How star\u2019s connection to \u2018special\u2019 Pendles might\u2019ve saved Pies career<\/a><\/p>\nScott added it was \u201chard to separate the performance from the circumstances\u201d.<\/p>\n
But the AFL, brutally, is a win-loss industry.<\/p>\n
The loss meant the Bombers fell to the bottom of the AFL ladder as the undermanned Tigers jumped Scott\u2019s side into 17th position on the table with the win. It was the Bombers\u2019 23rd loss in 24 games \u2014 and sixth loss on the trot \u2014 in what has been one of their worst starts in club history (1-10).<\/p>\n
Western Bulldogs games record-holder Brad Johnson said the Bombers \u201cdidn\u2019t have the same fight and vigour that the Tigers did to start the game\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichmond have got the youngest side they\u2019d ever fielded, pretty much, out there and Essendon have got senior players and experienced players \u2013 and they didn\u2019t get the W,\u201d Johnson told Fox Footy. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bombers should have been thinking: \u2018This is the tick for us. We\u2019ve got the players and we\u2019ve got the senior experience to take care of the side that can barely put players on the park at the moment.\u2019 They let themselves down.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, there\u2019s just not enough there from underneath, from pressure, from that total commitment to change the needle for their footy club at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
So was this truly \u201cthe game\u201d, as King declared, for Scott?<\/p>\n
Fox Footy commentator Gerard Whateley suggested the \u201cterms of engagement around Essendon do change a bit\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t just simply ignore an injury toll like this and still fit them up,\u201d Whateley told Fox Footy.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can regard it as an alibi, or you can regard it as reality. This is the worst possible hand they\u2019ve been dealt and that does have to be factored in.\u201d<\/p>\n
CODE Sports reporter Jon Ralph said moving Scott on now had little benefit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think all of us would say that at some stage at the end of the season, they (the Bombers) will have to decide: \u2018Do we want to pay him out $1 million? Is there someone else that is better?\u2019\u201d Ralph told Fox Footy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just can\u2019t see why that\u2019s the right decision right now \u2026 I\u2019m just not sure who that benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think that Zach Merrett\u2019s likely to go, we think that Jordan Ridley will look around. So maybe at some stage, with six weeks to go, you bring in an interim coach \u2013 whether it\u2019s Dean Solomon \u2013 and that changes things and maybe that can pitch a plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut right now? I don\u2019t see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Ralph said Scott faced a significant short-term challenge, adding all the \u201cdiabolic injury toll\u201d does is \u201cconfuse the Essendon picture once more\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe onus is on Brad to actually prove that this rebuild is not flatlining, but there is proof of life at 1-10,\u201d Ralph said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really hard to do that with your captain (McGrath) out potentially for as many six weeks, with Sam Durham out at least against West Coast.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor all the club has talked about in terms of the support for him \u2013 the CEO (said) \u2018we want him to be our coach next year\u2019, the president (said) we think he is a premiership coach\u2019 \u2013 he needs to prove to them that the game plan is up and running, that the defensive methodology is intact.<\/p>\n
Lyon said the next six weeks, specifically, would be crucial for Essendon\u2019s senior figures and leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight doesn\u2019t help. I know there\u2019s mitigating circumstances around it, but it doesn\u2019t help,\u201d Lyon told Fox Footy. \u201cSo that\u2019s one cross of the six weeks that we\u2019ve got coming up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what football clubs are like, we\u2019ve all lived through it enough: Everyone\u2019s supportive until they\u2019re not. And right now, he (Scott) believes that they\u2019ve got the support of his football club \u2013 and I\u2019m sure that\u2019s the case, until they decide he hasn\u2019t. Then we know what happens in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Essendon bombarded with injuries | 01:45<\/p>\n
‘You feel for Brad and Essendon’ | 10:40<\/p>\n
\u2018BUILT THESE FOUNDATIONS\u2019: VOSS TRUTH IN BLUES\u2019 \u2018HONEYMOON PHASE\u2019<\/p>\n
For the second-straight week, Carlton looked like a different, inspired outfit under interim coach Josh Fraser. <\/p>\n
In the midst of what\u2019s been dubbed the Fraser \u201choneymoon phase\u201d, it\u2019ll continue to leave its supporters wondering: \u2018Where has this been, and why haven\u2019t we been able to sustain it until now?\u2019<\/p>\n
Apparently, the Blues have put second-half fade-outs \u2014 which ultimately left Michael Voss\u2019 tenure in peril \u2014 behind them, as they\u2019ve now put in back-to-back four-quarter performances. <\/p>\n
