with point blank miss | 00:31<\/p>\n
WHERE EAGLES REBUILD MAY BE OUTPACING TIGERS\u2019<\/p>\n
The common wisdom, and the consensus on the east coast, has been that Richmond is ahead of West Coast in the rebuild race despite starting it later.<\/p>\n
The Tigers cut deep, quickly, adding eight players inside the top 23 of the past two drafts.<\/p>\n
In contrast the Eagles needed four drafts to take eight players in the top 23 – an admittedly hand-picked number, given they\u2019ve selected a few players in the late 20s and early 30s in that period too.<\/p>\n
But we all know picking a player early isn\u2019t a guarantee they\u2019ll be good, and filling positions of need can be incredibly difficult even if you\u2019re consistently picking high up the order (just ask North Melbourne).<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where West Coast might be ahead of Richmond, along with the likes of North Melbourne and Essendon, thanks to an extremely promising crop of talls that could one day join the All-Australian legacy of recent stars Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and Jake Waterman.<\/p>\n
While Archer Reid, Jobe Shanahan and especially Cooper Duff-Tytler have a long way to go they\u2019ve shown great promise in their brief careers thus far.<\/p>\n
Exciting Eagles’ young guns put on show | 00:50<\/p>\n
It would be generous to suggest Reid has been better than his same-name mate taken in the same draft, Harley, but there have been flashes of brilliance. Meanwhile Shanahan has proven just how deep the 2024 draft was, proving a shining light from all the way down at Pick 30.<\/p>\n
There were six big men (195cm or taller) taken before him in that draft, including four by the Tigers themselves – some of whom have been limited by injury making it a less-than-fair comparison. But Shanahan has probably been the best of the bunch.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s Duff-Tytler, who is already doing things in his second game that players his age shouldn\u2019t do – especially with his size – which is both not surprising (given his billing before going with Pick 4) and still surprising (because he\u2019s not even 19 years old until August).<\/p>\n
It all makes for a very promising group in a very important area of the ground, something very few clubs can say at this point of a rebuild.<\/p>\n
Nobody is suggesting the Eagles are ready to contend for the top 10, but it\u2019s days like Sunday – with the Optus Stadium crowd rocking and the kids showcasing their talent – that rebuilds are all about.<\/p>\n
If these days don\u2019t happen, then the rebuild doesn\u2019t work in the end. It\u2019s just one step, but an important one.<\/p>\n
Sparks fly after Harley Reid strike | 00:49<\/p>\n
\u2018BULLYING HIM\u2019: HOW CROW SEIZED SHOCK OPPORTUNITY AGAINST AFL\u2019S BEST<\/p>\n
For the majority of Adelaide\u2019s 2025 season, key defender Jordan Butts was unable to lock down a spot in the side\u2019s best 22, largely due to the rapid rise of Irish teammate Mark Keane.<\/p>\n
It was hardly through any fault of his own, given Keane\u2019s eventual inclusion in the extended 44-man All-Australian squad. But by the end of last season, Butts found himself genuinely on the outer of Adelaide\u2019s starting side, even attracting loose trade interest from the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Entering the final year of his current contract at West Lakes, Keane suffered a brutal leg break during match simulation in early February \u2014 a setback that will sideline the 26-year-old until at least the club\u2019s mid-season bye.<\/p>\n
It handed Butts a surprise reprieve, and he arguably produced the best performance of his 87-game AFL career last Friday night.<\/p>\n
The Shepparton product was thrown the daunting task of shutting down 208cm beast Sam Darcy at Adelaide Oval, who kicked four goals from 16 disposals the week before against GWS.<\/p>\n
That 13cm height difference proved no barrier for Butts, who not only kept Darcy to just one goal, but also managed to intercept high balls coming into the Crows\u2019 defensive 50.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s almost bullying him,\u201d Fox Footy caller Anthony Hudson said of him on Darcy.<\/p>\n
AFL Hall of Fame Legend Jason Dunstall added: \u201cHe\u2019s got to be careful, Sam Darcy. He\u2019s getting under the ball too quickly, and just allowing Butts to work him under it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crows fall short after 4th qtr flurry | 02:55<\/p>\n
The key Crow went into half-time with six intercept marks, equalling the club\u2019s all-time record by an individual.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had a fantastic night,\u201d Melbourne great Garry Lyon said at half-time.<\/p>\n
Butts\u2019 night finished with a career-high 19 disposals, 11 intercept possessions and seven intercept marks \u2014 also complemented by his first-ever AFL goal. In fact, it could\u2019ve been two if he had converted a 100-metre penalty from a frustrated Darcy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe backed Buttsy in, we love the way he defends. He\u2019s super disciplined, he\u2019s a competitor,\u201d Adelaide head coach Matthew Nicks told journalists post-game.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe hates being beaten, and they\u2019ve had a couple good match-ups those two … I thought he was huge. He wasn\u2019t the only one, but with 11 intercepts \u2014 and should\u2019ve kicked a couple.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re lucky he was behind the ball, especially through the start of the game. He was huge for us in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The AFL\u2019s rule changes have already had some highs with epic shootouts, but a sudden injury plague marks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-557660","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\/557660","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=557660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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