And long considered a team too dependent on its work at clearance, the Blues flexed a multidimensional profile in their overpowering 34-point win over Yartapuulti on Saturday night. <\/p>\n
Carlton notched 17 scores from turnover on Saturday night \u2014 its second-best effort in the past 18 months. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s significant, because entering Round 11, the Blues ranked 17th in the competition \u2014 above only Richmond \u2014 for scoring from that source. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a different Carlton,\u201d former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said late in the fourth quarter on Fox Footy. <\/p>\n
\u201cPort is belting them in clearances, 33-22, but Carlton have scored 6.6 from intercept and 5.3 from stoppage. It\u2019s just a different game that Carlton are playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blues secure second win under Fraser | 00:55<\/p>\n
It\u2019s left pundits and punters alike asking what\u2019s changed since Josh Fraser assumed the reins a fortnight ago. <\/p>\n
But when probed on specifically what had changed, or whether there\u2019d been a switch in method, young Blues dynamo Jagga Smith\u2019s mind immediately went to one place. <\/p>\n
\u201cI would say that \u2018Vossy\u2019 built these foundations,\u201d he told Fox Footy\u2019s Super Saturday Live panel. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting the wins now through \u2018Frase\u2019 (Josh Fraser), but I do really think that \u2018Vossy\u2019 built these foundations. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a bit of the reward come through, but what I think has changed is our ability to play four quarters of footy. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the first two months, it just wasn\u2019t there, and even tonight they challenged us a little bit in that third quarter and we were able to stop their momentum a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith, whose 15 score involvements were the most of any Carlton player in a game this season, added: \u201cMaybe the group\u2019s lightened up a little bit. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe all loved Vossy, and he was a great mentor and great leader, but sometimes these things happen and you\u2019ve just got to move on. Credit to \u2018Frase\u2019 as well, he\u2019s been great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Really, not a whole lot has changed at Carlton, in terms of philosophy. Rather, it would seem that, in reality, the way Voss wanted his side to play just didn\u2019t materialise until it was too late. <\/p>\n
Carr gives struggling Port a spray | 00:36<\/p>\n
It reminds of the Simon Goodwin situation last season, when the Dees looked to have flicked the switch on free-flowing ball movement shortly before he was dismissed. <\/p>\n
Being more expansive in possession and punishing off opposition errors were things we saw inconsistently from Carlton under Voss, but have seen for larger periods under Fraser. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think this was happening under \u2018Vossy\u2019. I think we\u2019re too quick to just move on totally,\u201d dual flag-winner David King told Super Saturday Live. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe use of angles – okay, there are some different players involved, and you can mount a case on that – but when you see the vision from (Saturday), their hunger to find a lateral target, to switch the ball from one (side) to the other. Everyone says \u2018this is modern footy, Vossy wasn\u2019t doing this – Vossy was trying to get this invested into the group. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow, for whatever reason, they couldn\u2019t get that – there\u2019s personnel change, which has given a luxury or two \u2026 and it\u2019s brought a bit of a freshness to this group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Injecting fresh young talent such as Jack Ison and Billy Wilson into the mix certainly helps the cause, but perhaps it simply comes down to psychological release. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s right,\u201d King said in response to Jay Clark\u2019s suggestion that it\u2019s a mental effect. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat is the honeymoon phase they\u2019re enjoying right now. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, how much is substance of the new coach, and how much is just the relief, circuit-breaker, the four-to-six-week honeymoon period \u2026 is that the plan, or is that just the space between the ears of senior core players under pressure?<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve fallen for this in the past – David Teague did this. So, you\u2019ve got to look really deep as to \u2018what is it specifically that\u2019s changed?\u2019 And then come up with your answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
LATEST CROWS BLOW \u2018SUMS UP WHERE THEY ARE AT\u2019<\/p>\n
Reigning minor premiers Adelaide have stalled in season 2026.<\/p>\n
The Crows are sitting at 6-5 mid-table off the back of the thrilling loss to Hawthorn on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
Again it was the side\u2019s inability to close out games that proved costly.<\/p>\n
Darcy Fogarty had the chance to give Adelaide the lead in the dying minutes, but he couldn\u2019t convert his snap.<\/p>\n
And when the ball went down the other end, Blake Hardwick made no mistake with his fourth goal. Game over.<\/p>\n
The nine-point defeat is now Adelaide\u2019s fourth single-digit loss in 2026 \u2013 and it means they have more close losses in less than half of the 2026 season than they did throughout all of 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s been a bit of a story of the year \u2013 they needed to take a scalp to frank the form they were going to be a genuine contender,\u201d Fox Footy\u2019s Leigh Montagna said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenuine contender we\u2019re talking being a top six team \u2013 got to be top six this year if you want to win a flag.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you\u2019re not winning these close games it makes it awfully difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe just sums up where they are at? They are just a bit below the top teams in the competition this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far Adelaide has suffered close losses to Western Bulldogs (-6 points), Geelong (-8), Fremantle (-2) and now Hawthorn (-9).<\/p>\n
But AFL legend Jason Dunstall believes the results, particularly the tight losses to top-four sides, were promising signs.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeelong and Freo in particular are two of the strongest teams in the competition \u2013 they are right there in all those games,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are putting themselves in positions to win \u2013 it\u2019s just taking that next step to get over the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven how competitive they are in just about every game they play, they are not going to be too far away.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Need to be careful of my language…’ | 06:58<\/p>\n
One area coach Matthew Nicks will need to address is Adelaide\u2019s inability to punish.<\/p>\n
Against the Hawks on Thursday night, the Crows were the dominant team in the opening term, with Dunstall even labelling Hawthorn \u201cpathetic\u201d and \u201ccrappy\u201d.<\/p>\n
But at the first change, Adelaide only held a 12-point lead.<\/p>\n
And when the Hawks got their spark through Nick Watson in the second term, they drained seven straight goals in a surge Adelaide couldn\u2019t stop.<\/p>\n
Champion Dats statistics showed the Crows managed just 11 points from their defensive half \u2014 their eighth-worst return in the last 10 years, excluding 2020 \u2014 and just 19 points from turnover \u2014 their ninth-worst in the last 10 years.<\/p>\n
Adelaide also managed score per inside 50 rate of just 37 per cent \u2013 their third-worst return this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey couldn\u2019t score off turnover and couldn\u2019t score out of the back half coming up against a stiffer defence (than last week\u2019s opponent North) and the conditions made it difficult, but they just lacked a bit of potency particularly once (Izak) Rankine went out of the game,\u201d Montagna said.<\/p>\n
Adelaide have time to regroup with the bye this week before taking on Geelong, the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Kingy waxes lyrical on Rankine mid move | 00:57<\/p>\n
\u2018NO MALICE WHATSOEVER\u2019: CHAMP DEFENDS EAGLE AFTER FIERY PIES SCENES<\/p>\n
Collingwood has confirmed the worst possible news for Jamie Elliott<\/a> after scans confirmed a season-ending ACL injury.<\/p>\nBut Tigers champion Jack Riewoldt has defended West Coast defender Tylar Young for his role in the marking contest that led to the brutal Elliott blow.<\/p>\n
The incident in the dying minutes of Collingwood\u2019s win over the Eagles put a dampener on Scott Pendlebury\u2019s record game celebrations.<\/p>\n
It led to a fiery all-in scuffle between the two sides as Magpies players took issue with Young\u2019s approach after Elliott soared in the air for a market. <\/p>\n
Eagles coach Andrew McQualter defended Young, saying he \u201cdid nothing wrong\u201d and questioned why Pies players remonstrated. Meanwhile Collingwood coach Craig McRae said it was \u201chard\u201d to comment on the incident but noted Elliott was in a \u201cvulnerable\u201d position.<\/p>\n
For Riewoldt, there was \u201cno malice whatsoever,\u201d pointing out Young suffered his own ACL injury two years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely nothing to see here,\u201d Riewoldt said on Fox Footy.<\/p>\n
\u201cTylar Young did a knee two years ago when he was at the Tigers. And he was in a group of five players that did a knee.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no way there is any malice in that incident whatsoever.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there was a bit of miscommunication, and all of a sudden, wrestles started happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cI reckon half the players were in there not even knowing why they were wrestling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can guarantee you there was nothing in that incident.\u201d<\/p>\n
Awful moment as Elliot goes down | 01:12<\/p>\n
Along with injury setbacks to Darcy Moore (hamstring) and Will Hayes (shoulder), they\u2019re \u201csavage blows\u201d to Collingwood, according to Kangaroos great David King.<\/p>\n
It comes after young ruckman Oscar Steene suffered an ACL injury last week in a brutal fortnight for the Pies. <\/p>\n
The losses of Elliott and Moore specifically leave huge voids at either end of the ground for McRae\u2019s side, which is sitting right on the edge of finals. <\/p>\n
And a forward line that was already struggled to produce winning scores in 2026 is now without its two leading goalkickers from last season in Elliott and Brody Mihocek. <\/p>\n
Not to mention the uncertainty surrounding Bobby Hill. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll look different without Elliott in the forward line,\u201d King added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kicked 60 goals last year and made the All-Australian squad. He\u2019s a loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
As much as Collingwood\u2019s jubilant rooms were in full celebration mode for Pendlebury after Saturday\u2019s win, Riewoldt observed the sight of Elliott on crutches was a sobering reality for the black and white.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Elliott) was the first player to walk into the rooms post-game, and you just got the sense of flatness, that was really what it felt like,\u201d Riewoldt said. <\/p>\n
\u201cPendlebury was the second player to walk in, he walked up to Jamie Elliott, put his arm around him and gave him a little sort of peck on the forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was this moment of realisation that Jamie Elliott has a long road ahead of him in what was a very special day for the footy club.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single player and all the support staff all got around Jamie Elliott. You could sense it was a really disappointing thing on what was a very important day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A two-word tweet sent a clear message after Essendon\u2019s season hit an all-time low. Plus an inspired Blues…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":692192,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[9011,3443,9126,638,8406,106612,64,63,689,55,639,16716,684,3423,14382,107014,14349,7488,9203,337771,337767,203352,337768,12116,10143,337770,16682,10989,337773,1818,321082,337774,337758,337762,271851,86309,63404,3496,265791,68923,337765,11231,337759,12090,85550,50007,667,337763,327788,18664,247298,10145,337755,61,337749,7492,337757,147322,4490,6086,91805,3231,1823,3489,337129,36878,12149,19125,681,27709,168801,7484,70801,337769,3465,17290,12107,16712,3257,22778,3530,677,337761,27704,131852,6082,28885,337772,25862,1820,19083,337766,337760,71355,92940,17989,337750,11403,337753,1124,272709,85,337751,148150,336534,337752,698,337754,337764,337756,9020,80384,19054],"class_list":["post-692191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-adam-yze","tag-adelaide","tag-adelaide-crows","tag-afl","tag-andrew-mcqualter","tag-andy-mcgrath","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-ball-movement","tag-ben-cotton","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-billy-wilson","tag-blake-hardwick","tag-bobby-hill","tag-brad-johnson","tag-catherine-healey","tag-celebration-mode","tag-changes-things","tag-clear-message","tag-close-losses","tag-comfortable-win","tag-craig-mcrae","tag-crows-blow","tag-darcy-fogarty","tag-darcy-moore","tag-dats","tag-david-king","tag-david-teague","tag-defensive-methodology","tag-devastating-three-goal","tag-diabolic-injury-toll","tag-disappointing-thing","tag-dominant-team","tag-dual-flag-winner","tag-dual-premiership","tag-dying-minutes","tag-eagles-coach","tag-eighth-worst-return","tag-essendon-bombers","tag-fiery-pies-scenes","tag-final-quarter","tag-flag-reality","tag-football-clubs","tag-footy-club","tag-four-to-six-week-honeymoon-period","tag-g-clash","tag-game-plan","tag-games-record-holder","tag-garry-lyon","tag-genuine-contender","tag-gerard-whateley","tag-grim-two-word","tag-hawthorn-hawks","tag-honeymoon-phase","tag-injury-setbacks","tag-injury-toll","tag-interim-coach","tag-jack-ison","tag-jack-jovanovski","tag-jack-riewoldt","tag-jagga-smith","tag-jamie-elliot","tag-jamie-elliott","tag-jason-dunstall","tag-jay-clark","tag-jon-ralph","tag-josh-carr","tag-josh-fraser","tag-ken-hinkley","tag-kysaiah-pickett","tag-lateral-target","tag-leigh-montagna","tag-marking-contest","tag-matt-guelfi","tag-matthew-nicks","tag-michael-voss","tag-mitigating-circumstances","tag-nick-watson","tag-oceania","tag-opposition-errors","tag-oscar-steene","tag-personnel-change","tag-port-adelaide","tag-premiership-coach","tag-record-game-celebrations","tag-sam-durham","tag-score-involvements","tag-scott-pendlebury","tag-second-half-fade-outs","tag-senior-core-players","tag-senior-experience","tag-senior-figures","tag-senior-players","tag-show-improvement","tag-single-player","tag-single-digit-loss","tag-south-australia","tag-special-day","tag-sports","tag-suffering-multiple-injuries","tag-support-staff","tag-terrible-looking-injury","tag-two-word-tweet","tag-western-bulldogs","tag-win-loss-industry","tag-winning-scores","tag-worst-possible-hand","tag-young-gun","tag-young-ruckman","tag-young-talent"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692191","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=692191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/692192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n